The World and Everything in It: February 22, 2023

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Good morning!

$31 trillion in the hole and Washington refuses to put down the shovel. Retired U.S. Senator Alan Simpson offers his thoughts on the debt crisis.

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

Also our weekly run down of international news on World Tour.

Plus a visit to Hughes chapel on the campus of Asbury University.

And what it means to Muslims when a church building becomes a mosque.

BROWN: It’s Wednesday, February 22nd. This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Myrna Brown.

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

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

KENT COVINGTON, NEWS ANCHOR: Biden in Poland » President Biden took aim at Vladimir Putin in remarks from Poland on Tuesday.

BIDEN: This war was never a necessity. It's a tragedy. President Putin chose this war. Every day the war continues is his choice.

Biden is wrapping up two days of meetings with NATO leaders in Warsaw today.

He warned of “hard and bitter days ahead" as Russia's invasion of Ukraine nears the one-year mark. But he vowed that no matter what, the United States and allies “will not waver” in supporting Ukraine.

His remarks in Poland came one day after a surprise visit to Ukraine’s capital.

BIDEN: One year ago, the world was bracing for the fall of Kyiv. Well, I just came from a visit to Kyiv, and I can report: Kyiv stands strong.

Putin speech / nuclear announcement, NATO react » Vladimir Putin delivered a speech of his own on Tuesday in which he announced he was suspending the last remaining arms control treaty with the United States.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg weighed in:

STOLTENBERG: Over the last years, Russia has violated and walked away from key arms control agreements. With today’s decision on New START, the whole arms control architecture has been dismantled

The so-called New Start treaty has been on life support for some time. It limited the number of nuclear weapons the U.S. and Russia could have.

Putin also once again tried to pin the blame for the war in Ukraine on Western nations. He claimed Washington and its allies were seeking—quote— “unlimited power,” forcing him to act.

Treasury deputy: Russia sanctions are degrading its military » U.S. sanctions against Russia are reportedly contributing to losses on the battlefield. WORLD’s Kristen Flavin has more.

KRISTEN FLAVIN, REPORTER: The Treasury Department says that Russia has lost up to half of its tanks and it is struggling to replace them due to sanctions. The same is true for other machinery damaged in the war.

More than 30 countries have put price caps on Russian oil, enacted export controls for Russian goods, and cracked down on the Russian Central Bank.

The U.S. plans to announce new sanctions this week, targeting the Kremlin’s war machine.

For WORLD, I’m Kristen Flavin.

EPA takes charge of Ohio cleanup / Buttigieg remarks » The EPA says railroad giant Norfolk Southern will have to foot the bill for the recovery efforts in eastern Ohio where a train hauling toxic cargo derailed earlier this month.

EPA Administrator Michael Regan:

REGAN: Norfolk Southern will pay for cleaning up the mess that they created and the trauma that they inflicted on this community.

He said that will include reimbursing the government for the cleanup it’s already done.

In the wake of the crash, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is calling for tighter regulations for transporting hazardous materials.

Supreme Court Section 230 » STEWART: Mr. Chief Justice and may it please the court…

The Supreme Court today is weighing a case that could turn the social media industry upside down.

The justices are scheduled to hear the second of two cases challenging a legal provision known as Section 230. It shields the companies like Google, Facebook, and Twitter from being held liable for content that users create.

On Tuesday, the court seemed skeptical about lifting those protections.

Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

KAVANAUGH: To pull back now from the would create a lot of economic dislocation, would really crash the digital economy with all sorts of effects on workers and consumers, retirement plans what have you.

Critics say Section 230 allows social media companies to avoid responsibility while supporters argue it protects free speech.

Midwest blizzard » A winter storm is moving across the northern U.S. today, bringing heavy snow and freezing temperatures.

At least 22 states are under weather alerts as the storm travels east through Friday.

University of Wisconsin Meteorology Professor Jonathan Martin.

MARTIN: If you're in northern parts of the state of Wisconsin, Michigan, into northern New England, probably pretty heavy snow.

And he says those in the Minneapolis area could see record setting snow.

SBC Ousts Saddleback » The Southern Baptist Convention is separating itself from a well-known California megachurch.

