The World and Everything in It: June 22, 2023

PREROLL: The World and Everything in It is made possible by listeners like us. My name is Ian McAlister, and my family and I live in Western Massachusetts where I'm in the Air National Guard. My wife Brenda is courageously holding down the fort while I am deployed to Germany for the largest NATO air exercise in history. Hi, Brenda. I hope you enjoy today's program.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Good morning! Roe v. Wade is history, but in many states, abortion is not. What are pro-lifers doing to support pregnancy centers in pro-abortion states?

VICKI: And it got to the point where we just almost had to turn people away because it was so there was so many people that wanted to help.

PAUL BUTLER, HOST: Also, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is leading with a slim majority, but some Republicans don’t want to toe the party line.

Plus, one man’s journey from back burners to battleship decks.

AUDIO: Honestly I can’t get over the fact that I’m really able to do it. I just thank God because you know, I shouldn’t even be here.

And WORLD commentator Cal Thomas on countering China’s growing aggression towards the U.S.

BROWN: It’s Thursday, June 22nd. 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: Time now for the news with Kent Covington.

JORDAN: [gavel strikes] The committee will come to order, and we welcome everyone to today’s hearing.

KENT COVINGTON, NEWS ANCHOR: Durham » John Durham, the special counsel who investigated the origins and handling of the FBI’s Trump-Russia probe testified before Congress on Wednesday.

JOHN DURHAM: The FBI, CIA, and others received briefings about intelligence suggesting that there was a Clinton campaign plan underway to stir up a scandal tying Trump to Russia.

Durham’s yearslong probe found evidence of wrongdoing and anti-Trump bias by some within the Justice Department.

The top Democrat on the panel, Congressman Jerrold Nadler, accused Republicans of overblowing the Durham report after only one person was convicted of a crime in connection with the probe.

JERROLD NADLER: I understand that, like the former president, many MAGA Republicans had a lot riding on the Durham investigation. I understand that they might be disappointed with where it landed. But that is no excuse for making things up.

But GOP Congressman Mike Turner said just because certain people weren’t convicted of a crime does not mean they should escape all accountability.

MIKE TURNER: And that’s certainly why we’re holding hearings over the next two days to find out why aren’t people being held accountable.

Powell testimony » Elsewhere on Capitol Hill, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell testified that with inflation still stubbornly high, more rate hikes are likely this year.

He says inflation has slowed down somewhat since the middle of last year.

JEROME POWELL: Nonetheless, inflation pressures continue to run high and the process of getting inflation back down to 2% has a long way to go.

The Fed last week froze interest rates in place after 10 straight hikes, so it could take time to gauge how higher interest rates for loans are affecting the economy.

Biden China » The more conciliatory tone between the White House and China lasted only a matter of hours. WORLD’s Josh Schumacher has more.

JOSH SCHUMACHER: China is reacting angrily to comments President Biden made during a fundraising event in California on Tuesday when he called Chinese leader Xi Jinping a “dictator.”

That’s a view shared by most in Washington. But it caught senior administration officials off guard.

It came just one day after Secretary of State Tony Blinken returned from a diplomatic mission to Beijing to help “stabilize” crumbling relations between the two world powers,

Biden also said, quote, “The reason why Xi Jinping got very upset in terms of when I shot that balloon down with two box cars full of spy equipment is he didn’t know it was there.”

Beijing called Biden’s remarks “absurd” and “an open political provocation which violated China’s political dignity.”

For WORLD, I’m Josh Schumacher.

Garland on Hunter Biden deal » Attorney General Merrick Garland responded Wednesday to questions about the plea bargain that Hunter Biden struck with the Justice Department a day earlier that will likely see the president’s son avoid jail time.

Garland said he would leave the matter in the hands of U.S. Attorney David Weiss.

MERRICK GARLAND: Who was appointed by the previous president and assigned to this matter by the previous administration, that he would be given full authority to decide the matter as he decided was appropriate.

Republicans note that Weiss, still ultimately reports to Garland. And they insist Hunter Biden received a “sweetheart deal.”

He will plead guilty to misdemeanor tax offenses. In exchange, the Justice Dept. will not prosecute him on a felony weapons charge.

