The World and Everything in It - July 14, 2021

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Good morning!

Today, an early look at possible Republican candidates for the White House.

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

Also today, World Tour.

Plus a life of hardship and love.

And what’s ailing American healthcare.

REICHARD: It’s Wednesday, July 14th. This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Mary Reichard.

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

REICHARD: Now the news with Kent Covington.

KENT COVINGTON, NEWS ANCHOR: Republicans, Democrats clash on Texas election reform bill » The already fiery debate over new election laws heated up once again on Tuesday as Texas Democrats fled the state to block new voting laws and the White House provided political cover.

Texas House Democratic Chair Chris Turner told reporters...

TURNER: More than 50 Democratic members of the Texas House have left Texas to stop Republicans from passing the latest iteration of their voter suppression legislation.

Without a two-thirds quorum, business in the state House grinds to halt.

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott said as soon as those lawmakers return to Texas—quote—“They will be arrested. They will be cabined inside the Texas state capitol until they get their job done.”

ABBOTT: I can and I will continue to call special session after special session after special session all the way up until election next year. So if these people want to be hanging out wherever they’re hanging out on this taxpayer paid junket, they’re going to have to be prepared to do it for well over a year.

President Biden joined Texas Democrats Tuesday in renouncing the state elections bill.

BIDEN: Some state legislators want to make it harder for you to vote.

Democrats said the new voting rules are based on “the myth of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election.”

Republicans say Democratic pushback is based on the myth of ‘voter suppression.”

Among the new measures that state Democrats oppose is a voter ID requirement for mail-in ballots. Republicans note that ID has been required for in-person voting for years.

Inflation jumps to 13-year high » Inflation struck again in the month of June. A new report from the Labor Department showed consumer prices jumped last month by the most in 13 years.

Prices increased in June almost 1 percent from May and about 5-and-a-half percent over the past year. That’s the sharpest 12-month inflation spike since 2008.

And you leave out volatile oil and gas prices, so-called core inflation rose 4.5 percent in the past year. That is the largest increase in 30 years.

The Fed and the White House are adamant that they believe the surge of inflation is temporary.

But what if they’re wrong? That’s the question some in Washington are asking. And that could make some of President Biden’s spending plans a tougher sell.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell...

MCCONNELL: Everybody’s talking about it; in grocery stories, in manufacturing, in businesses, nursing homes. Everybody’s experiencing inflation.

Rising prices also raise the prospect that the Fed could decide to act earlier than expected to pull back on its ultra-low interest rate policies.

Wildfires torch 10 Western states » Wildfires are still roaring across 10 Western states. The blazes have torched homes and forced thousands to evacuate.

The largest of the blazes is burning in rural southwestern Oregon. The Bootleg Fire has ravaged several hundred square miles, an area more than twice the size of Portland.

Public information officer Daniel Omdal…

OMDAL: We are under extreme weather conditions. The humidity is low. The fuels are highly flammable, and all those provide conditions for significant fire activity.

The fire has so far consumed more than 20 homes and structures.

Nearly 60 wildfires tore through bone-dry timber and brush on Tuesday from Alaska to Wyoming. Arizona, Idaho and Montana accounted for more than half of the large active fires.

Cuban security forces crack down on protesters » Cuban security forces are patrolling the country's streets after public protests in cities across the country over high prices and foot shortages.

Thousands have marched this week, shouting that they want their freedom from the socialist regime.

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants, said the government is now engaged in a violent crackdown on demonstrators.

RUBIO: No one in Cuba has guns except the military, so why are these repressive forces walking around with these rifles and people getting shot? They’re shooting people that literally are unarmed.

The government has reportedly arrested many protestors, some of whom disrupted traffic in the capital of Havana for several hours.

Many Americans marched in Miami on Tuesday in solidarity.

AUDIO: I applaud them because they’ve reached the tipping point where they said enough is enough.

The Cuban government claims an American social media campaign is responsible for the unrest.

Death toll rises from Iraq hospital fire » In Iraq, the death toll from a fire that swept through a hospital coronavirus ward has now topped 90. WORLD’s Kristen Flavin reports.

