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The World and Everything in It - May 13, 2021

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WORLD Radio - The World and Everything in It - May 13, 2021

Why so many small town banks are closing; the latest developments in the U.K.’s divorce from the European Union; and the many who diagnosed the first case of COVID-19 in the United States. Plus: commentary from Cal Thomas, and the Thursday morning news.


MARY REICHARD, HOST: Good morning!

Banks are closing branches across the country. That makes it hard to do business, especially for small business owners.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: We’ll talk about why it’s happening.

Also the latest Brexit developments.

Plus we’ll meet the doctor who diagnosed “U.S. patient zero” with Covid-19 last year.

And commentator Cal Thomas has about had it trying to decipher confusing tax forms.

REICHARD: It’s Thursday, May 13th. This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Mary Reichard.

BROWN: And I’m Myrna Brown. Good morning!

REICHARD: Now for the news. Here’s Kent Covington.


KENT COVINGTON, NEWS ANCHOR: Israel steps up Gaza offensive, kills senior Hamas figure »

SOUND: ISRAEL NATS

Fighting continued to escalate in Israel and the Gaza Strip on Wednesday.

SOUND: ISRAEL NATS

Israel pressed ahead with a fierce military offensive in the Gaza Strip, killing as many as 10 senior Hamas military figures and toppling a pair of high-rise towers housing Hamas facilities in a series of airstrikes.

Meantime, Hamas continued firing hundreds of rockets at Israeli cities.

Speaking at the White House, President Biden said Wednesday...

BIDEN: My expectation and hope is that this will be closing down sooner than later. But Israel has a right to defend itself when you have thousands of rockets flying into your territory.

In just a few days, this latest round of fighting has already begun to resemble—and even exceed—a devastating 50-day war in 2014.

United States marks progress against COVID-19 » American deaths from COVID-19 are now at their lowest level in almost a year. WORLD’s Paul Butler has more.

PAUL BUTLER, REPORTER: The United States is now averaging 600 deaths per day. While still high, that does represent a 10-month low for COVID-19 fatalities.

By contrast, at the January peak, more than 3,400 Americans were dying every 24-hours.

Confirmed infections are also down, averaging 38,000 per day. That’s the lowest level since September.

Almost 45 percent of American adults are fully vaccinated. That number is closer to 60 percent for those who have received at least one dose.

Several groups of researchers commissioned by the CDC recently projected that the impact of the virus will drop dramatically by the end of July.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Paul Butler.

U.S. advisers endorse Pfizer COVID shot for kids 12 and up » U.S. health advisers have endorsed the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for kids as young as 12. And the CDC is expected to rapidly accept that recommendation.

Members of the advisory panel said the shots will let kids safely attend camps this summer and help assure a more normal return to classrooms next school year.

CDC Director Rochelle Walensky told reporters,

WALENSKY: I recognize that some parents want to sort of see how it goes first, but I am encouraging all parents to get their children vaccinated.

She said her teenage son is getting vaccinated.

Pfizer's vaccine has been used for months in people 16 and older, and earlier this week the FDA cleared its use for those as young as age 12. But before rolling it out to the younger kids, much of the nation was awaiting recommendations from CDC's advisers.

The agency also now says it is safe for both adults and children to get the COVID-19 shots at the same time as other vaccines.

House Republicans remove Cheney from leadership » Republicans removed Congresswoman Liz Cheney from her House leadership post Wednesday.

The Wyoming lawmaker has refused to back down from her ongoing rift with former President Donald Trump. Many Republicans complained that it had become a distraction. But after Wednesday’s vote removing her as conference chair, she declared once more that she will not stop speaking out.

CHENEY: The party is in a place that we’ve got to bring it back from. And we’ve got to get back to a position where we are a party that can fight for conservative principles, that can fight for substance. We cannot be dragged backward by the very dangerous lies of a former president.