Pentagon abortion » Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville is blocking more than 200 U.S. military officer’s appointments until the Pentagon ends its policy of paying for the travel of service members seeking abortions.

The Biden administration says the senator is putting America’s military readiness at risk. But Tuberville counters:

TUBERVILLE: These jobs are being done as we speak, they're not empty. It is not affecting our readiness, anyone who says otherwise is wrong.

Tuberville says the Pentagon’s abortion policy is a violation of the Hyde Amendment, a law that bars taxpayer dollars from funding abortions.

Arkansas transgender law » A federal judge has struck down an Arkansas law that could have protected children from transgender interventions. WORLD’s Lauren Canterberry has more.

LAUREN CANTERBERRY: U.S. District Judge Jay Moody ruled Tuesday that Arkansas’s SAFE Act is unconstitutional, saying it violates the right to equal protection.

The first-of-its kind law would have prohibited doctors from prescribing transgender interventions to anyone under age 18.

Arkansas lawmakers approved the SAFE Act in 2021. Judge Moody temporarily blocked it the same year.

Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin said he will appeal the ruling to the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals. the same court that upheld Moody’s temporary block last year.

A separate Arkansas law goes into effect this summer that will make it easier to sue providers who prescribe transgender drugs or procedures for children.

For WORLD, I’m Lauren Canterberry.

I'm Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: Pro-life pregnancy centers are getting mixed support in post-Roe America. Plus, Turning scrap wood into gift shop mementos.

This is The World and Everything in It.

PAUL BUTLER, HOST: It’s Thursday, the 22nd of June, 2023. You’re listening to WORLD Radio and we’re glad you’re here. Good morning! I’m Paul Butler.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: And I’m Myrna Brown. First up on The World and Everything in It: taking America’s pro-life pulse.

This Saturday marks the first anniversary of the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health decision that overturned Roe v. Wade. The Supreme Court ruling gave states the freedom to protect unborn life in their laws—or not.

BUTLER: Last Saturday, WORLD’s life beat reporter Leah Savas attended a Walk for Life event hosted by a Grand Rapids, Michigan, pregnancy center. While there, she discovered a few things about what the cultural change means for pro-life pregnancy centers.

JIM SPRAGUE: So we pray that we would represent you and represent your love well, as we unite and walk and pray today. In the strong name of our Savior Jesus we pray. Amen. Amen. Yoland?

WOMAN: Y empezamos a caminar.

SPRAGUE: Let the walk begin!

LEAH SAVAS, REPORTER: It’s a blue sky kinda morning in Michigan—sunny and in the mid-sixties. Families and groups from local churches file out of the pregnancy center’s parking lot. The fundraising walk organized by PRC Grand Rapids will follow a two-mile loop with prayer stops at locations around the neighborhood, including the Planned Parenthood next door to PRC.

MAN PRAYING: Just help them to know what they're doing is wrong in your eyes, Lord. We just pray that you would close this place down. Just pray for that.

It’s PRC’s first Walk for Life since the overturn of Roe v. Wade last June. The group’s CEO Jim Sprague said the last one happened a week before the Dobbs ruling. After that, pregnancy centers were a target for a lot of pro-abortion frustration. Michigan voters in November approved an amendment adding a right to abortion to the state constitution.

SPRAGUE: So here we are a year later, things have settled down a bit, but it's it's still, you know, there's a different tone, a different climate.

That different climate has made it harder for Sprague to talk about his work.

SPRAGUE: When you start talking about PRC,  as soon as they figure out, what you're really talking about is pregnancy resource center. Oh, I'm well aware of who you are. And I've literally had people turn their back and walk away at that point. So I think there is a polarization that I'm experiencing after 22 years of doing this work that is, is, is—the polarization is even greater than it's ever been.

SOUND: [STROLLER AND CAR SOUNDS]

John and Sarah Marsman are a young couple pushing their twin girls in a stroller. They said some family and friends have come out more strongly pro-abortion since last summer. Sarah said she was surprised to hear who voted for the pro-abortion amendment in Michigan.

SARAH MARSMAN: And that was kind of crazy to see people that were really close to us doing that.

Was it, like—you said people close to you. Is it family?

MARSMAN: Yeah, family and friends. Yep. Siblings, people just not understanding and publicly speaking about for it.

