The Pour Over Today - Monday, December 27, 2021

Episode Date: December 27, 2021

Omicron hits Christmas, a verdict in one high-profile trial, a new space telescope, and other top news for Monday, December 27th. Stay informed, while remaining focused on Christ, with The Pour Over.Today's podcast is brought to you by The Brand Sunday.Absolving guilt of failed New Year’s resolutions is one of the cool powers we are given as a Christian email newsletter. So…  Boom.  You’re absolved of all guilt for both 2020 and 2021. They were weird years anyway. Now, let’s start fresh and focused.  The Brand Sunday is discounting their Best Life Bundle, which includes The Bible Study (their best-selling, beautifully designed, step-by-step guide to getting through the whole Bible) and their Best Season Planner (with daily, weekly, and monthly guidance to build your faith-forward plan). Check out this deal, and make 2022 a year of intentional growth in your faith!

Omicron hits Christmas, a verdict in one high-profile trial, a new space telescope, and other top news for Monday, December 27th. Stay informed while remaining focused on Christ with a pour-over. Here's the quote of the day. Do your little bit of good where you are. It's those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world. Desmond Tutu. Let's get started with some espresso shots.

old. Desmond Tutu. Let's get started with some espresso shots. There's an unfortunate late contender for word of the year, Omicron. As London, New York, Florida, and many places continue to see record case numbers, over 4,700 flights were canceled worldwide over the Christmas weekend. Delta and United blamed COVID-related staffing shortages, which led to 870 cancellations in the U.S. alone. Hoping to avoid airline-level staffing shortages in hospitals, the CDC now recommends that healthcare workers isolate for seven days instead of 10 after testing positive for COVID-19, provided that they're symptom-free. Something that's not COVID symptom-free, the sports world. Four college football games have already been canceled, and changes to college football playoff policies now allow for a new champion to be crowned without even playing if a team's opponent has to forfeit due to COVID. We do have some good news though. While case counts are up, a study by the UK's

Health Security Agency says that Omicron is 50 to 70 percent less likely to cause hospitalization when compared to earlier variants. As with all Omicron is 50 to 70 percent less likely to cause hospitalization when compared to earlier variants. As with all Omicron studies, these results come with a Scrooge-like qualification that they're preliminary and highly uncertain. Both Pfizer and Merck are fighting back with new antiviral pills, which will be available at pharmacies for at-home COVID treatment. Merck's pills reduced the risk of hospitalization and death by 30%, and Pfizer's reduced risks by 90%. While canceled plans and altered holiday routines are definitely an annoyance, Christians can use situations like these to practice generosity and love towards their neighbors.

Reach out to your local church and see how you can help those in greater need. If a brother or sister is without clothes and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, go in peace, stay warm, and be well fed, but you don't give them what the body needs, what good is it? James 2.15 and 16 Former police officer Kim Potter winced, but remained otherwise impassive as a judge read that she had been found guilty on two counts of manslaughter. Potter, a 26-year-old veteran of the police force, says she confused her gun for her taser during a traffic stop that escalated. She yelled, taser, taser, taser, before firing a single bullet, which struck and killed 20-year-old Daunte Wright last April. Her defense argued that it was a

mistake, not a crime, while simultaneously arguing that deadly force would have been justified anyways. The jury disagreed. This was one of many recent racially charged trials, and crowds outside the courthouse cheered at the verdict, saying the justice system has provided. Others say that Potter was unfairly convicted as part of a racial reckoning, and her conviction will make officers fearful of acting when needed. We live in a sinful, broken, and unfair world filled with death, regret, and anger. Even as we work towards peace and justice, we can take comfort knowing that all things will ultimately be made right through Christ. We know that all things work together

for the good of those who love God, who are called according to His purpose. Romans 8.28. Today's podcast is brought to you by The Brand Sunday. Absolving guilt of failed New Year's resolutions is one of the cool powers we're given as a Christian email newsletter. So, boom, we just did it. You're absolved of all guilt for both 2020 and 2021. They were weird years anyway. Now, let's start fresh and get focused. The Brand Sunday is discounting their Best Life Bundle, which includes the Bible

Study, their best-selling beautifully designed step-by-step guide to make getting through the whole Bible easier, and their Best Season Planner, with daily, weekly, and monthly guidance to build your faith-forward plan. Check out the deal in our show notes and make 2022 a year of intentional growth in your faith. In other brews, we've got a rapid round of updates. The stock market hit a record high last Thursday, Christmas Eve Eve, bolstered by the news of Omicron being milder than Delta, strong holiday shopping, and another week of unemployment claims staying around 200,000, which is near the 50-year low. It was a decade late and billions of dollars over budget, but the James Webb Space Telescope had a near-perfect launch last Wednesday and is expected to usher in a new era of space exploration and research.

Webb will replace the Hubble Telescope and allow astronomers to look even further into space and back in time. Amazon, the nation's second-largest private employer, just made a deal with the National Labor Relations Board, the NLRB. The deal will make it easier for Amazon workers to organize and easier for the NLRB to sue Amazon over unfair labor practices. Japanese scientists have invented a lickable screen called Taste the TV. Now we know you're thinking, I'm already able to lick my current screen. True, but this new tech will spray a mix of flavor canisters to imitate the taste of what's on the screen, allowing you to sample a restaurant's new dish even from around the world. Former California governor and Terminator

Arnold Schwarzenegger donated $250,000 to purchase 25 tiny homes for veterans this Christmas. And the veterans weren't just getting help, they were also helping others. Sean Triplett, a Marine veteran, raised nearly $100,000 in GoFundMe donations to bring presents to tornado victims in Kentucky, delivering hand-wrapped gifts to over 1,200 families. Well, we hope you had a great Christmas this last weekend. If you found this podcast helpful or encouraging,

we would really appreciate it if you gave us a five-star review on both Apple Podcasts and Spotify. or please consider sharing it with a friend. We hope you have a great rest of your day, and we'll see you back here on Wednesday.