The World and Everything in It - April 13, 2022

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Good morning!

The United States and its allies are sending aid to Ukraine in its defense against Russia, but is it enough?

NICK EICHER, HOST: That’s ahead on Washington Wednesday.

Also today, World Tour.

Plus we’ll meet a postal carrier with a memorable mail route.

And Janie B. Cheaney on choices, mistakes, and consequences.

REICHARD: It’s Wednesday, April 13th. This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Mary Reichard.

EICHER: And I’m Nick Eicher. Good morning!

REICHARD: Now news. Here’s Kent Covington.

KENT COVINGTON, NEWS ANCHOR: U.S., Ukraine investigating possible Russian use of chemical weapons » Top U.S. officials say they cannot confirm reports that Russia may have used a chemical weapon in Ukraine.

Ukraine is investigating a claim that a poisonous substance had been dropped on its troops.

U.S. Secretary of State Tony Blinken:

BLINKEN: We had credible information that Russian forces may use a variety of riot control agents, including tear gas, mixed with chemical agents that would cause stronger symptoms to weaken and incapacitate entrenched Ukrainian fighters and civilians.

But Blinken said the United States is not in a position to confirm anything, and he does not believe Ukraine is either at this point.

Western officials warned that any use of chemical weapons by Russia would be a serious escalation of the already devastating war.

Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne said if the reports are confirmed, it would be …

PAYNE: A further indication of President Putin and Russia’s absolute violation of every single value and every single aspect of the rules-based global order.

Meantime, Vladimir Putin vowed Tuesday to continue Russia's bloody offensive until its goals are fulfilled.

Russian troops are now focusing on the eastern Donbas region after failing to capture the capital city of Kyiv.

NYC commuters injured in subway shooting » A gunman in a gas mask and a construction vest set off a smoke canister on a rush-hour subway train in Brooklyn and shot at least 10 people Tuesday.

AUDIO: I saw a lot of people coming out of the train station screaming, yelling for help. I saw a lady, she was shot right in her leg.

Another commuter said he heard bangs and screams as thick smoke blanketed the subway car and pools of blood formed on the floor.

In addition to the 10 people shot, more than a dozen others where hurt as the panicked crowd tried to escape. Five people were in critical condition but expected to survive.

New York Police commissioner Keechant Sewell told reporters …

SEWELL: He is being reported as a male, black, approximately 5 feet, 5 inches tall with a heavy build. He was wearing a green construction-type vest and a hooded sweatshirt. The color is gray.

Police were scouring the city for the shooter and are looking for a particular person of interest. Authorities said they’re not investigating the attack as terrorism, but they’re not ruling anything out.

NY lieutenant governor resigns after arrest in federal probe » New York Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin resigned Tuesday after being arrested in a federal corruption investigation.

Prosecutors say the Democrat took part in a scheme to obtain campaign contributions from a real estate developer. In exchange, Benjamin allegedly agreed to use his influence as a then-state senator to get a $50,000 grant of state funds for a nonprofit group the developer controlled.

On Tuesday afternoon, Gov. Kathy Hochul told reporters …

HOCHUL: We’ll have a statement out there. I haven’t had a chance to speak to him. I was doing media interviews this morning. This is not the place, but I will be addressing it very shortly. Let’s focus on the fact that there are people in a hospital right now fighting for their lives. Those are the people worth thinking about and praying for at this moment.

Benjamin is facing charges including bribery, fraud, conspiracy and falsification of records. He pleaded not guilty Tuesday and was released on bail.

U.S. inflation jumped 8.5% in past year, highest since 1981 » We have more new numbers showing just how big a bite inflation is taking out of American wallets.

The Labor Department said Tuesday that its consumer price index jumped 8.5 percent in March from 12 months earlier. That was the sharpest year-over-year rise since 1981.

Costs are up on everything from housing to gas to food. And one shopper in Alameda, Calif. said she’s definitely feeling it.

