The World and Everything in It: January 16, 2025

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Good morning!

Should the government require age verification to protect children from online pornography?

GAISER: You want the state to be able to step in and say some kinds of content are really psychologically ruinous for young eyes and young minds.

Also today is Religious Freedom Day. You’ll hear from an educator who helps public schools honor the day.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: And the debate over employment based immigration and H-1B visas.

VEUGER: I think people are a little casual about the existence of the program...

And WORLD commentator Cal Thomas reviews and then previews Donald Trump's two inauguration addresses.

REICHARD: It’s Thursday, January 16th. 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.

KENT COVINGTON, NEWS ANCHOR: Middle East ceasefire » Celebrations in the streets of Gaza after the announcement of a new ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.

That deal is scheduled to take effect on Sunday. U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller:

MILLER: Hostages will begin to return home in the coming days. Humanitarian assistance will surge into Gaza. The fighting will stop. And the people of Gaza who have endured and suffered through so much pain and suffering will finally be able to start rebuilding their lives.

The agreement promises the phased release of more than 30 hostages that Hamas abducted … during its terror attack on October 7th of 2023.

Israel, in turn, will release hundreds Palestinian prisoners.

The deal also allows Palestinian refugees to return to their homes in Gaza...and allows humanitarian aid to flood into Gaza.

Wildfire » Firefighters around Los Angeles are breathing a cautious sigh of relief, at least for now, after dire weather forecasts over the past couple of days.

LA County Fire Chief Anthony Maronne:

MARONNE: The anticipated 70-mile-per-hour winds have yet to materialize. However, we are still at risk.

Officials warn that their fortunes could quite literally shift with the wind.

Forecasters are expecting better conditions the rest of this week, relatively speaking. But Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass warned …

BASS: We are not out of the woods yet. There is a chance that the Santa Anas might spike up again next week.

Fierce Santa Ana winds have been blamed for fueling the blazes.

The fires have destroyed thousands of homes and have killed at least 25 people.

President Biden farewell address » President Biden delivered his farewell speech last night from the Oval Office.

BIDEN: I am so proud of how much we’ve accomplished together for the American people, and I wish the incoming administration success … because I want America to succeed.

Biden said his administration succeeded in expanding healthcare access through the Affordable Care Act, passing major infrastructure and climate legislation.

He also said he’s leaving behind a more racially diverse judiciary, highlighting the appointment of Katanji Brown Jackson as the first black woman to serve on the Supreme Court. And looking forward, Biden said …

BIDEN: We need to enact an 18-year time limit - term limit and the strongest ethics reforms for our Supreme Court.

He also called for, among other things careful regulation of AI and more regulation of speech on social media. And he stressed the importance of continued support for Ukraine.

Confirmation: Bondi hearing » At the Capitol, several more confirmation hearings are slated for today, including Doug Burgum for Interior Secretary and Scott Bessent for Treasury Secretary.

The Judiciary Committee will also question Attorney General nominee Pam Bondi for a second day.

On Wednesday Democratic Ranking Member Dick Durbin said Bondi’s qualifications are not in doubt, citing her many years in law enforcement …

DURBIN: I need to know that you would tell the president no if you were asked to do something that is wrong, illegal, or unconstitutional.

Bondi said she never would have accepted the nomination if she believed that any such thing would be asked of her.

She vowed to run a fully independent Department of Justice. And that, she said, means eliminating the kind of political targeting at DOJ that she believes Donald Trump experienced.

BONDI:  The partisanship, the weaponization will be gone. America will have one tier of justice for all.

Confirmation: Rubio hearing » Also on Wednesday, Secretary of State nominee Sen. Marco Rubio Senator Rubio testified before the same Foreign Relations Committee on which he now serves.

RUBIO:  I thank you and I hope I can earn your support, whether it's because you believe I would do a good job or because you want to get rid of me.

The top Democrat on the panel, Sen. Jean Shaheen said she believes Rubio is well qualified for the job. But she pressed him on the Trump foreign policy he’ll be charged with carrying forward, including in Ukraine.

SHAHEEN:  President Zelensky has said that he's open to a peace agreement, but I am concerned both for the Ukrainian people who have sacrificed so much about the message that abandoning Ukraine would send not just to our allies, but also to our adversaries.

