The World and Everything in It: July 26, 2022

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Good morning!

A post- Dobbs America means pro-lifers continue their work to create a culture that favors life.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Also the latest out of Ukraine. 

Plus part two of our Hope Awards for Effective Compassion.

And a preview of a brand new WORLD podcast. It’s called Double Take.

REICHARD: It’s Tuesday, July 26th. 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 news with Kent Covington.

KENT COVINGTON, NEWS ANCHOR: Lavrov in Egypt, says Russia wants to oust Zelenskyy » Russia wants Volodymyr Zelenskyy gone.

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told an Arab League summit in Cairo that Moscow wants to—quote—“help” the Ukrainian people …

LAVROV: To liberate themselves from the burden of this absolutely unacceptable regime.

Moscow has denied that it wants to topple Ukraine’s government, even as it closed in on Kyiv earlier this year.

Lavrov traveled to Cairo largely to reassure Egypt’s government that grain supplies will reach them.

Russia launched an airstrike on the port city of Odesa over the weekend, just hours after signing a deal saying it wouldn’t interfere with grain shipments from Ukrainian ports.

Northwest braces for triple digit heat » The Pacific Northwest is bracing for a major heat wave. In Oregon and Washington, temperatures will likely hit triple digits in some places.

Lisa Dupre is events coordinator in the city of Hillsboro in suburban Portland. She said they’re bracing for the heat at their summer fair.

DUPRE: They have got misting stations set up. They’ve got a refilling station for water bottles, so … We have a beautiful new expo hall in here that’s fully air conditioned.

Last summer, about 800 people died across Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia during an extreme heat event.

The Northwest heat wave comes on the heels of scorching heat in the Northeast.

Marc Chenard with the National Weather Service said it’s cooling a bit, but the weekend was brutal.

CHENARD: We had a record in Newark, New Jersey, 102. And they actually, Newark just had five straight days over 100.

The temperature hit 97 in The Big Apple. One New Yorker said he’s thankful for air conditioning.

AUDIO: We got through the worst of it so it’s been challenging to find ways to keep cool and not get dehydrated or like burned out.

Boston hit 100. Providence, Rhode Island hit 98, both were record highs.

California wildfire » Firefighters in California made some progress Monday beating back the flames from a wildfire near Yosemite National Park.

CalFire operation chief Justin Macomb said the blaze has been highly unpredictable.

MACOMB: We surged all those resources in as fast as we could. But in my career, I haven’t seen fire behavior like that.

The blaze has forced thousands of people in mountain communities to evacuate.

And the smoke from the fire has drifted more than 200 miles reaching parts of Nevada and the San Francisco Bay.

On Monday, officials said the fire had consumed more than 26 square miles of forest land and was 10 percent contained.

Investigators do not yet know the cause of the fire.

GA gov testifies in Trump probe » Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp is the latest official to testify in a probe of former President Trump’s response to 2020 election results. WORLD’s Kristen Flavin has more.

KRISTEN FLAVIN, REPORTER: A grand jury reportedly heard recorded testimony from Kemp on Monday. It’s part of a probe launched by an Atlanta area prosecutor into whether Trump illegally interfered in the presidential election in the state.

It centers on Trump’s communications with Georgia officials, including a recorded call to Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in January of last year. Trump’s heard on the recording saying he wants officials to “find” more votes.

Trump insists he said nothing improper.

The grand jury has already heard from Raffensperger and other officials. All testimony is sealed and will not be made public.

At the end of the probe, the jury will make a recommendation to Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis as to whether to file criminal charges.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Kristen Flavin.

Myanmar executions » In Myanmar, the ruling military junta has executed four pro-democracy activists supposedly on terrorism-related charges.

Their deaths are drawing condemnation around the world.

Phil Robertson with Human Rights Watch.

ROBERTSON: They are now moving to execute political prisoners. That is the message today that we will stop at nothing. It is a sign of the depravity of the Myanmar junta, that they are prepared to take this kind of step.

One of the men executed was Phyo Zeya Thaw, a hip-hop-star-turned-politican. The former lawmaker was an ally of Aung San Suu Kyi, who was removed from office in the military coup last year.

Thaw was hanged alongside well-known activist Ko Jimmy.

The other two men executed were lesser known. They were accused of killing a woman they allegedly thought was a military informer.

Death toll tops 300 from Pakistan monsoon » AUDIO: [Rain] In Pakistan, more than 300 people have died after five weeks of heavy monsoon rains.

AUDIO: [Buckets]

People are using buckets to bail water out of their homes and rescuers are driving in water up to their fenders trying to reach others.