At the end of the walk, everyone gets a chance to tour the pregnancy center. Inside, I meet Vicki DeGrazier in a back room with candy and containers of coffee for the visitors. She’s the church relations coordinator and has been at the center for almost 19 years.

VICKI DEGRAZIER: We have over 200 volunteers. And yes, there was a significant uptick when Roe v. was overturned. And it got to the point where we just almost had to turn people away because it was so there was so many people that wanted to help.

The center’s community engagement director Natasha Mueller said the overturn of Roe and the constitutional amendment in Michigan have also inspired more people to give to their center.

NATASHA MUELLER: There was a gentleman who came, and he had a check. And he said, I just felt like I need to do something like, what can I do? And so he said, I haven't done this before. But here's some, here's some money. I'm deciding that this is a place that I want to put my treasure. And he said, you'll see me again.

But not all pregnancy centers across the country are seeing this kind of growth.

JOR-EL GODSEY: It's been a mixed bag, right?

That’s Jor-El Godsey. He’s president of the pregnancy center support organization Heartbeat International. He said about two-thirds of Heartbeat’s affiliate pregnancy centers have seen an increase in clients. But while some centers have gotten more help from their communities, others in states with pro-life laws like Texas and Oklahoma have seen the opposite.

GODSEY: We have run into a, ‘Wasn't Roe the goal?’ Right? You mean this abortion stuff is still going on? I thought our state took care of that. And we've outlawed abort—’ Like, the the scariest thing for me is when I see headlines to say there are zero abortions happening in such and such state because of the laws say so. It's like, man, we know better.

Jim Sprague says he hopes the Walk for Life will encourage more people to get involved here in Grand Rapids.

JIM SPRAGUE: But I think there is an opportunity, an opportunity to speak, an opportunity to for people to give and to pray. And and that's what this walk has meant about. Let's pray over the places that propagate a death agenda in our city and let's pray life over them. But you know, it's it's an opportunity to be involved at a different level.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Leah Savas in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

WOMAN PRAYING: We realize we are not praying for them as we ought. Lord, I pray for forgiveness and I pray that your spirit will always be poking at our consciences.

One more thing before we move on. WORLD has always made it a top priority to offer reliable reporting on life issues. But in the year since the fall of Roe, we've all seen how much more important it is.

So first a personal word of thanks if you’re a regular giver. I count it a privilege to have the resources I’ve needed to cover the Life beat.

We’re nearing the end of WORLD’s June Giving Drive, and we’re hoping to go strong into the new fiscal year with the same kind of momentum we had last year.

So if you appreciate WORLD's coverage of abortion and other life issues, but haven’t given yet, would you make a gift today? Just head to wng.org/donate. Any amount can help make more stories like this one possible. Thanks.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Coming up next on The World and Everything in It: Keeping the Republican House majority together.

Back in January, Representative Kevin McCarthy was elected Speaker of the House by his peers after 15 ballots. In order to get the Speaker’s gavel, McCarthy made significant concessions to win over some of the most conservative Republicans.

PAUL BUTLER, HOST: But now almost six months on, the Speaker is finding it challenging to keep his House majority united.

WORLD’s Washington Bureau reporter Leo Briceno reports:

LEO BRICENO, REPORTER: Kevin McCarthy is one of the most powerful people in Washington, D.C. As the Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives, He decides the policy priorities of the chamber. He appoints members to committees. He controls what votes come to the floor.

KEVIN MCCARTHY: Those in favor say ‘Aye.’ Those opposed? The ‘Ayes’ have it. This portion of the resolution is agreed to, and without objection, the motion to consider it is laid on the table. Now if we could just have all votes like that.

BRICENO: But it only takes five stray Republican votes to derail that power. That’s because the GOP holds one of the slimmest majorities ever in the House of Representatives—tied for the fifth smallest in American history. Without a majority consensus, the chamber can’t consider or pass legislation.

Dr. Matthew Green is the chair of the department of politics at the Catholic University of America. Green says that keeping that small majority working together makes up a large part of McCarthy’s job as speaker.

MATTHEW GREEN: The speaker has to find how to keep his or her party unified on key issues. And so there’s what we in political science call a coalition management job. You’ve got to keep the moderates happy, you’ve got to keep folks from rural areas and urban areas happy, and you’ve got this diversity you have to deal with.

