The World and Everything in It: July 9, 2024

PREROLL: The World and Everything in It is made possible by listeners like us, Nathan and Alina Fahlin. We just got married last week in Reno, Nevada and we listened to your podcast every day as we traveled from my home in Nevada to my home in Minnesota. Thank you for providing excellent listening content and being our travel buddies our first week of marriage!

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Aww! Good morning! The Labor Party won in a landslide in the UK last week. We’ll talk about the voter backlash in Europe.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Also today we’ll hear from the lawyer for a prolifer who received a federal sentence for his peaceful protest.

And the Boston Red Sox are not just hitting ’taters. They’re growing them.

ABELL: For years we’ve been making sure that food doesn’t travel too far to get to us. It’s ridiculous how close it is now.

And WORLD opinions commentator Brad Littlejohn encourages conservative candidates not just to strike poses but to govern.

REICHARD: It’s Tuesday, July 9th. 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: Up next, Kent Covington with today’s news.

SOUND: [Electric saw]

KENT COVINGTON, NEWS ANCHOR: Russian missiles hit Ukrainian children’s hospital » Rescue workers in Ukraine used electric saws to cut through rubble where Russian missiles blasted a children’s hospital in Kyiv.

Volunteers helped with their bare hands …

SOUND: [Rescue operations]

… as they searched for possible survivors and the remains of those killed.

It was Russia’s heaviest bombardment of Kyiv in almost four months. But the deadly attack was part of a larger assault across Ukraine killing more than 30 people and wounding more than 150.

U.S. State Dept. spokesman Matthew Miller:

MILLER:  Just to be clear, these are sites that serve no military purpose. Um, they're not sheltering Ukrainian military assets. They're not sheltering members of the Ukrainian military. These air civilian infrastructure, pure and simple … that cannot, should not, must not be targets.

NATO » Air defense and other military support for Ukraine will be a major topic of discussion at the NATO summit starting today in Washington.

Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg:

STOLTENBERG:  At the summit we'll make decisions to further strengthen our support to Ukraine and, Russia must understand that they're not able to wait those out.

The White House says to expect announcements aimed at bolstering the U.S. defense industrial base … and strengthening NATO’s deterrence against threats like Russia and China.

White House presser, non-answer about specialist » July 4th has come and gone, but there were fireworks inside the press briefing room at the White House on Monday. Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre sparred with the press corps …

PIERRE: The president, I can tell you, has seen a neurologist three times, as it’s connected to a physical he gets every year that we provide to all [SIC] (reporters shout) … wait, wait, wait, hold on, wait a second …

Reporters continued to press Jean-Pierre for straight answers about the president’s health.

PIERRE: … I just, wait — hold on a second.

REPORTER: That much you should be able to answer by this point.

PIERRE: Wait, no, no, no, no. No, wait a minute. Please, a little respect here, please.

That exchange surrounded a question about White House visitor logs which show frequent visits in recent months by a neurologist. Reporters wanted to know if the specialist was treating the president. Jean-Pierre would not directly answer that question.

But late last night, White House physician Dr. Kevin O’Connor stated that the specialist in question had examined the president only as part of routine physicals and that his other visits to the White House were to treat military personnel.

Biden letter to Democrats » Meantime, President Biden had a clear message for fellow Democrats on Monday:

BIDEN:  I am not going anywhere. I wouldn't be running if I didn't absolutely believe that I am the best candidate to beat Donald Trump in 2024.

He told MSNBC that he does not believe polls suggesting Democratic voters want a new nominee are accurate. Nor does he believe polls showing Donald Trump’s lead over the incumbent widening.

He said Democratic primary voters have already had their say.

BIDEN:  I'm getting so frustrated by the elites in the party who think they know so much more.

And he penned a defiant letter to Democrats in Congress, stating “The question of how to move forward has been well-aired for over a week now.” And he said it’s time for Democratic hand-wringing to end and to come together to defeat Donald Trump.