AUDIO: Milk and bread is very expensive nowadays. So if you’re thinking you’re trying to budget, you know, it’s pretty hard. You have to figure out how much money you’ve got and how long can you stretch till your next payment.

The federal government flooding the economy with cash helped fuel strong consumer demand. That, coupled with supply chain bottlenecks, has helped to trigger inflation.

Russia’s war against Ukraine has only made matters worse. From February to March, inflation rose 1.2 percent, the biggest month-to-month jump since 2005. Gasoline prices drove more than half that increase.

Oklahoma passes law outlawing abortion » Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt signed a bill into law on Tuesday that makes it a felony to perform an abortion. WORLD’s Kristen Flavin has more.

KRISTEN FLAVIN, REPORTER: Under the bill, anyone convicted of performing an abortion would face up to 10 years in prison and a $100,000 fine. It does not authorize criminal charges against a woman for getting an abortion.

The bill takes effect 90 days after the legislature adjourns next month. It does make an exception to save the life of the mother.

Abortion supporters have vowed to challenge the law in court.

Oklahoma lawmakers passed a bill last year to prevent women from ordering abortion medication online, but the Oklahoma Supreme Court blocked that measure.

The bill is part of an aggressive push in GOP-led states across the country to protect the lives of the unborn. They’re hoping the U.S. Supreme Court will vacate the Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion nationwide.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Kristen Flavin.

I’m Kent Covington. Straight ahead: Washington’s effort to aid Ukraine.

Plus, paths paved with errors and blessings.

This is The World and Everything in It.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: It’s Wednesday the 13th of April, 2022.

Glad to have you along for today’s edition of The World and Everything in It. Good morning, I’m Mary Reichard.

NICK EICHER, HOST: And I’m Nick Eicher. It’s time for Washington Wednesday. Up first: Washington’s bid to help Ukraine win the war against Russia.

The United States and its allies continue to funnel weapons to Ukraine’s military while ratcheting up sanctions on Moscow.

President Biden recently announced additional sanctions against Russia, and he declared:

BIDEN: This war could continue for a long time, but the United States will continue to stand with Ukraine and the Ukrainian people in the fight for freedom.

And there is plenty of bipartisan backing on Capitol Hill to continue robust support for Ukraine. But is Washington doing enough?

On the line now to help answer that question is Elisabeth Braw. She is the Commissioner of the UK’s National Preparedness Commission.

REICHARD: Elisabeth, good morning!

ELISABETH BRAW, GUEST: Good morning!

REICHARD: You say that maybe Washington’s biggest misstep with regard to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine isn’t anything they’ve done recently, but what Western leaders didn’t do years ago when Russia invaded Crimea. Talk about that.

BRAW: That is an allegation that is often thrown at Western governments that they should have reacted more forcefully when Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 and it's fair to make that allegation or that criticism of Western governments, but we also have to take into account the risks involved with provoking or holding Russia to account on the issue of Crimea. And we have to remember that Western leaders are elected by their own voters and voters would, I think, most likely have said, well, hang on, why are we risking harm to our own countries by responding forcefully to the annexation of a peninsula that we have nothing to do with? So, that was a situation then and, yes, Western leaders can be criticized, but I think on balance, they said, Okay, we will impose sanctions, which is what they did, we'll expel Russia for various international settings. But we won't risk a war with them. And that reality is clearly different now when Russia has invaded the whole of Ukraine and if a whole country is invaded, there is clearly a moral imperative for the rest of the world to try to stop such an invasion or, indeed, the war that is taking place. And that's where we are now.

REICHARD: About the U.S.-led sanctions put in place since the start of this latest invasion. What effect are they having in Russia?

BRAW: They are certainly making the lives of ordinary people miserable. Most Western consumer companies, consumer brands are leaving Russia, which means that Russia won't be able to participate in the sort of consumerism that they have become used to over the past 32 years. The question is whether the misery of ordinary Russians will be enough to convince Vladimir Putin to end the war. Russia is still able to export oil. And that raises a point, which is where we are now. It raises the point of do we also need to completely stop buying Russian oil? Will the sanctions cripple the Russian economy to the point that Putin can't ignore it? Or do we need to stop importing Russian oil as well?

