The Pour Over Today - Monday, January 16, 2023

Episode Date: January 16, 2023

Today, we’re talking about the height of the U.S. debt ceiling, more docs found at President Biden’s home, new missile strikes in Ukraine, and other top news for Monday, January 16th. Stay informed while remaining focused on Christ with The Pour Over. Sponsored by LMNT

Today, we're talking about the height of the U.S. debt ceiling, more docs found at President Biden's home, new missile strikes in Ukraine, and other top news for Monday, January 16th. Stay informed while remaining focused on Christ with The Pour Over. Here's the quote of the day, darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that. Martin Luther King Jr. Let's get started with some espresso shots. On Friday, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen informed Congress that the U.S. would reach

its debt limit of $31.4 trillion on Thursday. The Treasury Department issues debt to pay the government's bills, so no new debt means bills won't get paid, which is also called default. Everyone agrees, Uncle Sam defaulting is not an option. Well, it's just a really bad option. Secretary Yellen, who is not known for bravado, said it would cause irreparable harm to the U.S. economy, the livelihoods of all Americans, and global financial stability. The threat of an almost guaranteed global recession is great leverage, and a small group of House Republicans is threatening to withhold votes to raise the debt limit until spending cuts are passed. Yellen says that she can use extraordinary measures

to pay the bills for a few more months while Congress negotiates. Our hope is never contingent on a political or 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. Psalm 18, verse 2 says, The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer, my God, my rock where I seek refuge,

my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. No, we're not recycling stories. More classified paperwork was discovered at President Biden's home on Saturday. The total now comes to three or four batches, depending on how you're counting. Five more pages from his time as VP were discovered at Biden's Wilmington home on Saturday, in addition to a single document found there days earlier. A White House lawyer said that they had temporarily suspended the search after finding the first document due to a lack of security clearance. The White House blamed the rogue documents on an unintentional oversight and says they'll cooperate fully with special counsel Robert Herr and his ongoing investigation. The Republican-controlled House Judiciary announced

its own inquiry on Friday. That's not the only new congressional investigation. The House Foreign Affairs Committee has requested documents about the United States' chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan from the State Department. When discussing divisive topics such as who found what and where, remember that both your stance and how you take your stance reflect on Christ. We should not be willing to sacrifice relationships to win an argument. Romans chapter 12 verse 18 says, if possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. The war in Ukraine is nearing its 11th month. Russia claims to have captured the village of Soledar, marking the first shift in momentum towards Russia in some time, although Ukraine disputes that Russian troops control the area.

Over the weekend, Russia launched a wave of 30 missiles. Ukraine says it was able to shoot down 20, including some aimed at energy infrastructure in Kiev. But an apartment building in the southeastern city of Dnipro was hit and at least 29 people were killed. World leaders condemned the attack on the apartment building and Ukraine President Zelensky promised to find and punish those responsible. Meanwhile, as a first show of their promise to intensify support, the UK announced it's sending Ukraine 14 of its main battlefield tanks along with 30 large self-propelled guns. It's easy to feel helpless in a situation like this, but the Bible promises that prayer is powerful and effective, that it causes things to happen that would have not happened otherwise.

Pause and pray. James, chapter 5, verse 16 says, The prayer of a righteous person is very powerful in its effect. This episode is sponsored by Element. Electrolytes are mostly salt. So if your electrolyte drink is sweet, then, um, well, yeah. Popular electrolyte drinks, think things that end in "-ade", usually have low amounts of electrolytes in suboptimal ratios and contain fillers. Element is the tasty electrolyte drink that gives you everything you need and nothing you don't. That means a science-backed electrolyte ratio, 1,000 mg sodium, 200 mg

potassium, 60 mg magnesium, and no sugar. Element is giving TPO listeners 8 single-serve packs free with any order. This is a great way to try all eight flavors or share element with a friend. Don't worry, they offer no questions asked refunds. It's truly risk-free. So try it today. Check out the link in the show notes. In other brews, here's a rapid round of updates. 68 passengers are confirmed dead after a twin-engine plane carrying 72 people crashed in Nepal. The plane was flying from the capital Kathmandu to a new airport in Pakhara, a tourist town, when the plane began to spin violently upon descending before crashing nose

first into a gorge, according to an eyewitness. The cause of the crash wasn't immediately known. On Friday, a judge unsealed former President Trump's deposition in a lawsuit brought by writer E. Jean Carroll, who has accused Trump of sexually assaulting her in the 1990s. In the testimony, he said Carroll called sexual assault sexy, apparently misquoting an interview she gave, before denying ever sleeping with her and calling her allegations completely made up. On Saturday, China hit refresh on its COVID data, and the number jumped. A lot. The country now reports 60,000 COVID-related deaths in Chinese hospitals since it abandoned its zero-COVID strategy six weeks ago. The updated numbers come after international criticism over China's

questionable data on the virus. Over 80,000 Israelis took to the streets in Tel Aviv this weekend to protest new Supreme Court reform proposed by PM Benjamin Netanyahu's new right-wing government. The reform in question would allow Parliament to overrule the court's decisions with a simple majority vote, and protesters call it an attack on democratic rule. In an upset that might have Atlanta Falcons fans feeling better about their infamously squandered 28-3 Super Bowl lead, the LA Chargers blew a 27-0 halftime lead to lose to the Jacksonville Jaguars 31-30 on a walk-off field goal, marking the third-largest playoff comeback ever. That's all we have for today. Thanks so much for listening.

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 appreciate your support and hope you have a great day. We'll see you on Wednesday.