The World and Everything in It - May 19, 2021

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Good morning!

Republicans switched out their leader in the U.S. House for someone less anti-Trump. What’ll it mean for the midterm elections?

NICK EICHER, HOST: That’s ahead on Washington Wednesday.

Also today,World Tour.

Plus a satisfying return to normal.

EICHER: And WORLD founder Joel Belz on the scam that’s in plain sight.

REICHARD: It’s Wednesday, May 19th. This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Mary Reichard.

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

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

KENT COVINGTON, NEWS ANCHOR: Gaza-fired rocket kills two in southern Israel as fighting continues » A rocket launched from Gaza killed two people in southern Israel on Tuesday.

That attack came as Israeli counter-attacks continue.

SOUND: AIRSTRIKE NATS

An airstrike Tuesday toppled a six-story building in the Gaza Strip.

SOUND: PROTEST NATS

Palestinians in the region staged a general strike in protest of Israeli military assaults. Dozens of Palestinians protested outside Damascus Gate in Jerusalem's Old City before Israeli police fired water cannons and used other non-lethal force to disperse the crowd.

And violence erupted at protests in the West Bank. One protester was killed in clashes with Israeli troops. Two Israeli soldiers sustained gunshot wounds.

Global pressure is intensifying on Israel to wind down the fighting, including from the European Union. But Hungarian foreign minister Peter Szijjarto told reporters Tuesday,

SZIJJARTO: You know, I have a general problem with these European statements on Israel. They are usually pretty biased. They do not put into consideration the security concerns of Israel and the Israeli people.

Since Gaza’s Hamas triggered the military conflict with rocket attacks more than a week ago, the Israeli military has launched hundreds of airstrikes targeting Hamas infrastructure and militants, but civilians are also among the dead.

Palestinian militants have now fired more than 3,000 rockets at civilian targets in Israel.

Some 200 people have died in the fighting.

McCarthy opposes commission to probe Jan. 6th Capitol » House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy said Tuesday that he won’t support a proposal to form an independent commission to study the Jan. 6 Capitol siege. WORLD’s Anna Johansen Brown has more.

ANNA JOHANSEN BROWN, REPORTER: McCarthy and other Republicans have pushed to have any such commission also investigate other violent acts ... including protests last summer in the aftermath of George Floyd’s death.

McCarthy said the commission would be “duplicative and potentially counterproductive,” given the “shortsighted scope that does not examine interrelated forms of political violence in America.”

McCarthy's opposition all but ensures this week’s vote on the bipartisan bill to form the panel will have less Republican support in the House, and dims its chances in the evenly divided Senate.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Anna Johansen Brown.

Prosecutor says police shooting of Andrew Brown justified » A North Carolina prosecutor said Tuesday that sheriff’s deputies were justified in fatally shooting Andrew Brown Jr.

District Attorney Andrew Womble said Brown used his car as a “deadly weapon,” causing Pasquotank County deputies to use deadly force.

WOMBLE: Brown engaged in dangerous, felony level misconduct as he attempted to flee from law enforcement officers. The decision to flee, which Brown made on his own, quickly escalated the situation from a show of force to an employment of force.

Officers were serving drug-related search and arrest warrants on April 21st. Deputies approached Brown’s car with weapons drawn and ordered him to get out.

Womble said a deputy who tried to open Brown's car door was jerked over the hood when the car backed up, and the deputy's body was struck by the vehicle. That’s when deputies opened fire.

He said officers were already on high alert when they arrived based on Brown’s record, which includes convictions for resisting arrest.

WOMBLE: Additionally, Mr. Brown has assault, assault with the deadly weapon, and assault inflicting serious injury convictions.

While authorities have shown footage of the incident to Brown’s family, a judge has so far refused to release the video publicly because he didn’t want to harm an investigation.

Brown’s family released a statement calling Womble’s decision “both an insult and a slap in the face.”

Study shows Moderna, Pfizer vaccines still effective against variants » A new study shows that both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines remain highly effective against coronavirus variants.

Researchers took blood samples from people who were fully vaccinated with one of those vaccines. They then exposed the samples to engineered particles that contained mutations found in major variants of the virus.

Chief medical advisor to President Biden, Dr. Anthony Fauci highlighted the study on Tuesday.