Rubio said the Ukraine war must end, and that will require—quote—“balances" and "concessions on both sides.” But he warned against the idea of a neutral Ukraine. He said that could open the door to Vladimir Putin rearming and relaunching the war again in the future.

Sen. Rubio also testified that China now poses the greatest threat the United States has ever faced.

Yoon Arrest » Authorities in South Korea have arrested impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol. WORLD’s Kristen Flavin has more.

KRISTEN FLAVIN: Yoon is facing insurrection charges … stemming from his declaration of martial law last month. That order led to his impeachment.

Authorities took him into custody Wednesday at his presidential compound in Seoul.

That followed a standoff between law enforcement and Yoon’s security forces at the compound.

Yoon released a video message saying he would cooperate with the criminal investigation into his actions … but he also argued that the warrant used to arrest him was illegitimate.

Police can hold Yoon for 48 hours unless a new warrant is issued … which could see him detained for up to 20 days before he is brought to trial.

For WORLD, I’m Kristen Flavin.

I'm Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: online age-verification…what are the pros and cons?

Plus, empowering parents and school boards to promote religious freedom in our nation’s public schools.

This is The World and Everything in It.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: It’s Thursday the 16th of January.

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.

First up on The World and Everything in It: free speech and age verification.

This story deals with online content not appropriate for children, so you can skip ahead 6 minutes and come back later, and please do come back.

REICHARD: Yesterday, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton. At issue is a Texas law that requires websites featuring sexually explicit material to verify the age of users accessing those sites.

We’ll cover oral arguments in Monday’s Legal Docket…but today, we’ll hear from citizens and scholars who filed friend of the court briefs.

WORLD’s Paul Butler has the story.

PAUL BUTLER: A few dozen people gathered in front of the Supreme Court on Wednesday morning before oral arguments.

JON SCHWEPPE: Good morning, everyone. Thank you for braving the cold…

Jon Schweppe is Policy Director with the American Principles Project.

SCHWEPPE: We are here today to rally to protect kids online!

That’s a tall order these days. Sexually explicit material is no longer confined to magazine racks. Instead it’s just a few swipes away on a smartphone, and internet filters often fail to protect young people from seeing content that is increasingly obscene and violent.

Here’s Clare Morell, a fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington.

CLARE MORELL: Filters don't always work for the in app browser, so they're actually accessing the pornography websites all from within an app, and that's really difficult for a lot of filters or parental controls to see into…It’s just a lot of layers of solution are necessary in this kind of app-based ecosystem on a smart device.

Last year, Morell submitted a brief arguing that the Supreme Court should consider how much technology has changed since its 2004 ruling in ACLU v. Ashcroft. That decision said content filters are the least restrictive means for protecting children from the harms of pornography without burdening adult speech rights.

MORELL: The changes in technology has meant filters are largely not enough to protect kids. And so age verification is a really critical layer of protection for parents.

In 2023, Louisiana became the first state to require online pornography suppliers to verify that their users are legal adults. Rather than comply, some of the largest players in the industry blocked access in the state and sued. Other states followed Louisiana and passed their own laws, including Texas.

ELLIOT GAISER: You want the state to be able to step in and say some kinds of content are really psychologically ruinous for young eyes and young minds.

Elliot Gaiser is Solicitor General for the State of Ohio and Counsel of record for the 24 states that submitted a brief supporting Texas.

GAISER: As states, we have reserved powers to protect children, and like Texas, many of the states in Ohio have contemplated or have similar laws that require age verification for adult websites and websites that have content that is harmful for children.

Advocates for the adult websites say those laws violate First Amendment protections for free speech and violate the privacy of adults seeking out explicit material online.

BRENT SKORUP: The issue here is that every adult to prove they're not a minor must submit their identifying information to a website. And that is clearly a burden.

Brent Skorup is a legal fellow at the libertarian Cato Institute. His organization submitted a brief arguing that the way Texas is seeking to protect children from online harms is unconstitutional.

SKORUP: It's not about defending pornography, per se. It's about defending the principle that adults in America should not need to submit ID to obtain protected speech.

So how exactly do age verification tools work, and what kind of a burden do they impose on speech?

IAIN CORBY: If American technology can put a man on the moon, it is absolutely possible to prove your age without disclosing your identity and to do so with very little burden.

Iain Corby is Executive Director of the Age Verification Providers Association based in the United Kingdom.