Cheney, the daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, has repeatedly rebuked Trump over the Jan. 6th Capitol riot and for his claims that the 2020 election was stolen.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said Wednesday,

MCCARTHY: I don’t think anybody is questioning the legitimacy of the presidential election. I think that is all over with. We’re sitting here with the president today.

But GOP leaders had urged Cheney to back away from her feud with Trump for fear of alienating his supporters ahead of next year's election.

New York Congresswoman Elise Stefanik will likely replace Cheney as the No. 3 Republican House leader. But that is yet to be determined.

Consumer prices shot up in April » A worrisome bout of inflation struck the U.S. economy in April. WORLD’s Leigh Jones has that story.

LEIGH JONES, REPORTER: Consumer prices for goods and services jumped 8/10 of a percent. That’s the biggest monthly jump in more than a decade—with the year-over-year increase reaching its fastest rate since 2008.

The acceleration in prices has been building for months, and it’s driving fears that it could weaken the economic recovery.

Wednesday's report from the Labor Department showed sharply higher prices for everything from food and clothes to housing. The cost of used cars and trucks surged 10 percent! That’s a record. That jump accounted for roughly one-third of last month's overall increases.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Leigh Jones.

I’m Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: bank branch closures are pushing people to online transactions.

Plus, Cal Thomas on the frustrating process of filing taxes.

This is The World and Everything in It.


MARY REICHARD, HOST: It’s Thursday, May 13th, 2021.

You’re listening to The World and Everything in It. Good morning, I’m Mary Reichard.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: And I’m Myrna Brown.

First up: banks closing down.

A recent report says more than 4,400 bank branches have closed in the United States in just the last four years. That’s a 5 percent decline.

REICHARD: Brick and mortar branches down 14 percent since 2008. Some analysts worry the decline limits access to financial services. But is that the case? WORLD’s Sarah Schweinsberg reports.

SARAH SCHWEINSBERG, REPORTER: Carol Germaine lives in the tiny town of Duncan, Arizona, right on the border with New Mexico.

GERMAINE: At the last census, it was around 700.

She and her husband run a gun and gift shop that’s been in business for three decades.

GERMAINE: Guns and the jewelry and the collectible things.

Six years ago, the only bank in town closed. Local businesses, farmers, and ranchers depended on the bank for loans and checking and savings accounts. Carol Germaine went to the branch a couple times a week to deposit cash and get more change for the til.

Now, the nearest bank branch is 40 miles up the road.

GERMAINE: I go to that town, oh, every couple of weeks if I need to.

Germaine says online banking helps her take care of most of her banking needs. But not having a physical location in town does have downsides.

It’s not easy to get change. It’s more difficult to work with bankers who aren’t directly a part of the community. The town looks less attractive to potential business investors. And Germaine says getting access to information can be more challenging.

GERMAINE: Even in this COVID time, just to get the PPP loans and all that kind of stuff, you know. Without having a small town bank here to help you work through it, the paperwork became horrendous.

Duncan, Arizona, is what analysts call a “bank desert.” In rural America, that’s any town that doesn’t have a bank within 10 miles. In a city, a bank desert is a neighborhood without a bank within two miles.

Francisco Covas is a researcher at the Bank Policy Institute.

COVAS: Back in 2017, we found that 6 percent of the popular U.S. population was living in a banking desert. That number is now 7 percent.

Rural areas have been the hardest hit with 12 percent of people living in a bank desert.

Michael Pagano is a finance professor at Villanova University. He says brick and mortar banks are falling to the same online forces as retailers.

PAGANO: A branch, it's almost like a retail store. So we've seen retail, particularly department stores really have a tough time of the last decade or so. So a consumer has better options now in the sense of phone based apps, and obviously, online banking through P.C.s.

And Pagano says from the bank's perspective going online saves money.

PAGANO: It's about somewhere, depending on the institution, 10 times cheaper to do a transaction through an app or through a PC based transaction, as opposed to going into the branch.

But some researchers are concerned that banks are disproportionately closing branches in poor, urban neighborhoods.

