Good evening, and welcome to #ourCOG Daily Brief for March 27, 2026. In today’s top stories, we’re seeing shifts across the nation. The South is experiencing a demographic boom, drawing newcomers with its appealing lifestyle, though this is subtly changing local accents and culture. Meanwhile, Baltimore has made strides in combating violent crime through a […]

March 27

347: Traditional birthdate
for Jerome, the priest and theologian best known for the creation of the
Vulgate Bible, the Latin translation of the text and the author of
correspondence with Augustine of Hippo that frequently mentioned the Jews
l…

Good evening, and welcome to #ourCOG Daily Brief for February 27, 2026. In U.S. news today, former President Bill Clinton’s legacy faces further scrutiny as he testifies on the Epstein scandal, potentially diminishing his image among younger Democrats. Meanwhile, President Trump is actively attempting to exert more control over elections through tightened rules and demands […]

February 27

272:  Birthdate of
Constantine the Great, Roman Emperor from 306 to
337.  Constantine adopted Christianity as the state religion for
the Roman Empire which marked a turning point (negative) for the Jews of
Eur…

Good evening, and welcome to #ourCOG Daily Brief for December 27, 2025. Stateside, a journalist found his most joyful assignment covering the influence of studying abroad on Black men in Japan, even as U.S. colleges grappled with funding disputes. The Trump administration is intensifying its stance on Venezuela with a blockade against oil tankers, signaling […]

Readings for Shabbat and the Tenth of Tevet  

This
week’s Torah readings provide another example of the Jewish belief that life is
a combination of the bitter and the sweet, sort of like when we dip the bitter
herbs into the sweet charoset at the…

August 27

410: The sacking of Rome by the Visigoths ends after three days. Some
view the Visigoths as just one more group of barbarians that helped to bring an
end to the Roman Empire.  But that is
only part of the story. The Visigoths were Arian…