The World and Everything in It: June 26, 2024

NICK EICHER, HOST: We’re in the home-stretch of our June Giving Drive. If you’ve given already—and so many have—thank you for your confidence in us. If you’ve not given yet, what we’re asking is a prayerful consideration of two things: (1) what this program means to you and (2) what it’s worth to advance Christian journalism in an age like this.

LINDSAY MAST, HOST: You can give online today at wng.org/donate and I hope you will. Meantime, your Wednesday program awaits.

LINDSAY MAST, HOST: Good morning! A conservative Republican may lose his seat in Congress after a primary with a conservative Republican.

ROUTON: Being within a couple hundred votes it’s almost distressing—like wow, there is a very 50/50 rift.

NICK EICHER, HOST: That’s ahead on Washington Wednesday. Also today, WORLD Tour. And later a man who is starting over after fleeing Ukraine.

KOROLCHUCK: After first couple months of the war they just realize it’s … you’re dying for nothing.

And WORLD Commentator Janie B. Cheaney on the value of life when the difficulty of caregiving exacts a high personal price.

MAST: It’s Wednesday, June 26th. This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Lindsay Mast.

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

MAST: Up next, Kent Covington with today’s news.

KENT COVINGTON, NEWS ANCHOR: Sec. Austin meets with Israel's Gallant » Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says U.S. officials are working urgently to tamp down tensions between Israel and another Iran-backed terror group along Israel’s northern border.

AUSTIN: Hezbollah's provocations threaten to drag the Israeli and Lebanese people into a war that they do not want. Such a war would be a catastrophe for Lebanon, and it would be devastating for innocent Israeli and Lebanese civilians.

Hezbollah rocket attacks from Lebanon have been on the rise, forcing more than 60,000 Israelis to evacuate their homes.

Austin addressed reporters at the Pentagon alongside Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

GALLANT:  In the north, we are determined to establish security … and bringing our communities safely back home.

Gallant, while in Washington, has also met with other top U.S. leaders, including Secretary of State Tony Blinken and CIA Director Bill Burns.

Israel Draft » Meantime, Israel’s Supreme Court says ultra-Orthodox Jewish men can no longer be exempted from mandatory military service.

For decades, young men who were studying the Torah in religious schools were excused from the required service after turning 18.

RABBI MORDECHAI BLOY: [Speaking Hebrew]

Ultra-Orthodox educator Rabbi Mordechai Bloy says the army does not separate men and women and may not serve kosher food, all important aspects of the ultra-Orthodox Jewish practices.

Floods, weather » Historic flooding continues to wreak havoc in the Midwest.

Floodwaters have breached levees in Iowa, forcing more evacuations and closing more roads. The sheriff’s office in Monona County says the Little Sioux River breached levees in several areas Tuesday.

Meantime, in southern Minnesota’s Rapidan Township …

CONNELLY:  There was a breach around the dam. So the water's flowing around the dam right now.

Brian Connelly with the National Weather Service.

He said the dam remained intact and was not expected to fail even though water is escaping around it.

South Dakota has also declared a state of emergency as has Iowa. Officials there are praising first responders.

REYNOLDS: It’s just incredible to see everybody kick in, to watch how they communicate, how they back each other up.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds.

In our program yesterday, I misspoke and referred to Joni Ernst as governor. She is, of course, a U.S. Senator in Iowa.

Despite the breached levees, state officials are hopeful that water levels there have reached their peak.

Judge alters Trump gag order » A judge has partially lifted a gag order on Donald Trump, freeing him to comment about his New York Business fraud trial. WORLD’s Kristen Flavin has more.

KRISTEN FLAVIN: The change allows Trump to talk openly about witnesses in the state case and about the jury that found him guilty on 34 counts last month.

But court and prosecution staff are still off limits.

Trump’s lawyers wanted the gag order fully lifted.

They argued there was nothing to justify continued restrictions on Trump’s First Amendment rights now that the trial is over.

But the judge says the order will remain partially in place until sentencing on July 11th.

