The World and Everything in It: May 14, 2025

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Good morning!

Congress is working on President Trump’s budget priorities. Can they fit them all into one “big beautiful bill”?

LINDSAY MAST, HOST: That’s ahead on Washington Wednesday.

Also today, WORLD Tour.

And opioids are not the only troubling drugs spreading across the country, those who try to get clean face an uphill battle.

MARTINEAU: I basically ended up in a catatonic state, like, so bad I couldn't even roll over to take a drink of water.

And WORLD commentator Janie B. Cheaney says there’s a big difference between a good name and a commodity.

BROWN: It’s Wednesday, May 14th. This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Myrna Brown.

MAST: And I’m Lindsay Mast. Good morning!

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

KENT COVINGTON, NEWS ANCHOR:  Trump Saudi deal / Syria » President Trump, seated next to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, signed multiple new agreements Tuesday in Riyadh on the first stop of his weeklong Middle East tour.

TRUMP:   Today we reaffirm this important bond and we take the next steps to make our relationship closer, stronger, and more powerful than ever before.

Among those agreements, a $600 billion dollar economic deal with Saudi Arabia.

They also signed what the White House calls the largest defense sales agreement in history in which the US will provide nearly $142 billion worth of weapons to the Saudis.

Trump also touted efforts to repair relations between the U.S. and Syria for the first time in more than a decade.

TRUMP:  I will be ordering the cessation of sanctions against Syria in order to give them a chance at greatness.

He added that Secretary of State Marco Rubio will be meeting with the new Syrian foreign minister in Turkey later this week.

Zelenskyy says he'll be waiting for Putin » Meanwhile in Ukraine

ZELENSKYY: [In Ukrainian]

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy yesterday accused Russia of conducting a drone strike in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city. He also said Russia launched a separate attack on an energy facility.

All of this comes as Zelenskyy says he will travel to Turkey tomorrow ahead of potential face-to-face ceasefire talks with Vladimir Putin.

But it’s not clear that Putin will show up. The Kremlin suggested talks in Turkey this week, but the Russian leader never committed to attending talks in person.

U.S. State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott told reporters:

PIGOTT: The president has also been clear that he wants to see those talks happen, and he's been dedicated to trying to first get that ceasefire and then an enduring peace.

Trump has suggested that he too may fly to Istanbul for the meeting if Putin agrees to meet with Zelenskyy.

Republicans launch hearings in ‘big bill’ push » House Republicans launched marathon public hearings on Tuesday in a push to craft what President Trump has called his “big beautiful bill.’’ That would be one bill to cover a number of the president’s top priorities.

The bill would make permanent President Trump's 2017 tax cuts, remove taxes on tips, and fund national security and border security.

And GOP Senator Mike Lee says he’s pushing to add a measure to the bill that will demand regulations be approved by Congress, rather than federal regulators themselves.

LEE:  The REINS Act, which we wanna fit into this reconciliation measure, so we can pass it with 51 votes in the Senate, would revolutionize the entire system by making the Constitution work again as it's supposed to.

House Speaker Mike Johnson hopes to send the Senate the bill by Memorial Day.

Democrats fear possible cuts to welfare programs and accuse Republicans of pushing tax cuts for the rich.

NYC antisemitism office » New York City is opening a new office aimed at combating antisemitism. Mayor Eric Adams told reporters Tuesday:

ADAMS:  This is the first office of its kind established in a major city in America. And let's be honest with ourselves, it's not a Jewish issue. It is all of our issue, as in any hate on a group, is an issue that we all should address.

He said the mayor’s office to combat antisemitism will establish an interagency task force to identify and combat antisemitism, monitor court cases, and collaborate with the city’s law department on appropriate cases to bring or join.

The announcement follows anti-Semitimic incidents —as well as anti-Israel demonstrations— on college campuses including New York City's Columbia University.

Planned Parenthood report » Planned Parenthood performed a record number of abortions in its most recent fiscal reporting year. WORLD’s Benjamin Eicher has more.