REICHARD: Let’s talk about weapons now. Washington and its allies are providing defensive weapons and more to Ukraine. But many officials within Ukraine are telling us that it’s not enough. We’ve heard President Zelenskyy say the West lacks courage in not sending fighter jets to Ukraine. Elizabeth, is Washington and its allies—are they doing enough to supply the weapons Ukraine needs?

BRAW: They are doing a great deal and some countries like Estonia have given Ukraine everything they have basically. They have stripped their own armed forces down to the bare bones and given Ukraine an enormous amount of military equipment. The challenge is that, first of all, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are trained on particular pieces of equipment. So even if the U.S. wanted to send hundreds of Abrams tanks to to Ukraine, the Ukrainian soldiers would not be able to use them because they are trained on different tanks, which is why there is so much talk about sending old East German equipment because it's similar to what they know because it's old Soviet equipment, really. So now countries, former Warsaw Pact states are going through their chambers to see if they have any old East German equipment they can send the Ukrainians.

Then the other challenge is with what are called offensive weapons. So there is really no definition of what an offensive weapon it is, but it's really just something more powerful than what the Ukrainians have received so far. And there is hesitancy among Western governments to send offensive weapons because they worry that that will escalate the conflict. The counter argument, of course, is that it's already a very brutal conflict. And the Ukrainians need all the weapons they can get in order to shorten the conflict as much as possible. There are just completely different views on what to do. But the logistical point is that the best chance they have at the moment is by receiving as much East German and other Warsaw Pact equipment as possible.

REICHARD: We’ve heard about the atrocities uncovered in Bucha—civilians tied up and shot dead, left in the streets- did that change Washington’s stance in any way?

BRAW: I think it did. It's very easy to treat the war as an abstraction simply because most of us are not seeing it ourselves. We're seeing it on a television screen. It's so easy to become desensitized to the absolute brutality of war, but when we see civilians with their hands bound behind their backs and shot in the street, and there was a particularly poignant or powerful photo of a man who had clearly been been riding his bike, had been shot dead, he was lying next to his bike, and his his dog was waiting next to him clearly thinking he would wake up. This is the reality of war and no normal person could escape being touched by such images and motivated to do something. I think this is the turning point. It's the point where this war moves from being something about two armed forces fighting each other to a reality settling in that it's about the Armed Forces of one side targeting civilians in a brutal fashion. And we are just incredibly lucky that it's not us.

REICHARD: In your view, what does the West need to do that it is not doing to ensure Ukraine wins this war?

BRAW: There are two things that need to happen. First of all, a steady supply of weapons to Ukraine so that it doesn't have to worry about running out of either weapons or ammunition. It has to be sure that it can use everything it needs, and not worry about where will we get additional supplies from. That's the first thing. The second thing is cutting off oil imports from Russia, oil and gas imports. Now, this is a very painful step to take for many European countries, especially Germany, because they rely on German energy to a very large extent. But Russia seems unwilling or, I should say, Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, seems unwilling to reason or to consider the harm that he's doing to Ukraine. So this is our one remaining tool that we can use against him because without that monthly, in fact, daily income from Western countries, he would have enormous trouble financing this war and would need to end it sooner rather than later.

REICHARD: Finally, Elisabeth, I know that the biggest focal point of your studies is deterrence. What lessons should Washington and the West take from all this to prevent future aggression from major world players, be it from Russia or say China?