Tropical Storm Beryl » The storm that was Hurricane Beryl is cutting across Arkansas today after wreaking havoc along the Texas coast and the Houston metro area on Monday.

One Bay City, Texas resident said he was surprised by the power of the storm.

RESIDENT: Man, I heard a big boom. I just thought it was a limb. I didn’t know it was a whole tree.

Falling trees killed multiple people in Texas. Hurricane Beryl also knocked out power to nearly 3 million homes and businesses.

It weakened to a tropical depression on Monday, but it’s still on the move, tracking to the northeast. It will threaten the Midwest and northeastern states with severe weather through at least Thursday.

Israel/Gaza » Israeli forces are pushing deeper into Gaza’s largest city in pursuit of terrorists who have regrouped there. WORLD’s Kristen Flavin reports:

KRISTEN FLAVIN: Hamas warned that the latest raids in Gaza City could lead to the collapse of long-running negotiations over a cease-fire and hostage release.

The terror group has strung out those off-and-on for months. But the two sides appeared to have narrowed the gaps in recent days.

Israeli troops are again battling militants in areas that the army said had been largely cleared months ago in northern Gaza.

The military ordered evacuations ahead of the raids, but Palestinians say nowhere feels safe.

For WORLD, I’m Kristen Flavin.

New Iran president » Iran has elected a new president after reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian carried roughly 54 percent support in a runoff election.

The 69-year-old cardiologist promised social changes such as loosening laws on how women must wear headscarves. He also discussed restarting talks toward a renewed nuclear agreement with the West.

But U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby says the U.S. will have to see a big shift in Iran’s behavior.

Kirby: They're still supporting terrorist groups like Hamas and Hezbollah. They're still supporting the Houthis as the Houthis attack ships in the Red Sea.

And Kirby said they’re not expecting any big changes … as Iran’s hardline Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei has the final authority on all matters.

I’m Kent Covington.

Plus, something that’s ahead but not immediately straight ahead.

This is The World and Everything in It.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: It’s Tuesday the 9th of July, 2024.

Glad to have you along 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 UK general election.

Labor won a landslide victory routing the Conservatives and ending the party’s nearly decade and a half hold on power.

This is happening at the same time populists are gaining momentum across Europe.

Joining us now to talk about it is John Stevens. He’s the national director of the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches…an association of 600 churches across the UK.

REICHARD: John, good morning.

JOHN STEVENS: Good morning, Mary. Great to be with you.

REICHARD: Well, so glad you’re here. Over the last few months Europe’s been moving to the right in national and European elections. Yet during last week’s elections in the UK, the voters went the opposite direction—a clear move to the left. What do you think this means?

STEVENS: I think the bigger picture is that across Europe people are voting against incumbent governments. So it's not as simple as people moving to the right and people reacting against whoever has been in government. So in many ways, I think it is a rejection of the record of the previous government and people's discontent with the way that living standards have remained static or fallen behind and frustration that many of the issues have not been addressed by the previous government. So I think that's the bigger picture, although it does mark a shift to the left, but in British politics the two major parties are slightly to the left of center and the right of center, so it doesn't reflect probably a fundamental shift. The policy positions of the two main parties are actually incredibly similar.

REICHARD: You know, polling shows more than 6 in 10 British voters regret Brexit. With a Labour government now in place, John, how do you think a relationship with Europe could go forward?

STEVENS: Well, I think you're right. And one of the challenges is that Brexit hasn't delivered what lots of people hoped it would deliver, which is why many have lost confidence in it. I think the Labour government will seek to negotiate a closer relationship with the European Union, particularly on trade, which may mean accepting more European Union regulations and rules. But there is a desire, I think, on their part to have a closer relationship. I don't think that there is any prospect of rejoining the European Union or the single market or the customs union. It's clear the British people by a small majority rejected that. No party is putting that forward as its policy proposal.

REICHARD: Let’s talk about voter turnout in this last election. It was a record low, just under 60 percent, I read and that led some to say that the Labour party didn't win so much as the Tories just didn’t show up to vote. How do you explain the lack of turnout?

