The Pour Over Today - Northern Lights, Trial of Senator Menendez Begins, & More | 05.13.24

Episode Date: May 13, 2024

Today, we’re talking about why the Northern Lights were widely visible this weekend, the trial of Senator Bob Menendez beginning today, and other top news for Monday, May 13th. Today’s episode is a bit shorter than normal after a busy day celebrating Mothers. Stay informed while remaining focused on Christ with The Pour Over Today. Please support our TPO sponsors! Cru: give.cru.org/tpo Compassion International: compassion.com/TPO Men's Daily Bible: https://links.thepourover.org/MensDailyBiblePod

Today, we're talking about why the Northern Lights were widely visible this weekend, the trial of Senator Bob Menendez beginning today, and other top news for Monday, May 13th. Today's episode is a bit shorter than normal after a busy day celebrating mothers. Stay informed while remaining focused on Christ with the pour-over today. Here's the quote of the day, Fight the good fight of the faith, take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession

in the presence of many witnesses. 1 Timothy 6 verse 12. Let's get started with some espresso shots. The Northern Lights moved to South, for a weekend, anyway. Officially known as the aurora borealis, this phenomenon occurs when molecules collide in the upper level of the Earth's atmosphere, releasing bursts of energy in the form of light. It's similar to how neon lights work. When heated, the gases at different layers of the Earth's atmosphere give off different colors. Oxygen produces brilliant greens,

and nitrogen produces purples, blues, and pinks. The expanded aurora was courtesy of strong solar flares emitting from the sun since Wednesday morning. These flares resulted in a rare, severe G5 geomagnetic storm, the first since 2003. Facebook feeds were filled with neon skies as people as far south as Florida and worldwide across Europe and China saw the phenomenon. Beauty in the skies can make us feel really small and that's not a bad thing. The universe God created and operates is enormous and we are small in

comparison. It's good to be humble in enormous, and we are small in comparison. It's good to be humble in the face of our Creator's incredible power. Psalm 19, 1 and 2 says, The heavens declare the glory of God, and the expanse proclaims the work of His hands. Day after day they pour out speech, night after night they communicate knowledge. Night after night, they communicate knowledge. The trial of Senator Robert Menendez begins today in a Manhattan courtroom, a trendy location. Menendez, who led the Senate Foreign Relations Committee up until his indictment last September, is accused of accepting bribes of $480,000 in cash and 22 gold bars from three New Jersey businessmen in exchange for aiding the governments of Egypt and Qatar. He's also accused of using his political influence to stop criminal investigations into two New Jersey businessmen and return for a Mercedes convertible. The senator has maintained his innocence. Court documents suggest he

may argue that his wife, who was also charged in the bribery scheme, made deals without his knowledge. Menendez has refused calls to resign from Democratic colleagues and may run for reelection as an independent in November. Our goal is to keep the big things big and the small things small. It's not that a trial of a sitting senator isn't important. It's just not God of the universe important. Stay focused on eternity. It changes everything.

Philippians 3 verse 20 says, Our citizenship is in heaven, and we eagerly wait for a savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ. Hey there, it's Steph, a writer at the Poor Over. Wish you could get that, I just found a dollar on the ground rush every time you go to the gas station? With the cash back app Upside, you can. Gas stations pay Upside to be recommended, so there's no sneaky data sales involved. You just download the app, claim the offer at your gas

station, and pay as usual. I save around 15 cents a gallon and it takes less than a minute to check in and cash out. Download the free Upside app and use promo code TPO to get an extra 25 cents back for every gallon on your first tank of gas. That's an extra 25 cents back for every gallon on your first tank of gas using promo code TPO. ["Rainbow Street"] In other brews, here's a rapid round of updates. On Friday, the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly adopted a resolution 143-9, saying Palestinians

qualify for full UN membership. After the vote, Israel's ambassador shredded the UN's charter and said terrorists don't belong among peace-loving states. Full membership requires Security Council approval, where Uncle Sam has veto power, and used it last month to prevent Palestinian membership. Michael Cohen will testify against former President Trump today.

Cohen, who facilitated the payment to Stormy Daniels, is expected to say that Trump falsified reimbursements to him as a legal expense. On Friday, Judge Mershan advised Cohen to refrain from public comments about the trial, but stopped short of the formal gag order requested by Trump's team. The world's largest carbon capture facility, dubbed Mammoth, has begun operations in Iceland. The facility aims to pull 36,000 metric tons of CO2 from the air per year, roughly equivalent to 7,800 gas-powered cars, and bury it underground. Advocates say the technology is crucial to the globe becoming carbon neutral. Critics say it's too inefficient and expensive.

globe becoming carbon neutral. Critics say it's too inefficient and expensive. Your forgotten gym membership is getting more expensive. For the first time since 1998, Planet Fitness is raising the price of its classic $10 per month membership to $15 per month. Some things aren't changing. The black card membership will remain at $25 per month, and the no-frills gym remains unwelcoming to lunks. Much like soccer, sorry, football, the Eurovision singing competition is huge everywhere, but in the States.

This year, Swiss singer Nemo found the winner's trophy with the song, The Code, besting 24 other countries' entries, although Croatia's baby Lasagna ate up the unofficial popular vote. To see all of the finalists' performances, visit Eurovision's YouTube page. 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.