The World and Everything in It: December 12, 2024

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Good morning!

Homelessness is on the rise. Some states are ditching the “housing first” policy to try something else.

DESANTIS: And there are needs that need to be met, but doing the San Francisco and New York model is not a way to get the job done.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Also, the prospects for mass deportation of people living illegally in the US. We have a report.

And, how being part of a boychoir helps young men build character and confidence.

HOLMES: There's an attention to detail, there's a discipline, there's a personal responsibility, there is a requirement of excellence.

And the power presidents have to pardon. WORLD commentary from Cal Thomas.

REICHARD: It’s Thursday, December 12th. This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Mary Reichard.

BROWN: And I’m Myrna Brown. Good morning!

REICHARD: Up next, Kent Covington with today’s news.

SOUND: [Shops reopen in Damascus]

KENT COVINGTON, NEWS ANCHOR: Syria latest » Life is slowly returning to normal in Syria...with some shops and markets reopening in the capital city of Damascus Wednesday.

TRADER: [Speaking Arabic]

A local trader said with now-deposed dictator Bashar al-Assad gone Damascus and Syria are returning to what they used to be.

He added that it’s clear people are smiling differently now.

Meantime, world leaders are concerned about chemical weapons stockpiles left behind by Assad's regime. The leader of H-T-S… one of the rebel groups that overthrew Assad, says the group is actively working to locate these stockpiles. But not to use them.

And Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said that's encouraging.

SINGH: We welcome this type of rhetoric, but actions have to meet words as well. So we're going to continue to work with the groups that we have relationships with. Again, our focus is that these chemical weapons do not fall into the wrong hands.

Singh said the U.S. is working with regional partners like Israel, Turkey, and Jordan...to make sure that doesn't happen.

New Jersey drones » She also fielded questions about mysterious drone flights over New Jersey and New York.

Congressman Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey says he learned from reliable sources that the drones are from an "Iranian mothership" parked off the East Coast.

VAN DREW:  The sources I have are good, they can't reveal who they are because they are speaking to me in confidentiality.

But Singh told reporters at the Pentagon …

SINGH:  Our initial assessment here is that these are not drones or activities coming from a foreign entity or adversary.

Van Drew said regardless of who’s flying the drones, they need to be shot down.

The drones have been spotted near U.S. military facilities as well as Donald Trump’s Bedminster Golf resort. That’s of concern because of known Iranian plots to assassinate Trump.

The Department of Homeland Security has reportedly described the devices as up to 6 feet in diameter and sometimes traveling with their lights off.

MCCAUL: [gavel] The Committee on Foreign Affairs will come to order. The purpose of today’s hearing is to hear directly from Sec. Blinken, and get his assessment of his State Department’s withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Afghanistan withdrawal hearing » Secretary of State Tony Blinken in the hot seat Wednesday at a House hearing.

Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul led with an opening statement on the chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan in August of 2021.

MCCAUL:   This catastrophic event was the beginning of a failed foreign policy that lit the world on fire.

For his part, Blinken told members of the committee that while the speed of the Taliban’s takeover caught the Biden administration by surprise …

BLINKEN:  The administration, the State Department in particular, engaged in extensive planning for a whole range of outcomes.

But GOP Congressman Rich McCormick ripped into what he said was a lack of adequate planning.

MCCORMICK:  To not plan on what airfields to secure on how to keep those, uh, uh, police stations secure while we're withdrawing to make sure that we got our, our people out on time in a safe way … doesn't make any sense.

Thirteen U.S. service members and at least 170 Afghan civilians were killed during the U.S. withdrawal.

Russia new missile » The Pentagon says Russia could launch its lethal new intermediate-range ballistic missile against Ukraine again soon.

Authorities cited a U.S. intelligence assessment, saying an attack could happen “in the coming days.”

U.S. military officials do not consider the Oreshnik missile to be a game changer on the battlefield. But Russia is thought to be using the weapon to intimidate Ukraine as both sides wrestle for any advantage that may give them leverage in any negotiations to end the war.

Wray to resign » FBI Director Christopher Wray says plans to step down next month when President Biden leaves office. WORLD’s Kristen Flavin reports

KRISTEN FLAVIN: President Trump named Wray to head the FBI in 20-17 after firing then-FBI Director, James Comey, amid accusations that he had politicized the bureau.