In 2015, Great Britain’s Conservative Government laid out a plan to require age verification for pornographic content, and Corby’s organization worked with developers building third-party tools.

CORBY: So my new party trick is demonstrating six different ways of doing age verification in sixty seconds…

Tools on the market today can compare selfies with photo ID or even use AI to estimate a person’s age without storing a record of that data.

CORBY: Your data for some of the latest apps does not even leave the palm of your hand…we can compare the ID to the face match on the device…and it takes a few seconds…

Some pornography businesses already use age verification tools to ensure creators of this content are legal adults. But Skorup at the Cato Institute believes adult websites and smartphone companies should voluntarily fix their technology to protect children without government intervention.

SKORUP: I absolutely do want Apple and Google and these websites to do more to keep this out of the hands of minors.

A more fundamental problem is whether the content at issue is the sort of speech previous rulings say is protected. Here’s Ohio Solicitor General Gaiser.

GAISER: You have to look at the whole breadth of the content that these pornography companies are arguing is speech. Most of it is nothing of the sort. In fact, many of it is violent and degrading and demeaning… [8:54] We do not think that even adults have a First Amendment right to access the vast majority of this material.

It will be up to the Supreme Court to decide whether or not to review the constitutional status of pornography as free speech. In the meantime, Clare Morell at the Ethics and Public Policy Center says states have a right and a responsibility to help parents protect young minds from obscene material.

MORELL: And so these are collective problems, and that's why age verification laws, again, it's not a silver bullet, but it would provide a really critical layer of protection for parents, to protect all children as a more collective solution.

Back at the American Principles Project rally, Jon Schweppe promised to keep fighting, regardless how the court decides.

SCHWEPPE: We're going to keep coming until this, this industry, this porn industry is defeated and until kids are protected online. That's our, that's our goal. So again, I want to thank everyone for coming today. Let's go win this case. Thank you so much.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Paul Butler.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Coming up next on The World and Everything In It, an immigration showdown.

Most of the media attention over the past few years has focused on unlawful crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border. Issues related to legal immigration pathways don’t often make the headlines.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: But last week, one of President-elect Donald Trump’s appointments ignited a debate among Trump supporters. It related to a guest worker program for high-skilled immigrants, called the H1-B visa. Does it help or hurt American workers?

WORLD’s Addie Offereins investigated what’s really behind the kerfuffle. She talked to several of these immigrant workers. And she’s here to tell us a little about what she discovered. Good morning Addie.

ADDIE OFFEREINS: Good morning.

BROWN: Tell us a little bit about the immigrant workers with whom you spoke.

OFFEREINS: Most of them were from India, which makes sense considering that's the majority of H-1B visa holders. For one, originally wanted to stay in India, but the masters program he wanted was too competitive in his home country, so he came to study in the U.S. and then got a job here. Another individual I spoke with emphasized that the US does have a problem with illegal immigration, but argued workers like himself contribute a lot to the economy.

REICHARD: One more question for you: what surprised you about this story?

OFFEREINS: I didn’t expect Bernie Sanders to find anything in common with Trump supporters. But he agrees with the members of Trump’s coalition that are critical of employment-based immigration. We’ll hear more about that in a moment.

BROWN: Thanks for your excellent reporting Addie.

OFFEREINS: Thank you.

REICHARD: To read Addie’s story for WORLD Digital, or to sign up for her weekly Compassion newsletter, visit wng.org. You’ll find a link to both in today’s transcript.

Now with more from Addie’s story, here’s WORLD Radio reporter Anna Johansen Brown:

ANNA JOHNANSEN BROWN: Nikita Kothari left Bangalore, India, almost 10 years ago to begin a masters degree in electrical engineering in the United States.

KOTHARI: India did not have that many opportunities at that time… I also had my student loan to pay, which was quite a big number when I came to study in the U.S., and so it made sense to stay here, work for a little bit, hopefully pay off the loans, and then see where it comes from there.

After she graduated, she had three years to apply for a temporary H-1B work visa used to hire foreign professionals to fill specialty occupations, typically in technology or healthcare fields. The program, which Congress created in 1990, is capped at 85,000 spots every year.

BIER: It's been filled basically every year that we've had the 85,000 cap, and lately it's filled even before the year starts

David Bier [ is the director of immigration studies at the Cato Institute.

BIER: The visas are allocated through a lottery, and so you have about one in four chances of winning the lottery if you get an employer to enter on your behalf.

