The World and Everything in It: July 27, 2023

PREROLL: The World and Everything in It is brought to you by listeners like me. My name is Vi Probert. I am a nurse at a hospital in the Denver area. My job is to review records. I try to pray for the people as I review their record and listen to The World and Everything in It. I hope you enjoy today's program.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Good morning!

July is on pace to be the hottest month on record. Is it a new trend we should be worried about?

AUDIO: We are not prepared for the type of heat we are experiencing this year, let alone for the heat that we will experience in the future because of climate change.

PAUL BUTLER, HOST: We’ll get context from an expert.

Also, pain at the pump. What’s it like in states bringing back gas and grocery taxes they put on hold last year?

And, honoring veterans laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery.

Plus, WORLD commentator Cal Thomas on what made singer Tony Bennett so extraordinary.

BROWN: It’s Thursday, July 27th. This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Myrna Brown.

BUTLER: And I’m Paul Butler. Good morning!

BROWN: Now the news. Here’s Kent Covington

KENT COVINGTON, HOST: Hunter Biden » Hunter Biden’s plea deal crumbled on Wednesday after a federal judge raised concerns about the terms of the agreement. The plan would have allowed the president’s son to avoid prosecution on a felony charge by pleading guilty to misdemeanor tax offenses.

District Judge Maryellen Noreika questioned the scale of the immunity that prosecutors were offering Hunter Biden.

Republicans say the judge made the right call.

SMITH: Justice is being served.

Missouri Congressman Jason Smith pointed to recent testimony from two whistleblowers from the IRS criminal investigations unit.

SMITH: They provided such a great amount of information and a lot of concern - where they highlighted where they had been investigating. They had been the lead investigators in this case for the last five years.

The IRS agents felt the Justice Department was protecting Hunter Biden.

He was charged last month with two misdemeanor crimes of failure to pay taxes on more than $1.5 million in income. The plea deal likely would have allowed him to avoid jail time.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre again assured the public Wednesday that President Biden in no way has his thumb on the scales of justice.

PIERRE: This was an independent investigation that was overseen by the Department of Justice. As we have been very clear, they are independent. We give them the space to do their work.

The Department of Justice also revealed Wednesday that Hunter Biden is under investigation for potentially illegally acting as a foreign agent.

Mayorkas hearing » Meantime, on Capitol Hill House Republicans grilled Homeland Security Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas over what they called the Biden administration’s “disastrous” border policies.

Congressman Jim Jordan:

JORDAN: Instead of building off the previous administration’s success, this administration has abandoned any semblance of border security and immigration enforcement. And Americans are paying the price and they demand accountability.

But Mayorkas cited a recent decrease in illegal border crossings.

MAYORKAS: Our approach to managing the border securely and humanely, even within our fundamentally broken immigration system, is working.

Even with migrant encounters down officially from previous months, the Border Patrol still reported roughly 100,000 encounters.

Federal Reserve » Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell announced another slight interest rate hike on Wednesday. The central bank is bumping up its key rates by another quarter of a percentage point.

But, Powell floated the idea of cutting rates at some point next year.

POWELL: That's just going to be a judgment that we have to make then, a full year from now, and it'll be about how confident we are that inflation is in fact coming down to our 2% goal.

The surge in consumer prices does appear to be slowing down with an annualized inflation rate of 3 percent in June.

Israeli Supreme Court » The Israeli Supreme Court says it will hear arguments in the fall over a new law that aims to curb its power over executive decisions.

Parliament on Monday passed legislation that limits the high court’s ability to review government actions. The measure is part of a larger effort to overhaul the nation’s court system.

Simcha Rotman leads a judicial committee in parliament.

ROTMAN: The court’s judges were enforcing their own political views on the public in Israel, on the minister.

But thousands of protesters have taken to the streets in recent weeks calling the proposal a power grab by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his allies.

Trump in Louisiana, DeSantis in Orlando » Former President Trump traveled to Louisiana this week for a fundraiser amid the looming threat of another criminal indictment. Trump has said he expects to be indicted over alleged interference in the 2020 election, but he told reporters in New Orleans, he’s not concerned.

TRUMP: We have a — we’re legit. We have very corrupt people running our country.

He’ll campaign in Iowa tomorrow.

