The Pour Over Today - Middle East Retaliations, Trump Defamation Trial, & More | 01.19.24

Episode Date: January 19, 2024

Today, we’re talking about spreading conflict across the Middle East, a consequential Supreme Court case, Trump’s defamation trial, and other top news for Friday, January 19th. Stay informed while remaining focused on Christ with The Pour Over Today. Please support our TPO sponsors! LMNT: https://links.thepourover.org/LMNT0103 The Bible Recap: https://links.thepourover.org/TBR_pod The Bible Recap for Kids: https://links.thepourover.org/TBR4Kids0104

Today's episode is brought to you by our lead sponsor, Crew. Today we're talking about spreading conflict across the Middle East, a consequential Supreme Court case, Trump's defamation trial, and other top news for Friday, January 19th. Stay informed while remaining focused on Christ with The Pour Over today. Here's the quote of the day. Jesus Christ knows the worst about you. Nonetheless, he is the one who loves you the most. A.W. Tozer. Let's get started with some espresso shots. Retaliations are rocking the Middle East. On Wednesday, the Iran-backed Houthi rebels hit another U.S. shipping vessel, and the U.S. responded by destroying 14 Houthi missiles on launch rails in Yemen.

The U.S. also designated the Houthi rebels as specially designated global terrorists, triggering an asset freeze to stifle their financing. Then, an Iranian missile strike targeting militants in Pakistan reportedly killed two children. Pakistan responded with strikes against terrorist hideouts in Iran, killing at least nine. The neighboring countries accuse each other of harboring terrorists with separatist goals. In some positive news, a shipment of aid reached Gaza as part of the first cooperation between Israel and Hamas since November. For every medical kit provided to Hamas-held hostages, 1,000 kits went to Palestinians. We pray for the end of spiraling violence in the Middle East, hopeful that negotiations will

continue, and confident that God hears and grants our prayers when we pray according to His will. It is written in Book of Common Prayer on page 655, Father of all, whose Son commanded us to love our enemies, lead them and us from prejudice to truth. Deliver them and us from hatred, cruelty, and revenge, and in your good time enable us all to stand reconciled before you, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. The Supreme Court heard arguments Wednesday on a disputed fishing regulation that seems likely to upend a 40-year-old legal doctrine called Chevron Deference. The oft-cited 1984 case Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council ruled that judges should defer to government agencies' interpretation of what the law means in cases where there is ambiguity. The court's liberal justices appeared ready to preserve the doctrine,

with Justice Kagan saying that legislation often leaves interpretive gaps, which are best filled in by experts in the field, government agencies, not courts. The court's conservatives appeared split, with Justice Gorsuch skeptical of the precedent, worrying it's being applied as automatically whatever the agency says wins. Others worried that overturning Chevron could lead to a flood of litigation on previously decided cases. A decision is expected in June. Here's a verse to consider when you need a break from thinking about the nation's laws

and you wonder how to fulfill the law of Christ. Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. Galatians 6 verse 2. Former President Trump and E. Jean Carroll are back in court this week. It's the second trial between Trump and Carroll, a writer who first accused Trump of defaming her in 2019. Carroll filed another lawsuit in 2022, accusing Trump of raping her in the 90s and defaming her again on Truth Social posts. The 2022 suit went to trial first, and Trump was found liable for defamation and sexual assault. Now, Carroll's 2019 defamation trial is underway. Tuesday, Trump was commenting on Carroll's testimony within the jury's earshot, prompting the judge to threaten to expel him from the courtroom.

Though he showed up voluntarily to trial, Trump has de-volunteered for every Republican debate. Nikki Haley said she wouldn't show up for the last two if Trump didn't, and since Ron DeSantis can't argue with himself, the final GOP debates have been canceled. Nikki Haley said she wouldn't show up for the last two if Trump didn't, and since Ron DeSantis can't argue with himself, the final GOP debates have been canceled. Christians should always root for justice and fairness, whether it's a world-famous celebrity or a random person on trial. Our job is to try to please Jesus, who will judge everyone fairly and win in the end. 2 Corinthians 5 verses 9 through 11 says, Cheerfully pleasing God is the main thing, and that's what we aim to do, regardless of our

conditions. Sooner or later we'll all have to face God. We will appear before Christ and take what's coming to us as a 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.crew.org slash TPO. Again, that's texting TPO to 71326 or give.cru.org slash TPO. Message and data rates may apply. Available to U.S. addresses only. In other brews, here's a rapid round of updates. Uncle Sam's lights are staying on, at least into March. Congress sent President Biden a short-term spending bill yesterday that extends government funding at current levels. The House passed the bill 314-108 over the opposition of more conservative Republicans who criticized it as

spending money we don't have. The Senate had passed the Bill 77-18 a few hours earlier. The British royal family is racking up the hospital loyalty points. Buckingham Palace announced King Charles III will get treatment next week for an enlarged prostate, a benign condition common with thousands of men. Meanwhile, Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales, will remain in the hospital for two weeks following a planned successful abdominal surgery. Investigators found cocaine residue in Hunter Biden's gun pouch last year, leading federal prosecutors to urge the judge not to dismiss weapons charges against him. The president's son's lawyers dismissed the recently revealed findings,

saying that the gun charges are trumped up due to political pressure. Secretary of State Antony Blinken's plane suffered a critical failure before takeoff from Davos, Switzerland Wednesday, where he had attended the annual World Economic Forum. A smaller State Department aircraft picked him up and returned him to Washington. If you guessed the original plane was a Boeing, you were right. The company has had a rough month. China is pushing rabbit energy in the Year of the Dragon. China is pushing rabbit energy in the year of the dragon.

Its population dropped again due to record low births and high post-lockdown COVID deaths, making incentivizing childbearing a top priority for President Xi. Separately, China is under renewed scrutiny following news that a lab sequenced COVID's genome two weeks before alerting the world to the danger. 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 we hope you have a great weekend. We'll see you on Monday.