#ourCOG Daily Brief [February 13, 2026]

Good evening, and welcome to #ourCOG Daily Brief for February 13, 2026.

Today in the U.S., discussions are underway as America approaches its 250th anniversary, with reenactors like George Washington and Ben Franklin calling for a complex and true retelling of the nation’s founding story. The last U.S.-Russia arms control treaty has expired, sparking calls for a new, multipolar approach to arms control. Domestically, Democrats are pushing for immigration enforcement reforms as a potential DHS shutdown looms this weekend. President Trump faces increasing pushback from a GOP worried about midterm elections, suggesting his “Teflon” might be fading. Internationally, NATO allies are meeting in Brussels and Munich, grappling with the reality that they may need to take more charge of their own defense amidst wavering trust in the U.S. Meanwhile, around the world, community-run hills are making skiing more accessible by offering low or no-cost opportunities, a movement that has even fostered Olympians like Mikaela Shiffrin. We also have a look at the “team” aspect in snowboard cross, and in the UK, British politicians are finding it hard to hide from the fallout of the Epstein files, a stark contrast to their reception in the United States.

In video news, we’re looking at “The Church is in a Discipleship Crisis” from the Between Sundays Podcast, an urgent message titled “An Urgency In This Hour” by Jentezen Franklin, and “Dying Ministers – Mysterious Harbingers of the End of the Age | Episode 1323” with Perry Stone.

From our FaithNews RSS feed, we’ve seen headlines including “Church Planting Intensive Set for March 11-13,” “Church Files Emergency Appeal to Resume Worship,” “‘The Bible Recap’ Hits Top 100 on Apple Podcasts,” and a “Multi Million Dollar Gift Launches New Era for SMCH.”

Turning to prophecy news, today, February 13th, we learned that Israel has officially joined the US-backed Board of Peace as a founding member, though Prime Minister Netanyahu will not be attending next week’s inaugural meeting in Washington. We’re also seeing reports of leftists filing free speech lawsuits following fallout from celebrating a Charlie Kirk assassination. Looking back at yesterday, February 12th, the U.S. saw its strongest job growth in over a year, propelled by healthcare work, and Sweden announced its readiness to contribute to NATO’s Arctic presence as Operation Arctic launches. On February 11th, satellite images revealed ancient rivers that could potentially pinpoint the biblical Garden of Eden, challenging long-held skepticism. And from February 10th, President Trump spent time at the National Prayer Breakfast discussing his eternal soul, reflecting on the “hell of a lot of good” he believes he’s done.

Finally, in Jewish history, looking at February 14th, we remember a couple of significant events. In 842, Charlemagne’s grandsons, Charles the Bald and Louis the German, swore the Oaths of Strasbourg. Notably, Charles, like other Carolingian monarchs, chose not to enforce anti-Jewish decrees, primarily due to economic realities. Fast forward to 1014, Henry II was crowned Holy Roman Emperor, and it was under his reign that the first serious persecution of Jews in Germany began. He even issued a decree expelling Jews from Mayence for refusing baptism, showing a clear enmity towards the Jewish community.