Of the nearly 45-hundred bank branches closed in the last four years, the National Community Reinvestment Coalition says about a quarter were in low- to middle-income neighborhoods.

But Francisco Covas at the Bank Policy Institute says just because those neighborhoods are losing more banks doesn’t mean they are becoming bank deserts. They often start with a higher concentration of banks, so closures just mean fewer options.

COVAS: And as the business model has been changing, they tend to be the areas where we have more branches. So it's natural, there's where there's more destruction of bank branches.

And actually, Covas points out people in middle to upper income neighborhoods are more likely to live without a bank nearby.

COVAS: What happens is the areas where, you know, upper income population is living tends to be very expensive areas. And that's generally not very highly commercial areas.

Christos Makridis is a researcher at Stanford University’s Digital Economy Lab. He says a third of U.S. households now use mobile banking. And as banks close, families in banking deserts become five times more likely to adopt online banking.

MAKRIDIS: What we can say, though, is that there are financial services that are being provided to people within these areas that don't have as many physical locations.

But not everyone likes online banking—especially older populations. Kathy Rivera is the city clerk for the small farming town of Alemena, Kansas. She took the job after she retired. Her duties include collecting utility bills and depositing them in the local bank.

But last fall, the town’s only bank failed. For two days, nobody knew what would happen.

RIVERA: It was an uncomfortable feeling to think we would have had to do business in a different town because it’s just too convenient to have them right there.

Rivera says thankfully another larger, corporate bank took over the branch and reopened. She says she could have learned how to do her job with an online banking account, but it would have been a challenge.

RIVERA: I'm certain with some education and some setting up of certain things, putting them in place, we could probably deposit checks, somehow, through a mobile device or something. But it would be kind of inconvenient.

Plus, she likes seeing her local tellers.

Villanova’s Michael Pagano says most consumers don’t have to worry about their local bank closing. Having a physical location acts like a big billboard. And many people still want a personal touch when it comes to big money decisions.

PAGANO: And as long as there's the opportunity to open a branch and steal market share from your competitor, I think they'll always be there.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Sarah Schweinsberg.


MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Up next, could Brexit be followed by a “Scexit”?

Whether Scotland will push to exit the U.K. is one of the big questions facing a post-Brexit Britain.

A second Scottish independence referendum is “a matter of when, not if.” That’s what Nicola Sturgeon told British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Sunday.

Sturgeon is Scotland’s first minister and leader of the Scottish National Party.

She told reporters that she can’t say when a vote will happen because right now, her focus is elsewhere.

STURGEON: I indicated in our manifesto that if the COVID conditions allow, I would like that to be in the first half of this parliamentary term, but COVID comes first. The country getting through and out of this crisis comes first. When I said that in the campaign, I meant it.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Final results of last Thursday’s local elections showed that the Scottish National Party won just under 50 percent of the seats in the Scottish Parliament, one seat short of a majority. But the parliament still has a pro-independence majority. That’s because eight members of another political party, the Scottish Greens, joined them.

Sturgeon said the election results proved that a second independence vote for Scotland was “the will of the country.” She added that any London politician who stands in the way is “picking a fight with the democratic wishes of the Scottish people.”

Well, here now with more insight on the possible “Scexit” facing Britain is Dr. Glen Duerr. He teaches International Studies at Cedarville University. Professor, thanks for joining us!

Well, here now with more insight on the possible “Scexit” and other challenges facing Britain is Dr. Glen Duerr. He teaches International Studies at Cedarville University. Professor, thanks for joining us!

DUERR: Thank you for having me.

REICHARD: Well, it’s pleasant to the ears, I can tell you that. First of all, please explain the relationship between Scotland and London. Scotland is part of the United Kingdom, but it is what’s known as a devolved nation. Wales and Northern Ireland are also devolved nations within the UK. What does that mean?