WORLD’s Josh Schumacher has more:

JOSH SCHUMACHER, REPORTER: Rick Warren, the bestselling author of The Purpose Driven Life, founded Saddleback Church more than forty years ago.

It grew into the largest church in the state, with over a dozen campuses.

Last summer, he stepped down as pastor and a husband-wife team has taken his place.

The Southern Baptist Convention says having a woman in the role of pastor is not scriptural and does not closely align with the group’s stated doctrine.

Saddleback may appeal the decision at the next annual Southern Baptist meeting in June.

For WORLD, I’m Josh Schumacher. 

I’m Kent Covington. Straight ahead on Washington Wednesday: the federal government’s spending problems.

Plus, World Tour.

This is The World and Everything in It.

NICK EICHER, HOST: It’s Wednesday the 22nd of February, 2023. Glad to have you along for today’s edition of The World and Everything in It. Good morning, I’m Nick Eicher.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: And I’m Myrna Brown. First up today: Washington Wednesday. Today, a conversation about Washington’s favorite pastime: spending money.

Taking a peek at the online U.S. debt clock, I can tell you that in the roughly 30 seconds since this segment started, the national debt rose about three-quarters of a million dollars—30 seconds.

At the moment, it stands at more than $31.5 trillion. We’re very close to hitting the legal maximum and the debate now is over whether to raise the so-called debt ceiling.

EICHER: GOP leaders say Washington has to rein in its overspending before agreeing to borrow even more.

Democrats say Republicans are playing a dangerous game, putting America at risk of defaulting on its debt, a situation that would have dire consequences. They are demanding that Republicans agree to raise the debt ceiling with no preconditions.

The two sides have until sometime this summer to hash it out before the threat of default becomes real.

BROWN: One man who understands this issue very well is former Sen. Alan Simpson. He represented Wyoming on Capitol Hill for nearly two decades.

And in 2010, he co-chaired a panel to study Washington’s debt problem, widely known as the “Simpson-Bowles Commission.” And Alan Simpson joins us now.

Senator, good morning!

ALAN SIMPSON, GUEST: Good morning.

BROWN: Well, sir, the formal title of the 2010 panel, was the Bipartisan National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform. 13 years later, are we seeing any fiscal responsibility or reform?

SIMPSON: No, because both parties have chosen to just spend it up and sleep in the streets. I mean, you don't have to blame this on the Republicans or the Democrats. You had George Bush, push it along. Along came Obama, he pushed it along. And that's unsustainable. And the things that are being hurt will be social security and the Medicare trust fund. And they've all vowed under oath that they wouldn't touch any of that. Well, gang, you can't get there without touching that stuff. And when we turned in our report, we got five Democrats and five Republicans, and one independent. And everybody said, Boy, that's just great. We love you, and pat you on the back. And then nobody touched it because we hit everybody. We hit the defense budget. We hit everything, everything in the government. And that's not a good thing to do when you're running for reelection.

BROWN: You mentioned the report. So, give us just a very brief refresher of the key findings of the Simpson-Bowles commission. What were the main things you tried to convey to our nation's leaders at that time?

SIMPSON: Well, the basic thing is you can forget politics and forget science, and all the other things and go back to math. Anyone out there can understand where we are with the debt and the deficit. The deficits are things where you can just say, well, you know, we can make that up. But the debt is all consuming in the interest on the debt is extraordinary. So we hit everybody. It was called the moment of truth and it was a very fine little folio telling you exactly what you have to do to restore solvency to Social Security, or the Medicare trust fund. They borrowed it. They put IOUs in there to build the federal highways. All those things are gone and the thing is that in the year 2034, please hear this, the Social Security Administration will pay out 23% less, and you can whine and moan about it all you want and you're gonna say wait, I have something in my hand says scheduled benefit. I got that when I was 55. And where is it? And the old Franklin Roosevelt and the gang were pretty smart. They said, look, if the scheduled benefit is not there, you're going to receive only the payable benefit. And when we started in 2010, there was less money coming in to cover the going out. And now, of course, it's increased. And in 2034, you're gonna get a check for 23% less and then in the '28, that's not far away, the Medicare Trust Fund will take a real hit. And it's not able to tell whether that's going to be 10% or 20% or what, but those are the two principal trust funds. And I think people at that time will look around and say, who was here back in 2023 or '24, when they all said, we're not going to touch anything.

