The World and Everything in It: December 24, 2024

PREROLL: MARY REICHARD, HOST: We have exactly one week left in our Year End Giving Drive, and it’s Christmas Eve, so that means it’s Nick’s birthday.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Ah, you remembered !

REICHARD: I did, and in fact, husband Joe and I decided to give IN YOUR HONOR to the year-end giving drive! And I hope these very faithful listeners today if you haven’t already take this opportunity to give today at W-N-G-dot-org-slash-YearEndGift. Happy birthday!

EICHER: Thanks!

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Good morning!

California cows are getting sick with bird flu. We’ll talk with an expert about what it may mean for those of us of the non-bovine persuasion.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Also today, math scores in the U.S. go from bad to worse. We’ll tell you how much worse. Sorry, but it’ll involve some math.

Later, why some Christians choose not to celebrate Christmas.

And the Great American Songbook, songs of the season with Bob Case.

REICHARD: It’s Tuesday, December 24th. 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: Up next, Kent Covington with today’s news.

KENT COVINGTON, NEWS ANCHOR: Mangioni  »The man accused of fatally shooting the CEO of UnitedHealthcare entered his plea today in a Manhattan courtroom:

NATS (Magione in court):

 JUDGE: Charging with the crime of murder in the first degree and other related charges. Have you agreed to this indictment, sir? Guilty or not guilty?

MANGIONE: Not guilty.

The Manhattan district attorney formally charged Luigi Mangione last week with multiple counts of murder, including murder as an act of terrorism.

He was shackled and seated in court when he leaned over to a microphone to enter his not guilty plea.

His attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo told the judge today that she’s concerned her client can’t get a fair trial in New York City due to public comments by Mayor Eric Adams.

AGNIFILO:  The mayor was talking to jurors, future potential jurors that he is talking to and calling this man a terrorist. So, uh, Your Honor, I just want to make a record of this and put everyone on notice that this has to stop. My client is entitled to, uh, to a fair, fair trial in the presumption of innocence.

The state case will run parallel to his federal prosecution.

Biden commutes death row sentences » President Biden is commuting the sentences of dozens of death row inmates. WORLD’s Kristen Flavin has more.

KRISTEN FLAVIN: Almost every federal prisoner sentenced to death and will instead serve life in prison without parole.

Biden granted a reprieve to 37 of the 40 death row inmates.

The White House says only those convicted of terrorism-related crimes or hate-motivated mass murder will remain on death row.

President Biden says that’s consistent with other commutations he has issued in the past.

The move comes just weeks before Donald Trump, an outspoken proponent of expanding capital punishment, takes office.

Biden said he couldn't allow a new administration to resume executions.

Trump will be sworn into office exactly four weeks from today.

For WORLD, I’m Kristen Flavin.

Panama Canal » The president of Panama is balking President-elect Donald Trump’s suggestion that the United States may look to reassert control over the Panama Canal.

President José Raúl Mulino said in response:

MULINO: Every square meter of the Panama Canal and its surroundings belong to PANAMA and will continue to belong to Panama. The sovereignty and independence of our country are non-negotiable.

Trump in response said—quote—“We’ll see about that.”

That all comes after the president-elect this week decried the fees that Panama now charges US vessels to use the canal after it was built decades earlier at great cost to the United States.

TRUMP:  The fees being charged by Panama are ridiculous, highly unfair, especially knowing the extraordinary generosity that has been bestowed to Panama, I say very foolishly, by the United States.

He said if Panama does not begin treating the U.S. fairly, his administration will demand that the canal be returned to the United States.

Trump didn't explain how such a takeover would be possible, given that then-President Jimmy Carter signed over control of the canal in 1977.

Illegal immigrant arrested in subway attack » In New York City, an illegal immigrant is facing murder and arson charges after a grizzly attack inside a subway car.

NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said the suspect walked up to a woman as she was sleeping in a seated position.

TISCH:   The suspect used what we believe to be a lighter to ignite the victim's clothing, which became fully engulfed in a matter of seconds.

