The Pour Over Today - Wednesday, December 7, 2022

Episode Date: December 7, 2022

Today, we’re talking about runoff results in Georgia, a spicy Supreme Court case, a targeted attack on North Carolina power stations, and other top news for Wednesday, December 7th. Stay informed while remaining focused on Christ with The Pour Over. Sponsored by charity: water

Today we're talking about runoff results in Georgia, a spicy Supreme Court case, a targeted attack on North Carolina power stations, and other top news for Wednesday, December 7th. Stay informed while remaining focused on Christ with The Pour Over. Here's the quote of the day, the eternal everlasting God has become our father and the moment we realize that, it transforms everything. Martin Lloyd-Jones. Let's start with some espresso shots. The Associated Press projects incumbent Democrat Raphael Warnock has defeated Republican Herschel

Walker in Georgia's runoff election, giving Dems a 51-49 Senate majority. It was a compressed four-week runoff election compared to the old nine-week version, and while millions of Georgians set down their peaches to go vote, early voter turnout dropped 39% from the runoff in 2021. In addition to less time, there was also less at stake. Democrats were assured control of the Senate regardless of yesterday's runoff thanks to VP Harris's tie-breaking vote, but 51 to 49 majority benefits them in other ways, like committee assignments. Georgia's Senate candidates spent a massive $335 million in TV ads including $80 million

in the last four weeks. We shouldn't allow the success or failure of a political party to consume our thoughts, emotions, or hope for the future. Regardless of circumstance, our mission remains the same. Love God and love others. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and most important command. The second is like it. Love your neighbor as yourself.

Jesus in Matthew 22, verse 37 through 39. A targeted strike on two power substations in Monroe County, North Carolina left nearly 50,000 people without electricity on Sunday. By Tuesday morning, more than 30,000 people still couldn't turn on the lights or the heat. Officials have declared a state of emergency, closing schools, implementing a curfew, and opening heating stations as temps are expected to dip below freezing. Backup generators are currently supporting hospitals since full power might not return until Thursday. The attackers, who knew exactly where to direct gunfire to disable the substations, remain unidentified. Officials have stopped short of calling the event domestic terrorism, but say that the attacks appear criminal and deliberate. The FBI and the DHS have joined the investigation, and so far, no people or group have claimed responsibility.

DHS has released a security bulletin warning of an increased risk of domestic terrorism against power grid targets. Though there's much unknown about this situation, it's the perfect opportunity to pray for life-saving power to be quickly restored and justice to prevail for the perpetrators. James chapter 5 verse 16 says, the prayer of a righteous person is very powerful in its effect. The Supreme Court heard oral arguments on Monday in Season 2 of Colorado's Anti-Discrimination Act versus business owners who oppose same-sex marriage. In 2018, the high court narrowly sided with a Colorado baker who refused to make a cake for a same-sex couple. The decision largely surrounded case-specific details, not the law more generally. Now,

a Colorado web designer who hasn't refused service to anyone, filed a preemptive suit saying Colorado's law would require her to create websites for same-sex couples, a message in conflict with her religious beliefs and a violation of the First Amendment. The hypothetical nature of the case led to a lot of, well, improbable hypothetical questions, often involving racial issues and mall Santas. The conservative majority seems sympathetic to the web designer. A decision is expected this summer. No matter what side of any debate you find yourself on, Christians are called to show radical love as a reflection of the love Jesus showed us. Romans 5 verse 8 says,

But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. This episode is sponsored by Charity Water. This holiday season, Charity Water is on a mission to bring clean water to 40,000 people, and it all starts with one person, you. Right now, one in 10 people worldwide are trying to figure out how to make it through the day without access to clean and safe water. Dirty water makes existing challenges harder than they need to be, Thank you. 100% will directly fund clean water for those who need it most. Check out the link in our show notes. In other brews, here's a rapid round of updates. Explosions at two airbases over 300 miles inside Russian territory killed three Russian servicemen and injured four more on Monday.

Moscow immediately blamed Ukraine, which has declined to claim responsibility, and launched a major missile barrage on Ukrainian cities in retaliation. The Trump Organization was convicted of carrying out a 15-year criminal scheme to defraud tax authorities by paying for personal expenses of executives like former CFO Allen Weisselberg,

but Donald Trump himself was not charged in the case. The company faces a fine of up to $1.6 million, and the conviction could complicate future business deals. They really mean it this time. Real ID licenses, which were proposed after 9-11 to combat terrorism, were supposed to be required back in 2008, then 2021, then 2023. It's now been delayed to 2025. Meanwhile, TSA has been testing controversial facial recognition screening to check travelers' IDs at 16 major airports and hopes to expand next year. A group of Swifties are asking Ticketmaster, why you gotta be so mean. They're suing Ticketmaster's parent, Live Nation, saying they intentionally and purposely misled Taylor Swift Tick's pre-sale

ticket holders by providing codes to 1.4 million verified fans without the seats to back them up. No word on if Taylor will be releasing a 10-minute version of Bad Blood in support. Influenza is pulling ahead in the triple-demic race with RSV and COVID. The CDC says the U.S. is seeing the highest levels of hospitalization from the flu in a decade, while RSV cases seem to have peaked and COVID numbers remain relatively low but are rising. 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.