The World and Everything in It: May 22, 2025

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MARY REICHARD, HOST: Good morning!

A glimmer of hope in a brutal war: Russia and Ukraine agree to talk. What are the odds for peace?

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Also today, thousands of Afghan refugees lose legal protection and face deportation and possible persecution.

And God’s faithfulness in life’s difficult places.

LANGE: We started our church 23 years ago, and probably the first 10 years of our existence we did not do any funerals that were of natural causes.

And WORLD commentator Cal Thomas says Presidential cover ups are nothing new, but we need answers.

REICHARD: It’s Thursday, May 22nd. 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 news with Kent Covington.

KENT COVINGTON, NEWS ANCHOR: Pentagon accepts Qatari aircraft » The Pentagon says Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has accepted a gifted Boeing 747 from Qatar to be used as Air Force One for the president.

President Trump says accepting the jet is a no-brainer, adding it will save money for U.S. taxpayers.

TRUMP: They’re giving the United States Air Force a jet, okay? And it’s a great thing.

Boeing is working on two new replacement aircraft to serve as Air Force One … but the program has faced delays and cost overruns.

A Pentagon spokesman says the Defense Department  will work to make sure the plane is safe for the president. He added that the jet is being accepted “in accordance with all federal rules and regulations.”

Critics have raised concerns about the aircraft being a violation of the Constitution’s prohibition on foreign gifts.

South African leader at the White House » At the White House on Wednesday, the president hosted South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, and pressed him about violence against white farmers in his country, which Trump called “genocide.”

TRUMP:  People are fleeing South Africa for their own safety. Their land is being confiscated, and in many cases they're being killed.

He played videos during the meeting that he said depicted the racially driven persecution of those farmers.

The meeting came after the White House expedited the refugee approvals of roughly 60 white South African farmers.

Ramaphosa told Trump that the victims of violence are both white and black. He added that those calling for the deaths of white farmers represent a minority political group … that does not reflect the views of his government.

RAMAPHOSA: Our government policy is completely, completely against what he was saying.

Ramaphosa says he is seeking a partnership with the US to combat crime and improve trade relations at the White House.

GOP 'big bill' push » The president also met with Republican lawmakers at the White House yesterday, looking to sway holdouts in the push to pass what Trump calls his “one big beautiful bill.” The legislation would cover his top priorities.

Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters:

JOHNSON:   That was a very productive meeting at the White House. It was a, a collection of, of leaders from the house and most of 'em, uh, freedom Caucus leaders, and, and we had a good discussion.

The White House also said the meeting was “productive” and that it moved the ball in the right direction.

Several conservative members are looking for more savings to lower the deficit as part of any reconciliation bill.

Speaker Johnson said he still plans to hold a final vote this week.

Congressman dies » Congressman Gerry Connolly has died.

The longtime Virginia Democrat joined the U.S. House in 2009 eventually serving as ranking member of the House Oversight Committee.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries:

JEFFRIES: He really was a member’s member, someone who conducted himself with the highest degree of intellect, brilliance, resilience, integrity, humor and wit.

Connolly last year announced an esophageal cancer diagnosis. His family says he died at home Wednesday surrounded by family members. He was 75 years old.

DOJ religious liberty suit » The Department of Justice is suing the city of Troy, Idaho in a religious liberty case. WORLD’s Benjamin Eicher has more.

BENJAMIN EICHER: The DOJ says the city unfairly blocked a church from holding services in a downtown building. Christ Church had planned to use a former bank building for Sunday worship.

While the city allows similar uses—like clubs, art galleries, and museums—it denied the church’s request. The DOJ says that’s because some residents didn’t agree with the church’s beliefs. IF true, that could violate federal law protecting religious groups from being treated differently under local zoning rules.

The DOJ is asking the court to require Troy to approve the permit and to provide training for city officials on religious freedom laws.

But Troy City Attorney Todd Richardson told WORLD that locals voiced concerns about traffic flow from the building, not the church’s beliefs.

For WORLD, I’m Benjamin Eicher.

Hong Kong journalists » A media group in Hong Kong says tax authorities in the territory, which is now under the thumb of the Chinese communist government … are weaponizing the tax system against free speech.

Selina Cheng chairs the Hong Kong Journalists Association.

CHENG:  In the current case, if a number of media outlets or journalists are coming under financial duress created by unwarranted audits, then it does affect their ability to be able to work continually.

The group says tax authorities have targeted at least 20 people, including journalists, current or former heads of media organizations and their families, with audits without sufficient evidence.

Authorities in Hong Kong have taken a number of steps to crack down on criticism of the government since Beijing effectively seized control of the territory in 2020.

