The World and Everything in It — April 16, 2020

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Good morning!

The pandemic’s highlighted geopolitical tension among the world’s great powers. We’ll talk about Chinese, American, and Russian responses.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Plus plenty of people have contracted COVID-19 and lived to tell. We’ll hear from some of them.

Also tornadoes ravaged parts of the south on Easter Sunday. Churches are stepping up, although clean up is complicated by social distancing precautions.

REICHARD: It’s Thursday, April 16th. 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 the news. Here’s Kent Covington.

KENT COVINGTON, NEWS ANCHOR: White House to announce new guidance to begin reopening economy » The Trump administration will announce new guidance today to begin strategically reopening the country. The president will first hold a conference call with governors and after that, he will unveil the new guidelines to the public. 

Vice President Mike Pence said a slow return to normalcy will not happen at the same pace for everyone. 

PENCE: There will be areas of the county that will require continued mitigation, strong efforts. And there will be other areas of the country that will be given guidance for greater flexibility. 

The United States has about 640,000 confirmed cases and nearly 30,000 deaths thus far. But the nation, as a whole, is showing progress and President Trump said the crisis has peaked. 

Retail, manufacturing plunge in U.S. » The push to begin the slow process of nursing the U.S. economy back to life comes as new data once again affirms just how hard the pandemic is hitting the economy.

With lockdowns bringing factories to a halt, American industrial output shriveled in March. It saw the steepest dropoff since the United States demobilized at the end of World War II. And retail sales fell by an unprecedented 8.7 percent. April numbers are expected to be even worse.

As government relief kicks in, Trump threatens to test executive powers and adjourn Congress » But government relief efforts are starting to kick in. The government began issuing one-time payments this week to tens of millions of people. As part of its $2.2 trillion relief package.

President Trump said Wednesday that many employers are getting relief through the Paycheck Protection Program. 

TRUMP: All of that money is being distributed to small businesses. They’re giving it to their employees. It’s keeping them ready, viable, so that when we open. And now it’s been so good that it’s almost depleted, and we want to replenish it. 

But he said Democrats are holding up efforts to add new funding. 

He also complained that Democrats are still blocking nominees, preventing him from filling judicial vacancies and other posts that are critical amidst a national emergency. That includes positions in the Department of Agriculture that he said are key to protecting the country’s food supply. 

He said Congress must act, or it should adjourn. 

TRUMP: If the House will not agree to that adjournment, I will exercise my constitutional authority to adjourn both chambers of Congress. 

An adjournment would allow the president to make recess appointments. Though he acknowledged the courts would almost certainly have the final say.

Documents show China initially hid coronavirus » A new report claims China hid the coronavirus outbreak from the public for nearly a week at a critical early stage in its spread. WORLD Radio’s Kristen Flavin has more. 

KRISTEN FLAVIN, REPORTER: Chinese officials secretly determined on January 13th that they were likely facing a new pandemic.

In the six days that followed, the city of Wuhan hosted a mass banquet for tens of thousands of people and millions began traveling for Lunar New Year celebrations.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping warned the public on the seventh day, January 20th. But by that time, thousands of people had been infected. That according to documents obtained by the Associated Press and expert estimates based on infection data.

Internal bulletins also show that for a span of nearly two weeks, the Chinese government did not register any cases from local officials. But during that time, hundreds of patients were appearing in hospitals across the country.

Around the same time, the government punished eight doctors for—quote—“rumor-mongering” when they issued warnings about the virus.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Kristen Flavin. 

Trump decision to halt funding to WHO draws strong global reaction » President Trump’s decision on Tuesday to freeze funding for the World Health Organization is drawing strong reactions around the world. 

The EU’s top foreign policy official, Josep Borrell, said—quoting here—“There is no reason justifying this move at a moment when their efforts are needed more than ever.” 

But Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison backed up President Trump’s complaints about the WHO stance toward China. 

MORRISON: I sympathize with his criticisms and I’ve made a few of my own. I mean, we called this thing weeks before the WHO. If we had relied on their advice, then I suspect we would be suffering the same fate that many other countries currently are. 