Kothari’s company entered the lottery on her behalf in 2018.

KOTHARI: Unfortunately, mine did not get picked.

She remembers crying with her friends after she found out. Her company re-entered the lottery for her again in 2019. It was her last shot at staying in the United States.

KOTHARI: Mentally, I was prepared. I was totally prepared, thinking I would have to go back home.

The acceptance email from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services landed in her inbox at 4 a.m.

KOTHARI: It was great news to wake up to, so I immediately called my family.

The H-1B visa Kothari needed to keep her job and remain in the country is at the center of a heated online debate among Trump supporters that began shortly after Christmas. The schism follows Trump’s appointment of White House adviser Sriram Krishnan, an Indian-American who favors bringing skilled workers to the United States.

AUDIO: Silicon Valley finds itself at the center of a raging political debate that could dramatically impact its workforce. It is pitting some of the biggest names in tech who happen to be supporters of Donald Trump against the president-elect's base.

On one side, the two nominees Trump tapped to co-lead the Department of Government Efficiency. Elon Musk argued the H-1B program is essential for American tech companies like Tesla. And Vivek Ramaswamy called the program a necessary antidote for a culture that has “venerated mediocrity over excellence for way too long.”

But another wing of Trump supporters claim the program allows companies to pass over American workers in favor of cheaper alternatives.

They found an unlikely ally in Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent.

STAN VEUGER: Bernie Sanders has always been, you know, anti immigration, like much of the labor movement is as well.

Stan Veuger is an economist at the American Enterprise Institute. He first came to the United States from the Netherlands on an H-1B visa. Veuger wasn’t surprised by bipartisan opposition to the program.

VEUGER: They believe that, if there's basically a fixed number of jobs you bring in immigrants, they drive down wages. And because they believe that, they have always thought that shielding off the American labor market helps American workers.

In a recent op-ed, Sanders pointed to a report showing Tesla laid off 10% of its global workforce in April while still requesting 2,000 H-1B visas.

Another critical report published by the Economic Policy Institute, which is a think tank funded by labor unions, showed that Tesla wasn’t alone. The top 30 H-1B employers collectively laid off tens of thousands of workers during the past couple of years, but they also hired thousands of H-1B employees.

But Veuger pointed out it’s impossible to draw a direct connection between lay offs and H-1B hires. And he argued restricting H-1B visas will hurt American workers in the long term since companies won’t be able to access the talent they need.

VEUGER: Down the road, you'll see less innovation, fewer new American businesses.

Aside from the economic questions, critics also raise fraud concerns.

SIMON HANKINSON: There were Indian companies that there were outsourcers that would hire H-1B for jobs that didn't yet exist and when they got those people to the states they would farm them out.

Simon Hankinson is a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation who worked as a visa adjudicator interviewing H-1B applicants from 2000 to 2002.

HANKINSON: Cases of just outright fraud, where people aren't qualified for the job, they don't even have a college degree, they don't have any specialty occupation.

Hankinson also pointed out that the visa was originally intended to be a temporary work visa, but many applicants use it as a stepping stone to permanent residency.

WORLD spoke with five H-1B visa holders. All of them have already requested a green card.

Veuger doesn’t see that as a problem. He pointed out the visa is one of the only viable paths for talented professionals to contribute to the U.S. economy.

VEUGER: I think people are a little casual about the, the existence of the program, as if there's all these alternatives that come with more flexibility or a more immediate path to permanent residency.

Trump recently told the New York Post he supports the visas and that his business has used the program. But during his first administration, he imposed visa and travel restrictions that caused the number of admitted H-1B visa holders to plummet.

And that brings us back to Nikita Kothari. Today she lives in Durham, North Carolina and still works for the company that sponsored her H1-B visa. She has filed for an employment-based green card but is now married to an American citizen. She may apply for a green card through marriage so that it’s approved more quickly. Either way, she’s grateful for the opportunity to work here…but she’s found much more than just a career.

KOTHARI: Ultimately, God is in control.

Kothari became a Christian shortly after she arrived in the United States.

KOTHARI: I was in Chicago, was a part of the student ministry there, and I started going to a Bible study just because I didn't have anything to do.

She’s learned to trust God’s sovereignty—even over visa lotteries, and her coworkers have noticed her peaceful attitude.

KOTHARI: Just understanding Jesus is not just an American God…even if I go back to India, he is with me there.