KRISTEN FLAVIN, REPORTER: Anguished relatives buried their loved ones and lashed out at the government over the country's second such disaster in less than three months.

The death toll from the incident now stands at 92 according to Iraq’s state news agency. And health officials said scores of others were injured in the blaze that erupted Monday at al-Hussein Teaching Hospital in Nasiriyah.

Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi convened an emergency meeting and ordered the suspension and arrest of the health director in the province, the hospital director and the city's civil defense chief.

The government also launched an investigation into the cause of the fire.

In April, at least 82 people died in a fire at a Baghdad hospital that broke out when an oxygen tank exploded.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Kristen Flavin.

I’m Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: An early look at the Republicans who may be eyeing a White House run.

Plus, the problem with U.S. hospitals.

This is The World and Everything in It.

NICK EICHER, HOST: It’s Wednesday, the 14th of July, 2021.

You’re listening to World Radio and we’re so glad to have you along today. Good morning, I’m Nick Eicher.

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

First up on The World and Everything in It, an early look at the race for the White House from the perspective of the Republican party.

Following a brief break from the spotlight, former President Donald Trump is once again raising his public profile.

He campaigned for former White House aide turned congressional candidate Max Miller in Ohio. Then Trump paid a very public visit two weeks ago to the southern border in Texas.

EICHER: And this past Sunday, he headlined the Conservative Political Action Conference in Dallas—C-PAC.

TRUMP: We will secure our borders. We will stop left-wing cancel culture. We will restore free speech and fair elections, and we will make America great again.

All of that fueling speculation that Trump is gearing up for a rematch with President Biden. But he’s not the only one who may be laying the groundwork for a 2024 White House campaign.

Numerous Republicans are, if there’s anything to the rumors.

Running for president these days is a process that begins years in advance. So today, we thought we’d give you an early rundown of the candidates to keep an eye on the months ahead.

Here to help us do that is Mark Caleb Smith. He’s a political science professor at Cedarville University, a Christian college in Cedarville, Ohio. Good morning, professor!

MARK CALEB SMITH, GUEST: Good morning. It's good to be with you.

REICHARD: Very good, thanks for coming on.

We obviously don’t know yet if Trump will run again. There’re probably some candidates who will only run if Trump does not. Others will still run for the nomination, but will be careful not to attack Trump. How do you see this playing out if Trump does run again?

SMITH: I think if President Trump decides to run again, he'll be the hands down favorite to secure the nomination. He still enjoys a really strong level of approval amongst Republican voters. And it's just a really unusual situation compared to anything else that we've seen historically. So, if you think of the last two presidents who ran for re-election and failed—so that'd be George Herbert Walker Bush and Jimmy Carter—neither one of them were in this position to really credibly say they're going to run for reelection in four years time. They weren't popular. They weren't seen as sort of kingmakers within the party. And really, the party was trying to get as far away from them as possible at that point. President Trump is just in a different position—still has a great deal of approval, still, obviously, has an ability to raise significant amounts of money, has tremendous name recognition within the party. For all those reasons, I think he should be considered the front runner, if he does decide to run.

REICHARD: Hypothetically, if Trump were to declare tomorrow that he won’t run, the early frontrunner for the nomination would be Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. He grabbed some headlines last month, edging out Donald Trump in a straw poll at the Western Conservative Summit in Denver.

Trump did run away with the CPAC straw poll over the weekend. But DeSantis came in second, and no one else was even close.
Straw polls most definitely have to be taken with a grain of salt. But it’s clear DeSantis has put himself on the map, politically. So, how strong of a candidate is the Florida governor?