But he said the WHO does a lot of important work.” And he added, “We are not going to throw the baby out with the bathwater here.”

Other allies say holding the WHO accountable for its failings is justified, but now is not the time.

WHO director Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus said he regrets President Trump’s decision, while conceding his organization is not above reproach.

GHEBREYESUS: No doubt, areas for improvement will be identified, and there will be lessons for all of us to learn. But for now, our focus, my focus, is on stopping this virus and saving lives.

The United States accounts for about 15 percent of the WHO’s funding. 

U.S. government warns of North Korea cyber threat » The U.S. government is warning of increasing cyber threats out of North Korea. WORLD’s Leigh Jones has that story.

LEIGH JONES, REPORTER: The FBI, along with the departments of State, Treasury, and Homeland Security issued a joint alert Wednesday. 

The agencies warned that under pressure from economic sanctions, North Korea is leaning on cyber crimes to steal money to fund it weapons programs.

In particular, it said North Korean cyber hacking poses a—quote— “significant threat to the integrity and stability of the international financial system.”

It went on to warn that the country also “has the capability to disrupt U.S. critical infrastructure.”

The agencies called on the “international community, network defenders, and the public to stay vigilant and to work together” to defend against cyber threats from North Korea.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Leigh Jones.

I’m Kent Covington. Straight ahead: COVID-19’s geopolitical side-effects.

Plus, Cal Thomas on homeschooling’s coronavirus blessing.

This is The World and Everything in It.

MARY REICHARD: It’s Thursday the 16th of April, 2020. Glad to have you along for today’s edition of The World and Everything in It. Good morning, I’m Mary Reichard.

NICK EICHER: And I’m Nick Eicher. First up: geopolitics.

Washington shifted its thinking about national security in recent years, moving from anti-terrorism to managing competition among powerful nations: China and Russia, for example. 

But for many Americans, geopolitics was far removed from everyday life.

REICHARD: That perception could be changing. That’s because of new information about how our rivals are handling the pandemic. Disinformation campaigns that hurt efforts to tamp down the virus, for one thing. And supply chain disruptions that are now very real for Americans.

How will all of this affect the competition for power? WORLD’s Jill Nelson reports.

JILL NELSON, REPORTER: In 2018, then Defense Secretary James Mattis noted a shift in our national defense strategy:

MATTIS: We will continue to prosecute the campaign against terrorism that we’re engaged in today, but great power competition, not terrorism, is the focus of U.S. national security.

Washington considers Beijing and Moscow as two of our greatest rivals and adversaries. And as the coronavirus wreaks havoc across the globe, distrust is growing.

Disinformation is a top concern, according to Zack Cooper, who analyzes U.S.-China competition for the American Enterprise Institute.

COOPER: In my view the thing that has really been most problematic is Chinese efforts to spread disinformation about both how the virus initially arose and where it came from and also about how various countries have been handling the virus. 

State-run media outlets have promoted conspiracy theories blaming the United States for the virus. And a new book influenced by China’s Central Propaganda Department touts the country’s victory in combating the virus.

But Cooper says the numbers coming out of China just don’t add up.

COOPER: They ballooned in Wuhan and we know that there were tens, perhaps hundreds of thousands of people that were moving from Wuhan out into the rest of the country throughout January and yet the numbers in the rest of China were remarkably low.

It’s unlikely the country’s claim of 81,000 cases as of mid-April is true. Some analysts put the number closer to 3 million. And that’s raising fears of a second phase of the virus sweeping the globe, especially as Beijing considers a phased re-opening of its economy at the end of April.

Russia is also guilty of disinformation. Kremlin internet trolls and state run media are blaming American scientists for the pandemic and praising the response of authoritarian regimes.

Alina Polyakova is president of the Center for European Policy Analysis and an expert on Russian foreign policy. She says the Kremlin’s response to the virus has been schizophrenic. Moscow initially closed Russia’s long border with China. Then President Vladimir Putin announced a paid vacation order. Polyakova says many Russians misinterpreted that as a travel allowance.