Monsoon season in Pakistan begins in July and does not relent until September. This year, heavy rain has damaged or destroyed 9,000 homes in the country.

I’m Kent Covington. Straight ahead: pro-life answers to pro-abortion questions.

Plus, part two of our Hope Awards for Effective Compassion.

This is The World and Everything in It.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: It’s Tuesday the 26th of July, 2022.

We’re so glad you’ve joined us for today’s edition of The World and Everything in It. Good morning, I’m Mary Reichard.

NICK EICHER, HOST: And I’m Nick Eicher. First up, the state of the war in Ukraine.

The Kremlin this week declared that it wants to oust Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. And there is no doubt that Moscow aims to take control of at least some parts, if not all of Ukraine.

The war is now in month five after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion. Does either side have a clear path to actually win this war?

​​Joining us now is retired U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Colonel Dakota Wood.

He served as a lead operational/logistics planner for U.S. Central Command during the response to the 9/11 attacks and later in Operation Iraqi Freedom. He also served as a strategic analyst for the Defense Department.

REICHARD: Colonel, good morning!

DAKOTA WOOD, GUEST: Hey, what a great opportunity for me to take. Quite a blessing. Thanks.

REICHARD: Glad to have you. Well, as we mentioned, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov came right out and said this week that Moscow wants President Volodymyr Zelenskyy gone. What was your reaction to that?

WOOD: Well, they would much prefer to have an intact Ukrainian state that is a vassal state, almost like a Belarus or something like that. I mean, Putin wants to reclaim the former Soviet republics. He thinks that the dissolution of the Soviet Union was one of the greatest catastrophes of the 20th century. And so he's actually more of a czarist kind of thing, this greater Russian Empire, and he views Ukraine as part of that. So rather than destroy the country and rebuild it, if they could get a friendly government that just did Moscow’s bidding, that's a huge strategic win for Putin. So it's no surprise, I think, that that's the direction that they would like to head.

REICHARD: Putin recently met with leaders in Iran. The White House believes he is seeking drones and other weapons from Iran to use in Ukraine. What kind of support can Tehran provide – or is it providing already to Russia?

WOOD: Well, I mean, it's an anti-Western axis in the sense, right? Iran has been no favored friend of Europe, or certainly the United States, or Israel or other states that are republics, or democracies. And so what Russia gets out of this is more people on their team in a geostrategic sense. They also get access to Iranian energy. So this is a $40 billion equivalent investment in Iranian energy, which they have lacked because of all the sanctions that go back to the Civil War, long ago in the 1970s. And this is a big economic shock for them, for Iran, and for Russia, its access to energy fields that will continue to be developed. And another kind of minion state now that it can help Russia do its bidding. It's going to have to focus on Ukraine, and so actually wants to reduce its presence in Syria. And there was some discussion in this summit with the Iranians, that Iran would have more of a presence in eastern Syria to kind of take up the slack or fill the vacuum that might be created as Russia lessens its presence there in that country.

REICHARD: We know that Russia has been focusing on the Donbas region in Ukraine’s eastern front, but they’ve also been stepping up attacks in the south. What is Russia’s short-to-medium-term strategy and objective?

WOOD: Well, that's the heartbeat of Ukraine. I mean, you could grow all the grain that you want to in the central part of the country or really ramp up its manufacturing capability. But if you can't get that stuff to market, what good is it? So it's these port cities along the Black Sea coastline of Ukraine that are so important. Odessa is out there to the west a little bit, but they have, you know, Mariupol was in the news quite a bit. And so it’s that southern coastline on the Black Sea that Vladimir Putin really wants. It solidifies his control of Crimea. It gives him those port cities. He can bottle things up or release them, and it gives him even more leverage over the Black Sea region as a whole. He's had his eye on the country of Georgia there on the other side of the Black Sea. And it would give them a bit more leverage over Turkey, which is also a Black Sea power. So this region, it's the industrial heartland and the agricultural heartland, and really the economic lifeline for those port cities that Moscow really wants

REICHARD: Colonel, to actually win this war, what does Ukraine have to do? And what do NATO allies have to do in support of Ukraine?

