The Pour Over Today - South Korea’s Impeachment, Trump/ABC Settlement, Syria’s Government, & More | 12.16.24

Episode Date: December 16, 2024

Today, we're talking about South Korea, France, and Georgia’s recent leadership changes; a settlement in President-elect Trump’s defamation lawsuit against ABC; the U.S. talking with Syria’s new government; and other top news for Monday, December 16th. Stay informed while remaining focused on Christ with The Pour Over Today. Please support our TPO sponsors! TPO Gift Guide: https://thepourover.org/gift-guide-2/ Upside: https://links.thepourover.org/Upside CCCU: https://www.mycccu.com/tpo/ The Voice of the Martyrs: vom.org/TPO CSB Gift Guide: https://links.thepourover.org/CSBGiftGuide HelloFresh: hellofresh.com/freepourover

Make this the year you're done gift shopping before Christmas Eve. You can still do it. We believe in you. Check out TPO's Christmas Gift Guide to find meaningful gifts for everyone on your list. Buy them some Aesthetic Bible and Journaling Pens from Mr. Pen to go with a new devotional, journal, or kids' Bible. Then stay home eating snickerdoodles while other poor procrastinators brave the Christmas

Eve mall crowds. You can find the Poor Overs gift guide through the link in today's show notes. Now for the news. Today we're talking about South Korea, France, and Georgia's recent leadership changes, a settlement in President-elect Trump's defamation lawsuit against ABC, the U.S. talking with Syria's new government, and other top news for Monday, December 16th. Stay informed while remaining focused on Christ with the pour-over today. Here's the quote of the day,

When God says something, the argument is over. R.C. Sproul. Let's get started with some espresso shots. Leadership abroad is experiencing some shakeups. In South Korea, opposition-led lawmakers impeached President Yun for his brief but alarming attempt to impose martial law. Although he technically remains president, Yun is suspended from official duties, leaving Prime Minister Hahn, a Youn appointee, in charge.

The Constitutional Court must decide Youn's fate within 180 days. In France, President Macron tapped centrist ally Francois Bairou to be prime minister. It's an unenviable position. Parliament is highly divided and voted out the last guy, also a centrist, after only three months. In Georgia, the country, lawmakers replaced the pro-West incumbent president with a former professional soccer player and current hardline critic of the West, causing significant unrest. Protesters say the ruling party wants to return Georgia to its Soviet roots, despite overwhelming public support for joining the EU. As Christians, we live as strangers in exiles in our home countries, whether that temporary

residence is peaceful, turbulent, or somewhere in between. Seek the good of the land you're passing through while awaiting the arrival of your true permanent home. Jeremiah 29, 4-7 says, This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel, says to all the exiles I deported from Jerusalem to Babylon. Build houses and live in them. Plant gardens and eat their produce.

Pursue the well-being of the city I've deported you to. Pray to the Lord on its behalf, for when it thrives, you will thrive. ABC and President-elect Trump have settled up. Trump sued ABC News and its top anchor, George Stephanopoulos, in March, after Stephanopoulos repeatedly stated that Trump had been found liable for rape in a civil lawsuit brought by advice columnist E. Jean Carroll. Trump was found liable for sexual abuse, but not rape. ABC and Stephanopoulos issued a public apology and will provide $15 million to fund Trump's future

presidential library. The settlement avoids a costly trial and hours of court-ordered depositions for both the president-elect and Stephanopoulos. Trump's inauguration fund also saw a bump in donations. Amazon, Meta, and OpenAI's Sam Altman have each given or pledged a cool $1 million, hoping to smooth over their past rocky relationships with number 45 slash 47 and encourage tech-friendly policies from Trump's second administration.

Whether plaintiffs are world famous or live in obscurity, Christians must always root for justice and fairness. May we continually call our neighbors to side with the final victor and ultimate judge, Christ our King. Revelation 21 verse 6 says, Then he said to me, It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will freely give to the thirsty

from the spring of the water of life. Everyone's got advice for Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, HTS, the rebel group that toppled the Assad regime and now controls Syria. Leaders from eight Arab nations met Saturday to discuss the need for an inclusive and unifying transitional government.