BRICENO: That job got harder earlier this month when a group of eleven conservatives temporarily brought the camber to a sudden stop. Together, they derailed bills that had been expected to pass by refusing to vote alongside the rest of the GOP … and so turned the majority into a minority.

These Republicans strongly object to McCarthy’s leadership when it comes to spending. To become Speaker, McCarthy promised to cut the national deficit. After almost half a year of his leadership, many of the GOP’s members don’t think he’s done enough to make good on that promise. And Republicans more broadly have mixed perspectives on the job he’s done thus far.

In late May, Chip Roy, a member of the powerful House Rules Committee, took issue with McCarthy’s recent deal with President Joe Biden to suspend the debt ceiling.

CHIP ROY: My beef is that you cut a deal that should have never been cut.

Green says that frustration is to be expected.

GREEN: The assumption is often when people talk about compromise that it’s compromise between parties. But because our political parties are relatively diverse, it also requires compromise internally. That’s where it gets really challenging to make deals is with members like that.

That poses a question about McCarthy’s ability to lead on future pieces of legislation. That agenda could include things like the Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act for funding and managing the nation’s airports; The Farm Bill that helps maintain the country’s agricultural industry; And the National Defense Authorization Act, which supplies the military’s needs. But perhaps the greatest challenge for McCarthy will be passing the nation’s appropriations bills.

GREEN: Appropriation bills are what are required to fund the government for the following fiscal year which starts from the end of September in one year to the end of September in the next year, and those have to pass every year.

BRICENO: Green explained that Congress has twelve separate bills it passes to fund the government. Each bill funds an area like defense, healthcare, transportation, and so on.

GREEN: If any of those bills are not enacted into law that agency that’s funded by that bill, and all the programs it runs, have no money and then they simply cannot operate.

That could lead to a partial or whole government shutdown. Green explained that because these bills hit close to home for Republicans who want to see a more fiscally conservative government, McCarthy may have trouble getting GOP Representatives on the same page. McCarthy has impressed many onlookers by threading the needle on negotiating with a Democratic president and Democratic senate. But appeasing them and maintaining Republican support behind him is a challenge that isn’t likely to go away any time soon.

GREEN: I do think it’s too early to say that McCarthy is the master of his party, because it’s June 2023, there’s a year and a half left to go in his first term as speaker. Having said that, I think it is safe to say that he has defied expectations. He’s certainly defied my expectations.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Leo Briceno in Washington D.C.

PAUL BUTLER, HOST: Minimarts may be a great place to buy mega-sized slushy drinks and snacks, but GS Retail stores in Seoul, South Korea, have branched out to chips of another kind.

Last fall, five Korean convenience stores installed specialized vending machines near their checkout counters. Sandwiched between the coffee center and beverage case is a tall gold kiosk where you can buy gold bars while you wait for your pastry order

KOREAN STORE OWNER: [SPEAKING KOREAN]

This GS25 store manager says people are becoming more interested in investing in something they can actually hold on to. But even he was surprised that during the first day he sold eight gold bars through the vending machine.

Perhaps even more surprising is the fact that since September, GS Retail reports sales of $19 million dollars in gold bars. With that kind of response, no wonder they’re expanding to 50 gold bar vending machines by the end of the year.

There are five different sizes available. The smallest is about a tenth of an ounce—or about the weight of a soda cracker. That’ll currently set you back about $225. The biggest gold bar available is about an ounce and a third. And that requires a lot more slushy funds equalling more than the cost of 1700 of the frozen beverages.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Ok, suddenly my impulse purchase of white cheddar popcorn in the checkout lane doesn’t seem quite so bad.

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

PAUL BUTLER, HOST: Today is Thursday, June 22nd. Thank you for turning to WORLD Radio to help start your day.

Coming next on The World And Everything in It: Repurposed wood and the skills to make it useful.

As Christians, stepping out in faith and trusting in God’s providence are core principles of the Christian walk. But what happens when we allow our circumstances to define that journey? WORLD’s Myrna Brown met an Alabama man who faced that very question. He says his story is proof that God’s plans and timing are best.

