The World and Everything in It — June 25, 2020

MEGAN BASHAM, HOST: Good morning!

National parks are welcoming visitors again. And there are a lot of stir-crazy people—myself included—anxious to get out of doors.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Also Catholic schools are closing at an alarming rate this year. We’ll tell you how Protestant and evangelical schools are faring.

Plus remembering a fallen officer.

And Cal Thomas offers the president some advice on campaigning with integrity.

BASHAM: It’s Thursday, June 25th. This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Megan Basham.

EICHER: And I’m Nick Eicher. Good morning!

BASHAM: Up next, Kent Covington has today’s news.

KENT COVINGTON, NEWS ANCHOR: Democrats block GOP police reform bill in Senate » Senate Democrats blocked a Republican police reform bill on Wednesday. 

Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said it never had a chance. 

SCHUMER: This bill lost because it was woefully inadequate. It never would have passed. 

The parties do have some common ground on the issue. But for now, the legislation is stalled—with Democrats refusing to agree to open debate. 

GOP South Carolina Senator Tim Scott, one of only three Black members of the Senate, wrote the bill. He said Democrats would have been able to help shape it through amendments. 

SCOTT: If you don’t think we’re right, make it better, don’t walk away.

The GOP’s Justice Act would have created a national database of police use-of-force incidents, restricted use of chokeholds and set up new training procedures and commissions to study race and law enforcement.

House Democrats are expected to vote on their police reform bill as early as today. 

The biggest sticking point between the two parties is qualified immunity for officers. Democrats want to make it easier to sue them in civil court over misconduct. Republicans say immunity must remain to protect officers from frivolous lawsuits. 

Appeals court orders dismissal of Flynn charges » A federal appeals court has ordered the dismissal of the criminal case against former national security adviser Michael Flynn.

A panel of judges with the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia made the ruling on Wednesday. 

The decision turned back efforts by a judge to scrutinize the Justice Department’s decision to drop the prosecution.

Flynn pleaded guilty in 2017 to lying to the FBI. But the Justice Department dropped the case following revelations of misconduct within the bureau. And in a 2-to-1 ruling, the appeals court said that settles it. 

President Trump congratulated Flynn on Wednesday. 

TRUMP: He was treated very, very horribly by a group of very bad people and I think you’ll see things are going to start to come out. But what happened to General Flynn should never happen again in our country. 

The decision is a significant win for both Flynn and the Justice Department—cutting short what could have been a long legal fight. 

Federal prosecutor: Lighter Stone sentence politically motivated » And the ruling comes as House Democrats scrutinize the leadership of Attorney General William Barr. They are critical of the Department of Justice’s handling of both the Flynn case and the case of Trump ally Roger Stone. 

In February, DOJ leadership overruled federal prosecutors in the Stone case, pushing for a lighter sentence.  

Aaron Zelinsky was one of four prosecutors who stepped down from the Stone case after the DOJ overruled them. He told the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday…

ZELINSKY: What I heard repeatedly is that this leniency was happening   because of Stone’s relationship to the president, that the acting U.S. attorney from the District of Columbia was receiving heavy pressure from the highest levels of the Department of Justice, and that his instructions to us were based on political considerations. 

Stone was found guilty of charges including lying to Congress and witness tampering. The prosecutors recommended 7 to 9 years in prison, but after top brass at the DOJ intervened, he got a sentence of just over 3 years. 

The House Judiciary Committee announced Wednesday that Attorney General Barr will testify before the panel next month. 

Another record COVID-19 spike in Okla. as U.S. infections rise » Oklahoma reported a record one-day spike in the number of positive COVID-19 cases Wednesday, with nearly 500 new positive tests reported. That’s the third time in the past week the state reported record one-day increases. 

Several other states set single-day case records this week, including Arizona, Mississippi, Nevada, Texas, and California, where Governor Gavin Newsom said nearly 1,300 people are in intensive care. 

NEWSOM: So ICU numbers are increasing in California, not at the rate of hospitalizations, but at a clip of about 18 percent. 

Several states also broke hospitalization records, including North Carolina. And Governor Roy Cooper announced Wednesday that his state will halt further reopening plans for now.

COOPER: Today, I’m announcing that North Carolina will pause and continue our Safer At Home Phase 2 for another three weeks. 

