The World and Everything in It - June 2, 2021

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Good morning!

Democrats and Republicans are posturing over a massive infrastructure spending bill. Who wants what and what’s the difference?

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

Also World Tour.

Plus our Classic Book of the Month for June. This time, a great read aloud for families.

And a story that may make you marvel at God’s sovereignty over all creation.

REICHARD: It’s Wednesday, June 2nd. 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: Time now for the news. Here’s Kent Covington.

KENT COVINGTON, NEWS ANCHOR: More states and cities drop coronavirus restrictions » More states and cities are ditching coronavirus restrictions as new cases continue to fall. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio declared on Tuesday...

DE BLASIO: It’s going to be the summer of New York City. You're going to experience things this summer that are absolutely amazing. The energy coming back, the events, the life in the streets, the outdoor dining...

The mayor said the COVID-19 infection rate in the city is now less than one-tenth of one percent.

Pandemic-related curfews ended this week across the state of New York. Bars and restaurants no longer have to close at midnight.

The states of Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Massachusetts recently lifted nearly all restrictions.

And in Georgia, Gov. Brian Kemp has signed an executive order blocking local restrictions on restaurants and bars, childcare facilities, performance venues, and other locations.

Moderna applies for full FDA approval of coronavirus vaccine » Coronavirus cases continue to fall as more Americans get vaccinated. And Moderna is now seeking full approval of its vaccine from the FDA.

Moderna has been distributing doses under an emergency use authorization since late last year. Dr. Dyan Hes of Gramercy Pediatrics explained to CBS News that full approval could give consumers more confidence in the vaccine.

HES: People have been saying we’re not going to take a vaccine because it’s not FDA approved. Now this vaccine will be FDA approved. It will give it much more credibility.

Full approval could also enable some schools and organizations to mandate use of the vaccine for students or employees.

Emergency use authorizations grant conditional approval based on two months of safety data. Full approval requires a safety track record of at least six months.

Pfizer asked the FDA for full approval of its vaccine last month.

Biden blueprint aims to expand immigration » The White House has drawn up a blueprint to expand immigration in America over the next several years. WORLD’s Anna Johansen Brown reports.

ANNA JOHANSEN BROWN, REPORTER: President Biden hopes to make it easier for people to immigrate to the United States. He’ll push for shorter, simpler forms and fewer security hurdles for those applying for U.S. visas.

That according to a 46-page draft blueprint of the president’s immigration plans obtained by The New York Times.

The White House plans would reverse President Trump’s efforts to enact a more selective merit-based immigration system.

The Times reports that the document outlines policy proposals to slash application fees “or even secure a waiver in an attempt to ‘reduce barriers’ to immigration. And regulations would be overhauled to ‘encourage full participation by immigrants in our civic life.’

Many of the changes proposed in the immigration blueprint would not require new legislation.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Anna Johansen Brown.

DeSantis signs bill barring males from participating in girls’ sports » Florida’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill into law Tuesday that blocks male athletes who identify as female from participating in girls sports at public schools.

DESANTIS: Athletic teams or sports that are designated for females are open to females. And we’re going to go off biology, not based off ideology, when we’re doing sports.

The measure approved by the GOP-led Legislature is effective immediately.

State Sen. Kelli Stargel championed the bill. She said it’s “very simply about making sure that women can safely compete, have opportunities and physically be able to excel in a sport that they trained for, prepared for and work for.”

Opponents of the law have vowed legal challenges.

Plague of mice tormenting Australians » Many residents in Australia's largest state are dealing with a nightmarish, “unprecedented” plague of rodents. WORLD’s Kristen Flavin has that story.

KRISTEN FLAVIN, REPORTER: At night, the floors of sheds vanish beneath carpets of scampering mice and ceilings come alive with the sounds of scratching. Millions of mice are invading homes, cars, and businesses in New South Wales with no end in sight.

And Agriculture Minister Adam Marshall said the rodents could cause an “economic and social crisis” in the area. If the mice maintain their numbers through the winter, they could devour crops before they can be harvested.

Officials predict the plague will wipe more than 1 billion Australian dollars from the value of the winter crop.