Missing from the meeting was HTS and two of pre-Ku Syria's biggest supporters, Iran and Russia. U.S. Secretary of State Blinken had his own meeting with Arab leaders to discuss the White House's advice for Syria's new government, which includes preventing Syria from becoming a base for terrorist groups, focusing on humanitarian aid, and eliminating chemical weapons stockpiles. Blinken also announced that Washington had been in direct contact with HTS to communicate hopes for Syria's transition and to urge HTS to locate American journalist Austin Tice,

who was kidnapped and imprisoned by Assad's government in 2012. The gospel is scandalous because God's heart is for everyone. Terrorists, prisoners, presidents, and those who passionately disagree with you—to know Him. He sacrificed His Son because He loves His enemies. Ask Him to help you love yours. 1 John 4, 8-11 says,

The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love. God's love was revealed among us in this way. God sent his one and only Son into the world so that we might live through him. Love consists in this, not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, if God loved us in this way, we also must love one another. Hey, it's Emily from the pour-over. The holidays are upon us and that means extra expenses are piling up all the time. Secret Santas, kids class parties, end of year donations,

then buying myself a coffee to get through all the gift wrapping and magic making. Thankfully, I can put a little jingle back in my wallet by getting cash back with Upside. Since I'm already filling up my tank and grabbing a bite to eat here and there, why not earn cash back while I do it? I even get cash back on our regular Friday pizza nights. Then I can quickly cash out and treat myself to a gift card for a post-school drop-off latte. It's super easy to use. Just download the app, check out the map to find gas or food offers nearby, claim one, and pay as usual. The cash back lands in your upside

profile and you can cash out in seconds. Download the free upside app and use promo code TPO to get an extra 25 cents back for every gallon on your first tank of gas. That's an extra 25 cents back for every gallon on your first tank of gas using promo code TPO. ["Rainy Day"] In other brews, here's a rapid round of updates. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was hospitalized Friday after falling in Europe. During an official trip to Luxembourg commemorating the 80th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge, the 84-year-old representative tripped while going down some stairs.

Pelosi had hip replacement surgery at a U.S. military base in Germany on Saturday and is well on the mend. Luigi Mangione has pleaded not guilty and retained a high-profile New York attorney to defend against second-degree murder charges in the shooting of UnitedHealthcare's CEO. Mangione is scheduled for a preliminary hearing in Pennsylvania on December 23rd regarding charges involving a 3D-printed gun and fake ID. So far, he has fought extradition to New York.

McKinsey & Company, an elite consulting firm, has agreed to pay $650 million to resolve a federal criminal investigation into its role in the opioid crisis. McKinsey has accepted responsibility for knowingly and intentionally conspiring with Purdue Pharma to misbrand prescription drugs and agreed to not work on the promotion, sale, or distribution of controlled substances again. Governor Murphy has requested Federal MULA to investigate mysterious UAV sightings over New Jersey and nearby areas. Despite there being no evidence linking the drones to national security threats or foreign involvement, they've sparked some serious public concern and speculation since their

appearance last month. Meanwhile, President-elect Trump called for the release of more drone-related information or to shoot them down. Colorado's Travis Hunter won college football's coveted Heisman Trophy Saturday night, beating out Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty in the closest vote since 2009. Hunter is a rare two-way player. He played 94% of Buffalo's offensive snaps as a wide receiver and 92.9% of their defensive

plays as a cornerback, and wants to continue playing both positions in the NFL. And that's all we have for today. Thanks so much for listening. If you're listening on the Apple Podcast 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. If you love inspiring testimonies of courageous faith, look no further. The Voice of the Martyrs is offering TPO listeners free access to a film called Sabina, Tortured for Christ, the Nazi Years. It tells the powerful, true story of a woman's journey to faith in Christ and the risks she took to share the gospel with soldiers from the army that killed her family. Visit vom.org slash tpo to claim your free copy today.