BRAW: We should be very conscious of the fact that we need to tell countries that there will be consequences if they take actions that are harmful to our countries or countries that we consider to be our friends. And that's where there is an enormous responsibility for the U.S. because it's such a powerful country. It's not enough to wait until aggression happens and then say, Oh, we're going to punish you now. We have to constantly tell these countries that if you engage in military aggression, but also other forms of aggression, including economic coercion, cyber aggression, disinformation, we will punish you and this is not a way of trying to be some sort of global police. It's a way of establishing a working order for the world. If we don't have a sort of working order where countries can be relatively sure that they can keep existing without interference from other countries, we will have anarchy. So it's in everybody's interest that we have a sort of functioning global system and the U.S. is in a position to keep reminding countries like Russia, like China, like Iran, like North Korea, like any other or any other country that may get ideas along these lines that if you harm another country, you will pay a price.

REICHARD: Elisabeth Braw is a senior fellow with the American Enterprise Institute. Elisabeth, appreciate your time. Thank you.

BRAW: Thank you.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Coming up next on The World and Everything in It: World Tour with our reporter in Africa, Onize Ohikere.

French voters select Macron, LePen for runoff—We start today in Europe.

AUDIO: Macron, president! Macron, president!

Voters in France have selected two candidates for the presidential runoff elections on April 24th. Incumbent Emmanuel Macron got the most votes, with nearly 28 percent. Far-right leader Marine Le Pen finished second with 23 percent.

AUDIO: [Man speaking French]

During a campaign stop on Monday, Macron defended one of his less popular measures—moving the retirement age from 62 to 65.

AUDIO: [Woman speaking French]

Le Pen said she was counting on voters to reject what she called Macron’s policy of “social destruction.” And she touted her experience campaigning against Macron. The two met in the runoff in 2017, when Macron won with 66 percent of the vote.

But this time, polls suggest the contest could be much closer.

Pakistani parliament selects new prime minister—Next we go to South Asia.

AUDIO: [Sound of cheering]

Pakistan’s parliament voted Monday to elect Shehbaz Sharif as the country's new prime minister. Sharif’s election followed a no-confidence vote against the former prime minister, Imran Khan, over the weekend.

AUDIO: [Man speaking Urdu]

In his first speech to parliament, Sharif called his election “a victory for righteousness.” But he also called for dialogue over the deadlock.

Pakistan is struggling with a weak economy, rising threats of terrorism, and soured relations with the West. Khan moved his country closer to Russia and China. But Sharif signaled an interest in once again strengthening ties with Washington.

But he could face a rocky road ahead. In 2019, Pakistan’s National Accountability Bureau seized nearly two dozen properties belonging to Sharif and his son. It accused them of money laundering. Sharif is still awaiting trial on those charges.

China delivers weapons system to Serbia—Next to China.

AUDIO: [Man speaking Mandarin]

A spokesman for China’s foreign ministry denied claims on Monday that deliveries of military supplies to Serbia had anything to do with Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Over the weekend, the Russian ally accepted delivery of a sophisticated Chinese anti-aircraft system. But China’s foreign ministry spokesman said the cooperative project between China and Serbia had long been a part of the country’s annual plan.

Serbia and China have strong ties, based partly on their common opposition to the United States. Western leaders fear Serbia could be gearing up for another Balkan war aimed at retaking Kosovo. Serbia, Russia, and China don’t recognize Kosovo’s statehood, while the United States and most Western countries do.

Christians celebrate Palm Sunday in Jerusalem—And finally, we end today in the Middle East.

AUDIO: [Sound of singing]

Thousands of Christians celebrated Palm Sunday in Jerusalem.

Participants waved palm branches and sang “hallelujah” as they made their way from the Mount of Olives past the Garden of Gethsemane and ended up in the Old City.

The annual tradition was less festive during the last two years. But as pandemic restrictions ease, more tourists are returning to the Holy Land.

Easter celebrations will continue this week, with events marking Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection.

That’s it for this week’s World Tour. Reporting for WORLD, I’m Onize Ohikere in Abuja, Nigeria.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Race car driver Dan Parker just broke a world record by driving a customized Corvette 211 mph …

Now, others have driven faster than that, but the degree of difficulty here makes Parker’s record quite remarkable.

Parker broke the record using an audio guidance system.