Police say he then watched the woman die.

The suspect has been identified as 33-year-old Sebastian Zapeta, a Guatemalan national who re-entered the country illegally after being deported in 2018.

Authorities do not believe the attacker knew the victim.

House ethics Gaetz report » The House Ethics Committee has released a scathing report on former Congressman Matt Geatz. The panel could have withheld the report after he resigned last month, but voted to publish it anyway.

WORLD’s Benjamin Eicher has more.

BENJAMIN EICHER: The report accused Gaetz of regularly engaging with prostitutes and using illegal drugs like cocaine and ecstasy while in office.

It cited what it called significant evidence of that misconduct.

Gaetz quickly fired back on social media, saying the money he gave to women were gifts, rather than payments for sex.

The report also accused him of engaging in sexual activity with a 17-year-old, which he also strongly denies.

The Florida Republican resigned his House seat right after President-elect Donald Trump nominated him for attorney general last month.

But with no path to confirmation in the Senate, Gaetz withdrew from consideration.

For WORLD, I’m Benjamin Eicher.

Clinton hospitalization » Former President Bill Clinton was admitted Monday to a hospital in Washington after developing a fever. The 78-year-old was admitted in the “afternoon for testing and observation,” But a spokesman said the former president—quote—“remains in good spirits and deeply appreciates the excellent care he is receiving.”

I'm Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: how best to respond to bird flu cases in cows.

Plus, why some Christians choose not to celebrate Christmas…

This is The World and Everything in It.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: It’s Tuesday the 24th of December.

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.

Up first: Bird flu in cattle.

Over the past four months, hundreds of dairy cow herds in California have tested positive for bird flu. Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency to channel more resources to help dairy operators manage the outbreak. Meanwhile, the C-D-C reported the first severe human case of H-5-N-1 bird flu in Louisiana. How serious is this?

REICHARD: Well, joining us now is Erin Sorrell, a professor of public health at Johns Hopkins University. Erin, good morning!

ERIN SORRELL: Good morning, thanks for having me.

REICHARD: Well, so glad you're here. Even though we are talking about bird flu. The outbreak in California is primarily affecting cattle. How did that come about and how big of a problem is it?

SORRELL: It's a great question. You know, this virus has actually been circulating for about two years in the US and it was brought over by wild birds that were migrating as they usually do and has led to die-offs of millions of wild birds. The virus has the ability to jump species so it hopped over into domestic birds into a number of wild mammalian species and then in March of 2024 the first case was detected in a dairy, and so in terms of the number of herds that have been affected so far, it's about 865 herds in 16 states, but California has the largest number where they've got about third of the cases in terms of dairy cattle.

REICHARD: Well, how prepared is our agricultural infrastructure to manage a threat this big?

SORRELL: It's, that's another fantastic question. And I think it depends on the type of production facility. So our poultry producers in the States have been trained and untested against avian influenza outbreaks for a number of years. So the systems that they have in place for detection, response, and biosecurity at the farm are exceptional. This is the first time that we've had cases occur in dairy cattle. And so this was an unknown, it was a novel event for dairy producers. So it caught a lot of people off guard and has taken a lot of time to really figure out exposure risks, spillover risks, and how best to respond to these cases.

REICHARD: Well, you mentioned how the virus jumps species and we have seen human infections from this particular strain of bird flu, as we mentioned. Two questions here, Erin. How is it spread and how can people protect themselves?

SORRELL: So it is spread in different routes, depending on the animal that you're interacting with. So in many cases, people that are getting exposed to avian flu from handling dead or sick poultry, that could also be dead wild birds, or sick birds that might be mingling with your backyard flocks. It tends to be direct contact for an avian to human interaction. For agricultural workers, particularly dairy farmers, what we've seen in the data has been indicating is it's direct contact with infected cows and also milk. So raw milk, if a cow is infected and is being milked, will have high levels of virus. And so there is a grave concern in terms of both the agricultural workers that are milking these cows on a daily basis. And that's where we've seen high exposure rates, but also ingesting raw milk. And so that could be, you know, your average citizen that would be buying raw milk. There's been a lot of recommendations not to do so at this time.