WOOD: Well, it's going to be a huge influx of money and munitions and equipment. People, I think, have really lost perspective of what big war really means. I mean, it just has a ravenous appetite for ammunition and repair parts and equipment that the West really hasn't had to even think about, almost since the Vietnam War there in the late 60s, early 70s. There was this massive buildup in the 1980s during the Reagan administration when you had a lot of tension there in Central Europe, but since that time, these events and other parts of world, like a couple of wars in Iraq, were fairly short. They were extended over time. The enemy that the U.S. was fighting was poorly resourced. And so we in the West have this idea that wars are short, you can kind of get them over with or doesn’t place that much of the demand on your economy or your industrial base. And what Ukraine is showing is that's not the case. You know, I mean, they're firing 6,000-8,000 rounds of artillery ammunition a day. Armored vehicles are getting blown up. You have all the physical casualties of people who are wounded or killed. And if you're going to sustain those operations, you have to be able to replace that, and just hugely expensive. So if the West doesn't want Russia to take over Ukraine and then pose additional problems for Eastern Europe and for the Baltic states, they just have to decide that they're going to bear the cost of that to an extent that Ukraine can't on its own.

REICHARD: Retired Marine Lt. Col. Dakota Wood is a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation. Colonel, thanks so much!

WOOD: My pleasure.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Coming up next, the fight for life. Last month’s Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade sparked quite the response: it’s been fodder for shouting on social media, it’s fueled political campaigns, and—as expected—sent angry protesters into town squares around the country.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: WORLD sent a correspondent to one of those protests to better understand the claims that pro-abortion protesters commonly make. Over the coming months we’ll wrestle with a handful of those arguments and provide answers. Here’s WORLD correspondent Caleb Bailey.

AUDIO: Hey hey, ho ho, the patriarchy has got to go…

CALEB BAILEY, REPORTER: On most Saturday nights in downtown Asheville, North Carolina, it’s not unusual to see one or two protesters. But tonight, there are 30.

LEVENTHAL: Just recently, as in yesterday morning, that ruling was overturned, which means that it is now a state by state base, which means that there are trigger states.

This protester is referring to the recent Dobbs v. Jackson decision by the U.S. Supreme Court that overturned Roe v. Wade.

LEVENTHAL: So the rules that in the rules and laws that they formed in the 1950s, and 60s, even the 1920s and 30s are now back in action as soon as the ruling was overturned, so every state can decide what their rules are about abortion and about women's health care and contraceptives.

AUDIO: My body my choice…

Signs read “Abort the Supreme Court.” and “Keep Your Policies Off My Body.” Drawings of scissors, female body parts, and blood stains surround vivid words. Most are willing, even eager, to talk.

Fewer, though, are eager to listen. Randy Alcorn is an author and pro-life advocate.

ALCORN: people have a profound inability anymore, it seems to really listen to what other people are saying. And so what you end up with is “dialogues of the deaf”, which is no dialogue at all, I mean, nobody's really hearing… everybody's formulating their next response.

At tonight’s protest, most arguments were familiar: “A woman deserves choice.” “The foster care system is a mess.” “What if she was raped?”

Alcorn’s book Prolife or Prochoice: Examining 15 Pro Choice Claims addresses common arguments. And every single one of them hinges on when life and personhood begin.

ALCORN: I actually believe that the majority of pro-choice people are not in favor of child killing. I don't believe that in their hearts and in their minds and in their consciences, that they really want to kill babies.

At the protest, a young woman named Taylor Cooper stands quietly to the side. Her sign lists states that have already passed laws protecting babies from abortion but make exception for rare instances such as rape or risk to the mother’s life. She’s trying to show that abortion is already heavily regulated some places, so more pro-life laws aren’t needed.

I asked her what she believes pro-lifers don't understand.

COOPER: I think people just have a misconception or different understanding of what they think a viable life or a baby is.

It’s a common response. Personhood is the central crux of the whole debate. And it’s where Randy Alcorn likes to start each conversation on the issue with people who identify themselves as—quote—“pro-choice.”

ALCORN: Pro-choice is such an indiscriminate term…So if I want to go out and break into your car and remove your stereo that's fine (because) you believe in my right to choose that. Well, no. Well why well no. … because you're doing harm to somebody else…So if I can demonstrate to you that abortion brings harm to a human being, would you no longer be pro choice about abortion?

He says that each of us have access to the same empirical data. But we are often selective in which data we embrace based on our biases. Undeniable realities are a good starting point for meaningful conversations.

ALCORN: the new person burrows into the wombs wall for safety and nourishment. His or her gender can be determined by scientific means. Human features are discernible. The heart is forming and the eyes start to develop. The heart pumps blood throughout the body. The unborn baby has budding arms and legs. She has a brain and has multiplied in size 10,000 times. Her mouth, ears and nose are all taking shape. The preborn child's brain waves can be recorded and her heartbeat, which began three weeks earlier can be detected by an ultrasonic stethoscope. Her skeleton is formed and her brain is controlling the movement of muscles, and organs…every child who is surgically aborted. Everything I just said is already true.