But the president-elect believes corruption and politics still loom large within the FBI and made no secret that he wanted Wray to step aside.

He plans to nominate Kash Patel to lead the bureau.

Democrats say it is Trump who is politicizing the agency by moving to install a loyalist.

Wray, speaking at a town hall meeting Tuesday with the bureau workforce, said he would be stepping down—his words “after weeks of careful thought.”

For WORLD, I’m Kristen Flavin.

Nancy Mace attack » A person accused of accosting Congresswoman Nancy Mace in a Capitol Office building has pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanor assault charge.

The exact nature of that alleged assault is unclear. 33-year-old James McIntyre of Chicago is accused of acting aggressively when Mace extended her hand for a handshake.

The Congresswoman has drawn the ire of pro-trans activists for pushing for policy in the House chamber stating that biological men are not allowed in women’s restrooms.

I'm Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: Florida is the latest state to change its approach to addressing homelessness. Plus, how a boys choir not only makes beautiful music, but prepares young men for life.

This is The World and Everything in It.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: It’s Thursday the 12th of December.

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

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: And I’m Myrna Brown.

Coming next: combatting homelessness.

Some states are taking a new approach to fight it. And the incoming Trump administration may support that shift.

Here to help set-up our next story is WORLD’s Effective Compassion reporter Addie Offereins.

REICHARD: Addie, good morning.

ADDIE OFFEREINS: Good morning, Mary. 

REICHARD: Yesterday WORLD Digital posted a story you’ve been following for some time now. And it’s this policy called Housing First. It’s the official policy of the federal government and also of many states. Describe it for us?

OFFEREINS: Yeah, so that policy prioritizes moving individuals into permanent housing as quickly as possible. And that’s supposed to be followed up by offering services like mental health care or drug and alcohol rehab. But those services aren’t always pushed, and if ministries or housing providers accept government money they can’t require things like sober living and class participation.

REICHARD: Some state lawmakers say that model isn’t solving the problem. What’s their biggest concern?

OFFEREINS: So their concern is that there really is a lack of accountability with this model and people who are moved into permanent housing often lose that housing because their deeper underlying issues just aren’t addressed.

REICHARD: Thanks for your excellent reporting, Addie.

OFFEREINS: Thanks for having me.

BROWN: We’ll post a link to Addie’s digital story in today’s transcript. WORLD’s Anna Johnasen Brown is here now with more from Addie’s story:

ANNA JOHANSEN BROWN: In March, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill that bans homeless people from camping on public property throughout his state.

RON DESANTIS: HB 1365 will help maintain and ensure that Florida streets are clean and that Florida streets are safe for our residents…And there are needs that need to be met, but doing the San Francisco and New York model is not a way to get the job done.

The law took effect on October 1st. It allows individuals or businesses to take cities to court if they fail to enforce the public camping ban. It also authorizes local governments to create sanctioned areas where homeless people can set up their tents…provided they follow basic safety measures. The measure prohibits alcohol and drug use in those areas and requires local governments to provide access to treatment for substance abuse and mental health.

GARRISON: As I was traveling the state and traveling the nation…

Republican Rep. Sam Garrison represents Florida’s 11th district. He sponsored the legislation in the Florida House of Representatives.

GARRISON: And seeing a number of Great American Cities across the country that had found themselves in a really bad situation as it relates to chronic homelessness.

At the federal level, the Department of Housing and Urban Development takes a “Housing First” approach to homelessness. That means it prioritizes moving individuals into permanent housing as quickly as possible.

But Garrison believes that approach misidentifies housing as the root problem.

GARRISON: The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over, expecting a different result, and it seemed like that's what we were doing as it relates to the millions upon millions of dollars in federal money, particularly that was being pumped into the Housing First model, not just in Florida, but nationwide.

Homelessness rose 12% nationally last year. And in California, where lawmakers enshrined Housing First into state law in 2016, unsheltered homelessness skyrocketed 53% over the last decade. The state has spent nearly $24 billion on the approach since 2018.

KURTZ: we need a greater array of tools to solve homelessness than what housing first provides.