REICHARD: Of course, the really big question on people's minds is whether we're looking at the potential of another pandemic from this disease. What do you think?

SORRELL: You know, It's a hard question to answer. And unfortunately, I don't have a good answer for you. I think that we don't know and we need more data and we need a better response. My opinion is if we can contain it in dairy cattle and if we can contain these exposures to a one -off infection, then we really can prevent any onward spread, any human to human transmission. We don't give the virus the opportunity to evolve into a pandemic.

REICHARD: I don't think it's any secret that public trust in the CDC and government health agencies is on the low side these days. How can officials address skepticism and also provide information about bird flu that the public can trust?

SORRELL: You know, I think that as the public, we have to look to the experts to provide that information, but information needs to be provided in a timely and accessible manner. So understanding the risks, if you are an agricultural worker, are very different than someone who might live far away from and not interact in any way, shape, or form with poultry or cattle. So understanding your risks and having that information communicated to you regularly, information getting updated when when it becomes available, I think is critical risk communication to the public.

REICHARD: And just to put a finer point on that, what lessons were learned from the COVID pandemic that helps us manage this particular infection now?

SORRELL: I think one of the biggest lessons in terms of communication and public outreach during the pandemic is that information changes as we learn more about a particular disease or the way it interacts within different, and in this case, different species, and being able to provide updated information that may change, guidance and recommendations might change throughout this outbreak, and being receptive to that and understanding it's because data is informing those recommendations.

REICHARD: Erin Sorrell is a Public Health professor at Johns Hopkins. Thank you so much!

SORRELL: Thank you.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Coming up next on The World and Everything in It: a math problem.

American students are falling behind in math compared to five years ago and compared to other countries.

WORLD asked a few experts why. Reporter Mary Muncy brings us the story.

BRIAN GALVIN: It's a lot more than any one classroom teacher can be expected that help students with

MARY MUNCY: Brian Galvin is an executive at an online tutoring program. It makes personalized learning plans for students struggling with math. It used to cover principles the students should have learned the previous year, but they’re finding that now, they consistently have to go back two grade levels.

GALVIN: Math is the ultimate building block skill

He says it’s like Jenga: If a student is struggling with mixed numbers in fifth grade, it may be because they didn’t master finding common denominators in third grade.

GALVIN: You take the Jenga tower, and all of a sudden you get that shaky foundation because we pulled out a few boards.

That gets discouraging for students, and it gets worse as the student has to learn new concepts that require mastery of the previous ones.

GALVIN: There's a level of I don't get it. I don't understand why I don't get it, I'm just always going to be behind. So I think there's a little bit of like compound hopelessness in maybe a lot of students.

In other subjects, like history, students don't have to know about the American Revolution to get a good grade on a test on the Civil War. Or they can skate by in literature because books rarely need last year’s books for context.

GALVIN: Very few people say, ‘I'm not a science person, I'm not a reading person,’ but it's just part of our lexicon: ‘I'm not a math person.’

The National Center for Education Statistics administers a math test to about 650,000 students worldwide every four years. This year, it tested fourth and eighth graders.

The results? Since 2019, those students’ scores dropped about 3 percent, taking our ranking among other participating countries from the top 25 percent to just above the middle of the pack.

GALVIN: COVID really had a perfect storm.

Widespread reliance on virtual classrooms and distance learning spanned two different school years, and when students returned, a lot of teachers didn’t.

GALVIN: You had more substitute teachers, and so less continuity in teachers understanding, you know, exactly where a student was, and being able to give that personalized attention and all that context.

But COVID isn’t the only factor. The data suggests the drop in math scores is not across the board.

NAT MALKUS: One of my main concerns is the opening gap between the top scorers and the bottom scores.

Nat Malkus is an education fellow with the American Enterprise Institute.

MALKUS: So the gap between the 90th percentile of scores and the 10th percentile definitely opened up dramatically in fourth grade over the pandemic, because the lower scoring students, their scores dropped dramatically. The upper scoring students, they stayed pretty much where they were.

