The Pour Over Today - Proposed SCOTUS Reform, Team USA, Venezuelan Unrest, & More | 07.31.24

Episode Date: July 31, 2024

Today we’re talking about President Biden’s proposal to reform the Supreme Court; how Team USA is doing in Paris; protests in Venezuela after both presidential candidates declare victory; and other top news for Wednesday, July 31st. Stay informed while remaining focused on Christ with The Pour Over Today. Please support our TPO sponsors! CSB: links.thepourover.org/CSB_Podcast_0701 Cru: give.cru.org/tpo Compassion International: compassion.com/TPO Upside: https://links.thepourover.org/Upside Every Woman's Bible: everywomansbible.com

Today, we're talking about President Biden's proposal to reform the Supreme Court, how Team USA is doing in Paris, protests in Venezuela after both presidential candidates declare victory, and other top news for Wednesday, July 31st. Stay informed while remaining focused on Christ with the poll over today. Here's the quote of the day. Prayer means the risk of facing silence where we're addicted to noise. Tim Mackey. Let's get started with some espresso shots.

President Biden wants to reform Uncle Sam's highest court, saying change is necessary to regain public trust after recent extreme opinions. Announced Monday, his proposal includes, first, term limits for SCOTUS justices. The sitting president would appoint a justice to an 18-year term every two years, preventing any single president

from exerting undue influence for generations to come. Second, a binding code of ethics. The Supreme's recently adopted code of ethics has no means of enforcement. Biden says adding some is common sense. The president also called on Congress to pass the No One is Above the Law Amendment, limiting SCOTUS's recent decision giving presidents broad immunity from criminal prosecution. Just one problem. Implementing these ideas would require broad agreement in Congress and Republicans are not on board, making the proposal unlikely to go anywhere.

Jesus showed compassion when people expected rejection, gentleness when people expected anger, and love when people expected hate. gentleness when people expected anger, and love when people expected hate. Whether you're discussing constitutional amendments this week or applying to a co-worker, be imitators of Christ. Ephesians 4.29 says, No foul language should come from your mouth, but only what is good for building up someone in need, so that it gives grace to those who hear. U.S. gymnasts are mining medals in Paris.

The men's gymnastics team has new bronze hardware after landing its first medal in 16 years on Monday. Pommel horse specialist and overnight sensation, Steven Nidorosic, secured the team's podium spot with the team's highest score of the day. Meanwhile, the women's gymnastics team's redemption tour is redemptioning. After settling for silver in Tokyo, the team led by the returning Biles, Childs, and Lee clinched gold by a whopping 6 points yesterday. Simone Biles is now the most decorated American gymnast ever, with 8 medals, including 5 gold.

Men's individual finals begin at 10.30am Central today. The women return to the arena tomorrow. Team USA has already accumulated nearly 30 medals overall, putting Uncle Sam in the lead. The commitment of Olympic athletes to their sport encourages us to press on as we seek to win an imperishable crown at the end of our faith journey. And the joy of fans for their country can give us a foretaste of the greatest celebration in history. First Corinthians 925 says, Now everyone who competes exercises self-control in everything.

They do it to receive a perishable crown, but we an imperishable crown. Protests have erupted across Venezuela as both sides are claiming victory in this week's presidential election. The National Electoral Council, which is run by the incumbent Nicolas Maduro's government, officially says Maduro won 51% to 44%, giving him his third consecutive six-year term. Opposition leaders said they weren't allowed to have witnesses present during counting, but the tally sheets they obtained for around 9 million votes, 73%, showed a landslide victory for their candidate Edmundo Gonzalez.

U.S. Secretary of State Blinken joined other regional leaders like Peru and Chile in expressing serious concerns and calling for transparency from election officials. Russia and China both congratulated Maduro on the victory. Ahead of the election, many opposition supporters promised to leave Venezuela if Maduro was re-elected, citing the country's economic collapse and violent repression under his power. Just as many Americans view the outcomes of foreign elections with a certain level of detachment, Christians view earthly political outcomes as secondary to the campaign of our eternal home, where we hold our truest citizenship. 2 Corinthians 5, 16, 19 and 20 says, From now on, then, we do not know anyone from a

worldly perspective. In Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and he has committed the message of reconciliation to us. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us. Your kids still have a lot of reading left to do this year. Novels on summer reading lists, which we're sure they'll finish long before Labor Day, billboards on family road trips, and textbook after textbook this fall. Put first things first this back to school season, and make sure they have their own copy of the most important book. CSB has a Bible for every

age and every stage. Easy for me Bibles for the littlest book. CSB has a Bible for every age and every stage, easy for me Bibles for the littlest readers, Explorer Bibles for your junior page turners, and study Bibles for your curious contrarian. There's plenty of options for mom and dad too, like the CSB Note-Taking Bible or the Old and New Testament handbooks. Check out the link in our show notes to browse the full back to school catalog and get your whole family in the word this year. In other brews, here's a rapid round of updates. Three young girls were killed in a mass stabbing at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport, England on Monday. Ten others were wounded.

Police have arrested and charged a 17-year-old male suspect, who they believe acted alone. Taylor Swift said on Instagram that she is completely in shock, and King Charles III offered condolences following the utterly horrific incident. The FDA has approved a blood test for colon cancer, the second highest cause of cancer death, around 53,000 per year, in Americans. Research shows the test, called SHIELD, was 83% effective at detecting colorectal cancers.

SHIELD does not replace colonoscopies, but could significantly boost detection rates as fewer than 60% of eligible people actually receive routine colon screenings. Former President Trump has agreed to a victim interview with the FBI as part of the investigation into the assassination attempt against them. The interview, a standard and voluntary part of FBI investigations, comes after investigators uncovered texts showing the shooter was identified as suspicious 90 minutes before the attack, information which reportedly never made it to Trump's security detail.

Western terrains aren't catching a break. West Texas has experienced over 100 earthquakes in the last week, prompting emergency declarations. The seismic tremors, rare for the region, are believed to be caused by oil and gas activity. Meanwhile, California's Park Fire has grown to the fifth largest in state history. A suspect accused of starting the fire has been charged with arson. A suspect accused of starting the fire has been charged with arson. Metta is handing over some spare change in a $1.4 billion settlement with Texas over data privacy. Texas' attorney general filed the suit in 2022, alleging that Metta ran facial recognition

software on photos and videos uploaded to Facebook by millions of Texas residents without obtaining consent, in violation of state law. 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 hope you have a great day. We'll see you on Friday.