Devon Kurtz is the policy director for public safety at the Cicero Institute. That’s a Texas-based think tank that helped craft Florida’s legislation. Kurtz says the Housing First model isn’t the right approach for the chronically homeless, who suffer disproportionately from mental illnesses and addiction.

Kurtz believes transitional housing with stricter requirements should be the first step.

KURTZ: Where you have housing that has more intensive requirements and expectations, and for high need individuals, sort of guides them into a more independent living situation, but sort of meets them where they're at, as opposed to sort of assuming that they can just live on their own.

Florida Rep. Sam Garrison says that’s why the goal of the new legislation isn’t to give everyone a key to a subsidized apartment.

GARRISON: We pivoted to focusing on temporary shelter space. Let's give them a place, give them some shelter, give them some referrals to help and provide them that hand up

Lawmakers set aside $30 million for municipalities to prepare for the law. They also want local organizations to prioritize temporary shelter and treatment programs over permanent housing.

Here’s Kurtz:

KURTZ: So for those who don't do well under housing first model, there's now a pool of significant funds in Florida to build out what we might call, sort of the transitional housing model

And Florida isn’t the only state moving away from Housing First. Lawmakers in Georgia set aside money for temporary housing programs with mandatory mental health treatment and substance abuse rehab. Oklahoma passed a law similar to Florida’s. And Utah lawmakers allocated more than $50 million to short-term shelter and behavioral health programs in that state.

Michele Steeb is a consultant on homeless policy. She says moving away from the Housing First model is difficult for many states who rely on federal funding to address the issue.

STEEB: There's a lot of states that don't agree with housing first, but they have so little funding that provides a leverage to move away from it.

But she believes we may see a national shift to a more treatment-oriented model once Donald Trump takes office.

TRUMP: We will ban urban camping wherever possible. Violators of these bans will be arrested but they will be given the option to accept treatment and services

In a campaign video, Trump laid out a vision similar to Florida’s law. It includes setting aside sanctioned encampments where homeless people can receive services and treatment.

TRUMP: This strategy will be far better and far less expensive than spending mass sums of taxpayer money to house the homeless in luxury hotels without addressing their underlying issues and needs.

Back in Florida, Sam Garrison said he feels divinely called to lift up the vulnerable. That’s one reason why he’s committed to moving away from the old approach.

GARRISON: To me, it's a moral issue. It's motivated by my faith, and it seems unconscionable to me to be spending hundreds of millions of dollars on housing first models where we have people literally camping out on the side of the road in tents, without a place to go to get a roof over their head for the night.

He acknowledges not every individual in a state-sanctioned encampment or temporary shelter will accept treatment. But he still believes the bill is an essential first step.

GARRISON: All we can do is make it available, to really focus on that, as opposed to, let's spend hundreds of hundreds of millions of dollars in in this kind of fantasy land that we can somehow put every homeless person is chronically homeless into long term stable housing without addressing the underlying behavioral health issues that have sadly brought them to that point.

For WORLD, I’m Anna Johansen Brown.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Coming up next on The World and Everything in It:mass deportations.

During his presidential campaign, Donald Trump said if elected he would fix the border and remove large numbers of people in the US illegally.

Those promises have been met with support and skepticism on Capitol Hill.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: On Tuesday, Senators heard testimony about the prospect of ordering removal of illegal immigrants who don’t qualify for asylum.

What might these policies mean for everyday Americans?

Here’s Washington Bureau reporter Carolina Lumetta.

CAROLINA LUMETTA: Senate Democrats have concerns about how wide the Trump administration’s net for deporting immigrants might be…and held Tuesday’s hearing to probe the question.

DURBIN: Thirteen million undocumented immigrants live in our country. Most have been here for a long period of time. They are healthcare workers, teachers, farm workers, small business owners.

Illinois Senator Dick Durbin is Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

The Democrat majority called three witnesses: an immigration expert, a former military official, and a prosecutor living in Philadelphia…who was born in Sierra Leone.

DURBIN: Mr. Turay, are you undocumented?

TURAY: Yes, Senator.

DURBIN: And why are you undocumented?

TURAY: I came here from civil unrest. I had no choice…my mom told me the story when I was trying to get my driver’s license.

DURBIN: How old were you when you came?

TURAY: I was seven years old.