In other words, those struggling with math already before the lock downs are really struggling now. Malkus says the pandemic definitely contributed to the drop, but…

MALKUS: We actually see declines in these scores going back 12 years or so on average.

And that gap between the highest achievers and the lowest achievers is widening.

MALKUS: When you take a careful look over time at the scores, I think there's more than just the pandemic going on.

Explanations vary from increased cell phone use to the end of No Child Left Behind. But Malkus says it’s complicated.

MALKUS: There's a bunch of stories that do sort of hit somewhere in this 2012, 2013 timeline, which actually could explain this, which one of them it is, I can't, you just can't identify from these test scores.

Other academic tests show a similar decline, and the results from a different national test will come out in the next few weeks. It’s called the National Assessment of Educational Progress, but educators refer to it as the Nation’s Report Card.

That one happens every two years so it’s already captured a post-pandemic number in 2022. Malkus hopes that it’ll show math scores dropped after the pandemic but have remained steady, but he’s not sure. He does expect to see a widening achievement gap.

For now, Malkus believes the pandemic slump is reversible as schools get back to some of their normal routines and invest in tutoring services like the one Galvin provides.

GALVIN: It's kind of a terrifying thing to think, ‘hey, you know, my kid is part of this trend that they're so far behind.’ But if you can find, you can diagnose, you know, their their core reasons for their struggles. It becomes really tangible.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Mary Muncy.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: At Thanksgiving, the president pardons turkeys. But down in Miami, no need for that! It’s the pig that needs a pardon.

Eric Castellanos owns a Latin cafe there:

CASTELLANOS: It started as a joke that we don’t really do turkey here in Miami. It’s more lechon and pig. So, we looked at each other and said, someone should do this.

Somebody did do it, and it’s now year 7 for two pigs to receive clemency from the barbecue pit. Here’s mayor Daniella Levine Cava:

CAVA: I grant a full mayoral pardon for our lucky friends Glenda and Elphaba and wish them many happy healthy years ahead.

So named for the main characters in the musical Wicked. And now they’ll live out their lives of virtue at an animal sanctuary south of Miami.

It’s The World and Everything in It.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Today is Tuesday, December 24th.

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

Good morning. I’m Mary Reichard.

NICK EICHER, HOST: And I’m Nick Eicher.

Coming next on The World and Everything in It: Christians skipping Christmas.

Among the holidays, Christmas reigns supreme in the United States. This year, Gallup says six in 10 Americans plan to spend more than $500 on presents, nearly four in 10 are spending $1,000 plus.

REICHARD: But not all Christians are onboard with Christmas, or any holiday, for that matter. WORLD’s Grace Snell talked to one such family and brings us today’s story.

AUDIO: [Psalm leader chanting, congregation responding]

GRACE SNELL: At Providence Presbyterian Church, everything is business-as-usual today. The congregation chants responsively from Psalm 109—their voices echoing under the vaulted ceiling.

AUDIO: [Psalm leader chanting, congregation responding]

There’s not a trace of Christmas here: no Advent wreaths, candles, or nativity scenes. Not a single ribbon, present, or bow. Instead, a large, white pulpit takes center stage.

SHELTON: Our New Testament reading is Luke, Chapter 17…

Logan Shelton is the church’s pastor.

SHELTON: Preaching of the Word will come from verses 11 to 19…

Shelton—and other Christians like him—don’t believe in celebrating Christmas. He stands in a Reformed lineage that rejects any kind of special holy days based on their interpretation of the principle: “Sola Scriptura.”

Scripture Alone.

SHELTON: The Bible is sufficient—which Protestants readily confess. The Bible is especially sufficient when it comes to acts of worship, and the Bible has made no provision for any special holy days in the New Testament, other than the Sabbath.

It’s an idea known as the “regulative principle.” Christians holding this view seek to worship God only as He expressly commands in Scripture. Believers embracing a contrasting “normative” view believe anything not directly at odds with God’s Word is acceptable.

