The Pour Over Today - Friday, November 5, 2021

Starting point is 00:00:00 Reactions to Tuesday's elections, congressional ping-pong continues, the Federal Reserve's big announcement, and other top news for Friday, November 5th. Stay informed while remaining focused on Christ with The Pour Over. Here's the quote of the day. We live by faith in a prayer-hearing, soul-converting, soul-sanctifying, soul-restoring, soul-comforting God. Francis Asbury. Let's get started with some espresso shots. If you don't usually keep up with one-off elections, we understand. They can feel a bit like preseason games. But results from these state elections have implications for 2022, especially in New Jersey and Virginia. While both states have been reliably blue,

Starting point is 00:00:45 Glenn Youngkin, a Republican from Virginia, defeated Terry McAuliffe in a surprising upset, and Philip Murphy, a Democrat from New Jersey, only narrowly defeated Jack Ciatarelli by a mere 1.6 points. Republicans are feeling good about their chances of winning both the House and Senate next year, focusing their campaigns on education and the economy. Democrats are feeling the pressure to quickly figure out what went wrong in Virginia and New Jersey so that they can course correct before next year's elections. Whether you get invested in political outcomes or not, it's important to remember that our political affiliations don't trump, and there's no pun intended, our allegiance to Jesus. If you confess with your

Starting point is 00:01:25 mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Romans 10 9. The Federal Reserve is tightening its purse strings. In the spring of 2020, the Fed pulled out all the stops to try and keep the economy afloat, dropping interest rates to effectively 0%, launching a $120 billion per month bond buying program, and supporting Congress's aggressive stimulus bills. Many officials say that those policies worked, but that they're the cause of inflation. On Wednesday, the Fed announced it would phase out bond purchases by next summer, but Chairman Powell said, We don't think it's time yet to raise interest rates. Inflation is at a 30-year high, 4.4%. Powell thinks it's primarily due to supply chain issues, not low rates, and fears that raising rates would choke job growth. The stock market responded positively to the news of tapering

Starting point is 00:02:21 stimulus. All three major indexes hit record highs on Wednesday. Regardless of what stimulus programs exist, followers of Christ should always be seeking to give generously to those in greater need. Reach out to your local church to see how you can get involved. Don't neglect to do what is good and to share, for God is pleased with such sacrifices. Hebrews 13, 16.

Starting point is 00:02:48 Surprise! Paid family and medical leave is back on the table for the Build Back Better bill. Say that five times fast. A quick recap. Twelve weeks of paid leave was originally included in the mega-sized social spending bill. Then it was reduced, then removed, and recently a four-week version was re-added. The ping-pong hasn't necessarily been over whether Americans should have paid leave, but rather who should pay for it. Most Republicans want businesses to pay, and most Democrats want the government to pay. And then there's Senator Manchin, a Democrat from West Virginia. His vote

Starting point is 00:03:19 is critical for Dems to pass the package, but he's still not convinced that paid leave shouldn't be addressed separately. Both the BBB bill and the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill, which passed the Senate last month, might see votes as early as this week. The Pour Over is sponsored by Christianity Today. Pretty soon the pumpkin spice lattes will be replaced by peppermint mochas, and the slight dip in your savings from candy and costumes will be replaced by a much larger dip caused by gifts, trees, and travel. In short, we know the Christmas season can often be dominated by distractions and stressors, but Christianity Today has a resource to keep you reminded of the gospel during this Christmas season. The Gospel of Advent is a four-week devotional to help individuals, small groups, and families journey through the 2021 Advent season. help individuals, small groups, and families journey

Starting point is 00:04:05 through the 2021 Advent season. We've checked it out and it's awesome. And it's also free for TPO readers. So go claim your free Advent devotional and stay focused on Christ this Christmas. Link below in the show notes. In other brews, we've got a rapid round of updates. Wide receiver Henry Ruggs III was driving 156 mph with a blood alcohol content twice the legal limit, seconds before hitting another car and killing a 23-year-old woman. Ruggs, who could face up to 46 years in prison, was released from the Las Vegas Raiders shortly after the crash. UK regulators just announced their approved stamp on Merck's new antiviral COVID pill, Molnupiravir. Say that five times fast. The oral medication is seen as a potential game changer for treating people unwilling or unable to get a vaccine. It's still being

Starting point is 00:04:58 reviewed by US regulators, but the Biden administration has already placed a $1.2 billion order. Go big or go home. Ethiopia has declared a state of emergency and is asking citizens to defend the capital as rebels gather on the city's outskirts. On Wednesday, the UN condemned possible war crimes committed by both sides during the year-long civil war in Ethiopia's Tigray region. The U.S. has told Americans who are there to prepare to evacuate. The U.S. has told Americans who are there to prepare to evacuate. Zillow learned the hard way that flipping houses isn't as easy as Chip and JoJo make it look.

Starting point is 00:05:37 The online housing marketplace is closing its unprofitable home buying division after less than two years. With the move, they eliminated 25% of their workforce and nearly 40% of their stock price. Oof. percent of their workforce and nearly 40 percent of their stock price. Starting January 4th, 84 million Americans who work at companies with over 100 employees will need to get vaccinated, tested weekly, or work for a company willing to pay $14,000 per violation. The mandate is the Biden administration's boldest attempt to get people vaccinated, and it faces dozens of lawsuits. Thank you so much for listening this morning. We'd like to end by giving a special thanks to our TPO baristas who made this podcast possible. TPO baristas are those who choose to pay for what

Starting point is 00:06:14 they could get for free. If you want to join them and support this podcast at a deeper level, go to theporeover.org slash barista. If you've made it this far into the episode, my guess is that you probably enjoyed it at least a little. We would really appreciate it if you would leave us a five-star review. If you're on Apple Podcasts, simply scroll to the bottom and hit tap to rate. Otherwise, we'll see you bright and early back here on Monday.

The Pour Over Today - Friday, November 5, 2021

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