DUERR: It means that there are four constituent countries within the United Kingdom that operate under a unitary system. So imagine in the United States that Washington DC existed, but then no states really with power centralized that state capitals. And so devolved Parliament means that it's moving towards a further federal model like in the United States, but only Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have either Parliaments or assemblies. In the case of Scotland, it’s a Parliament. So it's not quite as strong as our state legislatures and state capitals in the United States, but it is moving in that direction. And it is stronger than the Welsh Assembly and the Northern Irish assembly.

REICHARD: So Scotland has a fair amount of autonomy, I gather, but many Scottish citizens want to break away from the UK all together. When did the first Scottish referendum take place and how close of a vote was that?

DUERR: To go back to your original question, the United Kingdom has four constituent parts: England, Wales, that was the joined in the 13th century by force. It was codified with two acts of union 1534 and 1543. The Scottish then joined the union in 1707. They actually went broke for a range of reasons. And then Ireland was admitted in 1800, although there have long been an English presence in Ireland. And so those four parts are together in the Union.

The first independence referendum was in September of 2014. The vote was 44.7 percent in favor of independence. And it was a really long and arduous campaign, very well fought, but ultimately the remain or the union side ended up winning, even though the Scottish National Party then held a majority in the parliament following the 2011 Regional election. And so there's a history of having referendums to decide independence, but there's nothing that's codified that says they have to do it again.

MR: If Scotland does vote to break away from the UK, what will that mean? Would that be a process similar to what we just saw with Brexit?

DUERR: Probably something along those lines, and frankly, there are very few cases in world affairs that give us examples. We have Czechoslovakia, the velvet divorce in 1993. That is an example. But then elsewhere, really it's under authoritarian regimes. Montenegro is an instructive case that gained its independence from Serbia in 2006, and it had a referendum for independence. But in all likelihood, it would be something Brexit-like. It would probably be a fairly long and arduous situation. The question is whether the revolt's close. If it's a 50.1% in favor of independence, I imagine that it could go to some form of international arbitration. But in all likelihood, if it's set as a 50% plus one vote, then independence would be expected and forthcoming. But it's also hard to say. It's plausible that the union could be reconfigured, that Scotland could be under some form of federal model or given even more power than London to govern its affairs, but still within the UK. There are a range of different us possibilities, although in all likelihood, it would become the 194th member state of the United Nations.

REICHARD: Final Brexit question for you. What’s the latest on a new trade deal between the United States and the UK?

DUERR: It's taken very much a back seat recently with the new Biden administration under Trump, and with the relationship between President Trump and Prime Minister Boris Johnson, it was expected that there would be a fast track negotiation. But under President Biden it's really taken a backseat. Biden is looking at a range of other issues on the foreign policy front. And a free trade agreement with the UK really is not front and center of his administration. And so in all likelihood, the date 2023 has been given as an earlier stage to revive talks and potentially get a trade deal between the United Kingdom and the United States moving forward. So, for Prime Minister Boris Johnson, it's unfortunate from his viewpoint, because he it would have been a major victory and a quick one post-Brexit. But it looks like it's going to take a fair bit more time now.

REICHARD: Professor Glen Duerr has been our guest. Professor thanks for your time and your insight! Really appreciate it.

DUERR: My pleasure. Thank you so much for having me.


MARY REICHARD, HOST: Well, Dracula never had to worry about getting Covid.

But the castle in Romania thought to have inspired the novel Dracula is set to deliver a different sort of bite.

Every weekend this month, you can get a skin puncture via vaccine without an appointment just outside the castle. You’ll get a vaccination diploma, illustrated with a fanged medical worker brandishing a syringe! You’ll also get free entry into the 14th-century fortress.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: How cool to be able to say, “I went to Transylvania and got the shot at Dracula’s castle!”

REICHARD: Right? And take comfort that it's not a stake through the heart. Just the shot.

BROWN: True that!

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


MARY REICHARD, HOST: Today is Thursday, May 13th.

Thank you for tuning in to WORLD Radio today.

Good morning. I’m Mary Reichard.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: And I’m Myrna Brown.