Trump’s lawyers are appealing the conviction.

For WORLD, I’m Kristen Flavin.

Kenya unrest » Chaos in Kenya.

SOUND: [Demonstrators coughing]

Demonstrators react as police hurl tear gas in front of a Nairobi cathedral yesterday. At least five people were killed when protests rocked the city on Tuesday.

At one point, demonstrators stormed the nation’s parliament building setting it partially ablaze.

Kenyan President William Ruto addressed the nation last night promising to put an end to the violence.

RUTO: Today's events mark a critical turning point on how we respond to grave threats to our national security. I assure the nation that the government has mobilized all resources at the nation's disposal to ensure that a situation of this nature will not recur again.

The demonstrators are said to be angry about a bill passed by lawmakers that raises taxes.

One other short note of correction: In our recent coverage of the UK’s upcoming election, we played an excerpt of a speech predicting a lopsided outcome, which we mistakenly attributed to Labour Party leader Keir Starmer. The speaker was actually Nigel Farage.

I’m Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: Republican infighting on Washington Wednesday. Plus, World Tour.

This is The World and Everything in It.

LINDSAY MAST, HOST: It’s Wednesday the 26th of June, 2024.

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

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

Time now for Washington Wednesday.

With an election calendar packed with state and federal races this year, a congressional primary doesn’t often get national attention - given that there are 435 seats around the country. But a recent Republican contest in Virginia is one of those rarities—and it’s sparking conversations about where the GOP is headed in November.

WORLD’s Washington Bureau Reporter Leo Briceno has the story.

AUDIO: Ladies and gentlemen, the votes are in. and the people have spoken. [cheers]

LEO BRICENO, REPORTER: That’s Virginia State Senator John McGuire last Tuesday.

MCGUIRE: It is an honor to be your Republican nominee…

McGuire isn’t running to keep his seat in the State Senate. Instead, he’s running to replace Incumbent Congressman Bob Good as the Republican in Virginia’s fifth district.

One week later, and the race isn’t over. McGuire has a razor-thin, 300 vote lead over Congressman Good. On Friday, Good demanded a recount, and that could take weeks to sort out.

Here’s Eric Routon, a 5th district voter in Virginia who supports Good.

ROUTON: Being within a couple hundred votes it’s, it’s almost distressing—like wow, there is a very 50/50 rift in the Republican party and in people’s logic.

This story isn’t merely about a tight race. Bob Good’s struggle to stay in congress is also a months-long story about Republican infighting and the influence of former President Donald Trump.

Good is the chairman of the most conservative coalition in the House—the House Freedom Caucus—and that makes him a tonesetter for the GOP.

But last year, Good went against the vast majority of his party when he endorsed Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for president. Here’s Good talking about that endorsement on the Wyatt Sharpe Show.

BOB GOOD: I’ve endorsed Ron DeSantis, I’m a big fan of president Trump. I think DeSantis gives us the best chance to win and there’s a number of reasons why I’ve endorsed him. 

Congressman Good was just one of eight House Republicans to endorse someone other than Trump. In that same interview, Good was asked if Republicans would be able to unite back under one banner after the primaries.

BOB GOOD: I think what will unify the Republican party will be Joe Biden and Joe Biden’s policies. It will be intense and there will be undoubtedly some hurt feelings but we will have six to eight months for the party to come together, as the nation suffers and continues to suffer on Biden doubling down on his policies …

The former president hasn’t forgotten Good’s endorsement of DeSantis. And John McGuire made that part of his campaign.

MCGUIRE: The problem with politicians is they never shoot you straight.

In this video from April, McGuire touts his record as a Navy Seal and businessman.

NARRATOR: …Now he's running because Trump doesn't need another backstabber in Congress. He needs John Maguire, a straight shooter who always has his six.

MCGUIRE: I'm John McGuire and I approve this message.

