The Pour Over Today - Defense Spending, Interest Rate Cut, Venezuela Tanker Seized, & More | 12.12.25

Episode Date: December 12, 2025

Today, we’re talking about Congress’ defense spending bill; the Fed cutting interest rates; the U.S. seizing a Venezuelan oil tanker; and other top news for Friday, December 12th. Stay informed while remaining focused on Christ with The Pour Over. Looking to support us? You can choose to pay⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Check out The Pour Over's Gift Guide!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Check out our sponsors! We actually use and enjoy every single one. ⁠Cru⁠ ⁠Safe House Project⁠ ⁠Life Application Study Bible⁠ ⁠CCCU⁠ ⁠Upside⁠ ⁠Mosh⁠ ⁠LMNT⁠ ⁠Theology in the Raw⁠ ⁠Not Just Sunday Podcast⁠ ⁠She Reads Truth⁠ The Pour Over’s Newsletters: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Pour Over⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Decaf⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠News Health⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Praying the News⁠

Today's episode is brought to you by our lead sponsor, Crew. Hey, this is Joe at the poorover. And this is Zan at the poorover. Today, we're talking about Congress's defense spending bill, the Fed cutting interest rates, the U.S. seizing a Venezuelan oil tinker, and other top news for Friday, December 12th. Stay informed while remaining focused on Christ with the pourover.

Here's your quote of the day. We should be rigorous in judging ourselves and gracious and judging others. John Wesley Let's get started with some espresso shots. Uncle Sam's boosting his ballistics budget. The House voted 312 to 112 Wednesday to pass a massive $901 billion defense spending bill, which includes a 4% pay raise for troops and 800, million dollars in weapons aid to Ukraine. Some items left out, expanded IVF coverage for military

families, and language officially changing the Department of Defense to Department of War. The bill also cut Secretary Higgseth's travel budget until the Pentagon releases the unedited footage of its controversial September boat strike. The Senate's expected to pass the bill next week, and President Trump's promise to sharpy it into law. Meanwhile, yesterday, the Senate rejected two Democrat-led bills to extend health care subsidies and a Republican alternative that would have created new HSAs. The double nay, all but guarantees a sharp rise in health care costs

for millions of Americans on January 1st. Believers may disagree about how governments should spend taxpayer dollars, but the command for Christ's followers' wallets is crystal clear. Prioritize heavenly treasure, generously help the needy, and run from greed. Are you rich toward God in your spending habits? Luke 12, verses 31 through 34, says, But seek His kingdom, and these things will be provided for you. Don't be afraid, little flock,

Because your father delights to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Make money bags for yourselves that won't grow old, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. The Fed cut rates again, but they're not singing kumbaya.

The central bank voted on Wednesday to trim its benchmark rate by a quarter percentage point, bringing the federal funds target to about 3.5 to 3.75%. The third straight cut this year. The decision was unusually divided. The vote was 9.3,

with two policymakers voting to keep rates unchanged, citing inflation, which sits at 2.8%, stubbornly above the Fed's 2% goal, and one pushing for a larger, half-point cut, citing a cooling job market. Markets cheered. Stocks closed up on the news.

The S&P 500 up 0.7%, the Dow up 1.1% and NASDAQ up 0.3%. Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the bank is now positioned to, quote, wait and see how the economy evolves from here, signaling a likely pause in further cuts until data weakens. our hope is never contingent on an economic outcome it's much more secure than that regardless of whether things get worse or better during your lifetime everything eventually ends well for followers of christ colossians three verses two through four says set your minds on things above not on earthly things for you died and your life is hidden with christ and god when christ who is your life appears then you also will appear with him in glory.

