#ourCOG Daily Brief [August 13, 2026]

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

We begin with today’s top stories from the U.S. and around the globe. Domestically, colleges are facing a challenging financial outlook, leading many to cut staff and programs as a new school year approaches. This comes as overseas institutions are pitching innovative paths for U.S. community college students to complete their degrees. Meanwhile, parent groups nationwide are expressing concern over rising screen time, advocating for less technology and more traditional books in classrooms. In political news, Wisconsin’s Democratic gubernatorial primary saw a significant development as center-left candidate David Crowley edged out democratic socialist Francesca Hong, despite a messy primary season. And in a heartwarming story, our Africa editor started a letter exchange for local students, which blossomed into a rich archive of childhood experiences. Shifting to world news, Brazil is grappling with the rapid expansion of AI facial recognition technology, weighing its potential to reduce crime against the urgent need for a clear legal framework. In Damascus, Syria, three siblings have opened “Jabalna,” a climbing gym allowing Syrians to scale new heights after years of war. And finally, former Soviet states in Central Asia are increasingly challenging Russia’s stance on the Ukraine conflict.

In our video section, we bring you the latest streams including the Dallas Church of God Livestream, “The Arch Discipleship Weds 08.12.26” with Bishop Manny Aviles, and “Today On Jentezen Franklin TV” focusing on prayer.

From the FaithNews RSS feed, we learn that the General Council is actively fighting human trafficking, the Council of Eighteen has been chosen by the General Council, Ramirez and Charles have been nominated for World Missions Posts, and an International Educators Lunch is set for the General Assembly.

For prophecy news, we have no recent updates to report at this time.

Finally, in Jewish history for this day, August 13th, we look back at significant events. In 236 AD, the body of Hippolytus, known for his work *Contra Judaeous* which attributed the harsh conditions of Jews to their rejection of Jesus, was buried. Later, in 339 AD, the Roman Emperor issued a series of decrees: one forbidding intermarriage between Jews and Christians, punishable by death; another imposing the death penalty on Jews who circumcised non-Jewish slaves; and a third decree imposing the death penalty on any Jews who hired women weavers previously in imperial service. Centuries later, in 985 AD, marked the birthdate of the Fatimid caliph Al-Hakim, who famously ordered Jews to wear wooden calves around their necks.