The Pour Over Today - Israel and Hamas War Changes, College Basketball Playoff Updates, & More I 04.08.24

Episode Date: April 8, 2024

Today, we’re talking about changes in the war between Israel and Hamas, an update on the college basketball playoffs, and other top news for Monday, April 8th. Stay informed while remaining focused on Christ with The Pour Over Today. Please support our TPO sponsors! Compassion International: compassion.com/TPO A Jew and a Gentile Discuss: https://links.thepourover.org/JewGentileDiscussPod TUVU: https://www.tuvu.com/tpo Christian Standard Bible: https://links.thepourover.org/ChristianStandardBible_Pod Holman Handbook Series: https://links.thepourover.org/HolmanHandbook

Today's episode is brought to you by our lead sponsor, Crew. Today, we're talking about changes in the war between Israel and Hamas, an update on college basketball playoffs, and other top news for Monday, April 8th. Stay informed while remaining focused on Christ with The Pullover today. Here's the verse of the week. For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed, says the Lord who has compassion

on you. Isaiah 54 10. Let's get started with some espresso shots. Israel's making some changes in their six-month-old conflict with Hamas. On Friday, Israel's military dismissed two officers for violating standard procedure in the Gaza airstrike that killed seven humanitarian workers. Israeli Defense Forces, IDF, mistakenly believed Hamas gunmen were operating the aid vehicles. The tragedy prompted President Biden to warn Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu that U.S. support is contingent upon humanitarian aid to Gaza. Hours later, Israel announced opening three more aid corridors in Gaza. As food flows in, troops are leaving. Sunday, the IDF pulled all but one military brigade from southern Gaza.

On Israel's home front, Benny Gantz, a member of the emergency government and more popular political rival of Netanyahu, called for early elections in response to mounting public discontent with Netanyahu's failure to bring hostages home thus far. Death is all around us and the darkness weighs heavily on our hearts and our world.

But believers have hope because Emmanuel is present with us in the darkness, and our living God has removed the sting of death so that it's powerless against those who love him. 1 Corinthians 15.54-58 says, Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, death, is your victory? Where, death, is your victory? Where, death, is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the Lord's work. always excelling in the Lord's work. South Carolina is the undefeated women's NCAA basketball champion. South Carolina beat Iowa in the women's championship yesterday and in Kaitlyn Clark's storybook career without a storybook ending. The Gamecocks' win avenged last year's Final Four loss to Iowa and gave them their third title in eight seasons, a perfect season, 38-0, and a three-year record of 109 wins and three losses.

Viewership keeps setting records, too. Friday's Final Four game between Iowa and UConn set a new women's rating record, 14.2 million viewers, which the Iowa-slash-South Carolina game proceeded to beat. 14.2 million viewers, which the Iowa-slash-South Carolina game proceeded to beat. By comparison, this outrated every regular season college football game last season, except one, Ohio State versus Michigan. The men play tonight, with UConn hoping to become the first men's team to win consecutive titles since Florida in 2006 and 2007, and Purdue hoping to win its first ever title.

Here's a verse to consider whether your thing is sports, video games, TV shows, or none of these. So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God. 1 Corinthians 10.31 Republican mega-donors make it rain at former President Trump's Palm Beach fundraiser. Saturday's event brought in $50 million, the largest haul from a single political fundraiser ever. The previous record was set last month by President Biden, who raised $26 million at an event alongside former Presidents Clinton and Obama. It came at a good time for

Trump's campaign, which had only $93 million in cash compared to Biden's $192 million. The 117 guests listened to Trump's remarks on the economy, the southern border, and party unification before donating to the Trump campaign, Save America, which funds Trump's legal bills, the RNC, and state Republican parties. In other political news, the upstart centrist political party No Labels has abandoned its attempt to put forth a third-party unity ticket after failing to find a candidate. Politicians come and go, often disappointing supporters and opponents alike. Put your hope in the Lord, who has no term limit,

rules with compassion, and executes justice perfectly. Psalm 9, 7-10 says, But the Lord sits enthroned forever. He has established His throne for judgment, and He judges the world with righteousness. He executes judgment on the nations with fairness. The Lord is a refuge for the persecuted, a refuge in times of trouble.

Those who know Your name trust in You, because You have not abandoned those who seek You, Lord. know your name, trust in you, because you have not abandoned those who seek you, Lord. 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. This is why we've partnered with Crew.

Crew has missionaries in almost every country, but they need more Bibles. One missionary said, I have 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 TPO coffee mug. Simply text TPO to 71326 or visit give.ru.org. Message and data rates may apply. Available to U.S. addresses only.

In other brews, here's a rapid round of updates. Do you feel it? The U.S. Geological Survey is polling Northeasterners after a 4.8-magnitude earthquake shook New Jersey and New York City Friday morning. The quake's epicenter was about 45 miles west of New York City and 50 miles north of Philadelphia. No major damage has been reported, beyond a few salt shakers and launchers tipping over. This afternoon, millions of Americans will see the contingent U.S.'s first total solar eclipse since 2017. The next one isn't until 2044. Airbnb and hotel

rates in the path of totality have soared ahead of the moon's photobomb, which will start over Mexico and move across the U.S. from Texas to Maine. And don't forget your glasses. Apple announced it's slicing off 600 employees from its workforce. While the tech industry has seen lots of workforce reduction in recent years, this is Apple's first round of post-pandemic layoffs. The decision follows news Apple has closed its secretive self-driving car division and plans to shift focus to AI. Grab your oven mitts. The labor market remains hot.

The U.S. added a better-than-expected 303,000 jobs in March. Much of the job growth came through an expanding labor market, which created only moderate wage growth, meaning it hasn't raised any inflation bells at the Federal Reserve. The stock market climbed higher on the news. You've heard of the Wet Bandits. But what about the Easter Bandits? On Easter Sunday, thieves broke into the LA Money Storage Facility by cutting a hole in the wall, cracking the safe, and taking $30 million.

Experts predict the heist, which sounds like a movie plot, involved numerous people and was planned for months. 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 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.