I'm Kent Covington. 

Straight ahead: President Trump unveils plans for a missile defense system. Plus, what’s next for Afghan refugees after losing their Temporary Protected Status?

This is The World and Everything in It.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: It’s Thursday the 22nd of May.

Thanks for listening to WORLD Radio! Good morning, I’m Mary Reichard.

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

First up on The World and Everything in It: steps towards peace between Russia and Ukraine.

The White House announced on Monday that both sides have agreed to begin negotiations.

That follows last week’s prisoner exchange brokered in Turkey. Encouraging as that is, no formal truce was made

REICHARD: President Trump is optimistic Russia will make a deal in order to end the war and rejoin the global economy. But European leaders are skeptical. On Tuesday, the EU and UK imposed fresh sanctions on Russia’s illicit oil trade.

BROWN: Joining us now to talk about it is Ivana Stradner…she researches Russia for the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

REICHARD: Ivana, good morning.

IVANA STRADNER: Good Morning. Thank you very much for inviting me.

REICHARD: Appreciate you making the time. Well, last week, President Trump and Ukrainian President Zelensky tried to set up a meeting with Russia’s Vladimir Putin in Turkey…but he didn’t show up. So, then we had a meeting between Russian and Ukrainian officials. That was the first time the nations have had direct talks since the war began. Ivana, what do you make of that meeting?

STRADNER: I'm absolutely not surprised that Putin didn't show up, because this is typical Putin's KGB game where he's just buying more time and trying to portray himself as a leader who is par on par with the United States. So he actually did not want to have a direct conversation with Zelensky. And make no mistake, Putin is just buying more time. He emphasized that the ultimate goal is to go back to the root of the problem of the conflict, and for him, it actually means subjugating Ukraine, number one. And second thing is Putin is also buying more time to make sure that he can reposition his military and to continue with his goal. And the third point is that Vladimir Putin also wants to exhaust Washington, so the President Trump eventually gives up, and that because Europe is not as strong as the United States, and they have imposed certain sanctions, but they do not have enough military power and will to punish Russia militarily, and Putin knows this. So he actually needs this ceasefire and buying more time to accomplish his larger objectives.

REICHARD: Ivana, have the countries moved at all in what they are willing to give up in order to achieve peace? And let’s start with Ukraine.

STRADNER: So, President Zelensky is not ready to give up Ukrainian territory, and he's absolutely right about this, because Putin is not going to stop. Putin has certain no control with Russia occupying territories and Crimea, and it has been this war going on for more than a decade. On the other hand, people in the West like to talk about Russia keeping Crimea so Putin can save his face. I actually disagree with that, because Putin is a dictator, and he absolutely controls the information space, so he can spin any information in any direction that he wants. So he does not really need to save his face in front of his own people. And my last point is, if you talk to people in the Baltic states, there are many, many concerns and right concerns that Putin is not going to stop at Ukraine. So we have to understand this war through Putin's perspective. Peace through trade never worked. It will not work this time either. The only thing that Putin understands, it's the language of power, more more sanctions, more military support, because Ukraine doesn't need flags all over Brussels and cheap talk, Ukraine needs weapons and much harsher sanctions on Russia.

REICHARD: So you say Ukraine is not yet willing to give up anything at this point. What about Russia?

STRADNER: Putin is also not willing to give up on his ambition, which is to subjugate Ukraine. All he really needs to do, and the game that he's playing right now is to buy more time, to make sure that there is a ceasefire so he can reposition his military and to continue with his imperialistic ambition. So I don't actually think that Putin is willing to give up any of the current territories that he holds.

REICHARD: Another big concern about Russia is the nearly 20,000 children taken from Ukraine by Russia during this war. On Wednesday, seven leading senators from both parties in the U.S. introduced a resolution calling on Russia to release those children. It is a nonbinding resolution, but shows great concern many people have. What do we know about these missing kids?

STRADNER: Indeed, as negotiations between Russian and Ukraine continue, even President Zelensky has been pushing for the return of 1000s of kidnapped Ukrainian children, and this is the part of Russia's hybrid war where there are more than 19,000 cases where kids are missing because Vladimir Putin's goal is not just to seize the territory. His war is against Ukrainian identity itself. And not only that, Russia has been also weaponizing those children in far more literal way. According to the Ukrainian intel security services. They have been several cases so far in which minors carried out sabotage operations on behalf of Russia. So this is truly Russian state, a textbook example of hybrid war.

REICHARD: Wrapping up here, Ivana…what do you see as the likely outcome of negotiations between Russia and Ukraine in these next few weeks?