The United States just recorded a one-day total of nearly 35,000 new cases. That’s just short of the nation’s late-April peak of 36,400.

Suspects indicted in fatal shooting of Ahmaud Arbery » A Georgia grand jury has indicted the three suspects in the fatal shooting of an unarmed black man in February.  

Prosecutor Joyette Holmes announced the grand jury’s indictment on Wednesday outside the Glynn County, Ga., courthouse.

HOLMES: This is another positive step, another great step for finding justice for Ahmaud, for finding justice for this family and the community beyond. 

Travis McMichael, Greg McMichael, and William Bryan Jr. face charges including felony murder, aggravated assault, and false imprisonment in the death of 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery. 

Travis McMichael claims he fired in self-defense, and his attorney said his client will plead not guilty. The McMichaels said they confronted Arbery because he matched the description of a burglary suspect. 

Bryan’s attorney maintains that his client only witnessed the killing.

North: Kim suspended action against South for Korean impasse » Amid escalating tensions, North Korea said Wednesday that it is holding off on further action against South Korea. 

WORLD’s Kristen Flavin has that story. 

AUDIO: [Sound of North Korean news]

KRISTEN FLAVIN, REPORTER: North Korean state media announced that leader Kim Jong Un has suspended military retaliation against South Korea. 

Last week, the North declared that relations with the South had fully ruptured. It also destroyed a diplomatic liaison office along the border that was used for talks between the two countries … and threatened unspecified military action.  

Pyongyang has expressed anger over anti-North Korean leaflets that activists have floated by balloon across the border. It has also sought to apply pressure on South Korea amid stalled nuclear talks with the United States. 

Analysts say North Korea, after deliberately raising tensions for weeks, may be pulling away just enough to make room for South Korean concessions.

In a separate statement, a senior North Korean official said the future of inter-Korean relations would depend on the South’s—quote—“attitude and actions.”

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Kristen Flavin.

I’m Kent Covington. Straight ahead: staying safe while visiting the great outdoors.

Plus, Cal Thomas previews the fall presidential campaign.

This is The World and Everything in It.

MEGAN BASHAM: It’s the 25th of June, 2020. Glad to have you along for today’s edition of The World and Everything in It. Good morning, I’m Megan Basham.

NICK EICHER: And I’m Nick Eicher. If you count today, we have six days left. So we’re 80 percent of the way through our June Giving Drive and right about where we need to be in terms of progress to the goal, so we’re grateful for that.

BASHAM: So are you an 80 percent full kind of guy or a 20 percent empty kind of guy?!

EICHER: I’m definitely 80 percent full! But keeping a wary eye on that 20 percent. I know that’s a cop-out answer.

BASHAM: You said it so I don’t have to! Total cop-out.

Seriously, I’m really encouraged by all the support that I’m seeing. I’ll confess to hitting the refresh button a little obsessively. 

But as a cohost here, I’m totally humbled by the enthusiastic support of our program.

And as you said, it’s important to express gratitude in the moment, instead of only when the campaign’s over. Meaning, that those who’ve given deserve our thanks right now and not just when the final dollars come in. So I want to add my thanks, too!

EICHER: And encourage you if you’ve not given yet, please head over to WNG.org/donate.

First up on The World and Everything in It: National parks and the summer of COVID-19. 

So far, coronavirus hotspots have mostly been concentrated in urban areas with dense populations. That means popular travel destinations like New York City or Los Angeles may not be so popular this year. Instead, families may opt for more rural destinations, where they can enjoy the great outdoors.

BASHAM: And there’s no better place to do that than the country’s national parks. WORLD reporter Sarah Schweinsberg spoke with parks officials to find out what visitors can expect at national parks this summer.

SARAH SCHWEINSBERG, REPORTER: It’s a quiet, sunshine-filled morning in Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park. Some early rising hikers are starting to fill a trailhead parking lot. 

Zane Moore and his sister are two of them. Moore lives near Sacramento, California. He says after a couple months of lockdown there, he needed a break from the city. So he came to visit his sister in Wyoming.

MOORE: Why not work somewhere beautiful instead of crowded Davis, California. We like camping. And we decided to come to Grand Teton National Park and Yellowstone, because there’s probably proportionally fewer people.