The state government has ordered more than a thousand gallons of a banned poison from India. The federal government regulator has yet to approve emergency use of the poison on the perimeters of crops. Critics fear the poison will kill not only mice but other animals that feed on them.

The plague is a cruel blow to farmers in New South Wales, who have been battered by wildfires, floods, and pandemic disruptions in recent years.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Kristen Flavin.

I’m Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: lawmakers consider a compromise on infrastructure.

Plus, proof that God has a purpose for everything.

This is The World and Everything in It.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: It’s Wednesday, June 2nd, 2021.

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 effort to build a bipartisan infrastructure bill.

Republicans on Capitol Hill last week countered President Biden’s $1.7 trillion plan with an infrastructure proposal that would spend just over half as much.

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia helped design that counterproposal.

CAPITO: We’re hoping that this moved the ball forward. We believe that the alternative, which is a partisan reconciliation process, would be destructive to our future bipartisan attempts.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said the Biden administration has numerous concerns about the counter-offer, but he added: 

BUTTIGIEG: Well, there’s certainly been major movement and a lot of good conversations. Look, we started out with a $2.2-plus trillion plan on the part of the president.

He noted that the White House has cut its asking price by about a half-trillion dollars, while Republicans have increased their offer. He said the talks are moving in the right direction.

REICHARD: The latest GOP plan is $928 billion in total, and it’s largely confined to spending on things that are traditionally recognized as “infrastructure.”

Republicans have complained that only a portion of the president’s infrastructure proposal actually addresses infrastructure.

Joining us now with more insight on the GOP proposal and how that compares to the president’s plan is Chris Edwards. He is Director of Tax Policy Studies at the Cato Institute in Washington. 

Chris, good morning!

CHRIS EDWARDS, GUEST: Hey, thanks for having me today.

REICHARD: As we mentioned, the Republican counterproposal is $928 billion dollars. What are the high points in there? What’s in this bill?

EDWARDS: Well, the Republicans tried to focus the bill more on traditional projects that Congress has supported in terms of infrastructure. So they allocate most of the money to roads and bridges, airports, to water infrastructure, and to rail. So the federal government has traditionally funded those activities and they would exclude some of the new expanded priorities of President Biden such as subsidizing home care, for example. So the Republicans tried to pare back the spending under the Biden plan, but from my perspective, you know, the federal government can't really afford any of this. Even without an infrastructure bill, the government's already going to have a $3 trillion deficit this year, and you know, these deficits cannot go on forever.

REICHARD: The GOP’s original infrastructure offer had a price tag of less than $600 billion. What did Republicans add to the offer between the initial plan and this most recent one to bump the price up above $900 billion?

EDWARDS: I think they added in a bunch of new money for roads and broadband. But you know, I don't think any of this additional money is needed. If you look at roads, for example, state governments generally fund their own roads through their own gas taxes. And just in the last five years, half the states have raised their own gas taxes to fund their own highways. So, you know, I question whether any of this additional federal infrastructure spending is really needed. We can, you know, state governments have their own funding sources, and are quite willing to go ahead and fund their own infrastructure when it's needed.

REICHARD: Well let’s talk about that for a minute. How much of this is how much of this is deal making or negotiating technique? Where you ask for the moon and the stars knowing you’re going to get only the moon. How much of that is going on here?

EDWARDS: Right, I'm actually a little surprised that so many Republicans are willing to go along with the $900 billion in spending now. It's less than President Biden is asked for, but, you know, Republicans used to claim to be the fiscally responsible party, and were against deficits. So I'm really quite surprised that both parties are willing to spend this much money. Something else that really surprises me about the package is, you know, Biden has proposed hundreds of billions of dollars in subsidies to big corporations. He wants hundreds of billions in subsidies to manufacturers, to broadband companies, to electric vehicle makers. You know, the Democrats in particular used to be against corporate subsidies, and Republicans often claim they’re against corporate subsidies as well. So there are these sort of contradictions, I think, that are going on here with both parties that they're willing to hand big subsidies to corporations, and yet they say they're against corporate subsidies. So I think there's some real contradictions that need to be tackled here.