STRADNER: I'm not very optimistic that negotiations will end in peace and ceasefire anytime soon. I actually think that ceasefire will be just used as a pause for Vladimir Putin to reposition his military and to continue with his imperialistic goals until the West specifically, we need more European sanctions and more European support, but also US sanctions to work. So whoever believes that Putin cares about economy and business and that peace through trade will work is sorely mistaken.

REICHARD: Ivana Stradner is a research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Ivana, thank you so much for your time!

STRADNER: Thank you very much for your kind invitation.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Up next, Afghan refugees in the US face deportation.

The Trump administration last week ended Temporary Protected Status, known as TPS, for thousands who fled the Taliban. That designation allowed them to stay in the U.S. legally. The administration is also moving to shut down other parole programs that offered a lifeline to Afghan refugees.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Now, many Afghans who could face persecution back home may be forced to leave the US as soon as this summer.

WORLD reporter Josh Schumacher has the story.

JOSH SCHUMACHER, REPORTER: Nashinas is a 25-year-old Christian from Afghanistan who lives in Raleigh, North Carolina.

NASHINAS: I was in danger. I ran out of Afghanistan because of my life.

Nashinas spoke to WORLD under a pseudonym to protect the identities of his family members in the country. Before moving to Raleigh, Nashinas says he spent time in a Taliban prison because of his faith.

NASHINAS: They torture me physically. They beat me with the cables.

The guards at the prison made sure his stint behind bars was difficult.

NASHINAS: They beat me with their hands and feet, and they use electric shock, and they lock me inside of the cage and pour on me in cold water during the night time, and lock me in the cage from 10 to 6am at night, the weather was freezing and it was not good at all.

He says he was finally released from prison in early 2022. A few months later, he fled the country. Nashinas made his way to Brazil, and then eventually made his way to North Carolina in December 2023. He obtained a temporary visa and a work permit and began working construction, food delivery, and power washing.

But last month, the Trump administration told Nashinas he had seven days to leave the country. It said the humanitarian parole program that let him into the country had been revoked.

NASHINAS: If I go back to Afghanistan, it is like I am signing my suicide mission.

Nashinas is still in the country. But he and thousands of other Afghans—including hundreds of other Afghan Christians—may not be here for much longer.

The administration claims that conditions in Afghanistan have improved, and so temporary protection is no longer necessary. The Department of Homeland Security says Afghanistan’s GDP has increased by roughly 3 percent, armed conflict inside the country has decreased, and humanitarian support is improving.

There’s data behind each of those claims, but experts say they obscure facts on the ground. Global Refuge policy advisor Daniel Salazar says Afghanistan has made some gains, however:

SALAZAR: I think it pales into comparison to the flight of capital that occurred after the withdrawal of the U.S. and the NATO coalition.

He says claims about humanitarian improvements have less to do with quality of life, and more to do with a drop in the number of people in need of aid.

SALAZAR: Some of the data points are a little misplaced in the Federal Register notice it refers to an eased humanitarian situation because, only because 23.7 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance, and that's down from 29 million the year before.

As for the administration’s claims about how conflict has abated:

SALAZAR: I think that's probably a reference to how there isn't, there isn't a a strong or like widespread resistance to the Taliban authorities in the form of an organized opposition. So you're not seeing like a full scale conflict…

But that doesn’t mean it’s safe for refugees to go back to Afghanistan. Many refugees were allies of U-S forces deployed to the region. Many are women and girls. And some are Christians. All of those labels mean they will face violence and oppression upon returning home.

The administration encourages Christians to apply for asylum. And many other Afghans might have a good argument for obtaining asylum as well. Shawn VanDiver is the president of the nonprofit advocacy group AfghanEvac.

VANDIVER: I mean, they should have a solid argument, right? It's not safe to go to Afghanistan. If they get sent back, they're dead.

Those seeking asylum in the United States should be safe from deportation while their applications are being reviewed. But VanDiver says it’s possible officials could deport them before the approval process is complete.

VANDIVER: I mean, the administration hasn't really followed all the rules, so we just don't, we don't know that they're gonna do the right—like, they deported people. They didn't, they weren't supposed to be allowed to.

I asked both DHS and the White House if Afghan Christians applying for asylum would be safe from deportation while their applications are reviewed. Neither responded.

Nashinas is currently working his way through the asylum process. He’s optimistic that he’ll get it.

NASHINAS: I know some people they…They were not in real threat or real danger in Afghanistan. They got approved their asylum. So if they get the asylum, get approved, why not me?