Moore would be wearing a mask in Sacramento. But he won’t be doing that on his hike today. He isn’t really worried about catching the virus here. 

MOORE: I feel like it’s less, less necessary because it’s outside.

Epidemiologists say the odds of catching the virus outside are low. Elements like wind and rain, along with summer’s warm temperatures and humidity all affect the virus’s ability to infect people. 

One Chinese study looked at more than 300 COVID-19 outbreaks in the country. Only one was transmitted outdoors. Even then only two people were infected. 

With that in mind, some national parks began phased re-openings in May and June. 

In a statement, the National Park Service says it’s advising parks to follow their state’s individual reopening timelines. 

Christie Anastasia is a public affairs specialist with Acadia National Park in Maine. It’s one of the top 10 most visited national parks in the country.

ANASTASIA: I think a lot of people are attracted to Acadia National Park because it has some amazing coastline that’s very unique to Maine. 

Maine’s reopening plan allowed state parks to open June 1st. So that’s when Acadia decided to unlock its gates as well. 

ANASTASIA: The two most iconic things that people like to have access to at Acadia National Park, which is the park loop road drive, and the carriage roads, those are open now.

But what is still closed at Acadia—and in many other national parks—are indoor spaces like visitors centers, gift shops, and eateries. As well as places where people congregate, like campgrounds. 

Anastasia says she does recommend people at serious risk of COVID complications wear a mask―even on the trails. 

ANASTASIA: If they’re outdoors and they can’t keep a 6 foot distance to the next person… then we’d recommend a face covering.

Capitol Reef National Park in Utah has steep red rock walls and canyons. It’s seen visitation surge over the last decade. 

Lori Rome is a park ranger there. She says more visitors means more bathroom breaks, and that means staff will be doing more cleaning than ever this summer. 

ROME: The bathrooms are cleaned on the cycles that the CDC Centers for Disease Control are recommending. So ours are cleaned two times a day and they’re checked several times throughout the day. We’ll close one stall for 24 hours, use the other stall and flip flop back and forth.

Capitol Reef opened its visitors center earlier this month. But rangers put up plexiglass on the counters and wear masks. 

Nearby, Bryce National Park is famous for its spired rock formations called  hoodoos. 

Peter Densmore is the public information officer there. He says the visitors center is open but has capacity limits. And the park has adapted its shuttles. 

DENSMORE: Only 20 visitors are allowed on a bus at any one time, seats have been removed from the bus so as to create more distance between groups. You’ve got Plexiglas barriers there for the drivers. 

Bryce is also encouraging people to prepay entrance fees online to avoid exchanging cash or credit cards. It has reopened one of its campsites. Densmore says rangers are closely monitoring how people interact there. 

Dana Soehn is the spokesperson for Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Another top 10-er with more than 12 million annual visitors. 

SOEHN: Well the neat thing is the diversity. So we have over about. We have about 130 different species of trees. 

Great Smoky is divided between Tennessee and North Carolina. North Carolina has had a slower reopening phase, so the park is following those stricter guidelines. So far, four of the park’s nine campgrounds have reopened, along with its visitors centers. 

The park is concerned about overcrowding, so it’s posted a video to help educate people about how they can social distance in the park. 

SOEHN: It really focused on how to choose trails and overlooks that weren’t crowded so that you could proactively, you know, plan to have a less congested hike or a less congested experience.

If a national park’s campgrounds are closed or limited, park officials recommend booking at private campgrounds outside national parks. Or freedom camping in National Forests or on Bureau of Land Management lands. 

National Parks also often have towns nearby where you can visit restaurants and grocery stores. 

Acadia’s Christie Anastasia says whatever park you may want to visit this summer, it’s important to know before you go. 

ANASTASIA: People need to do their homework before they visit to figure out what they can and can’t do.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Sarah Schweinsberg in Grand Teton National Park.

NICK EICHER: Coming up next on The World and Everything in It: private school closures.

Even those who haven’t lost jobs during the coronavirus lockdown are looking at the future a little nervously and cutting back on spending. For some, those cutbacks include private-school tuition.

MEGAN BASHAM: Declining enrollment has forced some schools to close. A handful are independent private schools. But the vast majority are religious ones. Catholic schools in particular are bearing the brunt of the trend.

WORLD correspondent Laura Edghill reports.