Donors approved of McGuire as well. Within just 24 hours of receiving Trump’s endorsement on May 28, McGuire raised $189,000—more than double what he raised in April. His total fundraising came to 1.2 million according to FEC filings at the end of May. Good’s fundraising raised a little more than 1.1 million.

But even before McGuire received Trump’s endorsement, polling earlier in the Spring suggested the sharpshooter had an edge over Good. Between December and May, support for McGuire jumped about 20 points...while support for Good dropped 15 points.

Routon is concerned that voters who are ready to move on from Good over his presidential endorsements are overlooking his conservative track record.

ROUTON: I think in losing Good we’re going to lose a good stockgap against wasteful spending, and I want to say soft-hearted legislation. I think unfortunately, McGuire is going to be able to be influenced in whichever direction is gonna lead him to the next political position. Now, I’m not saying he’s a bad guy, but I’m just saying he’s a little more flexible. Bob Good was not flexible.

‘Not flexible’ might be an understatement. Good has demanded Republicans jam Democrats with take-it-or-leave it funding bills that could force a government shutdown. He’s opposed any further funding overseas without first addressing border security. And last October, he even voted to remove U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy for failing to follow through with promises to deliver conservative wins. And now, he may be on his way out.

So what about the other Republicans who endorsed Trump’s rivals? Well, most of them, like Georgia Rep. Rich McCormick, didn’t face primary challengers. McCormick also endorsed DeSantis for president, but he doesn’t think Trump holds that against him

MCCORMICK: I think president Trump is very much into loyalty. He appreciates loyalty. That’s why I’m glad he gave me grace also, but, at the same time, I never said a bad word about Trump.

Meanwhile, North Carolina Rep. Ralph Norman was the only House Republican to back former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley’s campaign. When asked if the heat of primaries would prevent Republicans from working together down the road, he said it depends.

NORMAN: It’s never personal with me. And I don’t think it is with president Trump. The manner that you do it I think is important and how you do it. You tell everyone up front what you’re going to do and some may take it personal but, you know, the country is in trouble. The number one priority is getting the country back on track.

Norman also did not face a primary challenger.

Congressman Good, for his part, says accusations that he backstabbed the former president are silly. And when asked before the primary if he was disappointed not to receive Trump’s endorsement, Good responded this way:

GOOD: I think that’s the stupidest question I’ve ever been asked. Everyone wants the support of everyone and everyone to endorse them.

He went on to talk about the bigger election issue at stake for Donald Trump.

GOOD: I do support President Trump, as I did in ‘16 and ‘20. I’m going to do everything I can to help him win Virginia. I know that I can be a much greater help to him in winning Virginia than my opponent can. My opponent brings nothing to the table to help him win Virginia…

If the recount confirms McGuire’s win, then Good will likely be the only Congressional Republican pushed out after endorsing one of Trump’s rivals. But voters like Routon are concerned that the threat of Trump’s displeasure will continue to hover over Republicans if the former President wins a second term. For now, Routon is doing his part to remind fellow Virginians where the power of the state ultimately rests. He recounted a recent conversation where a coworker told him Good was paying the price for going against “the boss”…Donald Trump.

ROUTON: And I said, “Now wait a minute, Bob Good runs for the 5th district—the 5th district is the boss, not Trump.” And he paused for a moment, I actually got a little light of revelation in his eyes. He’s like “Well, that’s not the way it works out though, is it?” And I’m like, “Well, it’s not. But the fact is, the people of the 5th District are boss. Not whoever’s president.”

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

Coming up next on The World and Everything in It: World Tour with our reporter in Africa, Onize Ohikere.

SOUND: [Street sound, cars honking, people talking]

Pakistan blasphemy update — We start today in northwestern Pakistan where authorities on Monday said they had detained 23 people over another mob killing last week.

Authorities said police had detained Mohammad Salman for his protection after the mob accused him of desecrating the Quran. The mob attacked the police station, killing Salman and burning his body. They also injured some police officers.

Ziaul Haq witnessed the violence.

HAQ: [Speaking Pashto]

He said the mob also burned the police station.