FAUCI: Individuals who are vaccinated with the MRNA, including elderly individuals, maintained binding and functional antibodies again against a wide range of variants.

Members of the task force said studies are ongoing to determine the safety of COVID-19 vaccines for younger children … and officials will likely have enough data to make a determination by the end of the year.

Monthly child tax credits begin in July » Most American families with children can expect to see a monthly bump in their bank accounts starting next month.

Speaking from the White House this week, President Biden announced,

BIDEN: On July 15th and the 15th of every month thereafter throughout the year, you will get deposited in your bank account half of your tax cut, at least $250 per child each month, a direct deposit into your account.

It’s actually a tax credit.

Most American parents will qualify for the child tax credit. For each child under 6 years old, qualified families will receive up to $300 per month. Between the ages of 6 and 17, each child will receive up to $250 per month.

The payments were included in the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package.

I’m Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: turmoil in the Republican Party.

Plus, Joel Belz on a completely legal national scam.

This is The World and Everything in It.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: It’s Wednesday, May 19th, 2021.

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

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

First up, a shakeup within the top ranks of the GOP.

Last week, House Republicans ousted Liz Cheney as Conference Chair, replacing her with Congresswoman Elise Stefanik.

At the heart of that change: a rift over the party’s relationship with former President Trump.

Congresswoman Cheney, the daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, makes no apologies for her criticism of Trump. She said Republicans cannot remain silent about his continued claims that the last election was stolen.

CHENEY: What’s happening right now with Donald Trump and his continued attacks on the Constitution and the rule of law is dangerous, and we all have an obligation to stand up against that.

EICHER: But many Republicans feel that continuing to butt heads with Trump, and by extension his supporters could be a recipe for disaster in next year’s midterm elections.

REICHARD: The conference chair is the No. 3 party leader in the chamber. And that person is responsible for the House GOP’s messaging. Republicans decided Liz Cheney was too busy bashing Trump and not taking on the current president.

Enter Elise Stefanik.

STEFANIK: Voters want to hear the issues that matter to them. So right now we have an economic crisis. We have an energy crisis, we have a border crisis, and a national security crisis.

REICHARD: The 36-year-old New York lawmaker says on the issues Republicans are united, and the issues are what they’ll focus on ahead of the next election.

Joining us now with more insight on all of this is Kyle Kondik. He is Director of Communications at the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia. Good morning, Kyle!

KONDIK: Good morning!

REICHARD: With regard to Liz Cheney, from what I gather, there were efforts behind closed doors to get her to sort of let it lie and back off from her rift with Donald Trump. What is your understanding of how that played out behind the scenes?

KONDIK: Well, whatever happened behind the scenes, it was clear that she wanted to continue to make the case against the former president publicly and also to talk about what happened on January 6. And, look, I think that what happened on January 6 has made a lot of the Republican leadership uncomfortable. They think that it makes them look bad. And ultimately, I think that they just want to, they want to try to move on from that because they'd rather be talking about things that make Democrats uncomfortable. And so I think that that kind of is is a big reason why Cheney was able to survive her keeping her post earlier this year, but but now she has lost it.

REICHARD: Okay. What can you tell us about the new No. 3 GOP leader in the House? Why did Republicans choose Elise Stefanik and what does she bring to the table politically?

KONDIK: Yeah, Stefanik. She first won in 2014, so she's been around for a little while, but she's still on on the younger side. She represents New York's North Country, which is actually a district that voted for Barack Obama, but then switched to Trump. And like a lot of kind of, maybe a little bit more rural, whiter places that also are kind of more blue collar, Donald Trump did really well in those kinds of places, in the northeast and the Midwest.

And so I think she's someone who was sort of known as a little bit more of a moderate or—you know, I mean, there aren't there aren't really true moderates in American politics these days on either Democratic or the Republican side. But she has voted against her party on certain issues, just like a lot of other Northeastern Republicans have done, but she has kind of morphed into more of a strong supporter of Trump after she was kind of tepid on him in the lead up to the 2016 elections. So I think she kind of got the sense as to which way the wind was blowing both in her district and also in her party. And she sort of changed her tune to reflect that. But I think she's someone who I think Republican leaders had always looked at as being someone who could potentially be in leadership in the future. It's just the future is now because of what happened with Liz Cheney.