LAURA EDGHILL, REPORTER: The National Catholic Educational Association estimates that about 100 schools have folded in the past month or so. They expect that number could double before fall. Many of the closures caught families off-guard.

Megan August’s four boys all attend Academy of Saint Therese. It offered classes in Pre-K through grade eight just north of Newark, New Jersey, along a scenic stretch of the Hudson River.

AUGUST: We always know the risk is there. But when you have a community that’s so tight and really flourishes with each other—and we take pride in our fundraising and things like that—not only do you not expect it to come to your school, but you clearly don’t expect it in a time like we’re in today.

Saint Therese is one of nine elementaries and one high school closing their doors this year in Newark alone. Cardinal Joseph Tobin explained the decision in a heartfelt letter to families in the archdiocese. He said the seeds of the closures were already planted prior to the pandemic. But he described the closures as an irreplaceable loss to the community.

Those irreplaceable losses are impacting other cities as well. Just outside Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Lebanon Catholic School lost more than one-third of its K-12 enrollment in the last five years. Bishop Ronald Gainer told local NBC affiliate WGAL the historic school has operated in the Diocese of Harrisburg since the mid 1800s.

GAINER: Please know this was not an easy decision for your pastors, nor for me, especially in light of all the challenges all of us are facing.

But with the national surge in pandemic-related job losses, many families simply can’t afford Catholic school tuition anymore. The average cost for elementary grades runs about $5,000 dollars a year, but Catholic high school can cost $11,000 dollars or more annually. And parishes that normally subsidize tuition for low-income students are now strapped for cash because the stay-at-home orders that cancelled weekly Mass also interrupted tithing.

The Catholic school closings will displace thousands of students nationwide. That’s raising concerns about where they will land in a school landscape already rife with uncertainty. But many communities still have private school options.

Lynn Swaner is the chief strategy and innovation officer for the Association of Christian Schools International. It surveyed its 2,300 Protestant and evangelical members in April.

SWANER: In our survey we asked a number of questions about enrollment and about new student inquiries, because those are very often good indicators of the health of the school looking towards the next year. And certainly schools do use those indicators to project into the future. And what we found is that for the majority of schools, their re-enrollment numbers were holding steady. And so that’s good news.

Swaner said that, unlike the nation’s Catholic schools, the association’s member schools reported only a handful of permanent closings. Instead, most are using the public health crisis to expand into virtual and hybrid instruction.

While many public schools fumbled for weeks with the transition to distance learning, 80 percent of A-C-S-I member schools missed fewer than five days of instruction. Some even picked up new students along the way as families grew tired of waiting for their local schools to provide lessons.

SWANER: Schools are looking at how to be nimble in light of the changing environment. Others are looking at offering completely online programs for the first time, whether it be to domestic or international students. And they’re also looking to say “Ok, we have this challenge. Not only do we continue to need to be sustainable, but potentially how do we reach more families that haven’t been able to access Christian education before?”

Meanwhile, friends and alumni are rallying around some of the closing Catholic schools, praying and asking school and church leaders for a change of heart. Administrators at the award-winning Academy of Our Lady Peace in New Providence, New Jersey, petitioned the Archdiocese of Newark to reconsider closing their school. The more than 1,200 signatures and nearly 500 comments they submitted proved persuasive. Church leaders eventually reversed their decision, giving the community back its beloved school.

Efforts on behalf of Newark’s Saint Therese, where Megan August’s boys attend, did not have the same success. Their community mounted a fundraising and petition effort as well, but the archdiocese said that in their case, the decision was final.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Laura Edghill.

NICK EICHER: So file this one under easier said than done. 

You’ve probably heard a thing or two about coronavirus restrictions?

Gotta do them, they’re important.

Even theme parks are doing their part, but in Japan they’re going for the gold.

An association of 30 amusement parks there is trying to ban this:

AUDIO: [Screaming]

No screaming. Stop.

Just like that.

They are asking guests to keep their mouths closed while on roller coasters.

Again, easier said than done, here we can just push the mute button. 

But the parks have to enforce silence on one of the world’s tallest roller coasters at 318 feet and another that delivers speeds up to 112 miles per hour. 

So, enjoy yourself, but keep it to yourself.

It’s The World and Everything in It.

