The Pour Over Today - Official Impeachment Inquiry, SCOTUS Abortion Pill Case, & More | 12.15.23

Episode Date: December 15, 2023

Today, we’re talking about House Republicans formalizing an impeachment inquiry into President Biden, high-profile cases before the Supreme Court, an Israel/Hamas war update, and other top news for Friday, December 15th. Stay informed while remaining focused on Christ with The Pour Over Today. Sponsored by the Compelled Podcast

Today we're talking about House Republicans formalizing an impeachment inquiry into President Biden, high-profile cases before the Supreme Court, an Israel-Hamas war update, and other top news for Friday, December 15th. Stay informed while remaining focused on Christ with The Pour Over today. Here's the quote of the day. Mercy without justice is the mother of dissolution. Justice without mercy is cruelty. St. Thomas Aquinas. Let's get started with some espresso shots.

On Wednesday, the House voted along party lines to formalize the ongoing impeachment inquiry into President Biden. Democrats dismiss it as politically motivated, criticizing Republicans for failing to provide evidence of a specific crime. House Republicans say they have mountains of evidence showing Biden abused his public office for his family's financial gain. Spicing up the situation, the vote came hours after Hunter Biden defied a congressional subpoena for a closed-door deposition. deposition. He wants a public appearance to avoid misrepresentation, but GOP investigators want a private deposition to get the facts and have promised contempt of Congress charges. It's not all bickering on the Hill. A record $886 billion defense bill passed the House and Senate with strong bipartisan support. The 3,100-page document funds troop pay raises and

aircraft purchases, but sidesteps partisan social issues like abortion access and transgender care for service members. Here's a verse to consider whether historic impeachment inquiries, global defense, or another load of laundry is on your to-do list. Whatever you do, do it from the heart, as something done for the Lord and not for people, knowing that you will receive the reward of an inheritance from the Lord. You serve the Lord Christ. Colossians 3, verses 23 and 24. The Supreme Court's docket is filling up. The court agreed to hear a dispute over mifepristone, a medication used in the U.S.'s most common method of abortion. An appeals court affirmed the FDA's 23-year-old approval of mifepristone, but reversed changes regulators made in 2016 and 2021 to make it available by

mail and generally easier to access. The Biden administration will argue to the Supremes that those changes were lawful and should remain. A ruling is expected in June, in the heat of the election cycle. Fun. The men and women in black are also hearing an appeal by a January 6th defendant charged with obstruction of an official proceeding. He argues the Enron-era law was meant to punish the shredding of documents and doesn't apply. The decision could impact over 300 other defendants, including former President Trump. Culturally hot topics frequently make people think, speak, and act poorly, including us. We can respect others and represent God better if we are quick to listen and slow to speak. James 1 verses 19-20 says,

Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger, for human anger does not accomplish God's righteousness. Hamas is continuing tenacious resistance despite Gaza's devastation. Days after Israel claimed to have dealt major blows to Hamas' command, nine Israeli soldiers were killed Wednesday during an urban ambush in Hamas's deadliest single attack since the war began. Now, Israel is going underground. Hamas depends on a network of nearly 1,000 tunnels under Gaza for storage, personnel transportation, and planning. This week, Israel began pumping Mediterranean seawater into the tunnels to force enemy fighters above ground.

Five large water pumps can deliver thousands of cubic meters of water per hour into the tunnels, potentially destroying them within weeks. The big question is where the hostages are. After recovering the bodies of two hostages Tuesday, Israel said 19 of the remaining 135 hostages are presumed dead. Unverified reports indicate that Israel believes their hostages are not in the tunnels. Christians shine light in our weary world when we face conflict and tragedy with hope and peace. As you celebrate the first advent of our long-expected Jesus, remember the promise of his second advent and its eternal peace. Isaiah 9, verses 1, 2, 6, and 7 say,

There will be no more gloom for those who are in distress. The people walking in darkness have seen a great light. On those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned. For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace, there will be no end. Today's episode is sponsored by The Compelled Podcast. What would you do if you came face-to-face with a murderer sent to kill you for being a Christian?

For Virginia Prodan, that question isn't hypothetical. Virginia was a small, petite attorney defending Christians in court in communist Romania, and she was really good. So good, in fact, she caught the attention of the communist regime. One day, a tall, muscular man walked into her office, closed the door, and pulled out a gun. He barked, shut up, sit down, I'm here to kill you. Virginia was face-to-face with a trained assassin. What happened next would surprise both of them. Listen to Virginia's entire story on the Compelled Podcast. Virginia is on episode 31, which is titled, He Came to Kill Me. Listen on your podcast app or at CompelledPodcast.com. That's C-O-M-P-E-L-L-E-D podcast.com. Or check out the link in our show notes.

In other brews, here's a rapid round of updates. The Federal Reserve has investors flipping celebratory pancakes after keeping rates flat for the third straight meeting. Fed officials now expect three rate cuts in 2024, noting that inflation has eased from its highs without a significant increase in unemployment. That's very good news. Chairman Jerome Powell still popped a few party balloons, saying no one is declaring victory. party balloons saying no one is declaring victory. COP 28 worked overtime to resolve arguments over how to phrase the summit's commitment to renewable energy. Eventually, the phrase transitioning away from fossil fuels was adopted. It's the first time that the United Nations has approved an agreement, albeit not legally binding, that explicitly calls for countries to move away from fossil fuels, but climate activists say cavernous loopholes remain.

An investigation found that Tesla's autopilot was not sufficient to prevent driver misuse, forcing the EV maker to recall over 2 million vehicles, almost every Tesla on U.S. roads. While total recall makes for a good headline, the issue is being solved by a software update and requires no action from Tesla owners. Former Facebook global diversity strategist Barbara Furlough-Smiles isn't smiling. She pled guilty to wire fraud on Monday. Furlough-Smiles stole more than $4 million from Facebook through elaborate schemes where she would pay fraudulent vendors, mostly personal acquaintances, for services rendered to Facebook. Except there were no services, and the recipients were sending furlough smiles kickbacks. What do Home Alone, Apollo 13, Terminator 2, and Lady and the Tramp have in common?

Absolutely nothing, we'd think. Except that they're among the 25 new films added to the National Film Registry this year. Now boasting 875 films, the Library of Congress began the registry in 1988 to highlight film preservation efforts. And 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 we hope you have a great weekend. We'll see you on Monday.