AUDIO: [STEEL DOOR SQUEAKS] So this is where you do your work. This is it yep.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: There isn’t much to see behind the squeaky, steel door. A long fluorescent light hangs from the 20-foot ceiling and the long walls are unfinished and window-less. But this space is exactly what Jonavin Murray needs.

JONAVIN MURRAY: We do all our cutting and milling and finishing.

Murray is a woodworker. He uses his hands to create desks and all sorts of things for his clients.

MURRAY: It’s an African Rosewood. Oh, there’s more.

Behind a smaller, white wooden door, the noisy section of his workshop. The hum in the background is a cacophony of sounds from his laser engraver, his CNC wood cutting machine, and his air compressor. And tacked on the wall, a tiny white board with a message written in green.

MURRAY: My kids wrote that for me. What does it say? John 3:16 and they’re just telling me that they love me. And I think my mom wrote that. It’s talking about Christ and it says, "Remember I am with you, for you and in you. Trust me."

It's a reminder for Murray whose path to this point has been full of twists and turns he never could have predicted.

The inspiration is just as important as the big yellow tape measure attached to his waist.

SOUND: [CAR DOOR SLAMMING AND ENGINE STARTING]

He’ll take both with him today, as he heads 40 miles east of his workshop to his latest and what he calls his greatest assignment, yet.

SOUND: [MOBILE BAY]

Docked permanently along Alabama’s Mobile Bay, the USS Alabama. The 45-thousand ton Navy battleship earned nine battle stars during its service in WWII. The decommissioned battleship became an Alabama landmark in 1965.

SOUND: [TAPE MEASURE]

28 years before Murray was even born.

MURRAY: (chuckle) Here I am working with USS Alabama, creating pieces of history for everybody to take home. It’s just amazing.

Every year, between three and four hundred thousand people visit the USS Alabama at Battleship Memorial Park. That’s a lot of foot traffic across the ship’s 80-plus-year-old deck. It’s made out of virgin Burmese Teak Wood. The wood is not only rare, but slip-resistant, essential on a warship. Last year, leaders decided it was time to replace the deck. But instead of destroying 21-thousand square feet of world history, they started looking for someone to repurpose it.

EBB COUNTS: Finding Jonavin was like finding a needle in a haystack.

That’s Ebb Counts, Deputy Executive Director at Battleship Memorial Park.

COUNTS: Weeks and weeks I made phone calls out to lumber mills, cabinet shops even, lumber supply houses and put the word out that I was looking for somebody to create products out of our salvaged teak.

MURRAY: So they said, you know what, we feel like God sent you to us, like this is supposed to be.

COUNTS: [OPENING UP SHED] It’s a tight squeeze here.

In the shadow of the battleship, Murray and Counts step inside a metal warehouse full of teak wood.

SOUND: 78 ½. Got it.

They’ll spend the next hour inspecting, measuring, and recording the latest batch of wood headed to Murray’s workshop.

BROWN TO MURRAY: How many pieces do you think you’re loading up? Maybe about 40 or 50, and then we’ll turn that into about 200 pieces of product.

What’s going through your mind? You’re handling parts of history? You know, II can’t get over the fact that I’m even able to do it. I just thank God because, you know, I shouldn’t even be here.

If Murray followed the cultural narrative, that environment dictates outcome, he wouldn’t have that opportunity. The 35-year-old was raised by a single mom in East Cleveland, Ohio, at one time, one of the poorest cities in America.

MURRAY: My father, I didn’t have my father. I didn’t know him growing up and we grew up in a rough, rough like East Cleveland is bad. And so, that wasn’t even a thought that you could be an entrepreneur. It was like, work, take care of your family. Those were the things.

After a college scholarship, Murray began his career working in the culinary industry. In 2016 the husband and homeschool father of three relocated to Alabama to live closer to his mother. That’s when he decided to take a leap of faith and start his own catering company. Murray says those four years of business were good until COVID shut him down in 2020.

MURRAY: So I actually had to do grocery delivery service. I was delivering groceries. (chuckles)

While making those deliveries, Murray began noticing pieces of discarded wood in his client’s yards.

MURRAY: And I said, you know what, I bet I can make a cutting board out of all of this wood.

Determined to figure it out, Murray began doing research, taking classes and watching demo videos. Then, he walked into his first lumber yard.