The Seattle Mariners are saluting a Home Town Hero during each home game this season. Someone who helped other people survive and thrive during the pandemic.

Tomorrow, physician assistant Keith Erickson will be recognized for the pivotal role he played before the pandemic. He’s been anonymous until now. He tells his story for the first time with World correspondent Bonnie Pritchett.

ERICKSON: So, it was January 19th, 2020. I was working in the urgent care clinic…

CORRESPONDENT, BONNIE PRITCHETT: Keith Erickson practices medicine in a variety of roles here is Snohomish County, Washington. He volunteers at a faith-based clinic he helped start. He works for a family practice and moonlights at an urgent care clinic.

ERICKSON: I was filling in. In urgent care we just see patients as they come. It was just a regular, busy, flu season day. Right? Cough. Colds. All day long. So, I went to see a patient…

The patient was suffering with a cough and fever. He was a Chinese national. He had returned to the United States four days earlier from Wuhan, China. The patient gave Erickson additional information.

ERICKSON: I came from Wuhan, China. I have cough and fever. I was told there’s a new virus in China. I hadn’t heard that…

So, Erickson left the patient in the exam room and checked the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website for information about the new virus.

ERICKSON: And, lo and behold there was a bulletin that says the three criteria. Look out for this patient. They have a new virus in China. We’re not sure what it is but look for this patient.Travel to China. Fever. And respiratory illness. So, I thought, that meets the criteria. So, I picked up the phone…

He called the Washington state Department of Health.

ERICKSON: So, I tell them the story. And she’s like, "Ok. Wait, I’m going to call you back." So, I wait. She called me back and she’s like, 'I called the CDC. They’re going to call you."

They did. The caller identified herself as the head of epidemiology and questioned Erickson about the man with the cough and fever still waiting in the exam room.

ERICKSON: And she said, “I need more story. Has the patient been to market. So, I just go, asked more questions. Came back. We shared more histories and then the officer said, “I’ll call you back.” And then the CDC, they talked among themselves, and decided this might be the patient zero in the United States…

Waiting in Erickson’s exam room was, possibly, Patient Zero: The first person in the United States to be officially diagnosed with what would eventually be called COVID-19.

In order to confirm their suspicions, CDC officials told Erickson to collect nasal, oral, and blood samples from the patient.

ERICKSON: By then they’re like you need to wear N 95 mask. You need to wear the shield. You need to have all the PPE’s. So, I took all the samples. By then a Washington state Department health officer came with a biohazard box, took all my samples and went out that night to Atlanta.

After waiting five hours in the exam room and being peppered with questions, the patient finally went home. The clinic gave him a mask, gloves, and instructions to go straight home and quarantine. State health officials began contact tracing his movements before he arrived at the clinic.

ERICKSON: I went back to work on Monday. And then Tuesday I got a phone call saying that, "Mr. Erickson, you need to stop what you’re doing. Turn your computer off and go home." [CHUCKLES] I’m in the middle of seeing patients. Nope. You need to turn it off. Put your mask on. Put your glove on. You need to go home. Then I found out the patient tested positive…

Tested positive for what? In mid-January, the medical community had no name for this new strain of coronavirus.

ERICKSON: Novel virus. We don’t know what it is. We don’t know what it does. But we’re just going to put everyone in quarantine…

Patient Zero was hospitalized in Everett and placed in a negative pressure bubble to keep him isolated.

Erickson tested negative for the virus. But a week later, he developed a headache and a slight fever. By then he had begun paying attention to news out of China.

ERICKSON: In the beginning because you hear all the news about the people getting sick with the new virus dying in China. Right? So, I was worried…

The unfolding events made Erickson take stock of what he believed.

ERICKSON: Well, first I needed to reconcile in my head. Do I really believe what I believe? That there is a God that is all powerful. All knowing. Then there is a God that is loving. So, if I believe in a God that is all-knowing, all-powerful, yet loving, I have nothing to fear. That’s how my wife and I came to our conclusion that even if I contracted the disease and die, then my wife would be OK because the Lord is in charge.

