The Pour Over Today - California Wildfires, DEI Changes, Venezuelan President Sworn In I 01.13.25

Episode Date: January 13, 2025

Today, we’re talking about the latest on the California wildfires; DEI policy changes in some major companies; Nicolás Maduro being sworn in as president in Venezuela; and other top news for Monday, January 13th. Stay informed while remaining focused on Christ with The Pour Over Today. Please support our TPO sponsors! The Voice of the Martyrs: vom.org/TPO Parenting with Ginger Hubbard: https://links.thepourover.org/ParentingwithGingerHubbard The Bulletin: MoreCT.com/BulletinPodcast Upside: https://links.thepourover.org/Upside Cru: give.cru.org/pour LMNT: https://links.thepourover.org/LMNT_Podcast Hello Fresh: https://hellofresh.com/pourover10fm

Today's episode is brought to you by our lead sponsor, Crew. Today, we're talking about the latest on the California wildfires, DEI policy changes in some major companies, Nicholas Maduro being sworn in as president in Venezuela, and other top news for Monday, January 13th. Stay informed while remaining focused on Christ with the pour over today. Here's the quote of the day, When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, Look for the helpers.

You will always find people who are helping. Mr. Rogers. Let's get started with some espresso shots. The greater Los Angeles wildfires continue to bring devastation. The death toll has surpassed 16 and is expected to rise. At least 13 people are missing. The Palisades Fire, spanning over 22,600 acres, is 11 percent contained, while the Eaton Fire northeast of Los Angeles,

covering 14,100 acres, is 27% contained, while the Eaton Fire northeast of Los Angeles, covering 14,100 acres, is 27% contained. Over the weekend, shifting winds pushed the Palisades Fire inland toward the San Fernando Valley, forcing additional evacuations. Over 200,000 people have been displaced and more than 12,300 structures, including some historic landmarks, have been destroyed. With strong winds continuing this week, 8 million people remain in the critical fire risk zone. Investigators are looking into the fire's causes, and a newly formed regional task force, led by the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, ATF, is working to determine a connection between the blazes.

Massive 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. Revelation 21, 1, 2, and 5 says, Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away and the sea was no more.

I also saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. Then the one seated on the throne said, look, I am making everything new. Meta and Amazon have joined in a growing number of companies like Walmart, McDonald's, Ford, John Deere, et cetera, that have scaled back their diversity, equity, and inclusion, or DEI, programs. Companies say they use DEI programs to promote diverse hiring, diversity, fair treatment and opportunity regardless of race, gender, and other identifiers, equity, and a workplace culture where

everyone feels valued, inclusion. Critics of DEI argue that the programs end up promoting discriminatory practices and companies are changing or removing their policies to avoid legal risk. Think a 2023 ruling that barred private universities from considering race in admissions. Metta stated the legal shift as its main reason for scrapping the program in a memo Friday. The rollback follows other recently announced updates to the tech company's policies,

including relaxing fact-checking on Facebook, Instagram, and threads posts. What is the first thing to consider when you get an email from HR? Here's the first to consider when you get an email from HR. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any moral excellence and if there is anything praiseworthy, dwell on these things. Do what you have learned and received and heard from me, and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you." Philippians 4 verses 8 and 9. Venezuela swore in President Nicolas Maduro for a third term on Friday.

Since Maduro took power in 2013, Venezuela's economy has been spiraling and political repression skyrocketing. Maduro was declared the winner of last July's election, but the US says vote tallies showed rival candidate Enmundo Gonzalez as the landslide winner. Tensions have only risen. On Maduro's inauguration day, the Biden administration raised a bounty on the authoritarian leader to 25 million dollars, seeking info leading to his arrest on drug trafficking charges. The UK, EU, and Canada piled on with financial sanctions

against Venezuelan officials. The White House has also extended protections for Venezuelan immigrants, along with migrants from Ukraine, Sudan, and El Salvador, allowing over a million people an extra 18 months in the Temporary Protected Status Program, which President-elect Trump has promised to scale back. 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 the 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. With over 1,000 translations and every type of decorative edition, it's easy to forget how many people can't even get their hands on a single copy of the Bible in their native language. That's why we've partnered with Cru. Cru has missionaries in almost every country, but they need more Bibles. One missionary said, I've never seen such a thirst for the Word of God in my country. Let's quench that thirst. For just $24 a month, you can provide three people with Bibles every month. As a bonus, CREW will provide meals to 12 hungry individuals

through their humanitarian ministry and send you a free give.cru.org slash P-O-U-R. Message and data rates may apply. US addresses only. In other brews, here's a rapid round of updates. TikTok may actually get Uncle Sam's boot. Commentators say the Supreme Court appears ready to uphold the federal law, requiring the app's Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to divest or face a nationwide ban by January 19. During Friday's session, the justices underscored national security concerns and indicated the foreign-owned company may not qualify for First Amendment protections.

People are googling unconditional discharge after President-elect Trump received that as his sentence in his hush money trial Friday. Trump will receive no punishment, no jail time, fines, community service, probation, etc. The sentencing judge said it was the only decision that upheld Trump's felony conviction without encroachment on the highest office of the land. Special counsel Jack Smith resigned Friday. The Justice Department appointee oversaw two federal criminal cases against President-elect Trump, one over classified documents, and one over alleged 2020 election interference,

both of which have been dropped due to presidential immunity. Smith's expected departure and an order from a federal judge make it currently unlikely his classified docs case report will even be released. The U.S. labor market ended 2024 on a high note. Employers added 256,000 jobs in December, crushing the expectations of 155,000, and unemployment dipped to a healthy 4.1%. Overall, 2.2 million jobs were created throughout the year. Still, don't hold your breath for more rate cuts. Analysts expect interest rates to hold steady

for the foreseeable future. The field is set for next Monday's NCAA College Football Playoffs National Championship after seven seed Notre Dame squeaked past six seed Penn State in the Orange Bowl, 27 to 24. An eight seed Ohio State topped five seed Texas in the Cotton Bowl, 28 to 14. In pro news, the NFL playoffs kicked off with wild card weekend on Saturday and Sunday. 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.