REICHARD: Setting aside the contradictions just for a moment: the Republicans’ plan would provide $65 billion for broadband. That’s one big piece of this that might be outside of what’s traditionally seen as infrastructure. What exactly would that money do?

EDWARDS: Well, I think the idea is to extend broadband to some rural areas that don't currently have broadband. But, you know, if you look at the data on broadband spending, the private sector companies like Comcast and AT&T already spend $50 billion a year on broadband and expanding 5G capabilities. And I think it's, again, I think it's dubious for the federal government to come in and start subsidizing that activity. Private broadband companies have an interest to serve more customers, to reach those rural areas, and I think innovation will lower costs and bring broadband to every corner of this nation. So, I don't really think that getting the federal government involved in the private subsidies like this is a good way to go.

REICHARD: Okay, now, as far as how to pay for these plan, President Biden has proposed tax increases to pay for his plan. How do Republicans propose to pay for their plan?

EDWARDS: So, President Biden has proposed raising the corporate taxes to fund his infrastructure plan. One of the ironies with that is that most infrastructure in America is actually provided by big corporations—whether it's broadband or pipelines and the like. So President Biden's raising of the corporate tax would reduce incentives for private companies to invest in their own infrastructures. That's a bit of an internal contradiction there. Republicans are completely against raising income taxes to fund their plan, and would rely more on user fees as well as reallocating some of the money that has already been passed in previous pandemic related budget packages.

REICHARD: And I’ve read that there’s resistance on the Democrat side to reallocate some of those Covid dollars? Can you elaborate on that aspect?

EDWARDS: Well, for example, in President Biden's plan that's already been signed into law for the pandemic a couple months ago, he increased or extended emergency unemployment benefits. And in a couple dozen states now, Republican-led states have said, Hey, we don't think that extra unemployment benefit money is really useful. And they've canceled it for their own states. So that'll save the federal government a lot of money as well. And so that's a pot of money that Republicans are saying that should be reallocated to infrastructure.

REICHARD: You know, we often hear that phrase tossed around about… “America’s crumbling infrastructure.” That seems like it’s probably hyperbole, but what is the condition of infrastructure overall in this country? How big is the need for new infrastructure spending?

EDWARDS: You know, it really depends on the infrastructure. So people often say that our highways and our bridges are crumbling. But, you know, the Federal Highway Administration actually has good data on this. And so for example, the Federal Highway Administration keeps track of how many of America's bridges are structurally deficient. And that share has actually fallen from 22 percent in the early 90s to just 9 percent today. And we also measure the surface quality of the interstate highway system, and that's been improving for the last couple decades. So some infrastructure is getting better. But it is true that some infrastructure has gotten a lot worse and big city subway systems are a good example of infrastructure where governments haven't been doing a very good job with maintenance. And so we've seen a lot of maintenance and breakdown problems in New York, Washington D.C., and Boston metro systems in recent years. So, you know, it's hard to generalize what infrastructure. It really depends on, you know, who owns it, who's managing it, and whether they're doing a very good job managing it.

REICHARD: Chris, anything else you think the public should know about these current negotiations going on?

EDWARDS: Well, one thing that I think is, you know, I mentioned contradictions, one thing that I think is a contradiction is that the way President Biden, you know, part of his a big theme in his infrastructure plan is to help mitigate climate change. But economists of any political disposition think that the best way to do that is to use user charges for infrastructure to limit demand. In other words, you want people to drive less, raise gas taxes. If you want people to use less water, raise water charges to reduce use. But President Biden doesn't do that. He would fund this infrastructure with income tax increases. So I've argued that, you know, what he's proposing is really not a green way to fund infrastructure.

REICHARD: Chris Edwards with the Cato Institute has been our guest. Chris, thanks so much!

EDWARDS: Yeah, thank you.

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: School abduction in Nigeria—We start today here in Africa.

AUDIO: [Sounds of screaming, crying]

Fourteen students kidnapped in April from a university in northwestern Nigeria reunited with their families on Saturday. Their captors freed them after 40 days.

The kidnappers took 19 students during the raid on the school. They executed five of them a few days later and made a ransom demand for the others. The government has not said whether it paid the ransom.