If the first step to a conversation is an open ear, the second step would seem to be finding common ground. Do you truly understand the goals of your counterpart? Or is it all based on assumptions fed by those who agree with us?

ALCORN: Also, I think, stigmatizing each other from the get go. So that we feel like we're not really talking to a rational human being. If we only call them names, then I feel like we tend to lose our audience.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Caleb Bailey in Asheville, North Carolina.

NICK EICHER, HOST: You know how fast food places have those big signs with the changeable letters out front?

You hardly notice them unless there’s a letter missing.

But the fast food signs in Marshfield, Missouri are drawing plenty of attention! In fact, they’ve gone viral.

It all started when a McDonald’s put up a sign with a message aimed at a nearby Dairy Queen. It asked, “Hey DQ, do you want to have a sign war?”

The Dairy Queen responded: “We [would] but we’re [too] busy making ice cream.”

McDonald’s shot back: “That’s cute. Our ice cream makes itself.”

The Dairy Queen sign then read, “You mean it actually works? Shocker.”

Then Domino’s Pizza weighed in: “Your signs are cheesy just like our pizza.”

And Wendy’s went after McDonald’s: “How long does it take to thaw that frozen beef?”

It appears things are getting a bit salty in Marshfield, like McDonalds’ famous french fries.

It’s The World and Everything in It.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Today is Tuesday, July 26th. You’re listening to WORLD Radio and we thank you for tuning in! Good morning. I’m Mary Reichard.

NICK EICHER, HOST: And I’m Nick Eicher. Coming next on The World and Everything in It: the next installment in WORLD’s Hope Awards for Effective Compassion.

Today, WORLD Correspondent Addie Offereins takes us to a pregnancy center in Niles, Michigan that focuses on strengthening the whole family.

ADDIE OFFEREINS, REPORTER: Breanna Brittain carries her son with her right hand. In 2017, her left hand was amputated.

BRITTAIN: It was a work related accident. I was cleaning at the end of my shift. So I worked the night shift. So it's like 6:05, I'd like to reach under the saw to pull this fiber out. And someone went and pushed the buttons on the control panel, and the table came forward. And it just sucked my hand up into a chain and sprocket. Think like a bicycle—but like industrial size.

After the accident, Britain didn’t want to get out of bed. She considered suicide and was admitted to a psych ward for five days. A few months later, she found out she was pregnant.

One day, as Brittain drove down East Main Street in Niles, Michigan, she noticed a small, sage-green Victorian house with white trim. A white sign held up by a purple, wooden frame read “LifePlan” in large, purple letters—and underneath: “you + baby + family.”

BRITTAIN: I drove past it. And I’m like, I need a life plan.

LifePlan aims to take the “crisis” out of “crisis pregnancy center.” The ministry offers traditional pregnancy center services. But staff and volunteers also work to strengthen the family from the ground up.

Inside, the center feels homey and looks freshly painted. Worship music plays in the background. A meticulously organized boutique is bursting with racks of baby clothes. White shelves hold other baby items.

When Breanna Brittain came to LifePlan, staff paired her with Teri Stark, one of the center’s consultants. They met once a week to go through the Life Matters curriculum—covering everything from how to keep your house clean to staying within your budget to what to expect from a newborn. At first, Brittain wasn’t sure what to do.

BRITTAIN: I was really leaning towards like abortion…

Stark listened, and shared her own story of God’s redemption.

STARK: I had gotten pregnant before I got married. And my baby was born early. And I didn't even know who God was. I didn't even know the gospel. I didn't know Jesus died for me. And my baby was born early. And I remember just crying out to God. Like if you're real, please let my baby live. And God brought some Christians into my life. And I got saved and. And even though my son didn't live, I got saved. And God just did a total miracle in my life.

LifePlan offers ultrasounds on Thursdays and tests for sexually transmitted diseases on Mondays and Thursdays.

AZUCNA: But we're also about prevention. So now you can see we have a Men's Ministry. We go into schools. Okay. And then we talk about not only your pregnancy, but your relationship.

That’s Lyndon Azcuna, LifePlan’s executive director. Last year, LifePlan partnered with a local church to host a youth conference that helps teenagers understand sexuality from a biblical perspective. Every year, the organization sponsors an anti-pornogrpahy campaign.

Life Plan also does a lot for men. Azcuna says it’s difficult to overcome the stigma that pregnancy centers are just for women.

