The Pour Over Today - Monday, February 28, 2022

Episode Date: February 28, 2022

Today we’re talking about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Biden’s Supreme Court Nominee, the CDC’s updated mask guidance, and other top news for Monday, February 28th. Stay informed, while remaining focused on Christ, with The Pour Over.We’re matching $1,000 in donations to helping those displaced in Ukraine. Your donation can be to any organization helping, but our match is going to Roads of Hope:https://links.thepourover.org/roadsofhope_02_27To participate in the match, email a picture of your donation receipt to [e-mail], or DM our instagram (@thepourovernews). Today's episode is sponsored by Dwell:Start your 7-day free trail here: https://links.thepourover.org/dwelllandingpage_pick_02_27Free digital copy of "Inhabit" devotional here: https://links.thepourover.org/dwellpick_02_27Pay what you want for The Pour Over here:https://links.thepourover.org/member_02_04

Today, we're talking about Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Biden's Supreme Court nominee, the CDC's updated mask guidance, and other top news for Monday, February 28th. Stay informed or remaining focused on Christ with The Pour Over. Here's the quote of the day. To desire revival and at the same time to neglect prayer and devotion is to wish one way and walk another. A.W. Tozer.

Let's get started with some espresso shots. It's day five of Russia's attack on Ukraine. The focus seems to be on Ukraine's two largest cities, Kyiv, Ukraine's capital city, and Kharkiv. Russian troops entered Kharkiv this weekend and blew up a national gas pipeline, but the regional governor said the city was back in Ukrainian control after street-to-street fighting. As of writing, Kyiv also remains out of Russian hands. Almost 400,000 Ukrainians have fled the country, though many have chosen to stay and fight. This includes their comedian-turned president, Vladimir Zelensky, who reportedly turned down an offer of evacuation by the United States, saying, I need ammunition, not a ride. Ukraine and Russia are preparing for talks,

quote, without preconditions at the Ukraine-Belarus border today, though President Zelensky expressed doubt over the outcome of the meeting. He's not alone in his pessimism. Around the same time the meet was set up, Putin put Russia's nuclear deterrent on high alert, prompting international concern. The rest of the world is responding with military aid for Ukraine and sanctions for Russia. Several Russian banks are now going through a bad breakup with SWIFT, the global financial messaging provider, not the tailor, and the U.S. and EU announced sanctions on President Putin himself. The one industry that has remained largely unsanctioned is Russian energy,

as foreign leaders worry about causing even larger increases to oil and gas prices. And then there's what non-governments are doing. There's bars across the U.S. and Canada that are pouring out Russian vodka. And in response to a request via Twitter, Elon Musk rerouted SpaceX's Starlink satellite and restored Internet access to Ukraine. Times of difficulty are also times of opportunity. We're matching $1,000 in donations to helping those displaced in Ukraine. Your donation can be to any organization that's helping, but our match is going to be going

to Roads of Hope. Hebrews 13, 16 says, don't neglect to do what is good and to share, for God is pleased with such sacrifices. President Biden nominated Judge Katonji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court on Friday. If confirmed, Jackson would be historic in some ways and very traditional scotacy in others. On the historic side, the 51-year-old Jackson is the first Black woman to be nominated to the high court and would be the first justice who had previously been a public defender. However, most of her resume is standard SCOTUS, including Harvard Law, Supreme Court clerkship, prestigious corporate law firm, and years of experience as a federal judge. Jackson has been nominated to

replace the 83-year-old Justice Stephen Breyer, who plans to retire this summer. She needs 50 votes, plus the vote of Vice President Harris to be confirmed by the Senate and don the SCOTUS robes. The Senate did confirm Jackson to the D.C. Circuit Court with 53 votes last June. The Supreme Court is an important and powerful institution, but as Christians, our hope is never contingent on who the justices are or what decisions they make. It's much more secure than that. 1 Peter 1, 3-4 says, Lent begins on Wednesday, and while we're all

for giving up candy, TikTok, or the snooze button, we also want this to be a season of spiritual growth and flourishing. We want it to be a season where Christians reconnect with Christ and more fully appreciate the travesty and beauty of his death and resurrection. This year, we're doing that with the Inhabit devotional by Dwell, which provides short yet rich reflections for each day of the Lenten season. You can read the devotional each day and listen to the corresponding scripture with us on the Dwell app, or you can download a free digital copy of the Devo today. Find those links in the show notes. In other brews, we've got a rapid round of updates. It's time to get that two-year-old spinach out of your teeth because on Friday, the CDC updated the criteria for their mask guidance to focus less on case count and more on local hospital capacity.

The result is while 95% of Americans were recommended to wear masks on Thursday, now fewer than 30% are recommended to keep them on. MLB owners and players have until the end of the day to resolve their lockout. Otherwise, opening day will be pushed back and the regular season games will begin being canceled. Some of the biggest hurdles are related to reworking the draft, revenue sharing, and extended playoffs. This weekend's negotiations did not go well. Four companies will pay a combined $26 billion over 18 years to settle the tsunami of lawsuits related to their roles in the opioid crisis. These companies are Johnson & Johnson, Amira Sorsbergen, Cardinal Health, and McKesson. Nearly every state and local government in the U.S. will receive money meant to help combat the epidemic. The stock markets

rose steadily throughout the day on Friday, closing up over 2% and regaining all the losses from Thursday's nightmare session. The swings come as investors weigh the impact of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and its associated sanctions sanctions and are expected to continue today. COVID cases continue to fall basically everywhere. The United States is now averaging fewer than 70,000 cases per day, which is a 91.6% decline from its peak six weeks ago. Globally, there are approximately 1.5 million cases per day, which is a 54.5% drop from its peak five weeks ago. Globally, there are approximately 1.5 million cases per day, which is a 54.5% drop from its peak five weeks ago. That's all we have for today. Thanks so much for listening. If you're thinking, I want to help more Christians stay informed while remaining focused on Christ,

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