Kidnapping for ransom is becoming increasingly common in parts of Nigeria. On Sunday, gunmen kidnapped dozens of children from an Islamic seminary in the north-central part of the country. It was the fifth such attack since December.

Calls for peaceful transition in Mali—West African leaders gathered in Ghana on Saturday to call for peace in Mali.

AUDIO: I urge your excellencies to remain resolute in supporting the people of Mali to find a peaceful solution and restore democracy and stability in the country. 

Mali’s military leaders overthrew the country’s elected government last year. They agreed to appoint civilian leaders to a transitional government and hold elections in 2022.

But last week, soldiers detained the transitional president and prime minister. They released them after several days, saying they’d agreed to resign.

The Economic Community of West African States suspended Mali from its bloc after Saturday’s meeting. It called for the military to set up a new civilian government immediately.

Investigation reveals mass grave in Canada—Next we go to North America.

AUDIO: [Sound of vigil]

Canada flew its flags at half mast on Monday following the discovery of a mass grave at a government school for indigenous children.

The grave contained the bodies of 215 children.

Lua Mondor is a member of the First Nations tribe.

MONDOR: Certainly no surprise at all, everybody in the First Nations community knew that there are mass graves, we have been calling it for years, we have been telling the government for years that there are mass graves in every single residential school, but they didn’t listen to us.

The school in British Columbia was the largest of more than 100 boarding schools set up in the late 19th century. They were designed to assimilate indigenous children into Western culture.

Tribal advocates have long claimed that abuse and neglect were rampant at the schools, some of which operated into the 1970s.

Protests over COVID in Brazil—Next to South America.

AUDIO: [Chanting, cheering]

Tens of thousands of people in Brazil staged another day of protest Saturday against President Jair Bolsonaro. Ten thousand people marched through the streets of Rio de Janeiro. Organizers held similar rallies in other major cities.

They are angry over his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. The virus has killed nearly half a million people in the country.

Critics say Bolsonaro didn’t do enough to stop the spread of the virus. And they blame him for the slow vaccine rollout. Lawmakers are investigating Bolsonaro's handling of the pandemic.

Giant tortoise found in Ecuador—And finally, we end today in Ecuador.

AUDIO: [Sound of camera shutters]

Officials have confirmed a giant tortoise found in the Galápagos Islands is a species considered extinct a century ago.

AUDIO: [Man speaking Spanish]

Danny Rueda is the director of the Galapagos National Park. He said genetic tests confirmed the species of the tortoise found in 2019. Scientists from Yale University compared the tortoise DNA to a sample taken in 1906.

The island’s national park is home to about 60,000 tortoises from a variety of species.

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

NICK EICHER, HOST: Some people just embody the word “perseverance.”

Bill Gossett of Lincoln, Illinois dropped out of college to join the military during wartime. After completing his service, he went into the family business for a long while before heading back to school. Here’s what he told TV station KRSP:

GOSSETT: There was always a void there that I didn’t complete something.

Well, Gossett filled that void.

He finished up his Associates degree at Lincoln College...and it only took 80 years to do it! You see, he put his education on hold after the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.

School officials said everyone was “inspired by [Gossett’s] desire to obtain a degree” no matter how many years had passed.

Lincoln College President David Gerlach surprised the 97-year-old graduate last week by awarding him not only an associates degree, but also an honorary doctorate.

GERLACH: His life of service proving his associates degree is so much more than that.

Gossett actually graduated in 2020, so his ceremony was delayed for a year. But what’s one year when you’ve already waited this long?

It’s The World and Everything in It.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Today is Wednesday, June 2nd. Thank you for turning to WORLD Radio to help start your day.

Good morning. I’m Nick Eicher.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: And I’m Mary Reichard. Next up, our Classic Book of the Month. 

For June, book reviewer Emily Whitten suggests an epic family read-aloud with plenty of danger, adventure, and heroes.

EMILY WHITTEN, CORRESPONDENT: Ah, the sweet sounds of summer. Kids’ playing in the pool.

SOUND: KIDS IN POOL

Camping in the great outdoors.

SOUND: CRICKETS CHIRPING

And plenty of family time together...