REICHARD: Now, to your point about Stefanik’s more moderate record. She has voted with Democrats on some controversial bills, like the Equality Act for example, correct?

KONDIK: Yeah, and she's voted against Republican leaders on some other issues, too. And in fact, there were some members of the Republican caucus who wanted to go with someone else who was more outwardly conservative on certain issues. Chip Roy, Republican of Texas, who is someone who has been close with with Ted Cruz in the past. Roy, who ran against her but ended up losing to Stefanik in a race for the job that was not particularly close. But I think it just goes to show that, you know, you could make a case against Stefanik on issues and say, "Well, maybe she's not conservative enough. But she's loyal to the former president, and Liz Cheney is not." And I think that's the probably the most important litmus test right now in the Republican Party.

REICHARD: Most Republican lawmakers are not on board with former President Trump’s assertion that the last election was stolen, but they’re not renouncing him in the way that Cheney has.
So just looking at the raw political reality of this, do Republican leaders have a tightrope to walk right now—trying to appeal to moderate voters but not alienating Trump’s supporters?

KONDIK: Yeah, that's right. I mean, I think that Republicans look at the Trump experience, and, you know, it didn't go as poorly electorally as maybe I think they would have thought in 2016. Of course, you know, Trump was a one term president and lost in 2020. But, you know, he did better than I guess the poll suggested in both 2016 and 2020. There were a lot of new people who came into the electorate, both to vote against Trump but also to vote for Trump. And, you know, as the Republicans look ahead to the 2022 midterms, they want to keep enthusiasm high amongst the new Trump voters but also try to win back some of their former voters in suburban areas. And so this is why they're engaging in this kind of awkward dance in which they maybe don't sound exactly like Trump, but they also aren't going against Trump either.

REICHARD: How much sway does the former president have in the party right now?

KONDIK: Trump I think continues to have a lot of sway within the Republican Party. I think his endorsement is very valuable in a primary setting or at least it's perceived as being valuable. You have these, you know, the President continues to have a voice in politics, although I will say that he does not—I don't think he's getting the kind of attention that he got when he was president or even as a candidate, because he's been banned from the social media platforms, most notably Twitter. And so, you know, it's possible that over time, his influence within the party will wane. But certainly Republican elected officials are not acting as though his influence has waned. And I think, you know, he does still have an important role in the party, whether you like that or you don't.

REICHARD: So as it stands right now, what are the GOP’s chances of retaking the House in 2022?

KONDIK: I mean, look, history points very clearly that the Republicans should win the house in 2022. The president's party almost always loses ground in the House and midterm elections, and the Republicans only need to pick up—win five more seats than they won in 2020 to win the House. Also, it's a redistricting year, and the census has been delayed, so that process is going to start later than it usually does. But if you just kind of go state by state and look at who controls redistricting in what places, the Republicans have more line-drawing power overall than Democrats do. So it may just be basically just through redistricting that Republicans could end up netting, you know, five or more seats.
And that doesn't even take into account, whether it'll be a you know, it could potentially be a bad environment for Democrats, as it often is for the President's party in a midterm. So, you know, I think that they have—the Republicans have a lot of advantages in the race for the House.

The race for the Senate, I think, is more competitive, a little bit murkier. It’s a 50/50 Senate right now, so the Republicans just need one seat to flip the Senate. But arguably the most vulnerable seat held by either party is Pennsylvania, which is a Republican held seat. And it's an open seat, Republican Pat Toomey is retiring. And, you know, Democrats probably have roughly even odds at this point to win Pennsylvania. There are competitive seats on on both sides of the aisle. You know, Democrats are defending Arizona and Georgia, which they won in special elections in 2020. And those new senators will have to run again in 2022. Democrats are also defending Nevada and New Hampshire, which are competitive states. But Republicans are defending Pennsylvania, open seat North Carolina—which is a competitive state, Ron Johnson in Wisconsin, open seat in Ohio, open seat in Missouri, Marco Rubio in Florida. So there are, you know, there's kind of an equal number of roughly equal number of plausible targets on both sides.