Foday Turay has legal status to work thanks to DACA the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

President-elect Trump has not yet released specific plans for mass deportations leaving some fearing that people like Turay could be on the list. Here’s California Senator Alex Padilla.

PADILLA: Dreamers, as you all know, young people who were brought here by their parents at a very young age, but have grown up here and are undocumented. Are they also on the target list for deportation?

But Republican Senator Thom Tillis told WORLD that the Democrats’ focus on Dreamers distracts from the bigger issues.

TILLIS: This hearing was really portrayed to get people an idea that his first priority was going to be dreamers and DACA recipients. We know it's not that. It's actually cutting into the millions of people that came into the Biden administration and they're flooding the zone.

South Carolina Senator Lindsay Graham is the leading Republican on the Judiciary Committee and he addressed who should be concerned.

GRAHAM: If you're a criminal, we're coming after you first. If you've been paroled illegally, we're not going to give you the roots to attach yourself to our country, because you should not have been here in the first place. As to the Dreamers, hopefully we can find a solution to that problem.

On Sunday, Trump told Meet the Press host Kristen Welker that he’s willing to work with Democrats in Congress on a plan for Dreamers.

TRUMP: And we're going to have to do something with them and—

WELKER: You want them to be able to stay, that's what you're saying?

TRUMP: I do, I want to be able to work something out and it should have been able to be worked out over the last three or four years. And it never got worked out.

Outside the Senate hearing room on Tuesday, Democratic Senator Mazie Hirono of Hawaii told WORLD that she’s waiting to see if Trump follows through on his statements.

HIRONO: I'm glad to hear him say that he's so willing to do something about DACA, but I also remember that when he first got elected, he said, "Bring me a bipartisan DACA bill. I will sign it." And he did not sign it, even if there were at least two DACA bills that have been presented to him.

Republicans on the committee called two witnesses an immigration expert, and a Maryland mother named Patty Morin. An illegal immigrant from El Salvador with an extensive criminal record has been charged with killing Morin’s 37-year-old daughter Rachel last year.

MORIN: If they had done a DNA swab the three times they encountered this person that's allegedly accused of killing my daughter, they would have known that he had an Interpol warrant for murder in his country.

Senator Graham blamed the Biden administration for misusing its power to parole people taken into custody after illegally crossing into the United States. He cited the murder of Georgia college student Laken Riley earlier this year. An illegal immigrant was sentenced to life without parole last month for Riley’s death.

GRAHAM: The man who's been convicted of killing Laken Riley was paroled into the country because there was no bed space. There's nothing in the statute that allows parole because we have no place to put you.

Republicans acknowledged that the majority of asylum-seekers are looking for economic opportunity in the United States. But they argue that failing to enforce immigration law has incentivized unsustainable numbers of applicants. Here’s committee witness Art Arthur, from the Center for Immigration Studies testifying for the GOP.

ARTHUR: The number of cases pending before the immigration courts is nearly tripled in the past five fiscal years and that's after 700,000 cases involving putatively removable aliens were terminated, dismissed, or closed.

Both sides said the price tag could be high - whether the government deports hundreds of thousands of people or continues to allow hundreds of thousands to enter the country on shaky asylum claims. Senators also worried that the military is ill equipped to carry out deportations if that is part of Trump’s plan. For Patty Morin, responsibility for fixing the problem rests on lawmakers.

MORIN: I do understand the economics that everyone is talking about. I do understand the military position but I think that you should put American citizens first. We, the people, have put you, the people, into office. And you should be doing everything you can to protect us.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Carolina Lumetta.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Philosophers may ponder the question: “what is art.” But the City of Bend, Oregon is clear on what art is not.

The city displays nature statues around town…a family of deer, a school of trout, and so on placed near roundabouts. But someone has been sticking huge googly eyes on the statues! You know, those round white plastic things with a black disc inside that jiggles when you shake them?

Right, so those works of art have a wacky cartoon look now.

City officials are not laughing. But the locals have different opinions:

LOCAL MAN: I think it’s kind of funny. I think it’s a little ridiculous. Somebody's got a whole lot of extra time.

I love it. I think it brings joy. I love seeing this guy decorated.

The “guy” known locally as the flaming chicken is a giant red phoenix. It cost more than $1,500 to remove the adhesive that sticks the googly eyes to the statues.