NICK EICHER: Today is Thursday, June 25th, 2020. Thanks for turning to WORLD Radio to help start your day. Good morning. I’m Nick Eicher.

MEGAN BASHAM: And I’m Megan Basham. Coming next on The World and Everything in It: The death of a deputy.

Last week, mourners laid to rest a longtime law enforcement officer in a small cemetery in South Mississippi. WORLD correspondent Kim Henderson attended the graveside service and has our story. 

KIM HENDERSON, CORRESPONDENT: On June 12th—the same day a Wendy’s parking lot in Atlanta made the news—a parking lot two states away got some attention as well, though on a smaller scale. It was the site of a routine prisoner transport gone bad. Radio Dispatcher Crystal Scaraborough took the call at the Simpson County Sheriff’s Department.   

SCARABOROUGH: …just advised me of some shots being fired and she told me that she thought I had an officer down, and I rolled him everything I had. That’s what we’re trained to do.

Simpson County Sheriff Paul Mullins heard the call come over the radio and made it to the scene in about three minutes. Paramedics flew Deputy James Blair to a hospital, where he later died. And the sheriff turned his attention to coordinating what would turn into an all-night manhunt. Some 300 officers from across the state came to assist. 

MULLINS: What’s really crucial in this is setting up a perimeter. And with that many people, you can get a tight perimeter. And then we had to use some dogs, helicopters, the FBI sent a plane… 

Within 24 hours, authorities captured the shooting suspect in a heavily wooded area. Many of the same officers who helped during the manhunt soon returned to pay their final respects to Deputy Blair. He had a 50-year career in law enforcement. Blair and his wife were raising three of their great-grandchildren.  

AUDIO: [NEWSCASTER REPORTS FUNERAL]

The funeral took place at 10:30 that Wednesday. It drew a record crowd at Tutor Funeral Home. Later, mourners started the long drive to Deputy Blair’s freshly dug grave. For nearly 8 miles along the route, people stood beside the road, waving flags and wiping tears. Kids put their hands over their hearts.   

J.J. Smith rode his Harley-Davidson Electra Glide Classic as part of the procession. He’s a member of the Patriot Guard Riders, an organization that seeks to promote respect for fallen American heroes.

SMITH: There’s a lot of anger that this could happen to someone like that. It’s bad, really bad. Then you see what else is going on in the world  and it draws all this attention. I listened to a local radio station coming up here, no mention of it. The whole ride up here, 71 miles, and no mention… 

AUDIO: [BAGPIPES PLAYING “ROCK OF AGES”]

John Griffith is a duty piper for the Meridian Police Department. He arrived early for the burial, bearing bagpipes and decked out in a Scottish kilt. Griffith plays at about 50 funerals a year.

GRIFFITH: Fallen ones are special, just like the military killed in action are special. Thankfully there are not too many of those. 

He says 90 percent of the time the family wants him to close out the service with “Amazing Grace.” 

GRIFFITH: I’ll play one verse standing up probably 50 feet from the grave side and then play one or two more verses walking off into the distance and letting the sound just fade away. 

Members of the Highway Patrol’s honor guard were on site, too. Kervin Stewart  waited in the shade as long as he could before suiting up in his thick dress attire, complete with a special hat and white gloves.   

STEWART: Normally we’re here probably about two hours prior. That way we can, uh, assess the area and, uh, run through what we’re going to do and make sure we do our part right, because it’s not about us. It’s about them, the person that’s being memorialized… 

While the honor guard practiced, they got updates on the funeral procession. At 12:46, officials blocked Highway 583 to southbound traffic. 

AUDIO: [HONK OF FIRETRUCK]

A wall of fire trucks with lights flashing formed a border at the east edge of the cemetery.  To the south, one of those thin-blue-line flags was draped across the chain link fence. 

When the white hearse arrived at 12:58, family members wearing black took their seats. The preacher told them that James Blair did not live his life in vain. He spent it serving others.

AUDIO: [21-GUN SALUTE]

Spent shells clinked against a nearby tombstone. The governor moved in close to say something for only the widow to hear. 

AUDIO: [TAPS]

Two honor guard members stood at either end of the casket and folded the flag, side to side, side to side. Corner by corner by corner. 

Joe Andrews is a canine officer with the Simpson County Sheriff’s Department. He knew Deputy Blair well.