And, you know, the midterm jinx sometimes applies stronger in the House than it does in the Senate. You know, we just saw in 2018, granted on a, on a map where they had a lot of targets, but Republicans actually ended up netting seats in the Senate in 2018, even as they were losing the house. So you do sometimes see kind of split decisions. But bottom line is, is that, you know, the Republicans are, I think, favored to win the house. And I mean, the Senate is, you know, is probably a toss up. So the, you know, taking control of Congress, both chambers is certainly on the table there for Republicans in 2022. And I think it helps explain why Republicans kind of, they don't want to focus on things that they perceive as being negative for them and talking about January 6th. I think they perceive that as politically negative for them.

REICHARD: Last question here Kyle: I saw some speculation that while Cheney’s stance cost her a leadership role in the House, it might benefit her long-term political goals, including running for president. Do you think that’s part of her strategy here?

KONDIK: Ah, you know, I, it could be, you know. She's gonna continue to have a big platform, but I just, I just don't think even in a 2024 context, that there's going to be a real healthy desire for an avowedly anti-Trump candidate. And I also think that Trump, you know, in some ways he ran against previous Republican leaders. And, you know, one of those leaders—I don’t think he really talked about this much—but one of the previous leaders of the Republican party that I think Trump was in a sense running against was Dick Cheney, the former vice president, who I think had a really important role in in George W. Bush era foreign policy. You know, Trump was talking about, you know, the Iraq war is a mistake. I mean, Cheney was one of the main architects of the Iraq war. And I think there may be you know, that there's a lot of Republicans who agree with Trump on that. And so beyond the Trump criticism, it may also be that Cheney, Liz Cheney represents a wing of the Republican party that's essentially in decline.

REICHARD: Kyle Kondik with the University of Virginia Center for Politics. Kyle, appreciate your insight. Thanks so much!

KONDIK: Thank you.

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

ONIZE OHIKERE, REPORTER: Migrants storm Spanish enclave—We start today here in Africa.

AUDIO: SIRENS, VOICES

A record number of migrants stormed the beaches of Ceuta earlier this week. The Spanish enclave in Morocco is one of only two slivers of Europe in Africa.

An estimated 6,000 people swam or walked at low tide from Moroccan territory. Spanish security forces have so far returned about one-fourth of them.

MAN: SPEAKING SPANISH

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez warned Morocco to secure its borders or face strained relations with the European Union.

Moroccan border guards stood by and watched Monday as a group of migrants attempted to cross. Their inaction prompted thousands of others to follow suit.

The border dispute may be linked to a brewing diplomatic crisis between the two countries. The Moroccan government condemned Spain’s decision in April to give medical treatment to a Western Sahara independence movement leader sick with COVIID-19.

Cyclone batters India—Next we go to Central Asia.

SOUND: WIND, WAVES

A massive cyclone battered the Western coast of India on Monday, multiplying the country’s misery.

Heavy rains drenched Mumbai, causing widespread street flooding. Strong winds tore roofs off buildings and prompted officials to close the city’s airport.

MAN: SPEAKING THROUGH LOUDSPEAKER

Ahead of the storm’s landfall, members of India's National Disaster Response Force urged people in coastal communities to evacuate. Several hundred thousand people did.

So far, more than a dozen people have died due to the storm.

Officials were scrambling to ensure the area’s hospitals didn’t lose power so COVID patients wouldn’t have their oxygen supplies cut off.

India continues to suffer from a virulent coronavirus outbreak that has pushed the country’s healthcare system to the breaking point. The official case count now tops 20 million, and an average of 4,000 people are dying every day.

Tokyo residents protest upcoming Olympic games—Next we’ll head east to Japan.

SOUND: PROTEST

Dozens of Tokyo residents protested near a busy train station on Monday. They are demanding their government postpone the Olympics again.

The games are set to start in less than 10 weeks. But the country is suffering its fourth wave of coronavirus infections. The government expanded the state of emergency on Friday, and doctors are worried about the strain on hospitals.

MAN: SPEAKING JAPANESE

This man says Japan cannot afford to host the Olympics when it must defeat the coronavirus. A recent poll showed nearly half the country agrees.

The summer games were supposed to take place last year, but they were postponed due to the pandemic.

Europeans resume international travel—And finally, we end today in Europe.

SOUND: AIRPORT

Portugal welcomed its first international travelers in months this week. Flights carrying British tourists touched down on Monday.

SOT: The hotel was booked five weeks ago, hoping that we might get away, and then the flight was booked a week ago.