A separate mob last month attacked a 72-year-old Christian man who later died in the eastern Punjab province after similarly accusing him of desecrating the Quran.

Indian family sentenced — We head to a court in Geneva, Switzerland where an Indian billionaire and three members of his family received prison sentences for exploiting domestic workers.

The court dismissed human trafficking charges against Prakash Hinduja—along with his wife, son, and daughter-in-law. But they received sentences between four and 4 1/2 years in prison.

Robert Assaël is a lawyer for the Hinduja family.

ASSAËL: [Speaking French]

He says the verdict shocked him, adding that the family respected and treated their workers well.

The court said the family provided unauthorized employment to Indians working at very low pay at their lakeside valley in Switzerland. The Hindujas paid their workers in Indian rupees in bank accounts back in India.

Prosecutors said the workers also barely got vacation time, slept in the basement, and worked overtime when the family hosted events.

AUDIO: [Protesters chanting]

New Caledonia — Over in the French territory of New Caledonia, protests have broken out again after authorities transported seven detained independent activists to mainland France.

At least nine people died and hundreds more were injured in the demonstrations against controversial voting reforms.

The electoral changes would have allowed long-term residents to vote. But the territory’s indigenous Kanak people argued the move would take away their influence as a voting bloc and destroy any hope of ever gaining independence.

The detained activists include Christian Tein, who leads a pro-independence party.

Another New Caledonian, Christian Fizin, attended the march. He says there’s no evidence linking the pro-independence party leaders to the violence.

FIZIN: [Speaking French]

He adds here that the organization has always been pacifist and has organized peaceful marches since November.

AUDIO: [Prayer]

Saudi Arabia pilgrimage — Over in Saudi Arabia, more than 1,300 people have died during the annual Islamic Hajj pilgrimage.

Fahd bin Abdurrahman Al-Jalajel is Saudi Arabia’s health minister.

AL-JALAJEL: [Speaking Arabic]

He says the victims were under the sun without shelter and had traveled a long distance.

The minister said more than 80 percent of the dead pilgrims were undocumented, which meant they did not have as much access to air-conditioned shelter. Many of them arrived from Egypt.

Egypt has revoked the licenses of 16 travel agencies that aided the pilgrims to travel without the right authorization.

Each year, Muslims from around the world arrive in Saudi Arabia to perform religious rituals in and around their holy city of Mecca.

That’s it for today’s WORLD Tour. Reporting for WORLD, I’m Onize Ohikere in Abuja, Nigeria.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Here's an unusual beauty contest: 

ANNOUNCER: … the World’s Ugliest Dog …

I give you the Sonoma-Marin Fairgrounds Ugliest Dog competition.

This year the honors go to an eight-year-old Pekingese. And if I could show you a picture, you'd immediately understand both why he won and why he was named as he is: Wild Thang.

I'm talking never-been-to-the-dog-groomer kind of wild. He's got this explosion of hair, never been cut. His tongue is always hanging out.

And you wonder why it took the little fella five years finally to break through. Wild Thang’s owner Ann Lewis is five-thousand-dollars richer and she got a guest hit on the Today Show.

LEWIS: We had so much fun and it’s for such a good cause: It's all about rescues …

And the lesson that even ugly dogs are lovable.

It’s The World and Everything in It.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Today is Wednesday, June 26th. Thank you for turning to WORLD Radio to help start your day.

Good morning. I’m Nick Eicher.

LINDSAY MAST, HOST: And I’m Lindsay Mast.

Coming next on The World and Everything in It: beginning a new life in a new country.

For two years, Ukraine has been embroiled in a war with neighboring Russia, and heavy losses have left many in the country increasingly fearful.

EICHER: Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers have been killed and recruiters use aggressive tactics to enlist more troops to fill in behind them, going door-to-door and canvassing stores, often dragging away the unwilling.

WJI Mid-Career graduate Jessica Eturralde spoke to one young Ukrainian man who escaped and is now trying to make a life for himself in America.