ANDREWS: He was a good man. He loved people in general. He was a school deputy, and kids learned that they could speak to the police. That they didn’t have to be afraid. 

Andrews has been in law enforcement for 16 years. With all the national criticism coming right as he was in the midst of a manhunt—while he was coping with the death of a fellow officer—did he think about quitting?

ANDREWS: It’s not a job. It’s a passion. We don’t do it for the money. We don’t do it for the glory. We do it because it’s a calling.

AUDIO: [BAGPIPES]

The conclusion of the funeral was something known as an “end of watch call.” It’s when a dispatcher issues a final radio call to an officer.

DISPATCHER: Dispatch to Simpson 25. Dispatch to Simpson 25, Deputy James Blair. Deputy Blair is 10-7. End of watch June 12, 2020. Although he was one man, he laid down his life for us. The wicked flee when pursued, but the righteous are as bold as a lion. Proverbs 28:1.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Kim Henderson in Ruth, Mississippi.

MEGAN BASHAM: Today is Thursday, June 25th. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Megan Basham.

NICK EICHER: And I’m Nick Eicher. Commentator Cal Thomas says our preview of the fall presidential campaign that he saw, did not encourage him.

CAL THOMAS, COMMENTATOR: President Trump’s return to the campaign trail last weekend provided a great opportunity to speak words of healing to a divided nation. It’s too bad we got a toxic stream of consciousness instead. 

His lengthy remarks were full of self-justifications and salted with crude language. He called one person “a son of a [blank]” and frequently used other four-letter words. Let’s hear his evangelical supporters defend that language.

I have heard all the explanations. It’s who he is. His policies are more important. He’s God’s chosen instrument.

During one hour and 45 tortuous minutes, President Trump spent 30 minutes talking about his commencement address at West Point. He rightly called out some in the media for claiming he appeared to be sick because of the way he held his water glass. He said he was trying to be careful with his “expensive” silk tie. 

Then he demonstrated how he slowly walked down a ramp after the address because he said the bottoms of his shoes—and the ramp—were slippery.

How does any of this matter? I was embarrassed for him and for his smaller-than-predicted audience, which worshipfully applauded. But I sensed a little less enthusiasm.

Yes, many of those supposedly “one million” ticket requesters were probably reluctant to show up because of nonstop media scare tactics about the coronavirus. But another factor may have been the president’s predictability. We’ve heard versions of this speech before.

How many more times must we hear about his jaw-boning Boeing into lowering the price for two new presidential jets? Don’t we already know about closing the borders to travelers from China? And why the racial slur about the coronavirus? Did he think that was cute?

A president running for a second term must stake out his vision for the next four years. Other than a list of 25 judges from which he promises to choose for federal benches, including the Supreme Court, there was nothing about what he would accomplish in a second term.

Political attacks are always part of any campaign, but this president makes it more about personality and less about policy differences with Democrats. He only made passing references to what a Biden administration would do, even though there’s plenty to criticize. 

President Trump should take a lesson from Ronald Reagan, who frequently referred to Democrats as “our friends on the other side.” He never diminished their value but instead argued why conservative ideas are better.

The presidency is an honor and privilege that has been granted to only 45 men in our history. With great privilege comes great responsibility. We are better than this. We deserve better than this.

The president’s speech doesn’t make Joe Biden more appealing. His remarks, though, were unappealing, unattractive, and in the future unwatchable.

I’m Cal Thomas.

NICK EICHER: We expect Supreme Court decisions later this morning, and tomorrow our Legal Affairs Correspondent Mary Reichard will have analysis.

Also tomorrow, Trevin Wax on Culture Friday—talking “cancel culture.”

And a review of a mainstream documentary on the journeys of the Apostle Paul. Strengths and weaknesses.

And your listener feedback.

I’m Nick Eicher.

MEGAN BASHAM: And I’m Megan Basham.

The World and Everything in It comes to you from WORLD Radio.

WORLD’s mission is biblically objective journalism that informs, educates, and inspires.

It’s the homestretch of our June Giving Drive—less than a week to go. Please visit WNG.org/donate today. We are grateful for your support.

Well, Exodus tells us, do not fear for God has come to test you, that the fear of Him may be before you that you may not sin. 

I hope you’ll have a great rest of the day. We’ll talk to you tomorrow!

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.