POLYAKOVA: And what we’ve seen since then is Putin is kind of taking a back seat, playing the good cop, the good czar so to say, not getting involved operationally with dealing with the crisis.

But that stance has become increasingly difficult as the number of cases has grown.

Russia doesn’t have as much control over information as China does. Polyakova says it would be difficult to hide the number of deaths in Russia, although some discrepancies are likely.

POLYAKOVA: There’s a longstanding history that even goes back to the Soviet days of the Kremlin trying to cover up casualties as result of the government mishandling of a crisis or a conflict situation.

Polyakova says Russian news outlets have played up coronavirus outbreaks in the West, pushing an anti-democracy narrative.

POLYAKOVA: The kind of fumbles we’ve seen in the U.S. domestic response to the crisis has also been just really wonderful fodder for the Russian disinformation campaigns, and the big message there is that democracies are not able to manage and effectively deal with crises and that authoritarian regimes like Russian and China, are much better able to sort of steer the ship.

Zach Cooper says China is steering the ship in part through detailed and invasive surveillance.

COOPER: And so they have a huge number of tools, everything from video cameras on almost every street corner and high quality facial recognition, to trackers on people’s phones. 

AUDIO: [Drones]

Drones are also patrolling the streets in China, with live voices telling people to go home or put on a mask—all troubling signs, Cooper says.

COOPER: So this is the kind of stuff that is straight out of movies, books about Big Brother and 1984, and it’s not what we allow to happen certainly in advanced democracies.

Polyakova says Russia has its sights set on the Chinese surveillance model but doesn’t currently have the resources to implement it. Instead, the Kremlin is asserting control through other means, like stiff prison sentences for publicizing “fake news.”

So how will all this play out geopolitically? First, expect some recalibration in the supply chain. Already, Japan has announced a coronavirus stimulus relief package to help move its production plants out of China. Other countries will likely do the same. But Cooper says that’s very costly, and may not be as widespread as some anticipate.

Second, with the Russian economy already in decline, expect Moscow to emerge even weaker. But Polyakova says when Russia becomes weak, its foreign policy becomes more aggressive. We should be on alert.

Third, Cooper says we need to aggressively battle disinformation, especially when countries shift blame onto the United States.

COOPER: I think this is something that should make Americans mad. I think we should talk openly about it and we should push back on those lies.

Transparency in Western democracies means more accurate reporting on the virus. That might make the situation look worse, but it will ultimately help the world win the fight against COVID-19.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Jill Nelson.

NICK EICHER: Coming up next on The World and Everything in It: COVID-19 survivors.

Much of the media coverage is of those who are sick and dying. But the vast majority of patients recover. What’s their experience like? WORLD reporter Anna Johansen spoke with some former patients to find out.

ANDERSON: It did not cross my mind to not go to that event.

ANNA JOHANSEN: Ryan Anderson is an assistant pastor at Covenant Presbyterian Church in Nashville. On March 7th, he attended an event at his kids’ school. It was in the early days, before social distancing.

ANDERSON: I never once said, You know, maybe we should not go to this thing tonight because of that whole coronavirus floating around.

Three days later, he came down with symptoms.

At first, he thought he was just tired because he’s the father of three little kids and he was still adjusting to daylight savings. He never dreamed it was COVID-19.

ANDERSON: I guess, in the way back in my mind, in the science fiction world, or something like that, I guess it could have been the case but it would have not been on my top five list of things that I was thinking.

A friend suggested he get tested for COVID-19. The results came back: Positive.

Matt Fray is an assistant pastor at Park Cities Presbyterian Church in Dallas. In early March, he started to feel fatigued and a little achy. But he also didn’t think much of it.

FRAY: The symptoms that were being publicized at that point were a dry cough, which I wasn’t quite sure what that meant, and a fever and didn’t have a fever, really. 

Then a coworker from the church texted him: She had the same kind of symptoms and she’d tested positive for COVID-19. Fray got tested: he also had the disease.

