Michigan Democrats Fracture, Hormuz Ultimatum, Kyiv Buries Dead

Michigan Democrats just fractured overnight. Progressive Abdul El-Sayed narrowly won the party's US Senate nomination, beating four-term Congresswoman Haley Stevens after vote counting stretched past sunrise. El-Sayed is an epidemiologist and former Detroit health director. This is The Gospel Briefing. I'm Charles King. El-Sayed backs Medicare for all and wants to abolish ICE. Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez campaigned with him in Michigan. Stevens had the money and the endorsement of party centrists who argued she was the safer bet in a purple state. Her supporters aren't hiding their frustration this morning. This fall, El-Sayed faces former Congressman Mike Rogers for the seat being vacated by Democrat Gary Peters. Both parties call it a must-win. Here's what stands out. Michigan voted Biden in 2020, then Trump in 2024. Same voters. That's not ideology. That's people looking for something they haven't found. Scripture is candid about that restlessness. In First Samuel eight, Israel demands a king so they can be "like all the nations." God tells Samuel — they haven't rejected you, they've rejected me. Every cycle, we're tempted to believe the right candidate will deliver what only God can. That's not his job. If you want to sit with that today, First Samuel eight is our passage — open it in Bible Copilot and follow along. To the Middle East. President Trump told Fox News yesterday the Strait of Hormuz will open "very soon" — or Iran will be, in his words, "hit very hard." Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent both say talks are progressing. Bessent floated a deal as early as today. Markets moved fast. Brent crude fell nearly five percent, under eighty dollars a barrel. But the cost is already in your wallet. US gas averages above four dollars a gallon. Diesel, nearly five-forty. And CBS News reports the US has now used nearly all of its global stockpile of long-range precision missiles. Proverbs fourteen twelve — "There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death." Pray for wisdom in the room where this decision is made. Pray we don't confuse leverage with peace. To Ukraine. Overnight, Russian ballistic missiles and drones killed at least twenty-one people. Seventeen died in Kyiv and the surrounding region — the deadliest strike on the capital this year. A railway station hit. Residential buildings hit. Fires still burning across roughly two hundred thirty thousand square meters. President Zelensky said interceptors "could have saved lives," and that allied supply has been "significantly reduced" this year. BBC Verify found Ukraine's interception rate has dropped from sixty-seven percent last year to forty-four percent now. One practice today. Name them in prayer — not "Ukraine" as an abstraction. The rescue workers. The parents pulling children from rubble right now. Romans twelve says weep with those who weep. Do that today, even briefly. This episode is presented by Bible Copilot. Open Bible Copilot and start with the Verse of the Day — First Samuel eight. It'll walk you through what the passage says, what it means, what it teaches about God, and how to apply it to a week like this one. Three questions a day are free. Start at mybiblecopilot dot com slash gospel. That's mybiblecopilot dot com slash gospel, or search Bible Copilot in the App Store. Here's the verse. First Samuel eight, verse seven: "And the Lord said to Samuel, Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them." Michigan picked a nominee. Washington is negotiating a strait. Kyiv is burying its dead. And through all of it, a King reigns who was never up for election. Thanks for listening to The Gospel Briefing. Whoever wins in November, He is already on the throne. I'll see you tomorrow.