CHILD: Mom, I’m so bored!

Ok, summer does have its challenges. Hopefully, our Classic Book of the Month today can help with that. Author Richard Adams first published the novel Watership Down in 1972. One reviewer called it, “A taut tale of suspense, hot pursuit, and derring-do.” Another, “Spell-binding.”

Filmmakers adapted the book twice for TV. First in 1978, featuring a song sung by Art Garfunkel. 

MUSIC: “Bright Eyes” - Art Garfunkel

Then in 2018, a second version came out on Netflix. Here’s a clip of that mini-series, with James McAvoy voicing Hazel, the leader of a group of runaways.

CLIP: We need to lose them before we head for home. Otherwise they’ll follow us back to the down. So what do we do? We’ll head over the river toward the human warren. They might not follow us there. The human warren? Hazel, that place is a death trap. Kehar won’t hold them off forever. Head for the bridge!

In case you aren’t familiar with the story, those are rabbit voices you just heard. They used to live in the oppressive Sandleford Warren. But after one of the rabbits named Fiver sees a vision of the warren being destroyed, Hazel leads Fiver and several other rabbits on a quest to find a new home.

Now, if you’re thinking, “Rabbits, really?” … hear me out. These aren’t Beatrix Potter rabbits with button-down jackets and fancy tea cups. Think more along the line of Hobbits. Yes, they’re small, and rather insignificant, but in Adams’ hands, they become truly heroic.

But don’t just take my word for it.

I sat down recently with Christian dad and Lifeway editor Chris Cowan. He recommended the book a few years ago on The Rabbit Room website. When I asked him why he loved the fantasy novel, he mentioned Narnia and Lord of the Rings. He also made one comparison I didn’t expect.

COWAN: It makes me think, I don't know if you're familiar with Steven Ambrose, his book Band of Brothers. Of course one of the main people in that true story is Richard Winters, Dick Winters. And one of the continued testimonies about Winters from the people that served under him, that they admired so much about him, was he led from the front. And that’s one of the things you see in Hazel.

Adams based some of the book’s characters on people he met while serving in the British Army in World War II. One of the main characters, Hazel, isn’t the fastest, the smartest, or the most skilled, but he earns the respect of tough rabbits like Bigwig and weaker rabbits like Pipkin and Fiver.

COWAN: You have instances where there are rabbits who they need to cross a river and there are weak rabbits who can't do it. Well, Hazel is not going to leave them behind. He stays with them until a plan can be worked out to get them across.

Cowan says two other things set the book apart. First, its realism. Adams incorporates natural rabbit behaviors—the food they eat and how they relate to one another. This, along with vivid descriptions of flora and fauna bring Watership Down to life.

COWAN: These are talking rabbits. But they're not living in some far off magical land. There are rabbits living here. They're not doing human things. Like wearing clothes and walking on their hind legs and living in castles. They, they're having rabbit adventures.

Second, Cowan points to the books’ supernatural element. Similar to Shakespeare’s use of pagan gods, Adams invents a pretend god for his imaginary world. Here’s another clip from the 2018 movie that outlines the book’s creation story:

CLIP: In the beginning, the great Frith made the world. And he made the stars by scattering his droppings over the sky. Now, el-ahrairah was the prince of the rabbits, and he had so many wives and so many kids that even Frith couldn’t count them.

When things go wrong, Frith offers both a curse and a blessing.

CLIP: All the world will be your enemy, Prince-of-a-thousand-enemies, and when they catch you, they will kill you. But first they must catch you, digger, listener, runner, Prince-with-the-swift-morning. Be cunning and full of tricks, and your people will never be destroyed.

Some Christian families may not appreciate the supernatural elements of the book. Cowan, for his part, sees them as instructive for Christian readers.

COWAN: This is their creation story. It guides the rabbits in their behavior, and helps form them as a people. And I love that because you see the analogy to us as Christians, right? We have this grand True Story, the story of creation, fall, redemption, and new creation. And that's intended to shape us and mold us as a people.

One contrast worth pointing out: while Frith reveals himself through dreams and visions, we have Jesus’s words written for us in Scripture. That said, we do see something true of God’s love for the church as Frith guides and preserves these rabbits.