Uncle Sam commandeered a Venezuelan oil tanker Wednesday, escalating an ongoing counter-narcotic conflict between the countries. U.S. Attorney General Bondi said a multi-agency operation carried out a seizure warrant for a crude oil tanker used to transport sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran. U.S. forces repelled onto and seized the vessel, falsely sailing under a Guyanese flag, off the coast of Venezuela. The move, which Caracas condemned as, quote, international piracy, puts further pressure on Venezuela's president Maduro, whose economy depends heavily on oil exports. Meanwhile, Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado resurfaced in Oslo to receive her Nobel Peace Prize. Arriving to chance of

Paz and Libertad, peace and freedom, Machado said she wouldn't have been able to come out of hiding without, quote, support from the United States government. Here's a verse to consider whether you're embroiled in international conflict,

confounded by your roommate's messiness, or enduring fantasy football trash talk. Let love be without hypocrisy. detest evil, cling to what is good, love one another deeply as brothers and sisters. Take the lead in honoring one another. Do not lack diligence in zeal. Be fervent in the spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope.

Be patient in affliction. Be persistent in prayer. Share with the saints in their needs. Pursue hospitality. Romans 12, verses 9 through 13. Ready for some good news? According to the American Bible Society, interest in the Bible is rising in the U.S.,

especially among Gen Z and millennials. That same hunger for God's Word is growing around the world, particularly in places where owning a Bible isn't easy. That's why we're partnering with Crew, a global ministry bringing Bibles to people eagerly waiting for them. One crew missionary recently said, I have never seen such a thirst for the word of God in my country. You can help quench that thirst.

For just $24 a month, you can provide three people with God's word every month. Plus, crew will provide 12 meals to those in need through their humanitarian ministry and send you a free pour-over mug. Join over 200 pour-over listeners already making an impact. Text pour to 71326 or visit secure.cru.org slash pore. Again, that's texting P-O-U-R to 71326 or secure.cru.org slash P-O-U-R. Message and data rates may apply, available to U.S. addresses only.

In other brews, here's a rapid round of updates. DHS is forming its own deportation fleet. The Department of Homeland Security signed a $140 million contract to purchase six Boeing 737 planes that the agency will use for deportations, moving away from reliance on charter aircraft. The department says the fleet will save 200,000, $179 million in taxpayer dollars annually by improving the efficiency of flight patterns.

More Epstein files are coming. A federal judge in New York ordered the unsealing of grand jury records from Jeffrey Epstein's 2019 sex trafficking case. The move follows a similar order in Galane Maxwell's case and stems from a new law requiring the DOJ to release Epstein-related files. The judge emphasized protecting victims' privacy. It's unclear when the records will be released. An infant bodulism outbreak linked to Byhart's baby formula has expanded. The outbreak, first announced early this month, now includes 51 infants in 19 states. No deaths have been reported. Wednesday, the FDA says investigators, quote, cannot rule out the possibility that all

Bihart formula ever made was contaminated. The company making formula since 20, has recalled all U.S. products. The University of Michigan said no more. The Wolverines fired head football coach Sharon Moore on Wednesday for a, quote, inappropriate relationship with a staffer. Moore's uneven Wolverine tenure included a 17-8 record and a suspension tied to an illegal advanced scouting scheme. Hours later, he was arrested for a, quote, alleged assault.

His arraignment is expected Friday. Disney is changing its tune on AI. Yesterday, the House of Mouse announced it will invest $1 billion in OpenAI and allow its AI video generator, SORA, to make content with over 200 copyrighted Disney characters. The announcement comes amid growing legal battles between media companies, including Disney, and AI generators over intellectual property. That's all we have for today. Today. Thanks so much for listening, TPOFam. If you're listening on the Apple Podcast app,

give us a five-star rating and drop a review. If you're listening on Spotify, give us a follow and hit the notification bell to never miss a new episode. We're grateful for your support and hope you have a great weekend. Catch you on Monday. Hey, Nate at the Poor over here. I want you to know about a must listen in my podcast, Q, Theology in the Raw. Not every guest on the show sees things the same way, and that's the point. Listening to tough theological topics get hashed out from a variety of angles helps me to think deeply and love widely. Theology in the Raw tackles faith, culture, sexuality, and other hot topics with honesty and humility. With over 2,000 episodes and guests

from across the Christian spectrum, you'll be challenged, encouraged, and reminded that you're not alone. Search Theology and the Raw on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.