BROWN: Now, let me throw out this number—and I know you've heard it—$31 trillion. Of course, that's the national debt, now over $31 trillion. But sometimes it's hard to see how that affects the average person at the kitchen table. So, why should we care how much money Washington spends or how large the national debt grows? I mean, how will it affect our listeners personally?

SIMPSON: Well, if you're a creditor out there listening to the audience, and you say, just forget this stuff, we get more money. And that's probably what will happen. They'll say, the Social Security fund is not able to pay except up to 23% less, and so we'll have to get that money from the general fund. But the interest on the $41 trillion is extraordinary. And I say go back to math and use your brain and your common sense. The old coots will destroy the system. There won't be anything for your great grandchildren or your grandchildren. How could there be? And so they're selfish.

BROWN: How do you see the current battle over the debt ceiling playing out? I mean, do you think Republicans will succeed in forcing some reduction in the overspending?

SIMPSON: Well, I know when I was there and I was a member and served as Bob Dole's assistant leader in the Senate, and we were always trying to figure, how do you hang this one around the Democrats? And the Democrats would come into power and say, how do we hang the debt limit over the Republicans, because both parties know they have to do it or else we just lose our status as one of the principle currencies of the world. We're hooked. And so always it came down to the last time and suddenly, somebody would come over from the other side and say, this is nuts. So you'll pick up a few Republicans who pass the debt limit extension or pick up a few. But those days are few and far between now because the job is to marginalize or make the other party go over the cliff. And if they go over the cliff, well, we'll be the only party. I think what we have with Republicans nowadays, they're demanding purity. The only people I ever knew in my lifetime who demanded purity and ideological stress were Mao Zedong, Joseph Stalin, and Adolf Hitler. And the Democrats are facing the same problem. Why would a young person want to join the Republican Party or even the Democrat Party ,if you're going to just say here's what we have to believe, and you can't deviate from this? Well, George Washington, go look at his farewell address, you people out there and see what he said about political parties. He said they can come and could be very destructive for this nation. Well, Merry Christmas.

BROWN: Senator Alan Simpson represented Wyoming in the U.S. Senate for nearly two decades. And honored to speak with you today, sir, thank you.

SIMPSON: Thank you. You've been very courteous and thank you very much.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Coming up next on The World and Everything in It: World Tour with WORLD’s Africa reporter, Onize Ohikere.

ONIZE OHIKERE, REPORTER: Brazil flooding — We begin today’s roundup in Brazil.

AUDIO: [Tree felling]

Rescue workers are clearing felled trees and picking up stranded residents from flood-hit regions of Sao Paulo state after torrential rainfall over the weekend.

The rain triggered flooding and landslides that have engulfed homes and left more than 200 people homeless.

More than 40 people have died, and dozens are still missing. Authorities expect the toll to rise.

Many of the deaths came from the hard-hit city of Sao Sebastiao.

AUDIO: [Mud scraping]

Residents there have started clearing out thick mud from their homes.

Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva flew over the region on Monday.

SILVA: [Speaking Portuguese]

He called on Brazilians to pray for the victims and for less rainfall to aid recovery efforts. Officials have canceled annual Carnival celebrations throughout the area. The festival marks five days of celebration before Lent begins today.

New Zealand cyclone — Next, to another storm in New Zealand.

Authorities there are still responding to the aftermath of last week’s cyclone. The death toll has risen to 11 after Cyclone Gabrielle brought widespread flooding, landslides, and power outages.

On Monday, New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins extended a state of emergency by seven days.

HIPKINS: This allows us to continue coordinating the response at a national level ensuring those areas receive the resources that they require.

Tens of thousands of customers are still without power, while authorities continue to track down missing people.

One property owner described the storm as a complete disaster.

AUDIO: Have a look around guys, it's a write-off, 16 years of growing vines and it's all gone

Authorities have compared the extent of the damage to another cyclone that drenched New Zealand in 1988.

Bangladesh protests — Next, to Bangladesh.

AUDIO: [Protest]

Journalists from the country’s main opposition newspaper on Monday held up banners and marched across the streets of the capital city of Dhaka.

They are protesting a government order that stops the newspaper from operating.