For WORLD I’m Anna Johansen Brown.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Small acts of kindness can go a long way— and sometimes, they lead to a mystery.

Every Christmas in Springfield, Missouri, (my town!) restaurant owner Mike Jalili serves free meals to the needy. This year, he got a letter from an elderly woman who said she was down to her last dollar and so grateful for the food and kindness.

But the letter came with no name or return address.

Jalili was determined to meet this mystery guest, so he turned to social media. I called him yesterday:

JALILI: And we've been working hard to try to find this lady. And then somehow this, this mysterious angel I call her, has touched so many people's hearts.

He found her. Turns out she’d been a giver, too—helping veterans and animals for years.

Jalili believes that’s just how it works:

JALILI: You don’t do it to receive. You always give from your heart to give, not expecting anything back.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Jesus said it best: It’s more blessed to give than to receive.

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

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Today is Thursday, January 16th..

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

Good morning. I’m Myrna Brown.

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

Up next, it’s Religious Freedom Day.

The annual proclamation happens every January 16th as a national observance, issued by the sitting President. It began in 1993 under President George Bush.

BROWN: Here to talk about Religious Freedom Day is Eric Buehrer. He’s a former school teacher who founded Gateways to Better Education 34 years ago. The organization helps parents and teachers create schools that teach about the Bible and Christianity, and do so legally!

REICHARD: He’s written four books on the subject, including one I read years ago that was so helpful when my kids were in school. Eric, good morning!

ERIC BUEHRER: Good morning, good to be with you.

REICHARD: Well, I’m so glad you took time with us. Why do you think it’s important for schools to observe Religious Freedom Day? What’s the benefit for students and educators?

BUEHRER: Well, it’s a wonderful civics lesson on the First Amendment and very practically applicable to the school and where the students are that they can express their faith in their homework and their artwork and their conversations in their class discussions. And a lot of schools would think, Oh, we’ve got a Religious Freedom Day. We’ve got to have all the clergy from all the different denominations and religious places of worship come to the school, and that’s going to be uncomfortable, so let’s not do it. And we tell them, no, you don’t have to do any of that.

REICHARD: Well we can’t cover all of these things, I know, but what are some common misconceptions among parents and educators about the role of religion in public schools?

BUEHRER: Well, on the one hand, you’ve got those who say we need to shield our schools from anything religious. So any conversations, any mention of it in class, it immediately gets shut down. That’s a total misconception of the supposed separation of church and state. On the other end of the spectrum, you’ve got those teachers who see, you know, hey, my point is to evangelize my students, and then they end up violating the law because they go too far. But that middle ground is really understanding what my freedoms are. And teachers have some freedoms. They have the freedom, of course, to teach about religion, not to try to make it devotional. And they can, of course, pray with their colleagues. They can meet for Bible study with their colleagues. They can’t pray with students during school time, and so it’s when you're on the clock, then you can’t be engaged in religious activities with students, but you can when you’re off the clock.

REICHARD: How do you say to administrators who worry they’re going to get sued if they acknowledge Religious Freedom Day?

BUEHRER: Yes, administrators oftentimes are fearful of something like this, because it seems like, “Oh no, I’m getting into troubled waters here.” The fact of the matter is, the Department of Education has asked school administrators to inform students on these issues. Everybody should understand it, so you’re really just complying with what the federal government has asked you to do. We tell school administrators, “Treat this like an HR training. You want all your staff to understand what people’s freedoms are so you don’t have problems.”

REICHARD: Eric, can you tell us some stories of schools that have successfully observed Religious Freedom Day?

BUEHRER: Yes, some great opportunities where we’ve had schools actually do an assembly and talk about the First Amendment and talk about civics and talk about the importance of religious expression. We’ve had schools that have sent out information to all the teachers and encourage them to acknowledge the day and show their students what their religious freedoms are. It’s some really simple strategies. It’s not difficult to do. It’s just informing them on the law.

REICHARD: One of the things on your website that caught my eye is that you emphasize camaraderie and reason over conflict and rage. Now I think that’s something most of us can get on board with! So how can parents advocate for their children’s religious liberties in school?