STEVENS: I think that's true, but in lots of elections there are a large number of people who are turned off by politics who don't vote. Roughly speaking, the voter share across all the parties in the UK, and unlike America, we've probably got five major parties, three of which are on the left, two of which are on the right. Roughly speaking, the percentage of votes were about 60 percent in favor of those on the left, 40 percent of those in favor on the right. And that's actually been a trend ever since 1992. So the split of votes is pretty much the same as it's been. And Sir Keir Starmer, the prime minister, admitted that in his first speech as prime minister, in which he recognized he has a need to win over the support of the people. That they've given him government, but they haven't yet given him their enthusiastic support.

REICHARD: Well, talking about Keir Starmer, the UK’s new prime minister, other than trying to win people over to his side, what big challenges will he face right away?

STEVENS: I think the challenges he faces are the challenges that were there beforehand: the problem of very high immigration into the UK, which has caused frustrations with large parts of the electorate, the fact that living standards have fallen and there isn't any amount of public money available, so it's difficult to see how they will have more to spend. Taxes are already at a kind of an all time high. So I think the real challenge will be growing the economy to be able to produce some more resources, increasing house building, there are lots of frustrations with younger people about the inability to be able to buy houses because they're so expensive, because they haven't been built, and the challenge of the cultural pressures of something like 600,000 immigrants into the UK every year with a population of about 64 million. And I think there is a lot of voter frustration at the consequences of that on public services and on the changing nature of the culture.

REICHARD: Well you’ve just come through an election…and here in the US we are slogging through a very long presidential campaign season. As a church leader, how have you counseled pastors to shepherd their flocks well during such polarizing political conflicts?

STEVENS: Well, it's probably slightly more complicated in the UK because we don't have a binary choice between two specific individuals. But we've wanted to encourage our churches and our pastors to recognise that in good conscience, Bible-believing Christians will reach different conclusions as to who they vote for. And to remind people that no matter what the outcome of the election, Jesus is Lord, he's the one who's reigning and ruling. We've encouraged people to think about what the purpose of government is. I think the Bible teaches that the purpose of government is relatively limited. It's to restrain evil, it's to prevent civil war, it's to enable us to live lives in quietness and freedom. Sometimes we can have far too much expectation of what government will accomplish. The kingdom of God doesn't come through politics, it comes through the growth and the witness of the church. So we've encouraged people to keep their focus on the Lord Jesus, keep their focus on evangelism and the work of local churches, and to seek to maintain the unity of the church because in most congregations people will have a diversity of political views.

REICHARD: John Stevens is national director of the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches. Thanks so much.

STEVENS: Thank you so much, Mary.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Coming up next on The World and Everything in It: prosecuting pro-life.

It was about three years ago when a man from Tennessee named Paul Vaughn took part in a peaceful pro-life demonstration. The FBI got involved because the demonstration was outside an abortion business. He was arrested on charges that could have cost him ten years prison. Last week … a federal judge sentenced him.

Here is WORLD’s Travis Kircher.

AUDIO: Holy, Holy, Holy

TRAVIS KIRCHER: On March 5th, 2021, nearly two dozen pro-life demonstrators lined the hallways outside the Carafem Health Center office in Mount Juliet, Tennessee, just east of Nashville. They sang hymns and prayed.

An officer with the Mount Juliet Police Department warned them to leave. Audio here courtesy of a Facebook livestream taken by one of the demonstrators.

OFFICER: Hey guys we need you guys to disperse outside, okay? This is your last warning. I need everybody to step outside and go to the sidewalk…

But some of them weren’t going anywhere. The recording reveals they planned to engage in civil disobedience…remaining in the hallway until they were peacefully taken into custody. Even going as far as to discuss the most comfortable way to sit handcuffed in the back of a police cruiser.

But one demonstrator claims he had no intention of being arrested. Paul Vaughn says unlike most of the other protesters…he was a Tennessee resident, and his wife was expecting their 11th child. So instead of staying in front of the door of the abortion facility…he agreed to fall back and coordinate with police.