TARASIUK: [Speaking Ukrainian]

KOROLCHUCK: Basically darkness…darkness. You just hear sounds outside, but you wasn’t sure what was going on. You were just huddled in the dark.

JESSICA ETURRALDE: Just over a year ago, on a sunny February morning, 25-year-old Davyd Tarasiuk paid to smuggle himself out of Ukraine.

Demoralized from watching Russia demolish his homeland and fearing he would be drafted to join the frontline, Tarasiuk made a choice he never thought he would make. He chose to leave Ukraine forever.

When the time came, he met in secret and hid himself among boxes and blankets in the back of a hard-covered truck as it carefully crossed the Hungarian border.

Tarasiuk is among over 20,000 combat-eligible men who have illegally escaped Ukraine since Russia’s invasion in 2022. To maximize forces, Ukrainian men ages 18 to 60 are forbidden from leaving the country.

After crossing the border, Tarasiuk navigated through four countries before settling in the United States under the Uniting for Ukraine program. A family connection brought him to Western North Carolina, where he took refuge with Ukrainian-American Igor Korolchuck.

Now, over 5,000 miles east and far from danger, Tarasiuk—who only speaks Ukrainian—explains his decision as Korolchuck translates. 

KOROLCHUCK: Davyd, say ‘Hi. I’m Davyd.’ [Laughter]

Here there are no bombs. No sirens. No smoke.

As Tarasiuk shares the details leading up to his decision to flee, Korolchuck rests his left arm around the back of Tarasiuk's chair.

KOROLCHUCK: Our choice is kind of between you knowing that you would have to go fight in a war or you're just taking a step of faith you know trying, to see if you could take a better path. I just don't want to die, you know.

When war first broke out in February 2022, many Ukrainians rushed to volunteer themselves to push back Putin’s army at the frontline. But well after two years of grinding combat, those troops are either still fighting, dead, or significantly maimed.

AUDIO: [Tarasiuk speaking in Ukrainian]

KOROLCHUCK: When you see that people start dying and there's no, there's no results, it's not getting better - it’s getting worse and a lot of these kids they just, you know, after first couple months of the war, they just, you just realize that it's, you know, you're dying for nothing.

Tarasiuk is moving on with his new life in America, but back in his hometown of Revine, he left his expectations of a future in Ukraine. He left behind his father and mother. He left 25 years worth of relationships. He left his church and his soccer team. When he chose to board the back of that truck, he knew he was killing his life to save it.

KOROLCHUCK: You're excited about going to America, but at the same time, by you taking that step, you know that you could never come back.

A poll of adults living across Ukraine, conducted last April, showed that just a little over half said “no one wants to die” and that they understood where draft evaders are coming from. But in the same poll, just under half of all respondents said they were ashamed of the men who evade mobilization.

KOROLCHUCK: Mentally, it's hard. Because a lot of people, probably half of the people there, look at them as as traitors, you know.

Earlier this year, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy signed new mobilization laws to direct Ukraine's men to return and fight. While experts predict the long-awaited $61 billion in U.S. military aid will bolster Ukraine's defenses, it will only help so much if there aren’t enough trained soldiers to operate them.

Although Ukraine's allies disagree on how much to get involved, they all agree that Ukraine must not lose.

But the ideas on how to support the underdog country vary among leaders, and in the United States, Americans have grown weary of the subject.

Korolchuck encourages people to seek God’s providence.

KOROLCHUCK: Nobody expected Ukraine to hold up against Russia, so at the end of the day, I think victory is always going to be behind God. If it's God’s will, there, there will be victory. And I know a lot of people stand on that and whether they prophesy that or proclaim that.

AUDIO: [Tarasiuk speaking in Ukrainian]

As for Tarasiuk, he says his life is only in America now. He hopes nothing changes his chances of staying. Tarasiuk has applied for re-parole which would grant him another two-years in the United States.

KOROLCHUCK: He says, also like the language barrier and cultural kind of differences. That's one of the things that kind of still, he's trying to get a hang of.

