The Pour Over Today - Trump-Zelenskyy Meeting, Outer Banks Evacuations, Hamas Accepts Ceasefire Proposal, & More | 08.20.25

Episode Date: August 20, 2025

Today, we’re talking about Ukrainian President Zelenskyy returning to the White House; Hurricane Erin forcing residents of the Outer Banks to evacuate; Hamas accepting a temporary ceasefire proposal; and other top news for Wednesday, August 20. Stay informed while remaining focused on Christ with The Pour Over. Join over 1 million readers with our free newsletter here Looking to support us? You can choose to pay here Check out our sponsors! We actually use and enjoy every single one. Cru LMNT Surfshark Holy Post CSB's Back to School Gift Guide CCCU Upside HelloFresh Mosh Theology in the Raw

Hey, this is Zan at the Porover. And this is Joe at the Porover. Happy Wednesday, you've made it over the hump, and today's your reward. It is National Bacon Lover's Day. Whether you're frying it, baking it, or just daydreaming about it, enjoy celebrating. Now for the headlines. Today, we're talking about Ukrainian President Zelenskyy returning to the White House, Hurricane Aaron forcing residents of the Outer Banks to evacuate,

Hamas accepting a temporary ceasefire proposal, and other top news for Wednesday, August 20th. Stay informed while remaining focused on Christ with the pourover. Here's your quote of the day. While you are proclaiming peace with your lips, be careful to have it even more fully in your heart. St. Francis of Assisi. Let's get started with some espresso shots.

Ukrainian President Zelensky returned to the White House on Monday for more discussions on how to end the Russia-Ukraine war. European leaders joined a suited-up Zelensky and President Trump for a more peaceful-than-last-time discussion. At the table, Trump suggested a temporary ceasefire may not be, quote, necessary for war-ending negotiations. to take place. European leaders pushed back saying they, quote, can't imagine, end quote, future meetings taking place without one. Trump also hinted that the U.S. may offer Ukraine security guarantees, but ruled out sending American troops to join the fight.

After the summit, Trump had a 40-minute call with Russian President Putin to start arranging a Putin Zelenskyy face-to-face. The Kremlin's response has been non-committal so far, and no future talks have been confirmed, but Switzerland has agreed to host if plans make it out of the group chat. Here's a verse to consider while we wait for God's lasting peace to reign over all nations. I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the horse from Jerusalem. The bow of war will be removed and he will proclaim peace to the nations. His dominion will extend from sea to sea, from the Euphrates River,

to the ends of the earth. Thackeraya 9.10. Hurricane Aaron has outer banks residents packing their bags. Despite weakening to a category two, Tuesday, Aaron still threatens to churn out 110 mile per hour winds, 15-foot waves, and deadly rip currents from Florida to New England. While the storm is expected to curl north and stay offshore, mandatory evacuations were ordered for the Carolinian Barrier Islands

with warnings of swamped roads and dangerous surf. Aaron lashed the Caribbean with rain and wind Monday before setting her sights farther north. As she moved up the coast, officials at North Carolina's Ritesville Beach reported rescuing at least 60 swimmers from rip currents. Tropical storm and surge watches remain in place across much of the Carolina's coastline. Forecasters say,

Aaron's closest pass will be today and tomorrow, with tropical storm force winds extending 200 miles from her offshore center. Massive weather events and natural disasters remind us that all of the world has been broken by sin. But Christians can look forward to an eternity where there's redemption, not just for people, but for creation itself. Romans 8, verse 20 through 21 says, For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it,

and the hope that the creation itself will also be set free from the bondage to decay into the glorious freedom of God's children. Hamas accepted mediator's latest ceasefire proposal Monday. The deal, based on U.S. framework, would mean Hamas frees 10 living hostages in 18 bodies in two batches, which would leave 22 hostages in captivity, 10 of which are believed to be alive. Israel releases 150 Palestinian prisoners. Fighting stops for 60 days, meaning Israel abandons, planned occupation of Gaza City. Negotiations for a permanent ceasefire restart.

The news of Hamas's approval came hours after President Trump urged Israel to expand attacks, saying Hamas must be, quote, confronted and destroyed to save hostages. Meanwhile, more than 200,000 Israelis protested the planned military expansion, arguing that it endangers hostages in Palestinian civilians. Israel hasn't committed either way, but Prime Minister Netanyahu has said he's no longer interested in partial temporary deals and once hostages released all, quote, in one go. Join us in prayer for the Middle East, confident that God hears and grants our prayers when we pray according to His will. Here's a prayer from the Book of Common Prayer.

Father of all, whose son commanded us to love our enemies, lead them and us from prejudice to truth, deliver them and us from hatred, cruelty, and revenge. And in your good time, enable us all to stand reconciled before you, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. Back to school season means your kids are about to read a whole lot of books. so why not make sure they have the most important one in their backpack? The Christian Standard Bible makes it easy with a full lineup of Bibles designed for even the youngest readers,

like the dyslexia-friendly CSB Grace Bible for kids, the Creative Journal and Draw Bible, and the in-depth CSB student study Bible. They're accurate, readable, and built to help young readers understand the word, not just skim it. You can even personalize them to remind your student that Jesus calls them by name. Shop CSB's back-to-school gift guide

at CSbiblical.com slash gift guide or check out the link in the show notes. In other brews, here's a rapid round of updates. Air Canada flights are preparing for takeoff. The airline and its unionized flight attest, flight attendants reached an agreement yesterday, ending a turbulent four-day strike that persisted despite government warnings that the walkout was unlawful. Air Canada announced its gradually

resuming operations, but will likely cancel more flights over the next week while things get back to cruising altitude. Intel is getting a $2 billion lifeline. SoftBank is buying up new shares, becoming the chipmaker's sixth-largest investor. The news comes amid reports that the U.S. government may take a 10% stake, converting CHIP's Act grants into equity in a high-stakes effort to steady the struggling chipmaker and bolster Uncle Sam's semiconductor production. The DOJ will open some of the Epstein files for Congress on Friday, missing the congressional subpoena deadline of yesterday.

House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer said the Justice Department needed more time to redact files to protect the disgraced financiers victims. Democrats pushed back saying the Trump admin is failing to comply by redacting docs and missing the due date. The Hoosiers may hold their district lines. Several Indiana Republican state lawmakers have spoken out against a mid-decade redraw of their district map. Despite pressure from the White House, saying the gerrymandering would set, quote, a dangerous precedent. It comes as Texas is moving forward with plans to redraw its map, and California is crafting its own retaliation.

MSNBC is leaving the peacock's nest and rebranding as MS Now, short for My Source for News, Opinion, and World, omitted split from NBC. The makeover has drawn more chuckles than cheers online. Meanwhile, in the news world, newsmax will shell out $67 million to settle Dominion Voting System's defamation suit over false 2020 election claims, closing another chapter of post-election fallout. That's all we have for today. Thanks so much for listening, TPOFam. 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're grateful for your support and we hope you have a great rest of your week. Catch you on Friday. If you're tired of tribal takes and pat answers, check out Theology in the Raw with Preston Sprinkle. It's a podcast that tackles faith, culture, sexuality, and more with honesty and humility. With over 2,000 episodes and guests from across. the Christian spectrum. You'll be challenged, encouraged, and reminded you're not alone. Search Theology in the Raw on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.