Earlier this year, he spoke with WORLD about his motivations:

VAUGHN: I just wanted to get a pulse and see where the police were. Make sure nobody's gonna come, you know, Barney Fife down the hallway and get somebody hurt or something. In no way sat at a door or risked anything that would be illegal, and had police guidance on that subject.

Eight adults and four minors who refused to leave were charged with misdemeanors, ranging from trespassing to disorderly conduct. Vaughn was not arrested. He went home…and didn’t hear from law enforcement again until 19 months later in October of 2022. And this time…it was the FBI.

VAUGHN: And I go to the door to look out the curtain to see who’s there, and I see guns drawn and pointed at me. And so I ask who they’re looking for. They say, ‘We’re looking for you.’

Vaughn and several others were arrested on two federal charges in connection with that demonstration. The first: Violation of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act…or FACE Act, a misdemeanor. And second: conspiracy against rights. That’s a felony. According to attorney Steve Crampton who represents Vaughn…this was one of the first times pro-life advocates had been charged with a federal felony for a non-violent protest. Together…the two charges carried a maximum penalty of more than a decade in prison.

Vaughn was charged with conspiracy despite the fact that he agreed to leave when police asked. According to the indictment, that’s because of a statement made by one of the demonstrators on the live stream, indicating that Vaughn was engaging the police in order to buy time for the demonstrators.

Crampton says…that’s inaccurate.

CRAMPTON: As Paul candidly told the court, ‘Look, I’m against abortion. I would like to see a delay in arrests because it may save another baby’s life. But that was not my motivation in communicating with the police.’

In fact…during the trial, local police praised Vaughn’s actions that day.

CRAMPTON: Again, Paul did not block anybody. We had extraordinary testimony from the chief police negotiator who loved Paul, said Paul was extraordinarily helpful to the police in resolving this thing peacefully.

But a jury didn’t buy it…and in January, Vaughn, along with five others, was convicted of both charges. Last week, he faced a sentencing hearing. The Justice Department was asking for one year in prison.

Vaughn is a small business owner in Centerville, Tennessee…about 60 miles southwest of Nashville.

CRAMPTON: Paul starts a business that provides internet service to folks that the bigwigs won’t touch because it’s not profitable.

Centerville residents submitted nearly three-dozen letters supporting Vaughn and asking the judge for leniency…citing what they said were Vaughn’s selfless acts for his community. Crampton even used the classic film “It’s a Wonderful Life” as a defense.

CRAMPTON: So I made the analogy in the sentencing hearing – look, Paul Vaughn is like the George Bailey of Centerville, Tennessee, and this whole five-county area. And here’s the DOJ like Mr. Potter wanting to take him away from the folks that really need him. I told the judge, ‘Don’t jail George Bailey.’

In the end…U.S. District Judge Alita Trauger sentenced Vaughn to three years supervised release, effectively avoiding prison time. But Crampton says three years supervised release is not an easy sentence. Six months of that time is spent in home detention….

CRAMPTON: He can’t even leave his property. He can’t go to a grocery store without prior permission from the federal government.

And then there’s the matter of the constitutional rights he lost when he became a convicted felon.

CRAMPTON: One, he loses his passport. That’s pretty big. Two, he can’t vote, right? He’s a convicted felon. I mean, that’s extraordinary. 

Crampton says he hopes to have those rights restored by getting Vaughn’s conviction overturned in an upcoming appeal…not only challenging Vaughn’s verdict…but the constitutionality of the FACE Act itself.

CRAMPTON: We will continue to fight it and really, we think there are issues here that may end up in front of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Travis Kircher.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Sometimes you just need a sympathetic ear and a little time-tested wisdom. There’s a tradition in Zimbabwe for grandma to be both listener and counselor.

GRANDMOTHER: [Speaking in native language]

Now modern psychiatry is catching on to the value of that crown of glory known as gray hair. Professor Dixon Chibanda figured this out and gave grandmas some basic training, then asked them to occupy what he called “friendship benches” in public places in African communities.