SMITH: I think he'd be very strong if he decides to run. One of the challenges that any candidate is going to get into if they decide to run for this nomination, and President Trump is not there, they're gonna have to appeal to the different parts of the Republican Party. So you have the part of the party that's still very strongly attached to President Trump and his populism, if you want to call it that. You also have the smaller part of the party that really never liked President Trump and maybe even has some revulsion toward President Trump. Can a candidate step forward to unite those two parts? I think Governor DeSantis could credibly claim to do that. The corona pandemic, obviously, just sort of vaulted him into the national conversation. How Florida handled this, compared to a place like New York with Governor Cuomo, for example, was really a stark contrast. And so I think Governor DeSantis would be in a relatively good place, if he decides to run. Is that going to be enough? Is he going to be able to unite the party? Does he have enough star power to move forward in the party? You know, I think to some extent, that just remains to be seen. But the polls tell us right now that about half of Republican voters are interested in another candidate. Ron DeSantis is probably the front runner in that group of people. So I think if he decides to run, I think he'd be a very strong candidate.

REICHARD: What about Texas Gov. Greg Abbott? He’s been in the headlines quite a bit of late with his state’s push for a border wall and a battle with Democrats over voting laws. Do you think he’s gearing up for a run and how would you evaluate his chances?

SMITH: Yeah, it's very possible that Governor Abbott is thinking about running for the presidency. I think the challenge for Governor Abbott or really any other governor is going to be distinguishing themselves from their fellow candidates. So, you know, Abbott is very conservative. Well, DeSantis is also conservative Abbott can say he really cares about immigration. All the governors and senators are going to say they care about immigration. So can he do something that distinguishes himself and that really vaults him in front of his competition? Right now, I think it's just hard for me to say that he really deserves to be in that conversation compared to other people. He has experience. He has credentials, but I think he would struggle in some ways.

REICHARD: Talking about the national stage, what about former Vice President Mike Pence? He has made a couple of speeches recently, but he’s been on the outs with Trump ever since he presided over the electoral vote. Could he win the GOP nomination without Trump’s backing or perhaps even in a head to head contest against Trump?

SMITH: I think on paper Vice President Pence is really maybe the most credible candidate, right? Just purely on paper.

Former Vice President of the United States, former governor, former member of the U.S. House, has very strong connections to the evangelical community, which is an important base of support for the Republican Party, all those things we would say would be playing in Vice President Pence’s favor. So in any sort of a normal election cycle, you would say Mike Pence would really be maybe even at the front of the pack.

However, I think January 6 really does hurt Vice President Pence amongst President Trump's strongest supporters. His decision to go through with his constitutional duty and declare Joe Biden as the winning candidate in 2020, really has elicited charges of being a traitor from the Trump camp. We even have in some of his recent speeches, him being interrupted by people with chants of traitor.

So I think that puts Pence in a really difficult position.

REICHARD: Two other former Trump administration officials have also been talked about as possible contenders: former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley. Do you see either of them running and if so, how would they fare?

SMITH: I think there's a very good chance that both of them actually run for the presidency. They both seem to be positioning themselves to do that. Of those two, I think Nikki Haley actually would emerge as the stronger candidate for a variety of reasons. Nikki Haley has a really interesting background. She's governor of South Carolina, so she can claim executive experience. She was U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, so she can claim foreign policy experience. That distinguishes her from a lot of other governors and former governors. She also emerged from the Trump administration relatively unscathed. She wasn't connected to any ethical problems. She really didn't get dragged into the culture war discussions. She managed to kind of float above all of that during the administration itself, which I think benefited her tremendously, at least for her political future.

Still, you know, it seems like we're gonna bring up January 6th a lot in this discussion. I think January 6th is something she's gonna have to deal with. On that date and the following days, she was very critical of President Trump. She said she was disgusted by President Trump's actions on January 6th. That's going to be remembered. And so she's tried to walk that back. She's gone down to Mar A Lago to try to repair the relationship with President Trump. She may be able to do that. She may not. She's a very skilled politician. I think she'd be a very strong candidate, if she indeed does decide to run.

Mike Pompeo, I think certainly is laying the groundwork for a run. He has good credentials. Secretary of State, former CIA director, U.S. House member as well, a graduate of West Point Military Academy. So a good position, but I'm just not sure his tenure as Secretary of State was really strong enough to say that this is the reason he should be President of the United States. I also don't know if he has the kind of star power the Republican Party is really looking for in a candidate.

REICHARD: Let’s talk about a few fresh faces in the U.S. Senate. Senators Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio and even Mitt Romney have been rumored to be mulling another run. Of course they are familiar faces to us.