He never contracted the virus. And, according to reports from his colleagues, Patient Zero recovered. Erickson chose to tell only family and a few friends about his role in diagnosing Patient Zero. State and National health authorities also kept his role quiet.

That was until his colleague nominated him for the Hometown Hero honor.

ERICKSON: And they gave me four tickets and a parking pass. And behind first base. The best seats. So, I’m like sign me up! [ANOTHER VOICE OFF MIC] Have you been practicing your pitching? No, so instead of me pitching, now I get to wave. [LAUGHTER] Which is OK. I already said yes, I cannot back out now...

The pandemic’s deadly effects are starting to wane in the United States. But Erickson says the novel virus exposed ancient wounds in the human heart. He believes God can provide healing and Christians can assist by exemplifying two characteristics.

ERICKSON: He was kind and he was gentle. I think that should mark every Christian especially at a time of pandemic when there’s so much sadness, so much illness, and people are depressed. And it's not a time where we condemn because we are right. I think it’s a time that we be kind. A time that we be gentle. That’s what the Lord was. The Lord was gentle and kind.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Bonnie Pritchett in Stanwood, Washington.


MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Today is Thursday, May 13th. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Myrna Brown.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: And I’m Mary Reichard. Commentator Cal Thomas now on the annual torment of filling out tax forms.

CAL THOMAS, COMMENTATOR: Thanks to the beneficence of the Internal Revenue Service—and the fallout from COVID-19—the half of Americans who pay federal income taxes have until Monday to file their returns.

Since I began earning enough to file Form 1040 and associated forms, I have only known one person who prepared his own taxes. That was Bill Archer, a Texas Republican who formerly headed the House Ways and Means Committee. When I asked him why he went to all that trouble, he told me he thought it was fun! But he also said that because he helped write the tax code, he felt a responsibility to demonstrate competence in filling out the forms.

These days, the forms are so complicated, hardly anyone I know understands them. The instructions need instructions.

I have again filed jointly with my wife. Our return was more than 70 pages! She owns a business, so it is more complicated than if we filed separately. Still, the forms require translating a language I have never studied and wouldn't want to.

How's this for clarity from the estimated tax worksheet: “Add lines 2a and 2b. Subtract line 2c from line 1. Figure your tax on the amount on line 3 by using the 2021 Tax Tables. Caution: If you will have qualified dividends or a net capital gain or expect to exclude or deduct foreign earned income or housing, see worksheets 2-5 and 2-6 in Pub. 505 to figure the tax.”

Got that?

There are schedules and forms for everything. They are nearly as numerous as the growing list of gender identities. Under Schedule D, Profits and Losses, there is this gibberish: “Totals for all short-term transactions reported on Form 1099-B for which basis was reported to the IRS and for which you have no adjustments (see instructions). However, if you choose to report all these transactions on Form 8949, leave this line blank and go to line 1b.”

Say what?

No civilized society should force its citizens to go through this annual torture.

The problem is that those who write these abominable and indecipherable laws do so to give breaks to favored individuals and corporations. Not only do we need a simplified tax system, we also should invite an outside auditor to recommend the elimination of unnecessary, useless, outdated and unconstitutional programs, agencies, and spending.

I would like to see members of Congress who write these tax laws forced to fill out the forms without help from an adviser. Put it on C-SPAN so we can watch them waste their time trying to figure it all out as many of the rest of us must do.

Now THAT would be fun.

I’m Cal Thomas.


MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Tomorrow: John Stonestreet joins us for Culture Friday.

And, I’ll introduce you to the woman who wrote one of today’s most popular worship songs.

That and more tomorrow.

I’m Myrna Brown.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: And I’m Mary Reichard.

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

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

The Apostle Peter wrote that "even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. Do not fear their threats; do not be frightened." (Peter 3:14)

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.

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