BENJAMIN EICHER: In its annual report, the abortion giant says it ended the lives of more than 402,000 unborn children in the fiscal year that ended in June of 20-23.

That’s the most ever—and nearly 10,000 more than the year before.

At the same time, the group made just over 2,000 adoption referrals—that’s one referral for every 187 abortions.

The federal government sent about $800 million taxpayer dollars to Planned Parenthood that year. Those funds were earmarked for non-abortion services, as federal law requires but pro-life groups call it a shell game.

The report also reveals that, while abortions were up, the group’s other services … like cancer screenings and prenatal care have all dropped—some by more than 50% over the last decade.

For WORLD, I’m Benjamin Eicher.

Inflation numbers » Inflation slowed down once again in April, for the third month in a row.

In fact, the Labor Department says inflation inched up at the slowest rate in more than four years.

Prices were up 2.3% last month as compared to April of last year. That was down slightly from 2.4 percent in March.

The US also saw the biggest drop in grocery prices since 2020, down 0.4% from March to April.

Still some economists expect that the effects of tariffs may show up in the inflation numbers over the summer.

I'm Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: Washington Wednesday and the budget battle. Plus, a father and son fight to keep the family farm afloat after hurricane Helene.

This is The World and Everything in It.

LINDSAY MAST, HOST: It’s Wednesday the 14th of May.

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

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

Time now for Washington Wednesday.

President Donald Trump has begun the process of trying to set in stone many of the executive orders he’s signed since January.

He’s working with Congress to do that with a budget bill. Using a tool called reconciliation, Republicans have the ability to pass laws on border security, tax policy and spending cuts without any Democrat votes if the GOP can stick together.

MAST: Here now with more about the top items is WORLD’s Washington Bureau reporter Leo Briceno.

LEO BRICENO: After approving a budget outline last month, lawmakers are now busy writing up the specifics.

SMITH: This committee will come to order. Today, this committee will move forward on President Trump’s promise of delivering historic tax relief for working families, farmers, and small businesses. The one big beautiful bill is key to making America great again.

That’s congressman Jason Smith of Missouri. He chairs the House Ways and Means Committee, the body in charge of drafting the nation’s laws on taxes. The committee worked late into the night in a markup hearing yesterday for that portion of Trump’s legislative package.

When the committees bring their portions together, the bill will increase spending for areas like national security at the border and with defense, but also cut spending and taxes. The question is whether those three things will balance out or force the government to keep spending in the deficit.

The easy part for Republicans is spending on the border.

While illegal border crossings in April are down 88% from last year thanks to robust enforcement, Republicans want to boost spending on infrastructure and programs to keep it that way. I caught up with Tennessee Congressman Mark Green, Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, in the Capitol basement.

GREEN: The last presidency failed to enforce any of the laws so we need other systems in place that make it impossible for a future president like the last one we had to violate the law and let millions of people into the country.

That’s going to come down to investing in practical, tangible improvements. Congressman Michael Guest of Mississippi sits on the House Homeland Security Committee and is the chairman of its border security and enforcement subcommittee.

GUEST: A large percentage of that are facility related, walls, border security, some additional physical facilities there on the border, the hiring of additional agents, and technology, and I think those things are key.

And even in spending increases, Guest says Republicans are looking for savings. While the boost to Homeland Security spending is significant, the committee’s proposal unveiled earlier this month came in below the amount in last month’s budget framework.

GUEST: We were authorized in the reconciliation instructions to spend up to 90 billion. We didn’t spend that amount. We spent just over 69 billion. And so we, being the Homeland Security Committee, worked very closely with the administration to see exactly what they needed to make sure that we funded what they needed but that we weren’t funding things that were unnecessary.

Another big priority is more complicated…delivering on tax cuts. The bill would make good on Trump’s promise to cut taxes on tips and overtime pay. Here’s Congressman Kevin Hern of Oklahoma, a member of the Ways and Means Committee.

HERN: And we’re going to pass the agenda the president Trump won the presidency on because if we don’t, we’re not doing what the American people said they wanted him to do, which is make some changes.