So word from the City of Bend to the googly eye bandit? Knock it off.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: I’m guessing the prankster is just rolling his eyes…

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

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Today is Thursday, December 12th.

Thank you for turning to WORLD Radio to help start your day.

Good morning. I’m Mary Reichard.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: And I’m Myrna Brown.

Coming next on The World and Everything in It: a very traditional Christmas celebration.

The Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols started in England more than a century ago. It’s made up of nine Bible readings: it begins with the fall of mankind in Genesis to the promise of the Savior, and then to Christ's birth. In between the readings, Christmas carols.

REICHARD: The Maryland State Boychoir presents the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols annually. And that’s not the only way this choir keeps ancient musical traditions alive.

WORLD senior writer Emma Freire attended a rehearsal to find out more.

CHOIR SINGING: The first Noel the angel did say…

EMMA FREIRE: The Maryland State Boychoir is getting ready for Christmas. The Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols is one of their most popular events of the year.

Stephen Holmes is the choir’s artistic director.

HOLMES: Many people say this is what makes their Christmas, ushers them into the Christmas season.

He says they offer three performances each year and they all pretty much sell out each time.

HOLMES: The building is decorated beautifully for Christmas, with lights and wreaths and poinsettias. And really, it's pretty beautiful in sight and sound. It is a feast for the eyes and the ears.

Lucas Arzayus joined the choir when he was 11. He is now 22 and works there as a choral scholar while also studying music in college. He and the other members of the choir are looking forward to Lessons and Carols.

ARZAYUS: It is 100% viewed as a spectacular event, and it is one that is always greeted with much enthusiasm, with much joy, and with much reverence, because we know that this is probably the most significant performance that we have, because it is a purely boy choir tradition—one that started back in 1918 with the choir of Kings College Cambridge, and one that continues now.

Arzayus’ favorite carol is Once in Royal David’s City, which is traditionally sung at the opening.

CHOIR SINGING: He came down to earth from heaven…

ARZAYUS: That is the true feeling of a boy choir service, when you hear the boy soprano singing the first verse and then you see the procession and it's capped off by by just a glorious descant.

CHOIR SINGING: And his shelter was a stable…

The boys wear traditional choir robes for the performance. But at this evening’s rehearsal, most of them are in hoodies and sneakers.

AUDIO: [Choir talking]

They goof around as they arrive, but as soon as rehearsal starts, everyone is focused on the music.

AUDIO: [Choir warming up]

A choir that’s only for boys and young men is unusual in America today.

HOLMES: We've provided so many spaces where boys can do physical activities, and that's a really wonderful thing, but we haven't provided so many spaces for a safe, welcoming place for boys to have artistic endeavors, whether theater or dance or music.

Holmes thinks a boychoir can contribute something unique to a boys’ development.

HOLMES: For boys to sing with other young men that are passionate about it. There's an attention to detail, there's a discipline, there's a personal responsibility, there is a requirement of excellence. And I don't say that with any pretense or arrogance, but just an idea that the music that we sing is not what people would expect 14-year-old boys to be doing or 8-year-old boys to be doing. It's collegiate and adult, professional type level singing.

He also believes this is an important musical tradition to keep alive.

HOLMES: We of course, trace back the heritage of boys singing to the Old Testament. The boys, as a coming of age rite of passage, would learn the Psalms of Ascent as they were processing to Jerusalem. And so then that carried on into the Christian tradition, of course, in cathedrals and churches and chapels. So much of the great music of centuries was written with boys’ voices in mind.

The Maryland State Boychoir was founded in the late 80s and is based in Baltimore. Today it has around 125 members and they perform roughly 100 concerts a year.

Holmes’ entire life has been intertwined with the choir. He first joined when he was 9 years old and, even at that young age, it struck a chord.

HOLMES: For me, it was the beauty of the music, the beauty of the words, and a certain aesthetic that was just different than your everyday nine or 10 year old boys experience. It wasn't that I didn't like baseball or soccer or playing in the backyard, but there was something that was set apart when you were singing, making music at a high level and also with other boys.

CHOIR SINGING: Now the holly bears a berry as white as the milk,
And Mary bore Jesus…

For Holmes, the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols is a beautiful way to keep the tradition of a boychoir going.