Boycotting Christmas may sound radical. But the idea isn’t new. It’s actually a deeply-rooted element of early Presbyterian thought and practice. Here’s what an assembly of English and Scottish Puritans had to say about holidays in 1645 when they gathered at Westminster:

SHELTON: There is no day commanded in Scripture to be kept holy under the gospel, but the Lord’s Day, which is the Christian Sabbath. Festival days, vulgarly called “holy days,” having no warrant in the Word of God, are not to be continued.

As late as 1899, the Southern Presbyterian Church’s general assembly denounced Christmas celebrations as “contrary to the principles of the Reformed Faith.” But plenty of other Protestants: Anglicans, Methodists, and Lutherans, to name a few, viewed holy days not only as permissible—but spiritually beneficial. A time to focus afresh on particular elements of the gospel story.

And the stance of most Presbyterian churches softened over time as denominations mixed and mingled.

Shelton grew up celebrating Christmas—like virtually every other American kid. He still remembers excitedly unwrapping a go-kart from his parents. But his views on Christmas started changing after he enrolled at Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary.

There, he read a lot of old Puritan books. And he couldn’t escape the authors’ strong aversion to holy days.

Shelton’s perspective started to shift. But canceling Christmas seemed too radical at first. Instead, he tried something pretty counterintuitive: taking “the Christ” out of Christmas.

SHELTON: I think my gut check reaction was, try to make Christmas secular after the same manner that I would say Fourth of July is secular. I wanted to try to put Christmas in those categories, because then it wouldn’t be a disruptive change.

But, that didn’t really work.

SHELTON: What I ultimately found was that that line was a little bit too fine, because Christmas is not purely secular.

So, in 2020, Shelton and his wife decided to phase out Christmas. Their first son was just a toddler, and they wanted to set the tone for their growing family.

2020 was a “transition year.” After that, they quit cold turkey. Lights, Christmas tree, and all.

It was a tough call to make. Shelton knew the decision would be hard for his parents. And he hated to disappoint them. But, more than that, he wanted to be true to his convictions.

So, while neighbors gather around Christmas trees and tear into brightly-wrapped packages, the Sheltons head to a local Chinese restaurant—one of the few places open on the 25th. Or they use the day to travel and see family.

SHELTON: As much as we can, we try to shift all the good things that we liked about Christmas to New Year’s Day...

The Sheltons don’t advertise their Christmas convictions. They just quietly do something different. But people tend to catch on—and that makes for some interesting conversations.

SHELTON: “What do you do on the 25th?” “Well, on the 25th we’ll be driving”— “Wait, you’re going to be driving on…” And so it just kind of, like, kept getting more in specific questions and to where I finally say, “Well, you know, the truth is, we don’t observe Christmas.

Most people are shocked or surprised. And they’re curious to understand why.

SHELTON: For a lot of evangelical Christians, this is all they’ve ever known. They’re not even aware of the fact that, for example, there were laws against celebrating Christmas in Puritan Massachusetts. It’s a very dramatic paradigm shift.

But things are just the opposite for the Shelton kids. Life without Christmas is all they know. That makes for lots of teaching moments with Shelton’s older two boys. Levi is five and Will is three.

SHELTON: Now, are there any other special days that God tells us to observe besides the Lord’s Day?

LEVI: No, not Monday, not Tuesday, not Wednesday, not Thursday, not Friday, definitely not Saturday, because everybody watches football…

SHELTON: [Laughing] Definitely not Saturday. Everybody watches football.

The Sheltons don’t celebrate Christmas Day.

SHELTON: But does that mean we don’t celebrate the birth of Jesus?

LEVI: No.

SHELTON: When do we celebrate the birth of Jesus?

LEVI: On Sunday!

SHELTON: Every Lord’s Day, right?

Fifty-two days for all Christians—regardless of their holiday convictions—to celebrate the greatest gift: God made flesh. God with us.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Grace Snell.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Today is Tuesday, December 24th. 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. Up next, our occasional series: The Great American Songbook with Bob Case.