District authorities first ordered the shutdown in December, saying the newspaper violated the country’s printing and publication laws.

The journalists appealed to the Press Council, but it rejected their request on Sunday.

AUDIO: [Protesters chanting]

Many see the move as part of a larger crackdown on media freedom. Last month, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government ordered the closure of 191 websites accused of publishing reports critical of the government.

Bulgaria migrants — We head over to Bulgaria.

Authorities are searching for human traffickers after finding 18 migrants dead inside an abandoned truck.

AUDIO: [Security response]

Authorities found the truck 12 miles northeast of Bulgaria’s capital of Sofia. They said the migrants suffocated to death inside a secret compartment under a load of lumber. Thirty-four others survived.

Bulgaria has stepped up patrols along its 161-mile border fence with Turkey as more and more migrants arrive. Some asylum-seekers have accused border agents of abuse, saying they have been stripped, pushed back, and beaten.

Ghana earthquake victim — We wrap up today in Ghana’s capital of Accra.

AUDIO: [Trumpet march]

Mourners dressed in black welcomed the flag-draped casket of a Ghanaian international footballer who died in the Turkey-Syria earthquake earlier this month.

Responders found the body of the 31-year-old Christian Atsu in the rubble of a 12-story building in Turkey’s Hatay province.

Atsu previously played for English Premier League teams such as Chelsea and Newcastle United. He signed with the Turkish Hatayspor football club last year.

Ghanaian Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia spoke with mourners at the international airport.

BAWUMIA: And we anxiously, nervously prayed that our brother Christian Atsu would be found alive.

The earthquakes and subsequent aftershocks have killed nearly 45,000 people in Turkey and Syria. Another 6.3-magnitude quake hit the region on Monday.

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

NICK EICHER, HOST: Two weeks ago, a Eurasian eagle owl by the name of Flaco escaped from the Central Park Zoo after vandals damaged his enclosure.

Zoologists attempted to recapture the bird, but couldn’t. And so now the zoo is content to let Flaco remain free in Central Park for the time being.

However, there is now another problem: wanna-be birdwatchers. New Yorkers are hooting and hissing to try to get his attention. The constant irritation can be bad for his health.

Ornithologist Neil Hermes.

HERMES: We really do want to learn more about them and enjoy seeing them. It is important that we are attentive to the needs of the birds, not just attend to our needs and what we're hoping to get out of our experience with them.

Of course, owls are nocturnal, so when New Yorkers are hassling him for a photo, he’s just tying to get some shut-eye. Who knows? Flaco may get his fill of the city that never sleeps and voluntarily go back to the Zoo.

It’s The World and Everything in It.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Today is Wednesday, February 22nd. Thank you for turning to WORLD Radio to help start your day. Good morning. I’m Nick Eicher.

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

World Journalism Institute is taking applications now for our collegiate program. I’m going to be there. So is Nick. And Paul Butler, so good representation from the radio team. We’ll have magazine staff, news staff, WORLD Watch staff, and outstanding professors of journalism all working to deliver quality instruction.

EICHER: Right, you’ll learn broadcast and print, news and feature. We will put you through your paces. If you think God is calling you to journalism, I hope you’ll visit World Journalism Institute online at WJI.world.

We’ve included a link in today’s transcript to learn more about WJI and apply online. The course runs from May 19th through June 3rd, so check it out today. Don’t delay. WJI.world.

BROWN: Coming next on The World and Everything in It: an extended chapel service and the move of God.

For two weeks now, tens of thousands have traveled to Asbury University to witness the events happening inside Hughes chapel—a building on campus that usually sees far less foot traffic.

EICHER: Social media posts and national news reports have been calling this event a “revival” and it's been spreading to other schools. WORLD’s Zoe Schimke visited Asbury last week, and she has this report.

AUDIO: [RAIN]

ZOE SCHIMKE, REPORTER: It’s a Thursday evening in Wilmore Kentucky. It’s raining and chilly. But that hasn’t shortened the line of about 500 people waiting to get into Asbury University’s Hughes chapel. Umbrellas stretch out for two blocks.

It all began with a guitar, a piano, and a small group of college students two weeks ago after a regularly scheduled chapel. It ballooned into an event that’s drawn visitors from around the world.