FRAY: So our county health department called me and spent like three hours on the phone with me documenting name, address, phone number, of every person I had been within 6 feet of for three weeks. 

Ryan Anderson did the same thing. And so did Dick and Diane Steele. They had gone to New Orleans for their 44th wedding anniversary at the end of February. Diane came down with COVID-19 soon after.

DIANE STEELE: I had a runny nose and a really sore throat, really the worst sore throat I’ve ever had.

Diane was mostly concerned about her 10-year-old granddaughter. They’d sat close together the night Diane started to come down with symptoms.

DIANE STEELE: I was really worried that I’d given it to her, but she never came down with it. Actually no one that I was around ended up getting it. Except my husband.

Dick and Diane are both in their 70s, so they are considered high risk. But Dick says they were never fearful about the outcome.

DICK STEELE: For whatever reason, we just felt a peace throughout this. God has been good to us.

None of the people the Steeles came in contact with ever got COVID-19. No one on Matt Fray or Ryan Anderson’s lists got it from them, either. 

They’ve been in self-quarantine ever since. Ryan Anderson stayed in a spare bedroom and had zero contact with his wife and kids.

ANDERSON: It felt like I was a prisoner in my home or the Count of Monte Cristo you know what I mean. 

His wife would bring food and set it down outside the door.

ANDERSON: I’d hear her footsteps walk away and I’d open it, and get my food. 

Every day, someone from the county health department would call to track his symptoms: Fever, fatigue, cough. Both Anderson and Fray lost their senses of smell and taste. Fray says that one was a little demoralizing.

FRAY: Because these kind friends have brought over warm chocolate chip cookies and there’s absolutely no point in eating it because I can’t taste. I might as well eat a carrot.

Anderson says he didn’t have enough energy to read for long, and he quickly got sick of watching movies and scrolling through social media.

ANDERSON: And so I just went to the window and looked outside.

He spent a lot of time staring out that window. But ironically, he says, there was a grace about it. He started thinking about Matthew chapter 6, when Jesus says, “Consider the birds of the air.” They neither reap, nor sow, but God takes care of them.

ANDERSON: And so it was this reminder of God’s care and provision for me as the cardinals were chirping and a robin would visit a tree outside of my window, as if to say, I’m gonna take care of you, Ryan. Don’t worry about your life. 

Matt Fray has also spent a lot of time in quiet reflection.

FRAY: The fact that I tested positive and felt sick for 10 or 12 days is to me, not the most significant thing. The significant things are the things that endure beyond that 12 days.

He’s been reassessing what’s important and what kind of habits he wants to cultivate moving forward.

FRAY: One of the great things is just with extra time, we’ve renewed the practice of family devotions, because that’s something that’s like an aspirational value, for a lot of us, but just by virtue of being a pastor doesn’t mean it happens automatically.

Now, they have family devotions every day. Sometimes twice, if Fray can talk the kids into it. And though, for him, COVID-19 has come and gone, he hopes the slower pace of life is one side effect that sticks around.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Anna Johansen.

MARY REICHARD: Countless millions of workers are now working from home—including attorneys. Some are conducting hearings using online video conferencing. 

Now, working from home is less formal than showing up in a courtroom. It’s understandable if lawyers don’t shine their shoes or iron their skirts.

Still, a Florida judge has one simple request for attorneys showing up for video hearings. I can’t help but hear the fictional Judge Chamberlain Haller:

HALLER: Next time you come into my courtroom, you will look lawyerly. I mean you comb your hair. And wear a suit and tie. And that suit better be made out some kinda … cloth. Ya understand me?

In other words: Get out of bed and get dressed!

Judge Dennis Bailey wrote a letter to the local bar association. He complained about inappropriate dress by lawyers on camera. 

Listen to this: One male lawyer appeared shirtless and one female attorney appeared still in bed, under the covers. The judge admonished: just putting on a beach cover-up doesn’t conceal the fact that you are poolside in a bathing suit.