But there is also some speculation around a few new names: Senators Tom Cotton of Arkansas, Josh Hawley of Missouri, and Tim Scott of South Carolina. Do any of those names stand out to you as strong contenders?

SMITH: I think of all of those names, probably Josh Hawley is in the best position. As you said, Senator from Missouri, Yale Law School, great credentials in his own way. He's really tried to position himself as sort of the strongest Trump supporter in the Senate in some ways. He's been developing his own kind of political philosophy, saying that he's populist and sort of re-envisioning what a conservative might mean in today's Republican party. He's made a name for himself by going after Big Tech. So he's arguing for the breakup of Google and Facebook and for similar kinds of entities. And I think that might position him very well within the sort of new GOP if we want to think of it in those ways. At the same time, you know, we go back to January 6th. He's seen as one of—if not the—ringleader of the movement to decertify the electoral college votes on January 6th. There's that famous picture of him sort of, you know, with his fist in the air defiantly encouraging the crowd. You know, this is before the violence so it wasn't like he was asking for the storming of the capitol at that point. But there's that famous image. I don't think it's going to really be forgotten. I can see opponents using that in campaign advertising. 

There's also this sense that he maybe isn't really all that well-liked within the Senate, and really not all that effective as a senator. And so does he have the kind of political network, the kind of relationships where he could really rise above his fellow competitors for the Republican nomination. You know, I'm just not necessarily sure that's the case. But I think a credible candidate, you know, strong, ambitious, thoughtful, and certainly a quality candidate if he decides to run.

REICHARD: Professor Mark Caleb Smith with Cedarville University has been our guest. Professor, thanks very much!

SMITH: Thank you. It's always a pleasure.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Coming up next on The World and Everything in It: World Tour with our reporter in Africa, Onize Ohikere.

ONIZE OHIKERE, REPORTER: Protests, looting in South Africa—We start today here in Africa.

AUDIO: [Sounds of sirens and people running]

Looters cleaned out several shopping malls in Johannesburg on Monday. That followed protests and riots over the weekend as former President Jacob Zuma began serving a 15-month prison sentence for contempt of court.

At least 45 people have been killed in clashes with police. Officers arrested nearly 500 others.

Current President Cyril Ramaphosa called the violence unprecedented in the country’s post-aparthaid history.

RAMAPHOSA: The path of violence, of looting and anarchy leads only to more violence and devastation, as well as suffering. It leads to more poverty, more unemployment, and more loss of innocent life. This is not who we are as South Africans, this is not us.

Ramaphosa acknowledged the protests had their roots in political frustration and anger. But he blamed the looting and theft on “opportunistic acts of criminality.” He has deployed the country’s military to help stop the violence.

Supporters of the former president gathered last week to prevent police from taking him to prison. A court handed Zuma a 15-month sentence because he refused to testify before a government inquiry into claims of corruption.

He has appealed, and the country’s highest court began hearing his case on Monday.

Sudan reconsiders Russian naval base—Next we go to Sudan.

AL-MAHDI: [Speaking Arabic]

Sudanese Foreign Minister Mariam al-Mahdi visited Moscow on Monday to discuss Russia’s plans to build a naval base on Sudan’s Red Sea coast.

Al-Mahdi said her country’s new government would review the agreement Russian Vladmir Putin signed in 2017 with ousted Sudanese leader Omar al-Bashir.

AUDIO: [Man speaking Russian]

Moscow claims the agreement gives it the right to operate a base at Port Sudan for 25 years. It would accommodate up to four ships, including nuclear-powered vessels.

But Sudanese officials say some parts of the agreement could be harmful to the African nation.

Under Omar al-Bashir, Sudan relied heavily on Russian military support. But since his ouster, the country has worked to build stronger ties with the United States.

Pottery piece found in Israel—And finally, we end today in Israel.

AUDIO: [Sound of digging, talking]

Archaeologists have discovered a pottery fragment dating back to the time of Judges.

GARFINKEL: [Speaking Hebrew]

Professor Yossef Garfinkel is with the Israel Antiquities Authority. He says the pottery fragment includes the inscription “Jerubbaal,” another name for Gideon. God called Gideon to fight against the Midianites with 300 men. He won the battle and brought peace to Israel for 40 years.