But adding new tax cuts might require scaling back reductions from Trump’s first administration. The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act trimmed the bill across the board for businesses and individuals. Lawmakers hope to renew those cuts…but in order to keep from adding to the national deficit, experts worry they may need to limit the lifespan of some of them. Here’s Erica York, Vice President at the Tax Policy Foundation.

YORK: When you shorten those provisions, when you don’t make them permanent, businesses don’t have the certainty they need to actually step up their investment in a permanent way.

York says businesses with high building costs—like manufacturing and agriculture—could bear the brunt when some of those tax extensions come to an end.

YORK: It extends those provisions for five years which might get you a little bit of activity in those initial years but it's not going to get you permanently improved incentives for businesses to invest in the United States.

Another tax question lawmakers face is what will happen to rules for how much individuals can deduct from their federal taxes by paying their state and local taxes—referred to as “SALT.”

In 2017, lawmakers capped SALT deductions. High-earning taxpayers can deduct only $10,000 from their federal taxes, where they used to be able to deduct up to the full amount. The cap prevents individuals in high-tax states from paying less federal taxes than individuals in low-tax states.

But lawmakers from states like New York and California want to remove or at least raise that cap. The reconciliation bill would raise it to $30,000, though some lawmakers say that’s not enough.

Here’s New York Congressman Mike Lawler on a podcast with Bloomberg news after the tax portion of the bill was unveiled on Monday evening.

LAWLER: This bill, as written with a 30,000 cap, for those making under $400,000 is just woefully inadequate. So no this does not have my support. And if this bill comes to the floor for a vote, I will vote no.

With Republicans only able to spare 3 votes, these kinds of disagreements threaten the whole bill. And then there’s the question of how to pay for it, after all, in order to increase spending on defense and cut taxes, money has to be moved from somewhere. The challenge committees are working on now is what to cut.

The committee on Energy and Commerce proposes changing rules for Medicaid in an attempt to find up to $880 billion in savings over 10 years.

One of those proposed cuts would end funding for nonprofit organizations offering family planning or reproductive services alongside abortion.

If that sounds really specific, that’s because it is. While the provision is a broadside against abortion businesses generally, its main target is the nation’s largest abortion provider.

PRICHARD: I mean this would hugely impact Planned Parenthood

That’s Kelsey Prichard, Director of State Public Affairs for the group Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America.

PRICHARD: We almost got it done in 2017 when it was a part of the repeal and replace Obamacare package.

That provision came to the Senate floor eight years ago, but fell short by one vote.

Abortion supporters argue that Congress should not be concerned about Planned Parenthood’s funding, since the federal law known as the Hyde Amendment prohibits federal dollars from directly funding abortions. But Prichard says dollars intended to help low income Americans get medical care are subsidizing an organization increasingly focused on abortion.

PRICHARD Planned Parenthood’s taxpayer funding has increased since 2010 by 43% and during that same timeframe cancer screenings, breast exams, pap smears have all dropped by more than 70%. Now there are top three services that are up—and the top three services that they provide are abortions, gender transitions and political spending on Democrats and woke politics.

Despite hesitations from some lawmakers—especially moderates from states like New York and California—Prichard says Susan B. Anthony has been hard at work, urging lawmakers and their offices to support the measure.

PRICHARD: We’ve gotten so close before. And so just the history of this also gives us confidence that we can get it done this year.

Eleven House committees are working to put meat on the bones of Trump’s legislative package for everything from agriculture to transportation. Leaders in both chambers aim to get the final legislation done around July 4th. Once the legislation makes it past the committees, the next big test for the bill, and Republicans in Congress, will be getting it to the floor of the House of Representatives for a vote.

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

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Coming up next on The World and Everything in It: WORLD Tour with our reporter in Africa, Onize Oduah

ONIZE ODUAH: Nigeria — We start today here in Nigeria, where weekend violence returned to the farming communities in north central Benue state.