Meantime, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis spoke at an event in Orlando on Wednesday, touting his credentials on economic policy. He said of his home state:

DESANTIS: Our economy is now ranked number one in the nation by U.S. News and World Report overall. We have a large budget surplus, a triple-a credit rating.

DeSantis heard there at a meeting of the American Legislative Exchange Council.

DeSantis is one of seven GOP candidates right now who have qualified to take the stage at the first presidential debate next month.

The others are former Ambassador Nikki Haley, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, Sen. Tim Scott, and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum.

Donald Trump has suggested he may skip the first debate.

Sinead O’Connor obit » Irish singer-songwriter Sinead O’Connor has died.

SOUND: [Nothing Compares]

O’Connor rose to stardom during the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, but was known as much for her personal struggles and public controversies as for her music.

In 1992, she infamously ripped up a picture of Pope John Paul II during a performance on Saturday Night Live. She said it was in protest against sexual abuse in the Catholic Church.

The singer publicly discussed her struggles with mental illness suicide attempts over the years. Sinead O’Connor was 56.

I'm Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: Hot weather and climate change. Plus, a military funeral at Arlington National Cemetery.

This is The World and Everything in It.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: It’s Thursday the 27th of July, 2023.

Glad to have you along for today’s edition of The World and Everything in It. Good morning, I’m Myrna Brown.

PAUL BUTLER, HOST: And I’m Paul Butler.

Up first: record-breaking heat waves turn up temperatures around the world.

CBS Mornings: Current forecasts show we could potentially see the entire month of July with highs above 110 degrees. And it’s not just in Arizona where the heat is threatening lives

NBC: An unfathomable 101 degree temperature reading just north of the Florida Keys; some of the warmest waters ever recorded.

GLOBAL NEWS: This month's heat is likely the hottest the earth has been in about 120,000 years.

BROWN: So what’s to blame for the record heat waves? For many, the answer is climate change. Here’s climate scientist Kristina Dahl on CNN last week:

KRISTINA DAHL: I think it’s fair to say that around the globe we are not prepared for the type of heat we are experiencing this year, let alone for the heat that we will experience in the future because of climate change.

BUTLER: How is climate change involved in these weather events? And is there more to the picture?

Joining us now is David Legates, retired Professor of Geography and Climatology at the University of Delaware. He’s also the Director of Research and Education at the Cornwall Alliance and specializes in long-term weather and climate data.

Good morning, David.

DAVID LEGATES: Good morning.

BUTLER: Well, you know, I was a child of the 70s. And in the in that decade, there was some concern over the coming Ice Age. And in my youth and young adults, we were talking about global warming, and in recent decades, it's changed to climate change. What's what's the motivation behind that changes? Is it merely to better explain what's happening?

LEGATES: Now, it's largely to encompass a variety of things so that if we get into the winter, and we have a major snowstorm on the East Coast, we can say, see, that's due to climate change. And that's carbon dioxide induced or if we go through several years, where there's no snow at all, in places where you'd expect to find snow. We can also point to that and say, See, that's climate change. So climate change can be up and down, left and right, it can be just changing weather. And of course, in the end of the day, we always blame that on carbon dioxide.

BUTLER: Hmm. Well, speaking of climate change, on Tuesday, a group of European scientists reported that these heatwaves wouldn’t be possible apart from climate change. Now, their study hasn’t been peer-reviewed, but the Wall Street Journal says it is based on peer-reviewed methods. In any case, many news reports attribute record temperatures to climate change. What do most people mean by climate change, and is that the most accurate way to describe what’s behind the hot temperatures?

LEGATES: Weather varies and climate changes. So that's the best way of saying it. So the idea is that we go through periods where things tend to get warmer, things tend to get colder. If we look, for example, at weather station data, we realized that a lot of our weather comes from what we say, since the since records began, and when that usually means is that records began when we moved our weather stations from downtown out to the airports and the airports are in small in rural areas. So the temperature was relatively cooler. And as the city grew around it, the temperatures went up. So you're seeing a combination of longer term climate signals, and shorter term localized effects associated with the urban heat island and the growth of cities. If we look at stations that don't have that effect, and have been around for 100 years or more, we see that the preponderance of days above 100 Fahrenheit or above 105 Fahrenheit, actually peaked in the 1930s. During the dust bowls, there's a second peak in the 1950s. During the droughts, there's a peak, for example, in the early 1980s. But there's lots of variability, but no long term trend that anyone would want to be able to tie to carbon dioxide.

