The Pour Over Today - Friday, August 18, 2023

Episode Date: August 18, 2023

Today, we’re talking about a missed mark for Target, legislation on an abortion pill, recovery efforts in Maui, and other top news for Friday, August 18th. Stay informed while remaining focused on Christ with The Pour Over. Help us raise funds for the clean-up of the wildfires in Maui here

Today we're talking about a missed mark for Target, legislation on an abortion pill, recovery efforts in Maui, and other top news for Friday, August 18th. Stay informed while remaining focused on Christ with The Pour Over. Here's the quote of the day. If you read history, you will find that the Christians who did the most for the present world are just those who thought most about the next. C.S. Lewis Let's get started with some espresso shots. most for the present world are just those who thought most about the next. C.S. Lewis.

Let's get started with some espresso shots. Target's latest earnings didn't hit the bullseye. On Wednesday, Target reported a roughly 5% drop in both sales and foot traffic last quarter, its first quarterly slump in four years. CEO Brian Cornell said the slump was at least partially due to boycotts over its Pride collection, and more backlash after it removed parts of the Pride collection. Tarjay also blamed the economy, noting a decline in customers' impulse buying throw pillows and faux succulents. Over half the company's sales come from discretionary spending—think home decor, electronics, toys, and other non-essentials. And it appears people are tightening up the purse strings.

Target had a booming pandemic, but has performed less miraculously since then. Its stock is down 14% so far this year. Here's a verse to consider when reviewing your own quarterly finances. Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops. Proverbs 3, verse 9. The abortion pill is headed for a Supreme Court showdown. A federal appeals court in New Orleans said that the abortion pill mifepristone, part of a two-drug regimen for medication abortions, which account for more than half of U.S. abortions, could remain legal and

available, with significant restrictions. The appeals court partially backed a lower court's order ruling that the FDA didn't properly consider safety implications when they expanded access to mifepristone by allowing it to be sent through the mail or prescribed over telehealth. The decision would mean doctors can only prescribe mifepristone after an in-person appointment and requires three in-person follow-ups. However, this ruling kinda sorta changes nothing. Back in April, the Supremes paused any lower court rulings from taking effect until they offer their two cents. Praise the Lord for the fearful, wonderful creation of each individual. The unborn, single parents, women who have received abortions, and people who passionately disagree with you on this topic.

We are called to love them all. 1 Corinthians 16 verse 14 says, Do everything in love. Emergency efforts on Hawaii's second largest island continue. Security footage from a bird sanctuary is providing new insight as to what may have ignited Maui's wildfires, with speculation growing that high winds knocked a tree into a power line, starting what could have spread into three wildfires. As of yesterday,

there were 111 confirmed dead, though only a handful have been identified. Authorities have been gathering DNA from the families and homes of the missing in hopes of identifying more of the victims. Over 1,000 people remain missing, according to Hawaii's Governor Josh Green. Governor Green defended the island's decision not to sound emergency sirens, a point of contention since the fires broke out, saying that those are used for tsunamis and could have sent people further inland towards, not away from, the flames. Prayer is powerful and effective. Pray for God to move in power in the midst of the suffering and the massive cleanup effort. If you're able to do more, check out the link in our show notes. We're raising funds on Instagram. James 2 verses 16 through 17 say,

If one of you says to them, go in peace, keep warm and well-fed, but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. In other brews, here's a rapid round of updates. It's The Power of Pink. Barbie surpassed The Dark Knight to become the biggest domestic Warner Bros. release ever, bringing in $537 million in the States and $1.2 billion globally. It's been the number one movie for four consecutive weekends and may unseat Mario as the highest-grossing release this year. Barbie herself, Margot Robbie, stands to make about $50 million as a producer.

Soccer fans, Sunday's alarm is going to be an early one. The Women's World Cup final between first-time finalists England and Spain kicks off at 6 a.m. Eastern Time. Meanwhile, Team USA is looking for a new coach. Vlatko Andonovsky, who needed redemption after the team's bronze medal finish at the Tokyo Olympics, resigned following the team's ignominious exit down under. As it turns out, bacon is the future. The transplanted kidney of a genetically modified pig has been functioning in a brain-dead 57-year-old male patient for over a month. It's the longest a pig's kidney has worked after transplant,

and the work done at NYU Langone Health is furthering advancements in utilizing animals as organ donors. Vietnamese electric vehicle maker VinFast went public Tuesday and briefly left some of the world's largest automakers in its exhaustless dust. Its stock surged to a total market value of $85 billion, more than BMW, $69 billion, Ford, $48 billion, and GM, $46 billion, before crashing down to about $45 billion yesterday. Tesla is still self-driving itself at the front of the pack, worth $700 billion. Former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows filed a notice seeking to move his RICO charges from Georgia to a federal court. He's hoping to get them dismissed by arguing that his actions, such as arranging Oval Office meetings, were done as a federal officer and are protected from state

law. And 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 we hope you have a great weekend. We'll see you on Monday.