The Pour Over Today - Drop in Tech Stocks, More Trump Executive Orders, Palestinians Returning Home, & More I 1.29.25

Episode Date: January 29, 2025

Today, we’re talking about a drop in some tech stocks, more executive orders from President Trump, the returning home of thousands of Palestinians, and other top news for Wednesday, January 29th. Stay informed while remaining focused on Christ with The Pour Over Today. Please support our TPO sponsors! The Voice of the Martyrs: vom.org/TPO Parenting with Ginger Hubbard: https://links.thepourover.org/ParentingwithGingerHubbard The Bulletin: MoreCT.com/BulletinPodcast Upside: https://links.thepourover.org/Upside Cru: give.cru.org/pour LMNT: https://links.thepourover.org/LMNT_Podcast Hello Fresh: https://hellofresh.com/pourover10fm

Today's episode is brought to you on our finally getting it together. Our hope rests in Jesus. Stasi Eldridge. Let's get started with some espresso shots. DeepSeek, a Chinese AI company, is threatening to upend the technology world order. Released last week, the startup's model is reportedly as good as ChatGPT but costs around 97% less to build, operates at 3-4% the cost per output, and is free to use, versus $20

a month to get all of ChatGPT's features. Amid the hype, DeepSeek swiftly passed ChatGPT as the top downloaded free app in Apple's App Store. Unlike competitors, DeepSeek left NVIDIA's chips out of its build, and the stock market definitely noticed. Tech stocks lost a combined $1 trillion of market value on Monday, led by NVIDIA which posted the largest single-day loss in history, $600 billion. Ouch.

Microsoft, Meta, and Tesla also posted big drops as investors questioned their plans to spend billions on apparently unnecessary AI infrastructure. Yesterday, the panic mellowed and stocks rebounded. In a world of rapid AI developments and innovations, God remains God, and our eternal life with Christ remains secure. Be quick to point to God and give Him the credit for your hope, strength, and love during

times dominated by the unknown. Job 12.10 says, The life of every living thing is in His hand, as well as the breath of all humanity. Executive orders and memos continue flowing from the White House. Monday, Trump signed four military-focused executive orders that ended DEI initiatives across the armed forces, reinstated with back pay more than 8,000 service members discharged for refusing the armed forces, reinstated, with back pay, more than 8,000 service members discharged for refusing the COVID vaccine, effectively banned trans-identifying individuals

from service and forbids proton specification, and directed the building of an American Iron Dome like Israel's missile defense system. Later, the Office of Management and Budget, OMB, directed federal agencies to temporarily pause all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all federal financial assistance and audit spending. The directive, which doesn't impact Social Security, Medicare, or direct assistance to individuals, will take effect Monday after a judge delayed it last night. The Trump admin said the memo didn't amount to a funding freeze, but Democrats promised to continue challenging the unconstitutional pause

of Congress approved funding. Here's a verse to consider when you can't keep up with life's constant changes. My days are like a lengthening shadow and I wither away like grass. But you, Lord, are enthroned forever. Your fame endures to all generations." Psalm 102, 11, and 12.

After 15 months of fighting, thousands of displaced Palestinians are headed home. Israeli troops withdrew from a coastal road in Gaza on Monday, allowing Palestinians—300,000 by Hamas' count—to leave southern shelters, schools, refugee camps, and relatives' homes for the northern strip. Many will find only rubble, with satellite images showing 60 percent of northern buildings damaged or destroyed. Gaza's health ministry says over 47,000 Palestinians have been killed in the conflict. The migration was delayed 48 hours after Hamas didn't release an expected civilian hostage on Saturday, then resumed after Hamas agreed to release her and others this week. Hamas also confirmed Israeli intelligence that only 18 of the remaining 26 hostages

set to be released in phase one of the deal are alive. Phase two of negotiations are set to begin next week. Pray for the brokenhearted on both sides of the conflict to experience the comfort of Christ. He volunteered to leave his home to suffer terribly in our place so that we can live with him eternally in a world free of sin and its pains. Revelation 21, 3, and 4 says, peoples and God himself will be with them and will be their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more. Grief, crying, and pain will be no more because the previous

things have passed away. With over 1,000 translations and every type of decorative edition, it's easy to forget how many people can't even get their hands on a single copy of the Bible in their native language. That's why we've partnered with Cru. Cru has missionaries in almost every country, but they need more Bibles. One missionary said, I've never seen such a thirst

for the word of God in my country. Let's quench that thirst. For just $24 a month, you can provide three people with Bibles every month. As a bonus, CRU will provide meals to 12 hungry individuals through their humanitarian ministry and send you a free TPO coffee mug. Simply text POUR to 71326 or visit give.cruorg. Again, that's texting P-O-U-R to 71326 or give.cru.org. Message and data rates may apply. Available to U.S. addresses only. In other brews, here's a wrap-around of updates.

Chaos overtook the Democratic Republic of Congo on Monday. Thousands fled Goma, an eastern Congo city of 2 million, as fighting broke out between Rwandan-backed rebels and Congolese forces. By Tuesday, rebels have taken Goma's airport, killed at least 17 foreign peacekeepers, and overwhelmed hospitals. The conflict has decades-old roots in the Rwandan genocide and the struggle for Congo's rich mineral sources. The White House briefing room reopened for business yesterday with

27 year old Caroline Leavitt, the youngest press secretary in history, taking the podium before a gaggle of reporters that now includes independent journalists like podcasters and social media influencers. One of Leavitt's first announcements, the mystery drones flown over New Jersey in December were authorized by the FAA, with hobbyists adding to the fleet. Holocaust survivors and world leaders gathered at Auschwitz on Monday to commemorate the 80th anniversary of its liberation, marked as International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Over 1.1 million people, mostly Jews, were killed at Auschwitz, the largest Nazi concentration and extermination camp.

In total, approximately 6 million Jews were killed across German-occupied Europe between 1933 and 1945. Hey Google, where's the Gulf of America? Google announced Monday it would update the Gulf of Mexico and Denali to the Gulf of America and Mount McKinley for US Google mappers, following President Trump's executive order renaming the geographical landmarks. The tech giant cited a long-standing practice of updating place names

when official government sources changed them. Starbucks is bringing cozy back. New CEO Brian Nicol launched a turnaround plan Monday at around 11,000 North American stores after last year's sales slump. Changes include ceramic mugs for in-store sippers, free refills on hot coffee and tea, the return of misspelled Sharpie written names,

and the condiment bar making its post-pandemic re-debut. Cream and sugar, the return of Miss Belt Sharpie written names, and the condiment bar making its post-pandemic re-debut. Cream and sugar, no ketchup. And that's all we have for today. Thanks so much for listening. If you're listening on the Apple Podcasts app, give us a 5-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 appreciate your support and hope you have a great day. We'll see you on Friday. If you love inspiring testimonies of courageous faith,

look no further. The Voice of the Martyrs is offering TPO listeners free access to a film called Sabina, Tortured for Christ the Nazi Years. It tells the powerful true story of a woman's journey to faith in Christ and the risks she took to share the gospel with soldiers from the army that killed her family. Visit vom.org slash TPO to claim your free copy today.