Local officials said at least 23 people died in the attacks, blamed on armed Fulani herdsmen and another militia group.

U.S. officials condemned the ongoing killings in Benue and elsewhere. During a hearing last week, former USAID chief advisor for international religious freedom called for more tangible American support. Samah Norquist noted past obstructions to supporting victims of religious violence:

SAMAH NORQUIST: Ambassadors often blocked initiatives to implement the administration's policies, policies set by the President of the United States and reaffirmed by the Secretary of State were ignored if those policies conflicted with their views or the host government's preferences.

Another panelist at that hearing was Vicky Hartzler, a commissioner with the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. She expressed sadness over the persistent killings in the country, particularly during the Lent and Easter season.

VICKY HARTZLER: Nigeria has unfortunately been a slaughtering house for people of faith for far too long.

Later, Hartzler told WORLD that the commission this year again flagged Nigeria as a religious freedom violator, a designation that comes with sanctions and other penalties.

HARTZLER: Now there's a great opportunity for the Trump administration to come in and to to follow up and and to make these designations, and to once again designate Nigeria as a country of particular concern.

Turkey — Next, to Turkey. A militant group on Monday announced the end of its four-decade insurgency against the state.

The Kurdistan Workers Party, known as PKK, began its uprising in 1984 as it sought an independent Kurdish state.

The conflict has killed more than 40,000 people since. Turkey and several Western nations have declared the PKK a terror group.

Anouar El Anouni is the EU foreign affairs spokesperson.

ANOUAR EL ANOUNI: We call on all parties to seize the moment and embark on an inclusive process based on dialogue and reconciliation. Finding a fair and lasting solution respecting fundamental rights and the rule of law would not only benefit all Turkish citizens, but would also contribute to stability in the entire region.

The group said it would cease all military operations immediately. That follows a party congress in northern Iraq after the PKK’s jailed leader called for the group to disband.

In Turkey, salesman Abdulhakim Doganer said he saw the happiness in people’s faces after the announcement.

ABDULHAKIM DOGANER: We were very happy about it. With God's permission, it will continue, you all saw this atmosphere, God willing, it will continue. We, the Kurdish people, never really supported the war.

He says here that the Kurdish people didn’t really support the war as he prayed that the peace process would continue.

Turkey has said the disbanding should apply to all PKK affiliates but Kurdish fighters in Syria have said any ceasefire does not apply to them.

Afghanistan — Finally we end in Afghanistan, where the ruling Taliban has suspended the game of chess.

A sports official on Sunday said the game is considered a form of gambling under Sharia law.

Azizullah Gulzada runs a cafe in Kabul that hosts informal chess games. He says chess was a good mental game that brought many young people together and kept them busy.

AZIZULLAH GULZADA: It’s an international game, and we have it in all Islamic communities, including countries like Iran, Pakistan, and many other Islamic nations. Players participate at the international level and take part in international tournaments.

He adds here that other Islamic countries like Pakistan and Iran continue to partake in international chess tournaments.

The Taliban has restricted other sports like mixed martial arts in recent years, citing similar incompatibilities with sharia law.

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

LINDSAY MAST, HOST: The San Diego Humane Society had one wild day last week. Audio from KMFB-TV San Diego:

THOMPSON: There are a lot of emotions when you take in 274 animals in a single day.

Nina Thompson, PR director. A typical day sees 60-100 animals, But Thursday was anything but typical. First, a planned intake of at-risk animals. Then:

GUINEA PIG: Squeaks

Ninety-six guinea pigs, surrendered by an overwhelmed owner. Next, a box of 50 baby chicks, abandoned at a post office.

CHICKS: Cheeping

A kind postal worker heard the peeps and got them to safety.

But wait, there’s more! Just before closing: An abandoned horse.

THOMPSON: We do have to plan for housing and medical, but there was no option to wait.

Add 28 kittens, 11 cats, and 5 dogs–the shelter was packed.

THOMPSON: It was an extraordinary day unlike any other.