MALIK EDWARDS: When I saw it, I was like, let me get to Kentucky and see what was going on.

Malik Edwards is the pastor of Relentless DC church. He’s one of thousands of people who have come to see the events taking place. He hopes that this results in the spread of enthusiasm for Christ.

EDWARDS: So I'm just hoping it's gonna keep on spreading beyond even the college campuses. All the way into, you know, secular places, you know, I'm hoping that it's gonna spread like fire.

The informal time of prayer, testimonies and singing inside the chapel have drawn national spectators like Edwards—and also many students from other Christian universities. They’ve come to Asbury for the spiritual experience, but also because they hope to carry the awakening back to their own campuses. There are reports of extended chapel services happening at Samford University, Wheaton, and many more.

CADE REX: We want to come, we want to worship the Lord here. And we want this same thing to take place at our school and for the Lord to move in power there.

Cade Rex is a student at Wheaton College in Illinois. He was one of approximately 20 students from the school who came to Asbury to participate in the chapel services. He’s since returned home.

REX: There definitely is a desire that the Lord would move in this way back at Wheaton, and I mean, we've been praying for this. And there's been people praying for this for years at Wheaton.

Spiritual awakenings—or revivals—have often begun on college campuses. In the 1790s, the first stirrings of the Second Great Awakening began at Yale University when campus president Timothy Dwight preached a six month long sermon series on the inerrancy of Scripture.

But college campuses have seen revivals even more recently. In February 1970, Asbury was the site of another revival, that one also led by students. The chapel speaker that day was inspired to call for public testimony instead of his planned message, and that led to more than 140 hours of continuous revival.

AUDIO: [WORSHIP]

This event is similar. The outpouring at Hughes chapel comes with a special emphasis on the Gospel for younger generations. Lexie Presta is a senior at Asbury University. She is the executive editor of the campus newspaper.

LEXIE PRESTA: Everyone's been talking about how this is like a Gen Z movement. But I think it's just because our generation has tried other things. We've looked to other things, and nothing has been satisfying us.

Presta was there at the original chapel service that started it all.

PRESTA: Especially at the beginning, I didn't leave. l I think once I came back after chapel officially ended, like I didn't leave until like, two or three o'clock in the morning.

For Presta, it may be too soon to call this a revival. What will really make the difference is when those who are encountering Christ bear the fruit of repentance in their own lives. She wants to see what happens next.

PRESTA: But if nothing's changing, all you're gonna keep doing is experiencing and reflecting in your life is going to be stuck in a horrible cycle. God's gonna reveal what needs changing, and you have to be willing to make those changes, even if it's hard, because the end result is a relationship with Him that would produce so much more fruit than if you tried to do this life alone.

Presta, like other students and faculty, is glad to see joy for the Gospel. However, she points out that you don’t need to come to Asbury to experience the Holy Spirit in your own life.

PRESTA: There's nothing special about Hughes auditorium, it's just a building. There's nothing special about Asbury, we're just a university. And there's nothing special about us students. We're just people. But the Holy Spirit is just using this time and us in this space. However, he is not limited to this space and time.

God does seem to be at work in this chapel, and people from everywhere want to come and see it. While the excitement for the Holy Spirit is high, this has created some logistical challenges for the school.

WHITWORTH: By Wednesday evening, we realized that this was something that could be long lasting, and in terms of several days…

Mark Whitworth is the vice president for communications at Asbury University. He’s one of the faculty members who have been handling the logistical challenges of the crowds on campus.

WHITWORTH: I don't think it's careless to say you're talking about tens…you know, tens of thousands of people that have over the past eight days. You know, experienced worship and ministry.

Besides the logistical difficulties though, Whitworth and his colleagues want to be good stewards of the event. They are wary of publicity and self-promotion.

WHITWORTH: We don't even introduce the speakers with their full name. It basically, would be, for example, Hi, I'm Mark, and I'm going to read today's scripture, it wouldn't be my last name. Even for worship, we don't use the screens for lyrics. It is…as basic as it can possibly be. But we really want to fiercely protect to the best of our abilities, the work that God is doing in there.

Asbury officials have been intentional about avoiding press for themselves. Tucker Carlson offered to come and film a segment on campus, but the university administration turned him down.