EICHER: You will look lawyerly.

REICHARD: It’s The World and Everything in It.

MARY REICHARD: Today is Thursday, April 16th. Thank you for turning to WORLD Radio to help start your day.  Good morning. I’m Mary Reichard.

NICK EICHER: And I’m Nick Eicher. Next up, recovering from storms.

Before we get to that, let me mention: We’re planning a special program for you very soon devoted specifically to your health-and-medical questions, and for that we’ll turn to our medical correspondent Dr. Charles Horton, with you, Mary, as host.

So, in addition to your giving a word on that subject, Mary, let me say, to the listener, we want your questions, because I’m sure you have many of them.

REICHARD: As do I! Dr. Horton and I have spoken several times, and I’ve found him to be an accessible person who can explain things to the layperson. So this is your chance to ask the doctor and get some useful information in this special program we’re putting together.

EICHER: You can send yours in many different forms: easiest option is simply email feedback@worldandeverything.com, second easiest, calling our listener line at 202-709-9595. Third easiest, and that of course is another term for most difficult, yet preferred: use your phone’s voice-memo app and record your question, then email the file to us at that same email address: feedback-at-worldandeverything.com. we’d love to play your question and let Dr. Horton answer.

REICHARD: OK, as you said, on to our story on storm recovery. 

This Easter Sunday, deadly weather swept through the south. Storms killed 34 people, and left thousands homeless. WORLD reporter Kim Henderson spoke with several people about what it’s like to pick up the pieces.

KIM HENDERSON, CORRESPONDENT: When deadly tornadoes cut a path from Louisiana to the Appalachian Mountains last Sunday, a quiet region in South Mississippi felt the brunt of their anger. 

HATHORN: We had time to run to our closet…

John Hathorn lives in Jefferson Davis County where four people died. He says after the first tornado touched down, his family formulated a game plan before the second one hit. 

HATHORN: …and get in our twin closets and cover ourselves up. And the second we sat down, our ears popped, and then all of a sudden, there was this boom, like a bomb went off, shook the whole house. And it all happened about as quick as I’m telling you it happened. And then after that, boom, I guess that’s the roof and all coming off and all this, uh, it was over with. Gone. It all happened within 2 minutes. 

In Collins, Mississippi, Fire Chief John Pope described a homeowner’s surprise at finding daylight where a roof should have been. 

POPE: There was a family that had a storm shelter installed in their home maybe a few years ago. There were several individuals, not just their family members, but neighbors and friends that were able to get to their home and get inside that storm shelter. Twelve or fourteen individuals I believe that they were able to fit inside. And as they went inside of it, everything around it was still standing. And when they opened that storm shelter door, everything around them was completely leveled. 

Nearby, a Covington County resident says her house is still standing, but barely. Friends ran bulldozers for two days solid, pushing trees and tin out of the way. Even without power, they’ve opted to stay at night to protect their property against intruders.  

BROOKS: I have 147 acres of disaster. There is not a 10-foot-square that does not have some sort of debris on it. 

Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves visited hard-hit areas early in the week and acknowledged that the pandemic is making storm recovery more difficult. 

GOVERNOR REEVES: Unfortunately, the wind blowing has not stopped the virus from being out there and it having the opportunity to spread so please, stay safe…

Cory Holliman, vice president of the board of supervisors in Jefferson Davis County, agrees.  

CORKY HOLLIMAN: We have a lot of people wearing masks. Trying to distance ourselves as much as we could. We’re trying to keep men and their equipment, and trucks separated. It’s kinda hard to do. With the effort and as many people as we need out here, it has slowed us down a little bit to be somewhat cautious. 

Collins fire-chief John Pope says the conditions have highlighted the work of those he calls “citizen first responders.”

POPE: People that were affected themselves, they’ve lost everything themselves, they weren’t worried about them. They were worried about helping their neighbors. They would get on their tractors, get on their loaders, out with their chainsaws. And they’re trying to help us cut paths…  

And churches are responding too, even while members wear masks and dole out hand sanitizer. Tommy Broom heads up one of the Baptist associations in Mississippi. 