Behind every rescue is a team stretched thin. If you’ve got the time, heart or hay to spare, this may be your moment to pony up!

It’s The World and Everything in It.

LINDSAY MAST, HOST: Today is Wednesday, May 14th.

Thank you for turning to WORLD Radio to help start your day.

Good morning. I’m Lindsay Mast.

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

Coming next on The World and Everything in It: prescription drug addiction. The problems associated with opioid addiction are well documented. But it’s not the only prescription medication causing difficulty for patients.

MAST: Benzodiazepines —commonly called “benzos” —are sedatives prescribed for anxiety, epilepsy, and insomnia. Five years ago, the FDA cautioned that prescription guidelines for benzos do not “provide adequate warnings” about the risks of abuse, addiction, and withdrawal reactions. Even so, doctors wrote about 84 million prescriptions for the five most popular benzos in 2024.

BROWN: Many experts say these drugs are generally safe when used properly. And for no more than four weeks. But some people have been using them for much longer than that.

Here’s WORLD’s Les Sillars with the story.

LES SILLARS: Bob Martineau had his first bout with acute anxiety when he was in his early 30s.

BOB MARTINEAU: I had a panic attack out of nowhere while I was driving and it felt like I was gonna die right there.

His doctor prescribed Clonazepam, better known as Klonopin. Martineau, who lives near Calgary, Alberta, took the drug for the next 20 years. And he still had problems with anxiety. But in spring of 2024 he heard a podcast about the damage that long-term benzodiazepine use can cause. So, he decided to quit. The 53-year-old executive went from three pills to none in about nine months.

The withdrawal, he says, was brutal.

MARTINEAU: And I thought, what the heck is wrong with me? Like, what's wrong with me?

Benzos were first developed in the 1950s. At the time, doctors and patients saw them as an improvement over barbiturates…a class of sedatives that affect the brain much like alcohol but have dangerous side effects. One of the first and most popular benzos hit the market in 1963. Valium was so popular the Rolling Stones wrote a song titled “Mother’s Little Helper.” It’s about “a little yellow pill” for housewives. The lyrics go,

Kids are different today, I hear every mother say, Mother needs something today to calm her down; and though she’s not really ill, there’s a little yellow pill …

But soon scientists began to worry that long-term use could lead to addiction and serious withdrawal symptoms. Some even called the drug “Opium of the Masses.” Beginning in 1979, Valium came under heavy criticism. Bernard Silvernail is president and CEO of the Alliance for Benzodiazepine Best Practices.

BERNARD SILVERNAIL: So, Valium was like the sacrificial lamb at that point. It dropped out of being the world's most prescribed drug because they said, ‘Oh, the Valium is no good, but all these other benzos are great.’ ... the crisis just continued, but in a different form.

Doctors continued to prescribe benzos like Klonopin, Ativan, and other varieties. Through the 90’s and 2000’s the popularity of benzos fluctuated. But deaths involving benzos kept rising. One reason—some users were buying the drugs off the street. But most users, like Bob Martineau, had prescriptions.

Last year he tried to taper off benzos on his own.

MARTINEAU: I can't compare it to anything because it's not like an addiction where you crave something. It's just like you've gone crazy.

He began having convulsions. He developed light sensitivity and agoraphobia. He hated leaving his basement. His depression and anxiety shot through the roof.

MARTINEAU: I basically ended up in a catatonic state, like, so bad I couldn't even roll over to take a drink of water.

The medical community is gradually realizing the danger. In 2020, the FDA updated benzos with black box warnings to include risks of abuse, addiction, physical dependence, and withdrawal reactions. Today, more doctors are aware that benzos can be abused. But the dangers of overprescription are less widely known.

Doctors are using benzos as a long-term treatment instead of a temporary fix. So, the cycle of overmedication continues.

DON MIDDLETON: It almost always comes down to one underlying problem.

That’s Don Middleton, an osteopathic physician and chair of the Christian Medical and Dental Associations’ Addiction Medicine Section. He says there’s more to beating an addiction than just getting off benzos.

