The Pour Over Today - Credit Card Merger, Assange Extradition Appeal, & More | 02.21.24

Episode Date: February 21, 2024

Today, we’re talking about Capital One acquiring Discover, Julian Assange making his final appeal to avoid extradition, an update on the war in Gaza, and other top news for Wednesday, February 21st. Stay informed while remaining focused on Christ with The Pour Over Today. Please support our TPO sponsors! Shared Hope International: https://links.thepourover.org/SHI_0221 LMNT: https://links.thepourover.org/LMNT0103 A Jew and a Gentile Discuss: https://links.thepourover.org/JewGentileDiscussPod Holman Handbook Series: https://links.thepourover.org/HolmanHandbook TUVU: https://www.tuvu.com/tpo

Today, we're talking about Capital One acquiring Discover, Julian Assange making his final appeal to avoid extradition, an update on the war in Gaza, and other top news for Wednesday, February 21st. Stay informed while remaining focused on Christ with The Pour Over today. Here's the quote of the day. Lent is a time for discipline, for confession, for honesty, not because God is mean or fault-finding or finger-pointing, but because he wants us to know the joy of being cleaned out, ready for all the good things he now has in store. N.T. Wright. Let's get started with some espresso shots. Let's get started with some espresso shots.

What's about to leave Capital One's wallet? $35.3 billion in stock. The company behind Samuel L. Jackson's face has agreed to acquire Discover Financial Services. The combined company would be the largest U.S. credit card company by loan volume and give Capital One access to Discover's payment processing network, making it less reliant on Visa and MasterCard. It's expected to be completed around year's end, pending regulatory approval, and would divide shares 60 to 40 between Capital One and Discover shareholders. Speaking of big numbers, OpenAI allowed employees to cash out shares in the company at an $80 billion valuation,

nearly tripling its valuation in the last 10 months. OpenAI also unveiled Sora, a text-to-video tool not yet available to the public, with a teaser video of a simple prompt being turned into a remarkably realistic clip. Here's a verse to consider when talk of billions makes you wish you had more. Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth,

where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in and steal. Matthew 6, 19 and 20. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is making a final appeal to avoid extradition to the United States. In 2010, Assange released classified information on America's involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan. His supporters hailed him as a whistleblower, exposing U.S. war crimes. But the United States government called it espionage. Since then, he's battled to remain in the UK to avoid charges.

This hearing before London's High Court is his last hope. Assange's defense team says he's a journalist uncovering information, not a spy. Supporters argue that Uncle Sam won't give him a fair trial. Despite U.S. assurances to the contrary, his human rights are at risk and that it sets a dangerous precedent for other journalists. If the appeal fails, Assange could be in the U.S. within weeks. Christians should always root for justice and fairness, whether it's a world-famous celebrity or a random person on trial. Our job is to try to please Jesus, who will judge everyone fairly

and win in the end. 2 Corinthians 5, 9-11 says, Our only goal is to please God, for we must all stand before Christ to be judged. Each one will receive what he should get, good or bad, for the things he did when he lived in the earthly body. We know what it means to fear the Lord, so we try to help people accept the truth. Diplomatic solutions remain elusive in Gaza. Yesterday, the U.S. vetoed a U.N. resolution for an immediate ceasefire for the third time, proposing instead a temporary ceasefire that calls for the release of all Hamas-held hostages and opposes Israel's ground offensive in Rafah.

Voting on the counter-resolution will be delayed while negotiations continue. Speaking of, negotiators from Qatar said talks between Hamas and Israel aren't progressing, with Israel promising to expand the Rafah invasion if all hostages aren't released by Ramadan, March 10. Across the border, Egypt is preparing safe zones for Gaza refugees, despite worry of bringing regional neighbors into the conflict. Meanwhile, details continue to emerge after the Israeli Defense Forces, IDF, took over Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza, reportedly apprehending at least 100 Hamas terrorists

and discovering weapons and unopened medicines addressed to Israeli hostages. The stakes are high across the world, and the war is largely out of our hands. What we can do is pray, demonstrating faith in our sovereign king. Pray for wisdom, justice, and peace to rule in the Middle East. The Lord hears us. 1 Timothy 2, 1-3 says, First of all then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior. Hebrews 13 3 calls believers to continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.

It can be difficult to pray for persecuted brothers and sisters around the world when we don't know them. Let the Voice of the Martyrs introduce you. On March 8th, the Voice of the Martyrs is hosting a free virtual event where you'll hear first-hand stories from three Christians who have paid the price for advancing the gospel in places dominated by Islam. Hear their inspiring testimonies of costly faith, plus worship from Stephen Curtis Chapman. Register your family at iamnevent.com forward slash tpo or find the link in the show notes and watch wherever you are. In other brews, here's a rapid round of updates. Alabama's Supreme Court

has ruled that frozen embryos are children under state law, allowing two wrongful death lawsuits against a fertility clinic to proceed. Three couples sued after their frozen embryos were accidentally dropped by a patient who wandered into the clinic's cryogenic nursery. The defendants criticized the ruling, saying it would make IVF substantially more expensive and onerous. In a video posted Monday, Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of Alexei Navalny, vowed to continue his work opposing Russian President Putin. Russian officials say Alexei died of sudden death syndrome while imprisoned at an Arctic penal colony. His supporters believe he was murdered. The largest study of COVID-vaccinated individuals to date, 99 million people across

eight countries, links the shots to a slight spike in neurological, blood, and heart conditions. Researchers looked for 13 adverse events, including myocarditis and Guillain-Barre syndrome, within 42 days of receiving a dose. Researchers also noted that others have found a higher risk of the conditions with COVID-19 infection than vaccines. Hundreds of farmers protesting in Prague? Czech. Joining similar demonstrations in Poland, France, and Germany, Czech farmers drove tractors

into the capital city on Monday to block traffic in protest of higher energy costs, bureaucratic challenges, and the EU's Green Deal. Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala criticized the protest on X, saying the demonstration was more about politics than farming. He couldn't have timed it better. William Byron won the 2024 Daytona 500, grabbing the white flag just as a collision between two other cars prompted a race-ending caution. The victory marks the 11th Cup Series win of Byron's career, his first at Daytona, and ties the record for most Daytona 500 wins for his team, Hendrick Motorsports, with nine. And that's all we have for today. Thanks so much for listening. If you're listening on the Apple

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