TOMMY BROOM: Our churches have been doing disaster relief work after the tornadoes. We’ve been cutting trees off of houses, we’ve been cutting trees up in yards,cleaning yards. Some of our churches have even been cooking to feed the disaster relief workers, and the utility workers. We’ve been doing the best we can. God is going to see us through it. 

Lydia Brooks and her family are members of The Springs Church, where she directs the children’s program. The Springs is part of the association that’s sending out volunteers. The background sound here is from her generator. They’ve been without power since Sunday.

BROOKS: My church showed up…No matter what, they’ve been there. They were there with lunch. They were there with dinner, and love. Quarantine or not, they were there to make me strong.

With emotional and financial turmoil threatening so many, Lydia Brooks still thinks Christian kindness can win the day. 

BROOKS: One of my church members came and cleared my driveway. The next morning, the people just flooded out to do what they could. This is my church. My community. What better day than Easter for Him to show up, show his beauty, show His love. Dear Lord, I saw you in each and every person that came by here. We’ve lost everything. And He will get us through this.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Kim Henderson.

REICHARD: To read more about how COVID-19 restrictions are making relief efforts difficult across the region, look for Kim’s report tomorrow on WNG.org.

NICK EICHER: Today is Thursday, April 16. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Nick Eicher.

MARY REICHARD: And I’m Mary Reichard. Here’s WORLD commentator Cal Thomas on a potential silver lining in the coronavirus cloud.

CAL THOMAS, COMMENTATOR: New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has announced public schools will be closed for the rest of the academic year due to the coronavirus. It’s increasingly likely that most mayors and governors will likely make similar announcements.

Rather than look upon this as a negative, I suspect some parents are enjoying new relationships with their children that full-time work and day care did not allow. This new bonding experience could lead some to continue home education once schools reopen.

At a recent coronavirus White House briefing, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos said—quote— “Distance learning is happening. States like New Hampshire and Florida have implemented phased and tiered approaches to meet the needs of students in their states. Other schools and states are implementing creative approaches and working through practical realities to help students continue learning.” End quote. 

DeVos cited “remote Colorado mountain towns without internet connectivity,” where teachers are putting weekly learning packets together. They’re also holding office hours by phone to help students who feel stuck.

She also noted South Carolina is deploying 3,000 buses with mobile Wi-Fi hotspots to help kids in remote areas.

This means schools are supporting parents, rather than the other way around. 

Even before the current crisis, concerns about what is taught in public schools—from sex education to their failure to uphold moral and spiritual principles—have already made homeschooling attractive to growing numbers of parents.

The National Home Education Research Institute (NHERI) reports, “There are about 2.5 million home school students in grades K-12 in the United States…It appears that the home school population is continuing to grow (at an estimated 2 percent to 8 percent per annum over the past few years).”

The research institute found other nations are experiencing homeschooling increases, too—including Australia, Canada, Japan, Kenya, Russia, Mexico, South Korea, and Thailand. It says home education cuts across virtually all demographic lines and not just conservative Christians. These include, “libertarians, and liberals; low, middle, and high-income families; black, Hispanic, and white.”

The first public school in what was to become the United States was established 385 years ago this month. A Puritan settler named Philemon Pormont founded it. Pormont saw instilling religion and the Bible as essential to a well-rounded education. That was true until the 20th century, when courts outlawed collective prayer and Bible reading. 

For parents who have been looking for other options and afraid to take the plunge, perhaps the coronavirus might turn out to be a blessing in disguise.

I’m Cal Thomas.

NICK EICHER: John Stonestreet tomorrow on Culture Friday, we’ll talk about when it’s right to fight threats to your religious liberty.

And, we’ll review some fine-arts events you can take the whole family to—virtually, of course.

That and more tomorrow. 

I’m Nick Eicher.

MARY REICHARD: 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 Psalmist reminds us: When the cares of our hearts are many, the Lord’s consolations cheer our souls.

Go now in grace and peace.

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