AZCUNA: 67% to 70% of women making a decision for abortion is dependent upon the father. And so we want to be family oriented. That's why we're about you, the baby and family.

Men can sign up for coaching with older mentors from local churches.

But Azucna says it’s not easy getting men involved.

AZCUNA: And I want to tell you, the Men's Ministry is very difficult in our context.

Usually they have about three on the books but today not a single man has shown up. And when they do come, they don’t open up easily.

Katrina Patrice is the director of operations in Benton Harbor, Michigan— LifePlan’s second location.

PATRICE: So one of the things that motivates me is, you know, the very last verse in the Old Testament says that Elijah would come and turn the hearts of fathers to their children. And that is then what John the Baptist said, he quoted that verse. And so that was his job. And so that's why our Men's Ministry is important. Because if men don't see the value of children, then they won't see the value of their wives, girlfriends, to take care of the children or to have the children. So that's an important part of what we do.

When a woman completes a parenting or life skills class she can choose eight clothing items and earn 10 boutique bucks—the equivalent to a package of diapers. If a man also attends, the rewards are doubled.

But women like Breanna Brittain keep coming back for more than baby items. The relationships they build with their mentors are lifelong. Brittain still meets with Stark every couple weeks.

BRITTAIN: She’s such a precious woman. Like, I love her. I look at her like she's my mother. She's like a mentor. She's my mentor. But she's more like my mother. And my counselor.

Her son Mark was born on March 1st, 2020.

BRITTAIN: And he had all this dark hair and he was so cute. Jessie were and now you're just a handful.

Brittain married Mark’s dad in November, 2020. They live a few blocks away from LifePlan. Mark is now a spunky two-year-old in a yellow jacket who has trouble sitting still.

BRITTAIN: I looked back and like how could I like conflict like an abortion like, you know, and then seeing him like see how precious he is and beautiful he is even when he’s a monster. Like, I know I made the right decision. I know I made the right decision when I came in here because who knows what I would have done if I had not stopped.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Addie Offereins in Niles, Michigan.

EICHER: LifePlan is one of our four semi-finalists for this year’s Hope Awards for Effective Compassion. We’ll be profiling two more ministries this week, then asking you to vote online for the ministry you think should be this year’s Award winner.

You can learn more at: wng.org/compassion.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Today is Tuesday, July 26th. 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.

Well, your generous support is bearing fruit, and one proof of that is a brand new podcast with WORLD Senior Correspondent Les Sillars. The same man who last September brought you The Freedom Show—a special two part series on Free North Korea Radio. Les is back with an exciting new project—this time with a handful of his journalism students from Patrick Henry College.

REICHARD: To tell us a bit more, here’s Les!

LES SILLARS, SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Mary.

REICHARD: So, what’s Doubletake about? And how is it different from our other podcasts at WORLD?

SILLARS: We have several storytelling podcasts at WORLD. They usually have a theme that holds all the episodes together, like the show you do with Jenny Rough, Legal Docket. Or they follow a single storyline, like Lawless with Lynn Vincent. Doubletake is all stand-alone stories, and you never know what's coming from week to week. I want people to look forward every Friday to being surprised with a story that turns out to be really, really interesting, and with a biblical perspective.

REICHARD: So, can you give us a hint about what these will be about?

SILLARS: Sure. We profile a doctor who was involved in involuntary organ harvesting in China; a clean comedian; a Christian teacher in a public school district that's going weird; and a nurse whose courage changed the pro-life movement forever. I'm working on one about UFOs. I know. It sounds strange, but it's going to be awesome. :)

REICHARD: You’re not doing all these on your own?

SILLARS: This is a team effort, as anything good always is. I pulled together my best journalism seniors from Patrick Henry College as correspondents, and of course we got a lot of help from Paul Butler and others on the World team.

REICHARD: We have a clip from one of your episodes. Can you set it up for us?

SILLARS: This is from an episode called "A well-founded fear." It's about Jason and Ranya Bailey, a Canadian doctor and his wife who just moved to Pennsylvania.

EXCERPT: [A well-founded fear]

REICHARD: Thanks, Les! It sounds great!

SILLARS: Thanks for having me on!

REICHARD: Doubletake drops on Friday. Be sure to check it out.

NICK EICHER, HOST: On tomorrow’s program: potential White House hopefuls are already gearing up for 2024. That’s on Washington Wednesday.

And, part 3 of WORLD’s Hope Awards for Effective Compassion.

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 Bible says: A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. (Proverbs 15:1 ESV)

Go now in grace and peace.

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