That’s because the record he set was: “Fastest Speed for a Car Driven Blindfolded.” Now, Parker is blind. He lost his sight in a racing accident a decade ago, but says he hopes his success will inspire other blind people to break through barriers of their own.

It’s The World and Everything in It.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Today is Wednesday, April 13th. Thanks for joining us today! I’m Mary Reichard.

NICK EICHER, HOST: And I’m Nick Eicher. Coming next on The World and Everything in It: Mr. Postman! 

He’s delivered mail in as many ways as this tune’s been covered. Just like the Marvelettes, the Beatles, and the Carpenters, the Postal Service has gone from horseback riders to trains to planes and typically ending with a Jeep with the steering column on the right.

REICHARD: WORLD Senior Correspondent Myrna Brown takes us to a small town in southern Alabama where people rely on another mode of transportation to get their mail.

MYRNA BROWN, SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Reid Cole is a man of few words. He’s loading a tub of sorted newspapers, magazines and letters into a white pick up. His personal truck, not the usual white, U.S. Postal Service vehicle.

After a quick five mile drive, Cole unloads, then reloads his tub of sorted mail onto another vehicle, a golf cart.

REID TO MYRNA: Ready? Ready! [Starts golf cart]

As we make our way down a steep hill, we approach a 14-foot aluminum jon boat, docked on the Magnolia River. Cole isn’t just a mail carrier. He’s a water mail carrier in Magnolia Springs, Alabama, a small town nine miles from the beaches of the Alabama Gulf Coast. Cole began delivering mail this way about three years ago.

[SQUEAKING MAILBOXES]

The opening and closing of one creaky mailbox after the other sounds a lot like a chorus of squeaky high notes, keeping tempo with the constant slap of water against the boat’s hull and the steady sound of the boat’s engine.

REID: Usually it’s box after box. Sometimes one pier might have two or three boxes on it.

Cole also delivers mail to residents living on nearby Weeks Bay and the Fish River. That’s where he says he gets to really savor the pristine beauty of God’s creation.

REID: There’s a couple of good little stretches where it’s just running and you’re on top of the water and you will go a couple of miles between boxes, but there’s only a couple of those. Yeah it’s peaceful out there.

Peaceful, but never dull.

REID: I was on my way from Magnolia River to Fish River and I noticed a deer, a buck, swimming from one side of the bay to the other, being chased by a dog. And so I stopped and videotaped it. And what happened? Did he make it across the river? Oh yeah, he was fine. He was outrunning the dog. I knew it was a unique experience.

Definitely a one-of-a-kind experience! According to the U.S. Postal Service, Magnolia Springs, population 811, has the only full-time water delivery mail service in the country.

Before 1916, residents who lived along the tree-lined riverside, had to either row up river or travel on horseback to get to the post office. But for the last 106 years mail has been delivered by boat in this coastal community. And there’s been a long line of water mail carriers. Claude Underwood was number seven.

[WIND CHIMES]

Ken Underwood is Claude’s 80-year-old son. Sitting underneath the wind chimes on his front porch, Ken tells stories about his father, Claude’s water mail carrier days.

KEN UNDERWOOD: In the summertime, we had chores to do, rake the yard, mow the grass and this kind of stuff. And then on days when you couldn’t figure out what you wanted to do that day, you’d go ride with dad on the mailboat. And what a cool thing that was.

A WWII veteran, Claude Underwood was 30 years old when he began delivering the mail by water to the 68 families living along the river at that time. A job he treasured from 1944 until 1959.

KEN UNDERWOOD: I just happened to have a picture or two…

Ken Underwood proudly pulls out old newspaper articles and black and white photographs of his father handing packets of letters to customers, waving at children watching him speed by on the river and posing next to his beloved boat, nicknamed Jeannetta. After 15 years of delivering mail up and down the river, Underwood says only one thing kept his father from doing the job he loved.