Audio from CBS news:

CHIBANDA: I needed to find a way of taking mental health into the community. I came across these grandmas and I realized how awesome they were in having this ability to interact with people in their communities.

Now there are thousands of grandmothers staffing “friendship benches” even in the hustle and bustle of the Big Apple: In New York 60,000 people in six months used them.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: As a granny myself, I endorse!

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

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Today is Tuesday, July 9. Thank you for turning to WORLD Radio to help start your day.

Good morning. I’m Mary Reichard.

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

Coming next on The World and Everything in It: Growing, growing, gone. It’s baseball season, but it’s also gardening season in some major league stadiums. The harvest is looking pretty good for the Boston Red Sox. And we’re not talking about the standings!

REICHARD: No, something else is happening in Boston. WORLD Senior Writer Kim Henderson brings us this report.

AUDIO: [CROWD SINGING]

KIM HENDERSON: Fenway Park is the home of the Boston Red Sox. The stadium was built in 1912, which makes it the oldest active ballpark in Major League Baseball.

AUDIO: [CROWD CHEERING]

Fenway’s left field wall is painted a unique shade of green. It’s so iconic that paint company Benjamin Moore had a limited edition paint color in its honor called “Green Monster.”

But Fenway is also known for a different kind of green. The kind that grows on what was once an oddly-shaped unused rubber roof.

A Red Sox official describes Fenway’s unusual enterprise.

CLIP: Fenway Farms is a 5,000 square-foot rooftop garden on the third base side of Fenway. It’s actually on the top of the Red Sox’ front offices.

It’s been nearly 9 years since Fenway Farms took root. Since then, the rooftop garden has managed to produce up to 6,000 pounds of organic vegetables each season.

Carrots, kale, tomatoes, asparagus, zucchini. Arugula, green beans, eggplant. It’s a garden that will knock your sox off.

WORKER: We thought we’d try out a bunch of different varieties and see what the kitchens were using. Also to experiment to see what people liked.

It’s not exactly a garden in the style of say, Eden. The vegetables here grow in raised planters made of recycled milk crates. A remote-controlled drip irrigation system keeps everything watered.

AUDIO: [CROWD REACTS]

So it’s not just the sluggers who get reactions at Fenway. The sight of rows of plants in such an unexpected place never fails to surprise ticket holders.

MAN: Look, there’s a farm.

A business called Green City Growers maintains the farm. Their workers are sometimes called “the other Red Sox farm team.” Green City Growers President Chris Grallert says Fenway is proof that agriculture can happen anywhere. Audio here courtesy of CNN.

CHRIS GRALLERT: There’s a desire for people to have more locally grown fresh produce and interact with the people who are growing and distributing that fresh produce. When you have such high visibility as you do at a garden like this, people start to see that it’s possible. And it can really be the seed to start the new revolution toward food system transformation.

AUDIO: [ANNOUNCER]

One of the most famous features of Fenway Park is its vintage hand-operated scoreboard.

The farm is also hand-operated, especially the picking.

The harvest is used in restaurants and concession stands throughout the ballpark. Hot dogs and peanuts still reign supreme, but stadium food has a new twist. It’s a different kind of home plate.

Here’s Fenway Chef Ron Abell.

RON ABELL: For years we’ve been using all the local farmers, making sure that food doesn’t travel too far to get to us. Well, it’s ridiculous how close it is now to us. Literally, it’s about 150 feet away from us now.

Any extra produce is donated.

CLIP: This weekend Boston Children’s Museum is opening its Fenway Farms Rooftop Garden . . .

Fenway Farms is successful, successful enough to be replicated in the Boston Children's Museum. There, children can explore an outdoor vegetable garden exhibit and ask a friendly farmer their questions.

But the Red Sox aren’t the only major league team with a green thumb. The Colorado Rockies have been known to garden in their stadium. So have the Padres and the Giants. But none are in the league of Fenway Farms.