CHOIR SINGING: And Mary bore Jesus Christ our Saviour for to be…

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Emma Freire in Baltimore, Maryland.

CHOIR SINGING: And the first tree in the greenwood, it was the holly.
And the first tree in the greenwood, it was the holly!

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Today is Thursday, December 12th. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Myrna Brown.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: And I’m Mary Reichard. President Joe Biden’s term is drawing to a close. Rumors are swirling about who else he may pardon before leaving office. WORLD commentator Cal Thomas says that power must be wielded carefully.

CAL THOMAS: Media reports say President Biden is about to issue a slew of preemptive pardons for people associated with his administration. Reportedly he hopes to thwart any “revenge” the incoming Trump administration might take against them.

While the Founders intended presidential power to be nearly unlimited, their intent was quite different from its use by modern presidents.

Colleen Shogan of the Rubenstein Center writes: “While the pardon power is robust, there are … important limitations,” among them is that “a crime must have been committed for a pardon to be issued.”

If reports are true, President Biden will ignore that limitation and pardon people who have not been indicted, convicted, or sentenced for any illegal acts.

Biden has ignored many laws during his presidency. Two examples include his lax border enforcement and his proposed student loan forgiveness nixed by the Supreme Court. So what is to restrain him now from bypassing constitutional mandates in the matter of pardons?

Will these rumored pardons resemble the one he gave to his son, Hunter…the pardon that protects him from past, present and future violations of the law? Or will they be only issued for those favored by the president who have been criticized by Donald Trump? Either way will violate the text of the Constitution.

Speculation is swirling around D.C. The most prominent people considered possible beneficiaries of blanket presidential pardons include former White House chief medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci—who according to a 500-plus page report by a House committee—turned out to be wrong when issuing unnecessary restrictions to contain the spread of COVID-19. Republican Representative Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Democrat Senator-elect Adam Schiff from California, both were a thorn in Trump’s side as members of the January 6 Committee.

Asked about the possibility of preemptive pardons, Schiff told CBS News: “I think this is frankly so implausible as not to be worthy of much consideration. I would urge the president not to do that. I think it would seem defensive and unnecessary.”

He’s right.

The most famous pardon of modern presidents was the one given to Richard Nixon by Gerald Ford. The pardon came after Nixon left office but before he could be impeached for his role in the Watergate affair.

There have been plenty of controversial pardons. Nixon pardoned Teamsters boss Jimmy Hoffa, who served only five years of a 13-year sentence for jury tampering, attempted bribery, conspiracy and mail and wire fraud.

Bill Clinton pardoned his brother, Roger—though he had already served an entire prison sentence a decade earlier. Clinton also issued a pardon to Hillary’s brother, Hugh Rodham, who represented Roger. Among the most publicized pardons was the one Clinton gave to fugitive commodities trader Marc Rich. Rich’s ex-wife, Denise, had been a major donor to the Democratic National Committee, Hillary Clinton’s campaign and the Clinton library foundation. In all, Bill Clinton issued 456 pardons and clemencies, including to some not convicted of any crime.

The way to fix inequities in the nearly unrestricted power of a president to pardon anyone for nearly any reason is for Congress to pass a constitutional amendment. Sadly, that is unlikely to happen.

If Biden issues preemptive pardons it will only add to the public’s disapproval of his administration, as expressed by a majority of voters in last month’s election. A poll conducted for the Daily Mail of 1,006 registered U.S. voters asked them to rank the nine elected presidents from the last 55 years in order from best to worst. Biden…came in last.

Clinton pollster James Carville recently called Biden: “The most tragic figure in American politics in my lifetime.”

If William Shakespeare were alive, no better topic for a tragedy could be found. And we’ll see if history can grant President Biden a pardon. I doubt it.

I’m Cal Thomas.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Tomorrow: John Stonestreet returns for Culture Friday.

And, movie director Peter Jackson is back with another story from Middle Earth…this time an animated film. WORLD’s Collin Garbarino has a review of “War of the Rohirrim.” Plus, The Music of Advent. That and more tomorrow.

I’m Myrna Brown.

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: “Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” —Hebrews 10:24-25

Go now in grace and peace.

WORLD Radio transcripts are created on a rush deadline. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of WORLD Radio programming is the audio record.