The Pour Over Today - Israeli Embassy Staffers Shot, Religious Charter School Ruling, House Passes Tax Bill, & More | 05.23.25

Episode Date: May 23, 2025

Today we’re talking about two Israeli Embassy staff members shot and killed in D.C.; the Supreme Court’s split decision on religious charter schools; House Republicans passing President Trump’s Tax bill; and other top news for Friday, May 23rd. Stay informed while remaining focused on Christ with The Pour Over Today. Please support our TPO sponsors! Upside: https://links.thepourover.org/Upside Cru: give.cru.org/pour LMNT: https://links.thepourover.org/LMNT_Podcast Student Life Application Study Bible: https://links.thepourover.org/SLASB_Pod Stress Less: https://links.thepourover.org/StressLess Platforms to Pillars: https://links.thepourover.org/PlatformstoPillars Subsplash: subsplash.com/tpo CSB: https://links.thepourover.org/CSB_podcast Field of Greens: FieldofGreens.com The Table Podcast: https://links.thepourover.org/TheTablePodcast

Hey, it's San at the pour-over. Today we're talking about two Israeli embassy staff members shot and killed in D.C., the Supreme Court's split decision on religious charter schools, House Republicans passing President Trump's tax bill, and other top news for Friday, May 23rd. Stay informed while remaining focused on Christ with the pour-over today. Here's your quote of today. A wound that goes unacknowledged and unwept is a wound that cannot heal. John Eldridge.

Let's get started with some espresso shots. Two Israeli embassy staff members were shot and killed Wednesday night in D.C. The shooting took place outside the capital Jewish Museum, where the suspect, who had been seen pacing outside the museum, approached a group of four, pulled a handgun, then opened fire on the two victims. He then entered the museum, was detained by security, and began shouting, Free, free Palestine! The victims, an Israeli citizen and an American,

were a young couple reportedly days away from getting engaged. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Trump condemned the attack, highlighting concerns over rising anti-Semitic violence. The FBI is investigating the incident as a potential hate crime and act of terrorism. Security measures at Israeli diplomatic missions worldwide The FBI is investigating the incident as a potential hate crime and act of terrorism.

Security measures at Israeli diplomatic missions worldwide have been increased in response. While mourning with victims and praying for our enemies, Christians have hope in the face of a violent world. God's Son, who himself did no violence, has been afflicted by his Father on our behalf so that we can live in the Lord's peaceful presence forever. Isaiah 53, 4 down by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced because of our rebellion, crushed because of our iniquities. Punishment for our peace was on him, and we are healed by his wounds. The courts are coming to conclusions.

Yesterday a split Supreme Court blocked a plan to turn a private Catholic school in Oklahoma into the nation's first taxpayer-funded religious charter school. Justice Amy Coney Barrett recused herself, enabling a 4-4 split, which upheld the Oklahoma State Supreme Court's earlier ruling. Religious charter schools violate the First Amendment's separation of church and state. Meanwhile, a federal district judge found that Uncle Sam, quote, unquestionably violated a court order, saying migrants must be given 10 days to challenge deportations to countries not their own, when several men were deported to war-torn South Sudan with less than 24

hours notice. Homeland Security argued the judge's orders were, quote, unclear, the men were, quote, uniquely barbaric monsters convicted of violent crimes, and that South Sudan wasn't their final destination. The judge did not immediately punish anyone. Here's a verse to consider whether justice is thwarted or wins out. But the Lord sits enthroned forever. He has established His throne for judgment, and He judges the world with righteousness. He executes judgment on the nations with fairness.

The Lord is a refuge for the persecuted, a refuge in times of trouble. Those who know your name trust in you because you have not abandoned those who seek you, Lord. Psalm 9, 7-10. House Republicans passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act early Thursday. Dozens of last-minute changes were made to the thousand-page bill to win over holdouts. Some of those last-minute changes included boosting state and local tax deductions and accelerating when work requirements for Medicaid would kick in.

Here are some core parts of the bill. For taxes, the bill would make 2017 tax cuts permanent and remove taxes on tips and overtime. For defense, it calls for $150 billion in spending for national security, including $25 billion for a, quote, golden dome missile defense system. For immigration, the bill includes $46.5 billion to fund construction of the border wall, as well as the hiring of 10,000 additional ICE agents. For education, it would revamp student loan repayment plans and establish quote, Trump

accounts to give $1,000 to children born between 2024 and 2028. Now the still just a bill heads to the Senate where it faces fresh hurdles. All major indexes closed down Wednesday over fears the bill would significantly grow the nation's debt. When discussing divisive topics, such as how to manage trillions of dollars, remember that both your stance and how you take your stance reflect on Christ. We shouldn't sacrifice relationships to win arguments. Romans 12, 18 says, If possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.

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that's uniquely theirs. Check out the link in the show notes to find the perfect one today. In other brews, here's a rapid round of updates. The Trump administration revoked Harvard's ability to enroll international students yesterday, accusing the university of quote, fostering violence, anti-Semitism, and coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party." The approximately 7,000 existing international students will be forced to transfer schools or lose their legal status. Harvard called the decision unlawful and said it was fully committed to educating its foreign

students. The Oval Office hosted another tense meeting on Wednesday. President Trump confronted his South African counterpart over claims of discrimination and genocide against white farmers. The South African government denies these claims, saying of the 26,232 murders last year, only eight were against farmers.

President Ramaphosa said he hoped the meeting would, quote, mend ties with the U.S. A private plane crashed into a San Diego military housing neighborhood early Thursday, killing multiple people on board but injuring none on the ground. The foggy 4 a.m. crash damaged approximately 10 homes, torched vehicles, and forced multiple blocks to evacuate as jet fuel spread. Investigators are probing the cause. The plane's passenger count remains unconfirmed.

The Pentagon officially accepted a luxury Qatari jet for use as Air Force One, quote, in accordance with all federal rules and regulations, end quote, despite bipartisan security and ethical concerns. Democratic lawmakers are also criticizing President Trump for hosting a private gala last night with the top Trump meme coin holders, saying it allowed foreign actors to quote buy access to the president. OpenAI is buying former Apple executive Johnny Ive's one-year-old AI device company for $6.4 billion, by far its largest acquisition to date.

Mr. Ive, who designed the iPhone and many other iconic iProducts, is now focused on designing quote, a new family of products for the age of AI, which aims to be as revolutionary as the smartphone. The deal will need to be approved by regulators. And that's all we have for today. Thanks so much for listening, TPO fam. If you're listening on the Apple Podcasts 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 we hope you have a great weekend. Catch you on Monday. The other day in the kitchen, I poured citrus element powder in my water bottle. My wife looked at me and asked, when the last time was that I drank water without element? I looked at her and couldn't even remember. No sugar, no crashes, just the science-backed ratio of electrolytes

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