Middleton is a former alcoholic. He says people struggling with addiction are trapped and try to “white-knuckle” their way into solving the problem. But only Christ can provide the answer.

MIDDLETON: And so, getting people to understand, it's not just about stopping the drug. It's about teaching them you are worthy. Okay? And not because Don says so, but because your Creator says you are. ... That's what treatment should be like.

Martineau, for his part, is still struggling with benzos.

MARTINEAU: It’s like you’re stuck in a dark place and there’s no way of getting out.

He is trying to taper off the drugs even now and was hospitalized for a weekend in April. Martineau’s been told the withdrawal symptoms could last for years.

MARTINEAU: It's just trying to feel whatever my normal is. And I don't even remember what my norm was.

For WORLD, I’m Les Sillars.

MYNRA BROWN, HOST: Today is Wednesday, May 14th. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Myrna Brown.

LINDSAY MAST, HOST: And I’m Lindsay Mast. WORLD commentator Janie B. Cheaney asks: What’s in a name?

JANIE B. CHEANEY: I have a confession—after the annual Met Gala on the first Monday night in May, I click over to the Vogue website to peruse the haute couture.

The Met Gala originated in 1948 as a fundraiser for the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in Manhattan. The event is now organized by fashion maven Anna Wintour, editor-in-chief of Vogue Magazine, and is largely considered the world’s glitziest fashion parade. Some of the biggest names of New York high society are there. Attendance is by invitation only and attendees have the option of dressing to a theme. Arrivals parade past a bank of cameras and pose on the floral carpet before climbing the grand staircase into the museum. Tickets this year cost $75,000. Don’t ask me where all that money goes, and I’m not sure where it all came from, either.

For the last several years, the Met Gala has become a rich target for conservative commentators, who have a lot to say about the pretentiousness, the puffed-up glamor, and the clothes—oh, the clothes! From the pictures, it appears that tasteful evening dress is almost déclassé. The celebrities outdo each other with outfits outlandish, scandalous, cross-gendered, or wildly exaggerated. What struck me this time, however, was not the outré fashion sense, but the number of celebrities that now go by one name only. It’s been a trend, from Adele to Zendaya. There’s even a term for it: mononymous. Still, mononymity has generally been reserved for durable superstars, or world conquerors like Napoleon or consequential creatives like Leonardo.

I had never heard of most of those one-namers on the Met Gala runway, though presumably they’ve made their mark somewhere. But the self-naming suggests to me that these aren’t personalities so much as brands. Branding is how we sell products; the brand is what sets one thing apart from similar things, whether it’s ultra-whitening toothpaste or specialty dog food. Brands fight it out in the market to determine what gets shelf space and what finds its own little online niche. Social media allows anyone with media savvy to become their own brand; “influencers” market themselves more than any product.

But people aren’t products, and the pouty faces and ridiculous getups at the Met Gala this year seemed more lamentable than laughable. Celebrities have never been known for their just-plain-folksiness—showing off comes with the territory. But unlike celebrities of the past, many of today’s rich and famous don’t sell their exceptional talent or “star quality” to an appreciative public. They sell a brand, and single names like Lisa, or made-up names like Bad Bunny, are a dead giveaway.

For most of us, names are bestowed at birth by someone else, and we don’t change them; we grow into them. Think of Abraham, “Father of a Multitude,” whose name echoed through generations. Even today, names make a statement: they say who we are, but also where we’re from. They put us in the context of a family and a generational line, individual yet connected. There are real persons with real names under the Lisas and Lizzos, but self-creation can only go so far before becoming self-parody.

I’m Janie B. Cheaney.

LINDSAY MAST, HOST: Tomorrow: A new legal push—some states want the Supreme Court to revisit its landmark ruling on same-sex marriage. And, one family’s fight to hold on to their farm…and what it’s costing them. That and more tomorrow.

I’m Lindsay Mast.

MYRNA BROWN: 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.

The Bible says: “So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.” —2nd Corinthians 5:9-10

Go now in grace and peace.

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