Good evening, and welcome to #ourCOG Daily Brief for December 17, 2025. First, let’s look at today’s headlines from the U.S. and around the world. In U.S. news, President Trump’s shift towards more military action in Latin America is finding an anti-Castro soulmate for many in the Cuban diaspora, aligning with figures like Marco Rubio. […]

Good evening, and welcome to #ourCOG Daily Brief for November 17, 2025. Today in the U.S., federal workers are back on the job after the government shutdown, facing significant backlogs and the looming possibility of another closure. Meanwhile, the Trump administration continues to reshape immigration courts, aiming to accelerate removal proceedings and increase detentions. The […]

August 17

986: During the days of
the First Bulgarian Empire, the army of Emperor Samuil of Bulgaria and his
brother defeat the Byzantines led by Basil II. 
The Bulgarian Empire had provided a haven for Jews escaping from the Byzantine
Army so th…

July 17

1203:  The Knights of the Fourth Crusade capture
Constantinople forcing the Byzantine emperor Alexius III Angelus to flee from
his capital into exile.  Unlike other
Crusades, the focus of the Fourth Crusade was the Byzantine Empire a…

Lee University Chapel with Preston Williams II I January 17, 2023