Portugal and Britain currently have two of the lowest rates of COVID-19 in Europe. British travelers can now visit Portugal as long as they test negative for the virus.

Other European countries are also welcoming back international travelers, including Americans. Popular tourist destinations like Italy and Greece are eager to open their borders to visitors, who contribute significantly to their local and national economies.

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

NICK EICHER, HOST: A farmer in Belgium accidentally invaded France.

No, seriously. Invaded and took territory, about 7 feet of it. Turns out that a stone marking the boundary of the two countries since 1819 was in the way of his tractor. So he did the reasonable thing and moved it.

It just so happened that a history buff was out for a walk along the border and noticed something amiss.

The Belgian government asked the farmer to put the stone back where it belongs.

Failing that, the long-dormant Franco-Belgian border commission will have to come in and resolve it.

The mayor of a nearby French town said the good news is this will probably resolve peacefully.

It’s The World and Everything in It.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Today is Wednesday, May 19th.

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

Good morning. I’m Nick Eicher.

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

A quick reminder that May is the time dedicated just for first-time supporters, the listener who’s never given before. Maybe that’s you. You listen to this program, find it edifying, and want to be part of helping it to continue. And right now, any first-time financial support you send will be triple matched by two other generous families! Just go to wng.org/donate. Wng.org/donate.

EICHER: And thank you if you’ve already joined the ranks of first-time givers. It really makes a difference.

Well, next up on The World and Everything in It: Spring Scenes.

Landscapes are coming alive with the sights and smells of spring. Cities are coming back to life, too. Proof of that? Community calendars chock full of things to do after a year chock full of things you couldn’t do. WORLD Senior Correspondent Kim Henderson takes us to an event that celebrates local artists.

KIM HENDERSON, SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Rachel Smith didn’t lose her job with the Lynchburg Parks and Recreation Department during the pandemic. But her skill set was stretched.

SMITH: I work community recreation. We are here to provide in-person programming. That is my job.

COVID required the department change its programming. Smith sent out supply kits for an online wreath-making class. Learned how to zoom a monthly community health talk with a doctor. Moved the annual glow ride cycling event to a space where participants could be socially distanced.

SMITH: We have rethought everything, which is actually how we ended up with Art in the Park.

AMBI: OUTDOORS

Art in the Park looks a lot like a festival. Vendor tents are scattered across a grassy public space complete with sidewalks, pavilions, and a playground. Couples walk hand in hand. Music filters through the air. Kids play. And everywhere, art.

Smith and her team picked a good day for it. The CDC just lifted the mask mandate.

SMITH: And so we are thrilled to be out here on this beautiful, sunny day. It's 72 and gorgeous, with no masks on, and we are thrilled.

Art in the Park participants seem equally excited. Artist Greg Paige has a canopy set up near the entrance in a select spot of shade. His customer is sitting still as a statue while Paige uses charcoal pencils to draw her profile. It’s an impressive likeness. Spectators line up to watch him work.

PAIGE: On the weekends I could always go out and draw portraits at festivals. This is really my first show since the pandemic.

Paige honed his skills at Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts. These on-the-spot, while-you-wait portraits take him about 10 minutes. He says portraits are gifts that give back.

PAIGE: You’re getting it back because God is blessing you and filling you with all the joy He gives you. And so you have this talent to express yourself. So it’s not really me that’s doing the work. It’s God. I’m His instrument.

A sidewalk away, Carter Martin is doing a stained glass demonstration.

AMBI: STAINED GLASS DEMONSTRATION

Nearby, potter Sarah Echols is displaying her wares.

ECHOLS: I have my wheel, and I’ve thrown a few mugs, and I’ve crushed a few mugs which people really get irked at, but like, you can’t keep them all, you know . . .

Crushed a few mugs? Echols shows what she means by picking up a newly-formed piece. It’s not quite dry.

ECHOLS: You literally take it in your hands and crush it. [LAUGHS] See! You’re shocked! You’re shocked!

She says she makes too many pieces to take them all home. Maybe that’s why landscape artist Joshua Wilson is focused on completing just one demonstration piece. He’s doing what the French call plein air painting.

WILSON: We've got our oil paints. Uh, we brought all of our brushes. These are French easels, which are really great because it allows us to pack everything up in these nice little boxes and take them wherever we go.