BUTLER: Well, David, you've mentioned carbon dioxide a number of times, and that that does seem to be the boogeyman that many point to what is the benefit? And what are some of the potential challenges of carbon dioxide in our environment.

LEGATES: Carbon dioxide is a life affirming gas. If you go into any commercial greenhouse, you'll find that generally there's a box somewhere in the building that is producing carbon dioxide. And the reason for that is that carbon dioxide causes plants to grow faster. We would expect therefore, from remote sensing, that the planet should be greening. And in fact, there's two major studies that have looked at different channels to try to get an idea as to how much the planet is greening as a result of increased carbon dioxide. And they both say that the planet is much greener now than it was 30 years ago. And carbon dioxide is the responsible candidate. So carbon dioxide isn't the evil gas that we're always told it is.

BUTLER: Well, I think one of the benefits of severe weather is the reminder that perhaps there are things that we can be doing to better steward the environment, whether we are the cause for some of those things or not, as you say, is certainly up for debate. But But how can we, as humans better steward the things that God has given us? And is there anything that we can do to mitigate some of these apparent swings in weather?

LEGATES: I mean, the problem is, we have a tendency to forget. And so the idea is, if we go through a period where there have not been many hurricane landfalls, as we just came out of an extended period of about 15 years, we tend to forget that they do this, that they appear from time to time we build along the coast, we let down our guard. And the next thing, you know, there's disaster. So we've got to be vigilant in realizing that disasters have occurred, they will occur again, we've got to take action. We've got to realize that in particular, the poor are more likely to be affected by these things than those of us who could afford it. And in particular, when all is said and done, inexpensive, cheap energy is the way to lift the poor out of their poverty. And if we keep making energy more expensive as we are by trying to go to wind and solar, as we are by trying to demonize carbon dioxide, and fossil fuels, that we're only going to make it more difficult for those of us that are trying to get out of poor conditions and are trying to make a living.

BUTLER: So from your perspective, the sky isn't falling.

LEGATES: Sky is still there, and I think it will still be there tomorrow. It goes through variability. Sometimes it's higher, sometimes it's lower. But yeah, the sun shall rise again.

BUTLER: David Legates is a retired professor of climatology and serves now as Director of Research and Education for the Cornwall Alliance. David, thanks so much for joining us today.

LEGATES: Thank you very much.

PAUL BUTLER, HOST: Coming up next on The World and Everything in It: Gas taxes strike again.

Last month nine states in the U.S. raised fuel taxes. Three states raised it by more than three cents per gallon. Illinois is one of them.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: People living in a rural area of the Prairie State are trying to cope with the added financial strain. Here’s WORLD Radio Intern Alex Carmenaty.

SOUND: [FILLING UP A GAS TANK]

ALEX CARMENATY: At Illinois gas stations, the average cost per gallon is roughly $3.85. That means to fill up this 2001 Ford Ranger pickup truck. It will cost more than $61.

SOUND: [GAS PUMP CLICKING OFF]

For every gallon of gas, Illinois adds 45.4 cents in taxes, meaning this tank of gas just earned the state $7.28. Illinois has the fourth highest gas tax in the nation. It’s just one of the many reasons why living in the Land of Lincoln has become so expensive.

JUDY WITTROCK: I live seven miles from grocery stores. I have to drive it both ways. So, I'm affected by gas and grocery taxes.

Judy Wittrock lives in Dover, Illinois. A town of roughly 150 people that’s two hours west of Chicago. She carefully monitors how often she drives to town.

WITTROCK: I have to plan all of my trips. It's not just the groceries, anything that you need to get, you have to make a trip. And if you make one trip and then the pharmacy calls and says your medicine is ready. Now you've added another 15 miles which is wear and tear in gas.

Illinois has increased its gas tax twice since the first of this year. The state paused its gas tax and one percent grocery tax last year due to record high inflation. Both were reinstated on July 1st. These tax increases might seem small on paper, but they add up for folks on fixed incomes like Wittrock.

WITTROCK: And we think oh, you know, it's only a few cents on my gas or it's only a few cents on my groceries. And then I look back and I go, Oh, I just got my bill. I spent $146 on gas this month. Where did I go?