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Josh Schumacher.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: A priceless treasure’s been hiding in plain sight—at Harvard Law School, of all places!

Back in 1946, Harvard bought what it thought was a faded copy of the Magna Carta for $27.50. But recently, medieval historian David Carpenter of King’s College London spotted something unusual and told CNN:

CARPENTER: I hardly believed my eyes—it seemed to me an absolutely stone-cold, sober original of the 1300 Magna Carta.

Yeah, that “copy” turned out to be one of just seven surviving originals from King Edward I’s reign 810 years ago!

Magna Carta of course laid the groundwork for constitutional law, the first formal assertion that even kings have to obey the laws.

CARPENTER: And I think it’s absolutely right Harvard Law School should have its own original of Magna Carta

Harvard has one of the world’s most important legal documents, for less than the price of a parking ticket!

It’s The World and Everything in It.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Today is Thursday, May 22nd.

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

Good morning. I’m Mary Reichard.

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

Coming next on The World and Everything in It: Ministry in the inner city.

Being a pastor’s kid is seldom easy, but growing up in a church surrounded by hardship and brokenness brings its own challenges.

REICHARD: WORLD’s Anna Johansen Brown brings us the story of one pastor’s daughter whose inner-city upbringing shaped how she sees the world.

ANNA JOHANSEN BROWN: For twenty-three year-old Kyla Lange, Sundays are the best day of the week.

KYLA LANGE: If you go to my church and you hear the way my people worship, there is nothing like it. It feels like there is a desperation and a deep sense of like no one but Jesus, and like Jesus alone has the power to change my life and to set me free, and that’s why we’re all here

As a pastor’s kid, she grew up on the front lines of a ministry that serves the poor and marginalized. Here’s her mom, Jenn:

JENN LANGE: A majority of people in our church are in recovery. We started our church 23 years ago, and probably the first 10 years of our existence we did not do any funerals that were of natural causes. They were all overdose related funerals, and that was even within families.

Jenn was pregnant with Kyla when she and her husband Kurt started their church in Lynn, Massachusetts. They moved to the inner city to live alongside the people they would be serving. Kurt Lange says they made the choice gladly, but others struggled to understand it.

KURT LANGE: There are people in all the surrounding cities that do everything they can not come into Lynn because they think of it as unsafe.

Lynn has a reputation of low income and high crime. Today, it sits just above the national average for violent crimes, and that’s after two decades of improvement. The city is entrenched in bad stereotypes, and has been for generations. There’s even an old rhyme about Lynn that locals always quote.

AUDIO: [NBC Boston]

Despite growing up amid city noises and sirens, Kyla Lange loved her upbringing and her family’s ministry.

WORSHIP LEADER: We’re gonna take back all that the devil stole. I found my healing, oh yeah, I found my healing.

KYLA LANGE: I would see people, find family and find freedom just by being present with them and by being willing to say yes, like I'm dedicated to you, because no one else is but Jesus is

Recovery ministry requires grit. It takes patience to give second, third, fourth, or endless chances as people struggle. Many get clean, then relapse, then get clean again. Lange has seen friends experience God’s healing. Other situations don’t turn out as well. . . .

KYLA LANGE: I've also had the front row seat to see the hardest moments in our kind of work. There's a lot of loss in our work. A lot of people die. A lot of people go away or move away.

On top of those challenges, it’s sometimes difficult to even explain her family’s calling.

KYLA LANGE: It’s hard to tell people because they’re not going to understand, or they’re maybe going to say something unintentionally, a little stupid, or maybe a little ignorant about the work you do

These misunderstandings hit Lange hardest when she went to college. She had seen substance abuse first-hand, so some things that seemed normal to her peers felt more serious for her.

KYLA LANGE: The idea of, my friend just casually drinking alcohol is actually really, really hard for me to wrap my brain around, just because of, the kind of work we do, like it’s evil, like it’s killing people.

Lange carries heartbreak from growing up in this type of ministry. But she says her joy over witnessing freedom is even deeper.

KYLA LANGE: I think that's where the love comes from of the ministry, is that my whole life, I've had a front row seat to see our ministry in its most beautiful, most successful, most miraculous moments.

Lange loves calling the city of Lynn home and working alongside her parents. Three years ago, she and her mom founded a thrift boutique.

It provides low-cost clothing and employs disadvantaged women. Kyla’s mom, Jenn:

JENN LANGE: So I get to be for a lot of women their first job out of prison, and I just get to say, ‘Yes,’ I don't care if they have their ID. A lot of them lose everything, so sometimes they don't have an ID, they have to apply for that and whatnot. Or they have an ankle bracelet, and that might not be okay at every job and or their background check, and I just get to say yes.