And he’s struggling to find his purpose. He sees how people live in the United States. They work, they spend money, they earn more—constantly trying to earn, earn, earn.

KOROLCHUCK: He's like, my, one of my concerns is to, you know, realize the purpose that I'm here for and to live out something bigger than just to take care of, you know, my own things.

He adds that it's hard to imagine his mission because he doesn’t feel like he’s even on the road. He thinks a lot about school and starting a family, but he doesn’t know whether or how either will happen.

Korolchuck gives him a hardy pat on the back.

KOROLCHUCK: We’ll get him a wife. [Laughter]

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Jessica Eturralde.

LINDSAY MAST, HOST: Today is Wednesday, June 26th, 2024. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Lindsay Mast.

NICK EICHER, HOST: And I’m Nick Eicher. WORLD Commentator Janie B. Cheaney with hard-won lessons from caring for a loved one.

JANIE B. CHEANEY: Two sisters in my Alzheimer’s support group are currently caring for their father, who lives with one of them. This demanding, dementia-ridden dad consumes a lot of his daughters’ time and emotional resources, and they can be forgiven for occasional venting. When they shared their frustrations with a friend, she made a modest proposal. “Why don’t you just stop feeding him?”

Was she serious? Yes, apparently. When they shared this exchange at a recent meeting, we all stared at each other, stunned.

In bookkeeping terms, it sort of makes sense. The old man barely knows what’s happening. If he had imagined his current condition while still in his right mind, he would have recoiled in horror. What self-respecting man wants to end this way, spoon-fed and bottom-wiped, blocked from decisions about his own welfare?

Besides, the stress and sacrifice of caregiving can take years off the responsible party’s life. Like a parasite, the terminal patient sucks the vitality out of the caregiver with no lasting benefit. He’s going to die anyway.

Stop feeding him. Just good sense. And also, in a way we instinctively know, profoundly evil. That way lies dystopia, where humans serve cost-benefit analysis and not the other way round. When things don’t make sense, when the calculus doesn’t add up, that’s when humanity is most human: weak yet strong. Vulnerable yet noble.

Some caregivers in our group confessed to mixed feelings: they loved their husband/father/mother/wife, but would it be better if the loved one passed away peacefully that night rather than prolong a life they would never have chosen? Our guest speaker that day, a grief counselor and pastor’s wife, gently probed the question. It would be easier, certainly, but better? Better how? Better for whom?

My own mixed feelings crystalized the night my husband almost died of sepsis shock in the ER. He was stable but still critical when the Life Flight crew loaded him on a gurney for transport to the nearest hospital with an ICU bed—two hours away. I went home to pack an overnight bag, trying to decide what I would need and for how long. At the last minute I pulled a document from the file cabinet: the deed to burial plots we purchased years ago.

What if he died before I reached the hospital? The details flashed through my mind while on the road: mourning, flowers, cards . . . freedom. The alternative was diminishment, wheelchairs, wipes, bedsores. After calling up relatives and friends, I called on the Lord. I don’t know what’s best, I told him, or even what I truly want. Thank God that You do.

Months earlier I had written in my journal, He’s not a parasite. He’s my sanctification, and I am his. The sanctification continues.

I’m not a patient sufferer; I scream with frustration more than I care to admit, and he sometimes responds to interference with toddler-like rage. Moments of tenderness lighten long stretches of boredom. Meanwhile we’re working out the gospel of losing life to save it, groping through the paradox where we find our true selves.

I’m Janie B. Cheaney.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Tomorrow: Israel prepares for another war with enemies to the north. We’ll have a report. And, the value of studying birds. That and more tomorrow.

I’m Nick Eicher.

LINDSAY MAST, HOST: And I’m Lindsay Mast.

The World and Everything in It comes to you from WORLD Radio. WORLD’s mission is biblically objective journalism that informs, educates, and inspires.

The Bible says: “The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.” —Psalm 145:18

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.