Illinois’ Governor is Democrat J.B. Pritzker. He’s been in office since 2019. When he started, the per gallon tax rate was at 19 cents—almost 30 cents less than its current rate. The tax is intended for building and maintaining roads and highways, but Wittrock hasn’t seen it.

WITTROCK: The money that went into taxes never went back to fixing our roads which the gas tax has to go for. Never went to fixing bridges that are 100 years old and 100 years old and not safe. We have roads that are closed three miles from me, because the Bridge is falling down.

Wittrock’s State Senator is Win Stoller. The Republican serves in the states’ 37th District and represents a large portion of Central Illinois.

WIN STOLLER: Just before I came into office in 2020, in 2019, our state budget was about 38 billion. This year, it's 53 billion. That's an increase of $15 billion in the last four years. That's 9% increase per year. Now, I don't think very many people, residents of the state have gotten a 9% increase in their pay four years in a row. But the state of Illinois seems to have just an insatiable appetite for new spending.

Stoller comes from Germantown Hills. He serves in a district where several towns have populations of less than a thousand people. Germantown Hills is similar to Dover—residents have to drive several miles for basic necessities.

STOLLER: Germantown Hills doesn't have a grocery store. So we're driving to the nearest town or all the way into Peoria for groceries. We've got two gas stations in Germantown. So I've seen people when I fill my car up and, you know, you hear from them.

Neighboring states like Indiana, Iowa, and Wisconsin have cheaper gas taxes that are all under 35 cents per gallon. All three neighbors also have no grocery taxes. Illinois residents are starting to notice a trend that has plagued states like New York and California.

STOLLER: The last census, Illinois was one of only three states to lose population, and then the Census Bureau's estimate since the last census, we've lost over 100,000 residents each year. And so yes, people are leaving.

Don Mansfield has seen this first hand. He’s worked in industrial sales for nearly 30 years.

MANSFIELD: You start to raise taxes and if you have neighboring states that don't have as high a tax rate or no tax rate, people are going to move there. People are going to leave Illinois and they'll go to Iowa or Wisconsin or Indiana or wherever it is where they can afford to live.

Mansfield says Illinois' problem is managing its own budget.

MANSFIELD: The states around us pretty much laugh at us. And I can tell you that with certainty because those states balance their budgets. Illinois has a problem doing that and they've been overspending for at least 30 years, if not longer. So when you're running a deficit all the time, well, sooner or later the Piper comes calling and you have to make up that deficit.

SOUND: [WITTROCK WORKING IN GARDEN]

For many remaining in the prairie state, the tax increases mean necessary budget adjustments. Judy Wittrock has cut her expenses by living in a duplex with her sister. She also spends time everyday in her yard caring for her garden and a few chickens.

WITTROCK: Eggs are $4 a dozen. These are probably 75 cents a dozen. We will have enough tomatoes so that we will spend probably three or four sessions making tomato juice and making barbecue sauce and making spaghetti sauce. We won't have to buy those things all year.

Wittrock’s garden is more than just a money saver. It gives her the ability to help others.

WITTROCK: It's a thing that my sister and I and maybe one or two other people would get together and do. If I pull a couple of things of tomato sauce out and make stuffed green peppers to take to somebody. I feel good.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Alex Carmenaty in Central Illinois.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Whew, the summer heat!

The National Weather Service, local police, and other organizations have taken to social media to warn folks about leaving kids and pets in hot cars.

They’ve all done some variation of the same theme. Audio here from WWLTV in New Orleans.

SERGEANT JAKE MORRIS: So we're coming to you today with some cookie dough.

Louisiana’s Sergeant Jake Morris attempts to bake cookies in a piping hot patrol car! Morris sets the pan on the dashboard and walks away.

A few hours later:

MORRIS: I can literally smell these cookies right now. Oh, look at that. They got a little crunch to them

PAUL BUTLER, HOST: Well, at least now we know what to have for dessert after frying our eggs on the sidewalk!

BROWN: That’s cute, but let’s remember the point of the stunt: those kids and pets in the back!

It’s The World and Everything in It.

PAUL BUTLER, HOST: Today is Thursday, July 27th. Thank you for turning to WORLD Radio to help start your day. Good morning. I’m Paul Butler.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: And I’m Myrna Brown. Coming next on The World and Everything in It: Giving honor to grief.

Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C. is the most well known of our national cemeteries. The first burial at Arlington happened in 1864, and today it’s the final resting place for over four hundred fifty-thousand veterans and their dependents.

BUTLER: Chaplains at Arlington honor not only those who’ve served, but their families who grieve. WORLD Associate Correspondent Jeff Palomino has our story.

AUDIO: [Sound of drums/marching]

JEFF PALOMINO, REPORTER: Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Donald William Mansfield died two years ago at age 93. Today, his daughter Virginia Mansfield-Richardson attends his funeral at Arlington National Cemetery.

MANSFIELD-RICHARDSON: My dad was a wonderful person. And he had a very distinguished military career. He dropped the last bomb in the Korean War, and he was hand selected. Truman said pick the very best pilot you have. And they picked my dad.

This morning, the 68 year old Mansfield-Richardson stands with eight family members and friends at the end of a long road in the southeast section of the cemetery. White tombstones surround them.

AUDIO: ["Forward Harch," guns shifting, marching continues]

Fifty members of the Air Force march past. At the end is United States Air Force Reserve Chaplain Captain Andy Lloyd. He’s there to give honor, but also something else.

AUDIO: [Sound of marching and directions from the military lead]

LLOYD: Chaplain ministry at Arlington is unlike any ministry I have ever done. When you have the opportunity to interact with families, specifically here at Arlington, it's not always on their best day. You have to quickly learn where they are emotionally, and help them navigate a place that's very overwhelming. And then to represent faith, to represent the divine and to offer solace to them, comfort to them, hope to them, and appropriately represent the service and sacrifice of their loved one.

AUDIO: [Loud military commands]

Technical Sergeant Kristen Bishop is part of Chaplain Lloyd’s team today.

BISHOP: My official career field is five Romeo. So I am Religious Affairs airman.

This morning, Tech Sergeant Bishop escorts a third member of the team, an “Arlington Lady.”

BISHOP: We have a group of volunteers known as the Arlington committee, majority women. They're volunteers and they are here on behalf of the Chief of Staff of the Air Force.

The Committee started with an idea from the wife of the second Air Force Chief of Staff. One day she walked through the cemetery and saw a veteran’s funeral with no one there.

BISHOP: And it absolutely broke her heart. She decided right then and there. No veteran will ever, ever be buried alone if we can do something about it.

AUDIO: [Loud military command, band begins to play]

Chaplain Lloyd escorts Mansfield-Richardson and her family to seats under the small green tent. He takes his spot at the front and the service begins.

Chaplain Lloyd was a civilian pastor for 14 years before coming into the Reserves in 2018. But Arlington requires a different mindset.

LLOYD: I'm not called to be the pastor of every person that I get to interact with here at Arlington, I don't have the longevity of a relationship of a pastoral relationship, I get the opportunity to be pastoral in a moment, and to reflect to them the peace that we as people of faith believe we have access to in Scripture.

After Chaplain Lloyd’s remarks, a rifle party fires a three gun volley.

AUDIO: [Gunfire]

The band plays taps, and then another hymn.

AUDIO: [Song from the Air Force Band]

Two members of the Honor Guard now move to the front of the tent to fold the flag. Chaplain Lloyd salutes the flag and takes it. He moves a few steps forward, and kneels before Mansfield-Richardson.

LLOYD: Personally, the most touching and memorable thing that I get to do here is to present the flag to the next of kin.

He puts his hand on her arm and Mansfield-Richardson begins to sob.

Chaplain Lloyd and his team encounter this kind of grief every day. How do they handle it? Tech Sergeant Bishop explains.

BISHOP: And I honestly almost imagine us in the military uniforms surrounding them as a wall. And not to block anything but just to… you get to have this moment. Like here, let me shield you for a second. And here with your friends with whatever with your loved one. In this space. You get to have as many breakdowns as you want. Because it's not going to affect me. I got you. You cry as hard as you want without any guilt without any any pressure. Don't worry about the pictures being pretty. Have your meltdown because you need it. And it makes it easier. Actually, the more I feel that way, the easier it is.

AUDIO: ["Forward, Forward Harch" and drums]

The graveside service is over now, and Chaplain Lloyd escorts Mansfield-Richardson and her family across the street to an area set aside for her father’s remains.