BOB CASE, COMMENTATOR: The Psalmist tells us that Yahweh through his words controls the natural phenomenon surrounding us. In Psalm 147 we see that Yahweh becomes the direct agent of what happens in nature. He makes the snow cover the ground in the way a woolen fleece covers a sheep. He scatters frost like a man throwing the ashes out of the fireplace. He throws hail like someone scattering breadcrumbs. And in Isaiah 55, the prophet says that rain and snow come down from heaven to bring life to earth giving seed to the producer and food to the consumer.

God designed the cold days of Christmas and winter to be a blessing to humanity. The Hebrew word translated “winter” means “to inundate” or “overflow.” It is all part of the seasonal providential care of God.

With that in mind let’s take a look at a couple of familiar American Songbook Christmas songs about the season’s weather.

SONG: WINTER WONDERLAND BY GUY LOMBARDO

“Winter Wonderland” is a Tin Pan Alley song written in the midst of the Great Depression in 1934 by Felix Bernard and Richard Smith. It is often regarded as the first American Songbook Christmas song. Its lyrics are about a couple's romance during the winter season. A later version of the song transformed it from a romantic winter interlude in front of a cozy fire to a seasonal song about playing in the snow. We have lots of snow and a snowman, a Parson Brown, and a circus clown.

SONG: WINTER WONDERLAND BY GUY LOMBARDO VOCAL

Guy Lombardo’s version would go on to be one of the biggest hits of 1934.

Johnny Mercer’s recording placed number 4 on the Billboard chart in 1946.

SONG: WINTER WONDERLAND BY JOHNNY MERCER & THE PIED PIPERS

The same Christmas season a version by Perry Como hit Billboard’s top ten.

SONG: WINTER WONDERLAND BY PERRY COMO

In November 2007, the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) listed “Winter Wonderland” as the most-played member-written holiday song of the previous five years.

SONG: MAY THE GOOD LORD BLESS YOU AND KEEP YOU BY MEREDITH WILSON

In 1950, composer and Juilliard musician Meredith Willson wrote “May the Good Lord Bless and Keep You.” Frankie Laine recorded it and it became the most requested song by American GIs during the Korean War.

SONG: IT’S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE CHRISTMAS

Then in 1951, Willson wrote his seasonal favorite: “It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas.” It was made a top twenty hit in September by Perry Como and the Fontane Sisters.

SONG: IT’S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE CHRISTMAS

In October Bing Crosby also recorded a hit version.

SONG: IT’S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE CHRISTMAS BY BING CROSBY

In 1986, Johnny Mathis recorded the song—included in the 1992 movie, Home Alone 2—making the song a hit once again.

In July 1945 during a heatwave in Hollywood California, Sammy Cahn suggested to his songwriting partner Jule Styne that they go to the beach to cool off.

But Styne was a workaholic and suggested they write a cool song instead. That song turned out to be “Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!” It was first recorded that fall by Vaughn Monroe, and went on to become the most popular Christmas song of the year and a worldwide perennial hit after.

SONG: LET IT SNOW BY VAUGHN MONROE

Despite the lyrics making no mention of any holiday, the song has come to be regarded as a Christmas song due to its winter theme. Chaste and charm characterize the brief four stanzas. Who wouldn’t want to be stranded in a cozy environment as you pop corn together, share a goodnight kiss, and part for the night?

The wonderful Christmas season is also a wonderful music season. Simple songs of joy, happiness, innocence and, yes, holiness will be our musical fare during Advent. Even our post-Christian culture can’t help itself in musically celebrating the glories of God’s winter creation.

I’m Robert Case.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Tomorrow: A dramatic reading of the Nativity Story.

And, Bonnie Pritchett returns with one more musical tribute for the season: This time, the Music of Christmas.

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 Psalmist writes: “I remember the days of old; I meditate on all that you have done; I ponder the work of your hands. I stretch out my hands to you; my soul thirsts for you like a parched land.” Psalm 143:5-6.

Go now in grace and peace.

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