Wilson is an art professor at Liberty University. Students’ work is displayed under the tent, and onlookers are voting for a people’s choice award. He says it’s important for students to have competitions and shows, and the pandemic affected those opportunities.

WILSON: As everything kind of opens up here at the end, it’s been a very busy season because we’ve been kind of one, two, three four and just kind of event after event . . .

Wilson particularly enjoys outdoor shows like this one, because he encourages his students to look to God’s creation as their standard for excellence in creativity. He uses a term from J.R.R. Tolkien.

WILSON: He described us as sub-creators. So, this way they can continue to, uh, create work that hopefully glorifies God and, uh, continues to show off His attributes.

On top of the hill, the action is a little more laid back. Families chalking it up.

MOM: Let’s scribble. Scribble, scribble, scribble . . .

Kids using coffee filters and pipe cleaners to make butterflies.

CLEMENT: Color down the middle.

KIDS: Yeah. Color all the way down the middle, just like this.

No outdoor event would be complete without a food truck, and here, it’s Hardman’s Smoke Stack.

CUSTOMER: Can I get a smoked chicken sandwich?

Owner Nate Hardman describes one of their hot items—piggy fries.

HARDMAN: Piggy fries are french fries covered with, uh, barbecue, sour cream, cheese, and scallions. Something different.

From food trucks to portrait painting, the scene is colorful. Alive. A real picture of what organizer Rachel Smith says pandemic recovery can look like.

SMITH: People are excited. They're just so happy to be back out in society and really interacting with others. They're excited to be back in events . . .

MUSIC: SATURDAY IN THE PARK BY CHICAGO

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Kim Henderson in Lynchburg, Virginia.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Today is Wednesday, May 19th. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Mary Reichard.

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

WORLD founder Joel Belz now on what could turn out to be the phoney money scam of the century.

JOEL BELZ, FOUNDER: I have learned to be doubly wary and sometimes even rude in my response to those special offers that flood our mailboxes, the internet, and the phone lines. So it didn’t even cross my mind when I got a letter from the White House last month that something nefarious and slippery might be going on.

The letter from President Joe Biden said, “I am pleased to inform you that because of the American Rescue Plan, a direct payment of $2,800 dollars was issued to you by direct deposit.”

This was legitimate, I thought, although I didn’t like the program—at all. Carol and I are not in what might be called a “needy” category. But there was at least one other issue. The letter from the White House said plainly: “If you haven’t received your payment within 7 days of receiving this letter, please check the status of the payment by visiting the IRS website or calling the IRS phone number listed at the bottom of this letter.” It had already been 11 days—and no money had found its way to my account.

Then an already complex scenario turned a bit knotty. I was talking with one of my married daughters. “Dad,” she said. “This sounds like a scam to me. Didn’t you say they asked you to call an 800 number? I hope you didn’t give them any bank account numbers!”

I hadn’t. But Alice is a pretty savvy observer in such matters, and I had to drop what I was doing to retrieve the White House “letter” and double check my first impressions. This time through, every word and every phrase carried a slightly different nuance. What if, I had to think, this was an altogether subtle trap? In the end, the Biden letter seems a genuine representation of what its senders meant to say. They meant to send me $2,800! Their system just wasn’t quite up to their promise. But there was apparently no crime involved.

It may be that the really serious crime or ethical breach is the one that’s taken place right out in the open. The scam we may live with the longest is the anything-but-quiet transfer of hundreds of billions of dollars from some virtually unknown source into the accounts of citizens willing to accept them.

This started sometime last year when then-President Trump authorized the first two “stimulus” packages to counter the sober effects of COVID-19. It accelerated when President Biden, trying to make good on his campaign promises, added his support to the “American Rescue Plan.” The political label doesn’t seem to matter. Republican or Democrat—who’s going to say, “Stop! You can’t put that money in my account! It’s phony money.”?

I’m Joel Belz.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Tomorrow: Russia’s arctic ambitions. We’ll tell you why Moscow is trying to call dibs on what could turn out to be some pretty valuable, if frozen, real estate.

And, cybersecurity. We’ll talk about the vulnerability of America’s infrastructure. What’s being done to protect it from criminal hackers?

That and more tomorrow.

I’m Nick Eicher.

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 Bible says: "The weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ." (2 Cor 10:4-5)

Go now in grace and peace.

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