KEN UNDERWOOD: Hurricane. Yeah. Hurricane. One of these pictures here,, this one right here, these trees leaning. And I’m thinking this must have been some time after a hurricane… but I think that’s the only thing.

Claude Underwood died in 1995 at the age of 80—never imagining that his great nephew would follow in his footsteps.

KEN UNDERWOOD: I think he would just be thrilled. Reid’s dad and I are first cousins. And Reid’s grandmother and my dad were brother and sister.

Back on the river, Reid Cole is nearing the end of his 31-mile route. He stands slightly to hand the mail to one of his 170 customers.

HOMEOWNER TO COLE: How’s it going? Good. You? Thank you

Todd and Rivers Puckett have raised their four children on the river. While land delivery is an option, having a water mail carrier is tradition and no one seems to want to give it up.

TODD PUCKETT: I think there would probably be a lot of people upset. And I think it would be a pretty hard fight. I think people take it that seriously. It’s that important to them. It’s our lifestyle.

Reporting for WORLD, in Magnolia Springs, Alabama, I’m Myrna Brown

REICHARD: If you want to see Reid Cole delivering mail by water, check out WORLD Watch, our video news program for students. Myrna created a companion piece for it. Just go to worldwatch.news/myrna. We’ll post that link in today’s transcript.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Today is Wednesday April 13th. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Nick Eicher.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: And I’m Mary Reichard. Here’s WORLD commentator Janie B. Cheaney on choices, mistakes, and consequences.

JANIE B. CHEANEY, COMMENTATOR: Literature professor Alan Jacobs observes, “[S]ome therapists who work with young people today say that the greatest source of stress and anxiety is the sheer number of choices they have before them, which generates the fear that if they make the wrong choices they may not be able to overcome their own errors.” Jacobs adds, “My long experience as a teacher confirms this interpretation.”

I don’t remember feeling overwhelmed by choices as a young person. I was freewheeling to a fault. Beyond going to college and eventually getting married (because all my friends did) I had no plans and was open to life as it came. As it happened, college did lead to marriage and because of the marriage I never finished college.

Instead, we embarked on a series of moves and career changes. My part as homemaker and mom was established early and I was generally satisfied with it. Until I got the itch to write a novel, and learned what it was like to agonize over choices.

Some novelists have the story plotted before they write a word. Others, like me, begin with a setting and a handful of characters and some idea of where they want to end up. But how to get there? So many options, so many ways to turn a masterpiece into a mess.

Young adults in the real world have less control than a fiction writer, but they, too, are starting out with a setting and a handful of characters and some idea of where they want to end up, whether vague or specific. But how to get there? Whom to get there with? And how to know for sure where “there” is?

Even the most astute college student can’t factor in the people, circumstances, and nudges that will make up the future. No wonder they are paralyzed with anxiety.

But every path is paved with errors, as much as productive choices and good judgment (and what some might call plain ol’ luck).

Should I have finished college? Should I have married someone else? My life would have diverged in other directions, but I can’t say it would have been better or worse. “Better” and “worse” are squishy terms at the beginning, because so much depends on the person you’ll be at those turning points, and the person you’ll be after. There is only one Person who knows all that.

Psalm 25:10 says, “All the paths of the LORD are steadfast love and faithfulness for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.”

Every life is a creative work between the one who lives it and the One who gives it. In that sense, it doesn’t matter which direction the path takes or what ground it covers or whether we travel at night or full daylight. What matters is steadfast love and faithfulness.

I’m Janie B. Cheaney.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Tomorrow: a financial break for the U.S. Postal Service. We’ll tell you about that.

And, caring for sheep. We’ll visit a farm in Australia, where the wooly beasts outnumber people.

That and more tomorrow.

I’m Nick Eicher.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: And I’m Mary Reichard.

The World and Everything in It comes to you from WORLD Radio.

WORLD’s mission is biblically objective journalism that informs, educates, and inspires.

The Bible says: If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. (2 Cor 5:17 ESV)

Go now in grace and peace.

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