LLOYD: And that's how we conclude the service. We offer our condolences and we end with a benediction. And then just very mystically and ceremoniously walk off.

Chaplain Lloyd has been at Arlington almost a year. He’s done almost 300 funerals in that time. But, while he’s interacted with 300 families, each of those families interacts with him only once. He has one goal in mind.

LLOYD: If I can provide a moment that reflects a little bit of hope, and steadiness and solace and grace in the midst of grief, then that's my prayer every morning. If they can leave with a little hope in their heart then my prayers are answered.

As Mansfield-Richardson leaves the cemetery she’ll take the folded flag and the shell casings from the rifle salute. She hasn’t done much with her father’s room since he died, so she’ll put everything there. She’ll also take something else.

MANSFIELD-RICHARDSON: It's hard to put into words, how significant that certainly was, to me and to everybody else who was there. But I can tell you, it's something. It changed my life. You hold it in your heart. It was a spiritual experience for me. And I love thinking about it. And it touched, it touched me.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Jeff Palomino at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Today is Thursday, July 27th. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Myrna Brown.

PAUL BUTLER, HOST: And I’m Paul Butler. What makes a singer truly great? Commentator Cal Thomas weighs in with his reflection on Tony Bennett, who was much more than just a “crooner.”

SONG: I left my heart in San Francisco. High on a hill it calls to me…

CAL THOMAS, COMMENTATOR: It was in the early ’60s. I was a copyboy at NBC News and the overnight disc jockey for the local radio station called and asked if I’d like to go on a boat ride down the Potomac River with his guest, Tony Bennett.

For several hours we cruised past some of Washington’s most famous landmarks. Tony let me take a picture of him with a big smile on his face. He later signed it, and I have kept it framed in my office ever since.

Bennett, who died last week at 96, was labeled in various obituaries as the “last of the crooners.” He was more than a crooner. While many singers have nice voices, not all can interpret songs the way Tony did. His talent and material spanned several generations. In later years he teamed up with contemporary singers like Lady Gaga, Amy Winehouse, Michael Bublé and even Willie Nelson, but he never compromised on the quality of his work, or tried to become something he was not.

Consider just one of his many songs. “Fly me to the Moon” was sung by Frank Sinatra in an upbeat and swinging style. Bennett did it as a ballad and while each version has its own appeal, Bennett’s version is contemplative and, yes, more romantic.

SONG: Fly me to the moon, let me play among the stars. 

In a 1965 interview for Life magazine, Sinatra paid Bennett the ultimate compliment: “For my money, Tony Bennett is the best singer in the business. He excites me when I watch him. He moves me.”

Me, too. Shortly after that boat ride, I took a date to see him perform at the Shoreham Hotel’s iconic Terrace, an outdoor venue that during the summer featured the best singers of the day. It was where I began to understand what real love and romance felt like.

At one time I owned most of his albums. We can now call up his songs on Alexa and similar devices. Among my favorites was “The Many Moods of Tony,” which features a poignant song called “When Joanna Loved Me.”

SONG: When Joanna loved me, every town was Paris, every day was Sunday, every month was May. 

One gets the feeling he is identifying with listeners who have suffered a lost love, but who are comforted by the memory of what that love once felt like.

Bennett had a vocal range that never reached falsetto. He never shouted. He didn’t have to in order to command attention.

Most people will likely remember him for what became his signature song, “I Left My Heart in San Francisco.” Younger people would do well to consider this great preserver of the American Songbook with lyrics you can understand. Bennet sang them in a way that could touch one’s heart and soul. Not all “crooners” have that gift.

SONG: I left my heart in San Francisco. High on a hill it calls to me...

Because of you, Tony, there’s a song in my heart.

I’m Cal Thomas.

SONG: When I come home to you, San Francisco, your golden sun will shine for me.

PAUL BUTLER, HOST: Tomorrow on Culture Friday: The White House recently announced a memorial to commemorate the life and death of Emmett Till. We’ll talk about it with WORLD opinions writer Samuel Sey. Plus, three films about the risks and rewards of innovation. And your Listener Feedback. That and more tomorrow.

I’m Paul Butler.

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 Psalmist writes: You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Psalm 23, verses 5 and 6.

Go now in grace and peace.

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