Visitors to Fenway Park can’t walk through the vegetable rows, but they can admire the leafy vines and sturdy stalks from a walkway overlooking the garden. That means some 500,000 children and adults encounter Fenway Farms every year. Many are able to see the food growing process for the first time in their lives. It’s part of the project’s mission, to introduce city dwellers to the positive power of plants.

SOUND: [CLAPPING]

So Red Sox fans can get their baseball fix this season, as well as a salad and a kale Caesar wrap. Who knows? Fans may even leave Fenway feeling a little farm-inspired.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Kim Henderson in Boston, Massachusetts.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Today is Tuesday, July 9th, 2024. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Nick Eicher.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: And I’m Mary Reichard. Up next, WORLD commentator Brad Littlejohn on the need for politicians to return to good governance.

BRAD LITTLEJOHN: The cover story for this summer’s issue of The Atlantic carries an apocalyptic title suited to the age of clickbait: “What will become of American civilization?” The article itself is more contemplative, an eloquent 25,000-word case study of Phoenix, Arizona, and how that city’s trials and triumphs reflect the crises of contemporary American politics. One line sums up the problem: “When Kari Lake ran for governor in 2022, everyone knew her position on transgenderism and no one knew her position on water, because she barely had one.”

Throughout the article, author George Packer laments over how the politics of culture-warring has crowded out the politics of everyday life, so polarizing and poisoning the debates that no one has the time or the will to tackle crucial issues of basic sustainability and infrastructure. Although Packer is wrong to dismiss worries about transing teens as a distraction from serious policy, he nonetheless offers a timely warning for would-be conservative leaders: Don’t forget to govern.

In recent years, conservatives have happily remembered that politics is about morality and virtue, not just economics and national security. Living well, which is to do so virtuously, is the proper goal of human life. However, to live well, it is necessary first to live. Thus, any successful politics must begin with the basics of food and water, health and shelter. Although “sustainability” is a word commonly used by the left, it is a prerequisite of any civilization. And increasingly, it is at risk of becoming a casualty of the culture wars.

Two of America’s top culture-war battlegrounds and fastest-growing states, Arizona and Florida, are a case in point. One is forever plagued by too little water and the other by too much, as extreme drought dries up the Colorado River Basin and rising sea levels create chronic flooding in Miami. And yet, fueled by the availability of cheap air conditioning after 1970, both states have witnessed relentless, thinly regulated growth, as mile after mile of desert in Arizona and mile after mile of wetlands in Florida have been devoured by housing developments. For years, conservationist groups were among the few that raised alarms, but increasingly today, ordinary citizens are struggling to deal with the ramifications.

In Florida, the home insurance industry is in crisis, with rates tripling in the past few years, while numerous insurance companies have gone bankrupt or abandoned the state. The causes are numerous, but the leading culprit is clear: too many houses built too close to the coastline in Hurricane Alley. In Arizona, wells are running dry in outer suburbs of Phoenix as corporate megafarms suck aquifers dry, and a growing homeless population faces unprecedented risks in 110-degree heat.

While the battles over abortions, race, and transgenderism may dominate headlines, most Americans are more likely to worry about more mundane problems. Gallup’s recent “Most Important Problem” poll showed that the No. 1 frustration for Americans was quite simply “poor leadership” by their governments, followed closely by immigration and “the economy in general.” For most people, that has less to do with GDP statistics and more to do with their everyday struggles of trying to pay for utilities and insurance.

Such brass-tacks issues offer a golden opportunity for conservatives. As progressives have abdicated some of the basic tasks of governing many Americans have voted with their feet, fueling the population rises in places like Arizona and Florida. If red state governors can demonstrate a commitment to solving everyday problems like water and housing, they can earn the trust of voters and a mandate to enact lasting cultural reforms.

I’m Brad Littlejohn.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Tomorrow: The Republican National Committee is considering changes to its platform that would soften language on abortion. We’ll talk about it on Washington Wednesday. And a summer camp for adults with disabilities helps both campers and caregivers. 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 Psalmist writes: When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? —Psalm 8:3, 4.

Go now in grace and peace.

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