The pottery piece is the first found at the dig site in southern Israel that dates back to the time of Israel’s judges.

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

NICK EICHER, HOST: Historically, money you invest in the stock market may double every 7 to 10 years. So if you invested $50 in 1987—something like $1,600 would be a pretty good return.

But if you invested that $50 in a Nintendo game, and had the restraint not to open it, you probably got a slightly better return.

A factory sealed copy of one of Nintendo’s early hits just sold at auction.

COMMERCIAL: The Legend of Zelda, a never-ending adventure, new for your Nintendo Entertainment System.

The sealed copy of The Legend of Zelda just sold at action for—are you ready for this—$870,000.

That’s about 17,000 times what the seller originally paid for the game.

That smashed the previous record for a sealed video game cartridge. An early copy of Super Mario Bros. sold for $660,000 back in April.

Past performance, as they say,  is no guarantee of future results.

It’s The World and Everything in It.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Today is Wednesday, July 14th. You’re listening to WORLD Radio and we’re so glad you are!

Good morning. I’m Nick Eicher.

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

Coming next on The World and Everything in It: A wonderful life. Susan Halpern was born in Holland during the 1920s. She lived through one of the 20th century’s most horrifying events, Nazi occupation.

EICHER: WORLD correspondent Amy Lewis recently caught up with her at a nursing home where she now lives in northern New Jersey.

Just a quick note. Mrs. Halpern’s voice does reflect her hard and long life. And she may be difficult for you to understand. If you find that to be the case, I recommend you jump onto our website—wng.org/podcasts—find today’s transcript, and follow along with it.

We think her story really is worth the effort.

AUDIO: NURSING HOME

AMY LEWIS, REPORTER: A nurse in floral scrubs wheels 98-year-old Susan Stroomenbergh-Halpern out of Barn Hill Care Center in Newton, New Jersey, to visit with a friend. Halpern’s elevated swollen legs are wrapped in bandages. Her arthritic hands clasp a shawl around her thin shoulders. She speaks with a worn, raspy voice.

HALPERN: You know, I’m ok...

Eighty years ago Halpern’s 18-year-old legs bicycled thousands of miles around the Dutch countryside. Her strong hands knocked on hundreds of Dutch doors. Her young voice pleaded with members of the Christian Reformed Church to open their homes to strangers.

NEWSREEL: Holland today, a country occupied by Nazi Germany...

Soon after the German occupation of Holland in 1940, Halpern’s family joined the Dutch Resistance. They refused to let German forces destroy the Jews or their own homeland. Halpern’s job was to transfer Jewish people from one safe place to another.

HALPERN: When I transfer Jewish people, I did that with a horse and buggy inside, but I also did it sometimes on the bicycle.

One day, a young Jewish man named Burt came to ask the Stroomenberghs for help. He needed a new safe place to live. Halpern saw him as his visit ended.

HALPERN: The first time I saw him, the very first time, he came from my parents’ house. And I looked at that guy. And I said, hello. He walked over and he said, hello, you’re Frau Susan. He called me Miss Susan. And I looked at him. I said, boy, that’s my guy. I go after him. (laughs) and I made sure I saw him all the time...

Her family helped Burt Halpern take on an assumed Dutch name and become a tailor. A Christian couple agreed to shelter him in their home. The couple’s habit of reading the Bible each night intrigued this rabbi’s son.

HALPERN: They took him to church every Sunday, twice. And Burt liked it. He was reading the Bible. He learned about Jesus. And that’s the way Burt became a Christian…

Burt and Susan married after the war.

HALPERN: It was not everything, but we had a beautiful wedding because a lot of people from the church came to help. They cooked and made everything themselves. A lot of people. I made my wedding gown. I made my mother’s gown and Burt made his own tails. He had the tails...

In 1954, the Halperns left everything and everyone they knew and moved to the United States for a new start.

HALPERN: My mother cried so much when I got to America. That was difficult. But not the hardest thing.