One reminder: this isn’t a kids’ book, per se. The book contains violence, bad guys who do bad stuff, and the occasional curse word. For most tweens and teens, the positives will outweigh the negatives.

Cowan says he’s read it twice to his kids—the second time at their request. Near the end of our chat, he reads a quote from Catholic writer, Ross Douthat.

COWAN: One of the virtues of reading a narrative aloud to children, or indeed to anyone, vocalizing a story clarifies its power, especially in the quavering passion that you try to keep from your voice. And with 100 pages to go, I can already tell that when I get to the climax of Watership Down, I'm going to be a wreck.”

That's how I feel...certain aspects of it, I'm getting a lump in my throat, and I can feel my voice starting to shake as I'm reading to my, to my kids … it's pretty powerful.

Here’s hoping that this year, a read aloud or audiobook of our Classic Book of the Month for June might be one of your sweeter sounds of summer.

CLIP: Watership Down is a real place, like all the places in the book.

I’m Emily Whitten.

CLIP: It lies in Northhampshire

NICK EICHER, HOST: Today is Wednesday, June 2nd. 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. The wonders of God’s creation come in surprising little packages! Here’s commentator Whitney Williams.

AUDIO: What is that? It’s a leech. … Uh oh. Let him get on you! See if he’ll suck your blood. 

WHITNEY WILLIAMS, COMMENTATOR: If leeches make you go uuugguuh, imagine spotting one on your husband’s foot in the midst of nightly prayer time with your children.

At first I thought it was a piece of mud—we’d just spent a few hours tromping through a creek. But then my husband pulled on it and one end stayed attached.

AUDIO: [gasp!] It’s falling. Dada, get it down. Oooooo!!

My three little boys fought over a magnifying glass as their dad removed the parasite from his foot for further examination on the bathroom floor.

The leech reared up like a cobra and looked around for its next meal. I shuddered and started videoing.

Though I would consider our family extremely outdoorsy, we’d never seen a leech up close. I was sure most of my Facebook friends would enjoy sharing in the experience.

As expected, my friends loved the video and responded with shocked emojis and vomit GIFs. I delighted in their disgust and then started Googling.

“Are leeches still used for medicinal purposes?” I typed, thinking of the bloodletting practices of the past.

“Indeed, they are!” said Google, in so many words. “And not just by hokey doctors.” (That’s my Google voice.)

Turns out, these nasty little suckers are pretty handy, particularly after plastic or reconstructive surgery.

Once attached to soft tissue, the parasites release three very beneficial chemicals. A natural local anesthetic that helps to reduce a patient’s pain. A local vasodilator that improves blood supply in the damaged area. And natural anticoagulants to prevent clotting.

So how does that work in practice? Let’s say you’re chopping veggies for a nice fajita dinner one night and you mistake the tip of your finger for an onion. A short while after a surgeon reattaches your fingertip, it starts turning black. Oh no! Your arteries are having no problem pumping blood into your newly reconstructed fingertip. But your damaged veins are having a hard time pumping it back out. Your blood is pooling in the end of your finger! In this situation, your doctor might prescribe a leech to help improve your blood flow—but not just your everyday, stuck-on-a-foot, creek leech. No. YOUR leech will come from an FDA-approved leech farm, which breeds, feeds, and sterilizes the parasites specifically for situations like yours.

Once your medicinal leech is done feeding, he will fall off of your finger, fat and happy. The hospital staff will dispose of him as medical waste—better him than your dead fingertip, right? But his wonder doesn’t end there. Your wound will continue bleeding for hours, thanks to the leech’s injection of a chemical that neutralizes clotting. This prolonged bleeding will give the veins and capillaries in your fingertip more time to get their act together after the trauma of a fajita dinner gone wrong. And it may give you just enough time to pause and consider that if our creator God places such significance on the lowly leech, how much greater must his plans and purposes be for your life.

I’m Whitney Williams.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Tomorrow: violence in America’s cities. It’s getting worse, and we’ll tell you about some of the reasons why.

And, a unique therapy for patients with Parkinson’s.

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.

There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

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.