CARLSON: The ongoing service at Asbury is purely spiritual…It's mostly these young people worshiping God, young people finding meaning and answers in a country that increasingly doesn't offer much of either. It's not really a place for TV cameras.

Whether it’s a spiritual awakening, outpouring, or a true revival, vice president Whitworth says that only time will tell what the true result of this event will be.

WHITWORTH: It's after someone has taken a step back, and they've kind of reviewed and spoken to a number of people, before someone would actually label something like this a revival…I think the impact of an event like this must transform the church. And I think that will be something that we can see, as the days and weeks and months and years unfold, but that's our prayer is that the church would come more alive.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Zoe Schimke in Wilmore, Kentucky.

EICHER: Just a quick note, Asbury University has announced that the public services inside the chapel are winding down—in the hopes that the faculty, staff, and students can resume their normal academic work during the semester. The last service open to the public is tomorrow, Thursday the 23rd.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Today is Wednesday, February 22nd. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Myrna Brown.

NICK EICHER, HOST: And I’m Nick Eicher. Today, a new voice as we welcome A.S. Ibrahim of World Opinions. Ibrahim is a native of Egypt and he heads up the center for the Christian Understanding of Islam at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. His commentary today concerns recent headlines coming from Buffalo, New York.

A. S. IBRAHIM, COMMENTATOR: Many in the West know that a “mosque” is a Muslim house of worship. But few understand the aggressive ideology behind the Muslim pattern of building mosques in non-Muslim lands.

For many Muslims, building a mosque is a theological statement of Islam’s hegemony. It is a visible declaration of Islam’s victorious advance and success. The structure itself becomes a sign of Islam’s superiority over other belief systems. Just think of the minaret towers on a city’s skyline in a Muslim country.

A recentreport explains that a Muslim group plans to create a mosque inside St. Ann Catholic Church in Buffalo, New York. A Muslim group purchased it and plans to invest at least $22.5 million in its renovations. Why spend this much on an old church building? The answer is simple: For many Muslims, this is a theological statement of Islam’s superiority. In their view, Christianity recedes and Islam expands.

A few months earlier, another group of Muslims purchased Detroit World Outreach Church—a megachurch building—and turned it into a mosque. Before that, in Bridgeport, Connecticut, the local Islamic Community purchased the historic United Congregational Church. One of the first actions of the Muslim owners was to take down the cross from the altar—a clear declaration of the new identity of the building. That’s something we’ve seen before. In Milwaukee in 2016, a Muslim group purchased a church building and took out Christian symbols like crosses before announcing the deal.

In contrast, many Muslim-majority countries don’t allow building churches in Muslim lands, or at least make it extremely difficult. Their logic is that Islam is the only truthful religion.

Consider Saudi Arabia. Building churches is prohibited in the places where Muhammad resided. Christians are not even allowed to enter the sacred cities of Mecca and parts of Medina. To avoid criticism, Saudis publicly claim: “There are no Christians here, why would you build a church?” Ironically, these same Saudis are willing to fund mosque buildings worldwide where Muslims are not found in large numbers.

Consider the examples of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya. All proudly declare they are Muslim countries. They falsely claim to have no local Christians, and only allow a few church buildings exclusively for foreigners. Local Christians have only one choice: underground house churches. In Egypt, Coptic Christians make up 15-20 percent of the population. Until recently, Copts could not build a church without presidential permission!

Many secular Westerners view a mosque as evidence of religious freedom, a cherished value in the West. However, next time you see a mosque replace a church, remember what it means to Muslims. They see Islam expanding and Christianity contracting. The mosque is there to offer visible proof.

I’m A. S. Ibrahim.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Tomorrow: South Africa’s energy crisis has gotten to the point that the president has declared not a state of emergency, but a state of disaster.

Also, single parents are seeing a decline in the poverty rate.

And, we’re going digging! We’ll take you on a hunt for gems and crystals.

That and more tomorrow.

I’m Nick Eicher.

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

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: “Hear this, all peoples! Give ear, all inhabitants of the world, both low and high, rich and poor together! My mouth shall speak wisdom; the meditation of my heart shall be understanding. I will incline my ear to a proverb; I will solve my riddle to the music of the lyre.” (Psalm 49:1-4 ESV)

Go now in grace and peace.

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