For many years, Burt tailored suits in New York City. Eventually, the Halperns moved to Belvidere, New Jersey. They sold Dutch goods out of a shop next to their home. Their days started by reading God’s Word together. They enjoyed visits from their children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and many friends. Eventually, Susan ran the shop and read the Bible to Burt after he lost his eyesight. In 2019, his health declined significantly.

Halpern told her children she never wanted to be in a nursing home, but she also refused to leave Burt’s side. So she sold their home and business. She gave away their cat. And she moved with Burt to a nursing home. He died a few months later at age 93. They were married 71 years.

HALPERN: Yeah, he would hold my hand all the time. He was my life, my life, besides God, but he was my life. We had such a good life, with the children, everything. But now, I have to go out alone...

Immediately following Burt’s death, the pandemic hit and Halpern was stuck. Her asthma, her history of pneumonia, and being in a nursing home all put her at higher risk for catching COVID-19. And she caught it. And then broke her leg. But those trials paled in comparison to being alone.

HALPERN: I think the hardest thing for me is right now, [is life] without Burt. I was a tough girl. I’m not so tough now, but I was very tough.

Last month, a nurse wheeled this bicycling member of the Dutch Resistance out of the nursing home for another chapter in her long story. She’s heading to live with her son. Being in a new place without her husband won’t be easy, but hard things haven’t stopped her yet.

HALPERN: I’m alive. I keep going. I have God. Sometimes it’s difficult, but you know what? I pray, A lot. yesterday I had a little problem. I said to myself. I said, God is with me, who can be against me? Nobody, nobody. Right. That’s it.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Amy Lewis in Newton, New Jersey.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Today is Wednesday, July 14th. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Mary Reichard.

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

WORLD founder Joel Belz now with a diagnosis for what’s ailing U.S. healthcare.

JOEL BELZ, FOUNDER: Lying in a hospital bed for most of a week wasn’t exactly how I meant to spend the end of my 4th of July holiday. But it did give me yet another up-close look at a key component of America’s healthcare system.

My point here is not to rehearse the details of my physical condition. I mean instead to suggest several broad patterns that I think may have come to govern our healthcare system here in the United States.

That system is heavily populated, for example, with young people. As I’ve been shuttled from department to department, from one specialty to another, I’ve been struck with the youthful demeanor of those handing down key directives. But that’s not all bad. The younger these folks are, the longer they’ll be around!

A second factor tending to shape our current healthcare system is the geographic diversity of its personnel. These doctors, nurses, and dozens of specialists of virtually every kind and level come from all over the world. The staffing for the Asheville hospital where I camped out for the best part of a week included “traveling doctors,” “traveling nurses,” and so on—medical personnel of every description whose home base might be Orlando, Fla., San Antonio, Tex., or Portland, Ore., or even Quito, Ecuador, Hong Kong, or Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. These were mobile specialists responding to short term calls to fill personnel shortages anywhere around the country. It’s a phenomenon found in more and more locations.

Yet another issue tending to reshape health care centers is the expanding takeover of many such facilities by private for-profit entities. A multi-billion-dollar out-of-state corporation took over our local non-profit hospital last year. And it wasn’t a stretch for me to see clearly the decline in service and care that once made this hospital proud. At least once or twice a day, I heard soured staffers express their frustration over limits they didn’t have before.

A fourth pattern change is even more nuanced and subtle. It used to be relatively easy (and even natural) within a hospital to give thanks in open prayer, to have staffers join in such expression, or for them openly to wear crosses or other symbols of their faith. I saw little or none of that during my visit.

Might that be partly because such expression is far less typical for younger people? And less typical yet for folks like the Muslim nurse who gave me excellent care but made a point of holding us as Christians at a short distance. It's just as typical for employees of corporations in America that boast of their non-sectarian secularism.

I’m Joel Belz.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Tomorrow: drought in the West. We’ll tell you how it’s affecting the people who live there, including those we rely on for food.

And, Cuba. We’ll talk about what prompted thousands of protesters to take to the streets of Havana and the courage it took to do that over the weekend.

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 Apostle Paul wrote to the Romans: ...we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope.

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.