The Pour Over Today - Wednesday, November 16, 2022

Episode Date: November 16, 2022

Today, we’re talking about election updates (yes, still), Amazon’s woes, Biden’s meeting in China, and other top news for Wednesday, November 16th. Stay informed while remaining focused on Christ with The Pour Over. See the entire list of Grammy nominees here! Pay What You Want for The Pour Over (psst: new annual members a Daily Kairos Journal, one of our favorite Bible resources)!

Today we're talking about election updates, yes, still, Amazon's woes, Biden's meeting in China, and other top news for Wednesday, November 16th. Stay informed while remaining focused on Christ with The Pour Over. Here's the quote of the day, God doesn't want our success, he wants us. He doesn't demand our achievements, he demands our obedience. Chuck Colson. Let's get started with some espresso shots. Back despite popular request, we've got even more election updates. Democrat Katie Hobbs

narrowly beat Republican Kerry Lake for governor of Arizona. Lake was one of the most vocal candidates to deny the results of the 2020 presidential election. Republicans are just one seat away from a House majority, leading 217 to 206, with 12 races still to be called. Meanwhile, Republicans kicked off the lame duck congressional session with intra-party leadership elections. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, the Republican from California, won his party support to be Speaker of the House, and Senator Rick Scott, the Republican from Florida, announced he'll run against Mitch McConnell to be Speaker of the House, and Senator Rick Scott, the Republican from Florida, announced he'll run against Mitch McConnell to be Senate Minority Leader in today's vote. Democrats are voting for party leaders later this month. Finally, there was no escalator this time,

but former President Trump officially announced a 2024 presidential bid. No matter the outcome, we should continue to pray for our leaders and seek the good of everyone we come in contact with. Jeremiah 29 7 says, pursue the well-being of the city I have deported you to. Pray to the Lord on its behalf, for when it thrives, you will thrive. Jeff Bezos, Santa Claus, or Grinch? The $124 billion man gave the famously charitable Dolly Parton $100 million to donate as she sees fit, and he said he plans to give away the majority of his wealth before he dies. It's a new look for Jeff, who has faced criticism for never signing the giving pledge,

and for being outshone by his ex-wife Mackenzie, who has given away a staggering $14.4 billion since their divorce three and a half years ago. Meanwhile, Amazon, where Bezos remains a very hands-on chairman of the board, is reportedly preparing to lay off 10,000 office employees. It would be the largest layoff in Amazon history, but impact less than 1% of their global staff. It may be driven by FOMO, since tech companies have already laid off 24,000 employees this month. Here's a reminder to not wait to have billions before being generous. Don't neglect to do what is good and to share, for God is pleased with such sacrifices. Hebrews 13, 16.

The meeting between Presidents Biden and Xi at the G20 summit in Bali went better than expected, though the bar was low. The U.S. and China agreed to resume climate talks, and both nations vocalized their opposition to the use of nuclear weapons in North Korea and Ukraine. That's it, though. There was little to no progress on topics of human rights, technology, or Taiwan. Speaking of conflict, Ukrainian President Zelensky paid a visit to the newly liberated city of Kherson. He celebrated the victory and promised they were working to, quote, restore everything after Russia's not-so-peaceful retreat, which knocked out power and water. Separately, Zelensky pitched his 10-point peace plan at the G20 summit, which he called the G19,

apparently to exclude Russia, even as Russia unleashed its largest missile attack of the year, which crossed into Poland, killing two people. Our hope is never contingent on the outcome of conversations between world leaders. It's much more secure than that. Regardless of whether things get worse or better during your lifetime, everything eventually ends well for followers of Christ. Romans 8.28 says, we know that all things work together for the ultimate good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. We believe that the news can actually be a force for good, helping people find rest and comfort in Christ while spurring them on to loving action. It costs about 20 cents per subscriber per month to operate the pour-over, but many readers are

unwilling or unable to pay. You can sling seven of them on your back and support our staff and mission for just $1.99 a month. You can pay what you want for the pour-over, and new annual members get a daily Kairos journal, one of our favorite Bible resources. We've got a link for you in the show notes. In other brews, here's a rapid round of updates. Congrats on hitting 8 billion, Earth! The United Nations estimates that the global population crossed the milestone yesterday, about 11 years after hitting 7 billion. The population has tripled since 1950, but growth is slowing as fertility rates decline. Deaths are expected to outpace births by the end of the century. On Sunday, a 22-year-old University of Virginia student shot and killed three of the school's

football players and wounded two other students. The alleged gunman, who was already facing school disciplinary action for failing to disclose a concealed weapons misdemeanor, was taken into custody after an hours-long manhunt. He faces three counts of second-degree murder. An explosion in Istanbul, Turkey killed at least six people and injured another 81 on Sunday. Turkish authorities arrested the woman they believed to have carried out the attack. Turkey received an outpouring of international support but rejected the United States' condolences, accusing, without evidence, the U.S. of being complicit in the attack. Google agreed to pay $392 million to 40 states to settle claims that it misled customers about its location tracking practices, including a refusal to stop collecting location data even after a customer had opted out or logged out of their accounts.

The money will go directly to states, not to green-bubbled Android users. The 2023 Grammy nominations are in, and Beyoncé leads the pack with nine nods, meaning she's now tied for the most Grammy nominations of all time, at 88, with her husband, Jay-Z. Kendrick Lamar received eight nominations, while Adele and Brandi Carlile both received seven. The awards will be held on February 5th, and you can see an entire list of the nominees at the link in our show notes. That's all we have for today. Thanks so much for listening. If you're listening on the Apple Podcast app, you can give us a five-star rating and drop a review.

And if you're listening on Spotify, give us a follow and hit the notification bell to never miss a new episode. We hope you have a great rest of your day and we'll see you back here on Friday.