MURRAY: It reminded me of culinary work. It was like walking into a market with beautiful produce and vegetables.

Once COVID restrictions were lifted, Murray’s catering business resumed, but with a new item on the menu.

MURRAY: So I’d take the host a cutting board that I’d personally made and they just loved it.

SOUND: [INSIDE BATTLESHIP GIFT SHOP]

Murray still caters, still makes cutting boards, and now he’s added hand-made WWII mementos to the mix. Behind glass, inside the Battleship Memorial Park’s gift shop, Murray’s creations are on display: teak wood plaques, coins and coasters, all created in his workshop.

Ashleigh Milne, the park’s communications director, says Murray’s work is a hit.

AHSLEIGH MILNE: There was one lady who got here an hour early because she had to be first in line. She was buying a bunch. Having one of those pieces in the home is just one of those ways that people can remember the sacrifices that were made.

SOUND: [MURRAY HANDLING TAPE MEASURE]

For Jonavin Murray, it’s a reminder that God’s plans and his timing are always perfect.

MURRAY: You never know what God has. If you just keep walking, you never know how close that door is and once you get on the other side, what God has for you.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Myrna Brown in Mobile, Alabama.

PAUL BUTLER, HOST: Today is Thursday, June 22nd. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Paul Butler.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: And I’m Myrna Brown. On Tuesday, The Wall Street Journal broke news of China’s plans to create a “joint military training facility” in Cuba. That’s on top of revelations earlier in the month that Beijing has had a spy base in Cuba since 2019. Commentator Cal Thomas now on what Americans can do.

CAL THOMAS, COMMENTATOR: Many have tried not buying items made in China, but it is a near impossibility. Everything from prescription drugs to you name it seems to originate in a country whose regime is proving to be America’s greatest adversary and growing enemy.

Which is why now may be the ideal time to respond to threats to the U.S. by Chinese expansionism where it hurts the most: China’s economy.

As The New York Times reports, “Investment in China has stagnated this spring after a flurry of activity in late winter. Exports are shrinking. Fewer and fewer new housing projects are being started. Prices are falling. More than one in five young people is unemployed.”

America’s trade deficit with China is a whopping $355 billion. That’s $45 billion more than in 2020 when it was $310 billion.

Robby Smith Saunders is Vice President for National Security at the Coalition for a Prosperous America. She writes: “Economic statecraft ought to be our number one objective right now when it comes to China. … But instead of making a few tough financial, investment, export, and business decisions now, our policymakers want to keep as much of the money and knowledge flowing as possible between China and the U.S. for as long as they can, while simultaneously drawing up war plans for Taiwan. It does not make sense to me.”

It makes no sense to me, either. Properly addressed it would make no sense to many Americans.

The United States ought to declare its intention to wean itself from China by starting to make more things in this country, beginning with prescription drugs. This would require, among other things, politicians to unite in a bipartisan and patriotic effort to slow and even stop China’s plans for world domination. I suspect many people would be willing to pay at least slightly higher prices if they could be persuaded it was in the best interest of their country and its future.

What’s the alternative? More spy balloons and more spying on the ground?

This from the Center for Strategic and International Studies ought to be the starting point for this debate: “The long-term cost to the American economy and national security cannot be precisely measured, but estimates run into the billions of dollars for commercial and technological espionage. Chinese espionage also created immeasurable damage to national security with the theft of weapons technology, including nuclear weapons test data. In the last few years, China has added the theft of massive quantities of personal information, political coercion, and influence operations, to its espionage activities.”

Is there anyone running for president who will take this up as a major foreign and domestic policy issue? What about Congress, which seems to be too timid to do much?

If we don’t start now, we will regret it later. Especially if China gets its planned military training facility in Cuba, with troops and intelligence operations 100 miles from Florida.

I’m Cal Thomas.

PAUL BUTLER, HOST: Tomorrow: reflecting on the end of Roe v. Wade one year later. John Stonestreet joins us once again for Culture Friday. And George Grant is back with this month’s Word Play. 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.

But my eyes are toward you, O God, my Lord; in you I seek refuge; leave me not defenseless! Keep me from the trap that they have laid for me and from the snares of evildoers! Let the wicked fall into their own nets, while I pass by safely. Psalm 141, verses 8 through 10.

Go now in grace and peace.

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