BUEHRER: Yeah, I often say, you know, we’re called to be salt and light, but we use salt on things to make it better, not bitter, and our light should be a lamp, not a blowtorch. And in today’s social media, we tend to lean toward the most outrageous, and we got to go and show our anger and that sort of thing. And actually, we call it relational activism, using the relationships that you have to be an influencer on that person. So if it’s a teacher, if you’re a parent and you want to go talk to the teacher, go to our website, get some of the materials that we have, print them out, take it to the teacher and just have a conversation and say, you know, this is what the federal government says. We’ve had parents that have gone to school board meetings talk to school board members before the meeting, by the way, that’s always good, and then request that the board recognize Religious Freedom Day and do a little resolution: our board joins the president in acknowledging Religious Freedom Day and encourages our staff to inform their students of their religious freedoms in the classroom.

REICHARD: Relational activism. I’m going to remember that. Eric Buehrer is president of Gateways to Better Education, an organization devoted to helping parents of public school students, and really it’s helpful for anyone to read these materials. Eric, thank you so much!

BUEHRER: Thank you. Good to be with you.

REICHARD: We have links to the materials mentioned in today’s show notes.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Today is Thursday, January 16th. 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. Coming up next, President-elect Donald Trump will soon deliver his second inaugural address. WORLD commentator Cal Thomas has some tips for him, based on his first inaugural address.

DONALD TRUMP: We, the citizens of America, are now joined in a great national effort to rebuild our country and to restore its promise for all of our people.

CAL THOMAS: Who remembers Donald Trump’s first Inaugural Address? Probably not very many, unless they’ve Googled it, as I did.

TRUMP: Together, we will determine the course of America and the world for years to come.

As I listened to it again, I was surprised to recall that it contained some gems and reasonable promises, some of which were frustrated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the fixation by Democrats on two impeachments and their efforts to thwart him at every turn.

TRUMP: We share one heart, one home, and one glorious destiny. The oath of office I take today is an oath of allegiance to all Americans.

Trump spoke of unity so that his goals on lowering taxes, reducing the debt and closing the border might be achieved. He got his tax cuts, but not the rest.

In his speech he expressed gratitude to outgoing President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama:

TRUMP: We are grateful to President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama for their gracious aid throughout this transition. They have been magnificent.

Don’t look for anything close to that sentiment about the Bidens and congressional Democrats in Monday’s address.

In the category of wishful thinking there was this:

TRUMP: What truly matters is not which party controls our government, but whether our government is controlled by the people.

We’ll soon see how that works out with Republicans now in control of all three branches of the government.

Speaking of themes that are likely to be resurrected in his second term, Trump said: “We’ve defended other nation’s borders while refusing to defend our own.” True enough. He then added:

TRUMP: And spent trillions of dollars overseas while American infrastructure has fallen into disrepair and decay.

Trump should mention Democrat Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania during his second speech. Fetterman met with him at Mar-a-Lago last weekend. Some in his party have been critical of the move. But Fetterman said that he’s the senator “for all Pennsylvanians – not just Democrats.” Adding that he’ll meet with whoever he wants if it helps him deliver for Pennsylvani and the nation.

Fetterman might serve as a wedge to divide the ultra-liberal Pelosi-Schumer wing of the Democrat Party and advance Trump’s agenda on the theme of “promoting the general welfare.”

TRUMP: We must speak our minds openly, debate our disagreements honestly, but always pursue solidarity. When America is united, America is totally unstoppable.

Trump might return to that theme as Americans seem tired of the political battles as shown by the last election. They want results, not constant fighting. Can Trump, who has a history of belittling others, “convert” to a different style? We’ll soon find out.

And a little levity might be useful on Monday. In that spirit I offer an edited version of a song by Sia entitled “I’m Still Here”:

“Oh, the past, it haunted me
Oh, the past, it wanted me dead
Oh, the past tormented me
Oh, the past, it wanted me dead
But the battle was lost
‘Cause I’m still here.”

Donald Trump is “still here.” The question is without a pandemic will he be able to accomplish all he has promised? If he does, he will be remembered as a deeply flawed man who did great things for his country and its people, bringing us back from the disaster of the current administration and making us “great once again.”

I’m Cal Thomas.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Tomorrow: John Stonestreet will be here for Culture Friday. And, Collin Garbarino previews the biggest movies for kids coming to theaters this year. That and more tomorrow.

I’m Myrna Brown.

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

WORLD Radio’s Washington producer Harrison Watters wrote and produced the age-verification story.

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 bless the Lord who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me. I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.” Psalms 16:7-8.

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.