Kyla recently graduated college and finished a Master’s degree in Global Ministry. She had to decide where she would use her passions and skills. Ultimately, she feels called right back to Lynn.

KYLA LANGE: It would feel wrong to leave the city, because I've dedicated myself from, like a really young age, to the peace and prosperity of the city, without even realizing that.

It might seem a simple choice to return home to the work she’s always known, but the decision wasn’t necessarily easy.

KYLA LANGE: That heart feeling of like, not a lot of people are gonna say yes when we're gonna say yes, it's a little isolating.

Still, she’s preparing to join her church on staff.

KYLA LANGE: But because I've been doing that my whole life, and because I do feel like I'm on a team with my family and on a team with our pastoral staff, I feel like the yes is a lot easier.

And for the foreseeable future, Kyla says she’s ‘all in for Lynn.’

For WORLD, I’m Anna Johansen Brown.

WORSHIP LEADER: Your healing power’s flowing, addiction’s being broken, sickness and oppression have to go . . .

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Today is Thursday, May 22nd. 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. Up next, WORLD commentator Cal Thomas says questions about former President Joe Biden’s health problems while in office need answers.

CAL THOMAS: The massive cover-up of Joe Biden’s mental and physical decline reminds me of a similar event more than a century ago.

President Woodrow Wilson suffered a stroke on October 2nd, 1919. It left him barely able to work. First Lady Edith Wilson moved quickly to shield her husband’s condition from the press and public. Historians say she took on so many of his responsibilities that she functioned like a president. Edith Wilson went so far in her scheming that she covered Wilson’s left side with a blanket to hide his paralysis. Even Wilson’s doctor was part of the cover-up.

As described in Rebecca Boggs Roberts’ book “Untold Power: The Fascinating and Complex Legacy of Edith Wilson,” members of Congress were frustrated when they were prevented from seeing the president. The Senate formed a delegation and informed a top White House aide that they were coming to the White House to see Wilson that very day. Edith and some of Wilson’s staff staged a “dress rehearsal” before the meeting that they hoped would allow the president to seem articulate and engaged. There was even talk of propping him up in a beach chair, but they settled on elevating him in bed. The publicist for the Democratic Party was brought in to help stage the charade.

Fortunately for the conspirators, Wilson was having one of his so-called “good days” when the senators arrived. He engaged with the visitors, even indulging in humor. When one of them said “We have been praying for you, Mr. President,” Wilson replied, “Which way?”

Edith Wilson in essence, if not in fact, became the first female president of the United States. She controlled access to her incapacitated husband, made decisions on matters of state and essentially ran the Executive branch for almost two years. Employing euphemisms that might resonate today with Biden, Edith claimed she did not make decisions for her husband, but that she was only—in her words—a “steward.”

If this sounds familiar in a modern context, it should. With a few changes, it resembles the script used for the cover-up of Joe Biden’s mental and physical decline, the conspiracy by some of his top staff members who helped orchestrate it, and the denial by the helpful media that there was anything seriously wrong with the president. They all promoted the fiction that Biden was “sharp as a tack” and “fully engaged.”

Democrats now realize they are caught in a trap of their own making. Their response is to tell reporters they don’t want to talk about the past, but “move on” toward the future. Republicans should not allow that to happen. Democrats wouldn’t if the roles were reversed and indeed Democrats impeached Donald Trump three times during his previous administration over what amounted to nothing.

The House Oversight and Accountability Committee has announced it will hold hearings on the suspected cover-up. Co-conspirators must be called to testify about what they knew, when they knew it, and forced to admit why they lied. This should include former First Lady Jill Biden, who could be called the Edith Wilson of our time.

Under oath they will be required to tell the truth or suffer the penalties that go with perjury. Why the 25th Amendment wasn’t employed to remove Biden from office might be one of the questions asked. The public deserves to hear the truth and not just read books from some of those in the media who were part of the cover-up and who are now trying to wash the stain of deceit from what reputations they have left.

I’m Cal Thomas.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Tomorrow on Culture Friday, John Stonestreet takes questions from WORLD Journalism Institute students. Also, Collin Garbarino reviews Disney’s newest live-action remake—and an action packed thriller that’s been decades in the making. Plus your listener feedback. That and more tomorrow.

I’m Mary Reichard.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: And I’m Myrna Brown.

WORLD Associate Correspondent Anne Shearer reported and wrote today’s feature on inner city ministry.

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: “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” —Ephesians 2:8-10

Go now in grace and peace.

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