The Pour Over Today - Monday, July 17, 2023

Episode Date: July 17, 2023

Today, we’re talking about a cold case arrest, the status of the national defense budget bill, the World Health Organization’s caution against aspartame, and other top news for Monday, July 17th. Stay informed while remaining focused on Christ with The Pour Over. Sponsored by TUVU

Today we're talking about a cold case arrest, the status of the National Defense Budget Bill, the World Health Organization's caution against aspartame, and other top news for Monday, July 17th. Stay informed while remaining focused on Christ with The Pour Over. Here's the quote of the day. What repeatedly enters your mind and occupies your mind eventually shapes your mind and will ultimately express itself in what you do and who you become. John Ortberg. Let's start with some espresso shots. The key to a cold case? Cold pizza. In 2010, police searching for a missing woman uncovered

11 bodies hidden in sand dunes along Gilgo Beach in Long Island, New York, and started hunting for a serial killer. A newly formed task force took up the cold case last spring and got a tip that led to search warrants, subpoenas, burner phones used to contact three victims, and incriminating online searches, including searches for victims' pictures and updates on the case. Hare found with the victim' remains in 2010 was compared to DNA from crust in a tossed pizza box this year, leading police to arrest their 59-year-old suspect at his Manhattan office building last Wednesday. The man, an architect from outside Gilgo Beach, has so far been charged with murdering three

of the victims and has pleaded not guilty. It is only by God's grace, a free, unearnable gift, that we are forgiven and saved. This knowledge of our own sin and brokenness means Christians should be compassionate and kind, not condemning even as we pursue justice and accountability. Ephesians 4 verse 32 says, Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. There's a new game of ping pong happening at the Capitol. The National Defense Authorization Act, an annual bill authorizing national defense budget funds, has largely passed with bipartisan support for the last 60 years, but not this year.

In the Republican-controlled House, $886 billion in funding was authorized with strings attached. Amendments include eliminating armed forces' diversity, equity, and inclusion positions, removing transgender surgeries and hormone treatments from insurance coverage, and pulling back a policy allowing service members to get reimbursed for travel expenses when crossing state lines for abortions, which is already a hot topic in the Senate. Four Republicans opposed and four Democrats supported the otherwise party-aligned bill. Now it heads to the Democratic-led Senate, where there's not much confidence for it. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said the House-passed version is never getting to the president's desk.

Discussing controversial issues can lead to strained relationships and hurt feelings. As Christians, we can demonstrate God's love by showing understanding, compassion, and understanding to others as we engage with others, even as we seek to be faithful to God's word. Colossians 4 verse 6 says, Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. Experts are arguing, again. This time the debate is about whether soda will rot your insides the old-fashioned way by giving you heart disease and diabetes, or if it poses a fresh threat, cancer. The World Health Organization declared that aspartame, the low-calorie sweetener found in everything from diet sodas to yogurt and chewing gum, may possibly be linked to liver

cancer among high consumers. Over a dozen cans of soda daily for a 150-pound adult. The World Health Organization said the findings are based on limited evidence and called for further studies. The U.S. FDA responded with unusual criticism of the World Health Organization's report, standing behind their 50-year-old position that aspartame is safe. While aspartame's link to cancer is tentative, the World Health Organization does say with confidence that switching to diet is unlikely to help you achieve your health goals. Here's a verse to consider whether you partake

in a few sodas a day, run a few miles a day, both or neither. Therefore, we do not lose heart, though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 2 Corinthians 4, verse 16. This episode of the podcast is brought to you by TuVu. Social media is broken, but it has potential. TuVu is trying to do it right. There are no ads. It's paid, but the pour-over subscribers get one year free. There are no ads. It's paid, but the pour-over subscribers get one year free. Posts are shown in chronological order,

not curated to drive you deeper into your political ideology. And it's AI moderated with the whole family in mind. No technically okay, but definitely questionable photos. Tuvu is a social media platform designed for connection, not addiction. See what family and friends are up to, then hop off and carry on with your day. Claim your free one-year subscription go at tuvu.com slash T-P-O. That's T-U-V-U dot com slash T-P-O. Or find the link in our show notes. In other brews, here's a rapid round of updates.

In other brews, here's a rapid round of updates. Q2 fundraising financials are in for the 2024 presidential lineup, and familiar faces are dominating donations. President Biden hauled in $72 million and former President Trump raised $35 million. Despite their significant leads over their respective packs, polls indicate that Americans would rather not see Biden and Trump in a rematch. The Biden administration is canceling $39 billion in student loans across 804,000 borrowers to fix the Accuracy of Income-Driven Repayment, IDR, plans, under which borrowers are eligible for forgiveness after 20 or 25 years of monthly payments. According to the Department of Education, historical inaccuracies did not count qualifying IDR payments that should have moved borrowers closer to their forgiveness. Wimbledon served up two surprises this weekend. First, unseated and unsponsored 24-year-old Czech Marketa Vondrusova overcame her 2-10

grass court record to defeat Tunisian Hans Geber in the finals. Not to be outdone, the world number one 20-year-old Spaniard Carlos Alcarez outlasted seven-time Wimbledon champ Novak Djokovic in five sets, the third longest final in Wimbledon history. The country's biggest banks are all swan diving into piles of cash. J.P. Morgan, Wells Fargo, and Citigroup surprised analysts with better-than-expected quarterly profits. The biggest bank, J.P. Morgan, saw profits jump a massive 67% thanks largely to its acquisition of First Republic Bank, which it bought out of failure at a heavily discounted price in early May. India is the latest country to catch lunar fever. Chandrayaan-3, Sanskrit for mooncraft,

launched Friday from Sriharikota in southern India, headed for the moon's south pole and scheduled to land in a month. This follows a failed attempt four years ago and, if successful, would make India the fourth country following USSR, US, and China to land on the moon. 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 Wednesday.