The World and Everything in It: May 28, 2024

PREROLL: The World and Everything in It is made possible by listeners like us. My name is Julie Wiebracht. I live in Diana, Texas. I work at the Christian Women's Job Corps of Gregg County and also love volunteering at a local juvenile jail. I hope you enjoy today's program!

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Good morning!

Haiti remains in the grip of gang warfare. Are peacekeepers the solution where there’s little peace to keep?

NICK EICHER, HOST: Also today, a rundown of Supreme Court decisions. And later, a rock musician leaves the occult.

ADAM PROUT: I fell to my knees and I cried out to God, the very God that I had committed so many blasphemies about. I gave up on everything. And I said, God help me, please.

REICHARD: It’s Tuesday, May 28th. 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: Up next, Kent Covington with today’s news.

KENT COVINGTON, NEWS ANCHOR: Israel/Rafah » European leaders are turning up the heat on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his war cabinet.

Ireland and Spain are set to officially recognize a Palestinian state today. And Spain is also calling for sanctions against Israel.

That follows a deadly airstrike in the southern Gaza city of Rafah.

NETANYAHU: [Speaking Hebrew]

Netanyahu said Israeli forces made a “tragic mistake” after that strike set fire to a tent camp.

The airstrike killed two Hamas leaders but reportedly also killed more than 40 civilians.

EU foreign policy chief Joseph Borrell said he condemns the strike in the strongest possible terms.

BORRELL: It proves that there is no safe place in Gaza and these attacks take place immediately after the International Court of Justice ordered it to stop all military activities in Gaza.

But Florida Republican Congressman Brian Mast says it is Hamas that intentionally uses civilians as human shields.

MAST: There will continue to be civilian casualties if the world does not become up in arms about the fact that Hamas purposefully embeds themselves with civilians, purposefully places civilians in front of themselves.

Mast and many other Republicans in Washington say Israel must keep fighting until Hamas is destroyed.

Papua New Guinea » In Papua New Guinea …

SOUND: [Digging]

Local villagers heard there frantically digging through mud with their hands and sticks hoping to find survivors from a catastrophic mudslide on Friday.

UN officials believe more than 2,000 people were buried alive.

Justine McMahon is the local Director of Care International.

MCMAHON: The ground is still unstable. Because of the instability, they have to work with great urgency, but also caution.

She says rescue crews and aid workers are trying to help, but with roadways blocked or destroyed, reaching those in need is challenging.

Iran uranium near weapons-grade levels » The U.N.’s nuclear watchdog agency says Iran is ramping up its uranium enrichment and could be very close to producing nuclear weapons.

WORLD’s Mark Mellinger has more.

MARK MELLINGER: Iran in recent months has rapidly increased its stockpile of near-weapons grade uranium.

That’s according to a confidential new report by the International Atomic Energy Agency, or IAEA.

It says Iran has more than 300 pounds of uranium enriched to 60%,  a jump of 45 pounds in just three months.

Experts say uranium enriched at that level is just a short step away from the weapons-grade level of 90%.

Iran says it’s willing to slow its nuclear program IF the U.N. first lifts economic sanctions.

For WORLD, I’m Mark Mellinger.

SOUND: [Cameras clicking]

More aid to Ukraine from Spain/European FMs meet » Cameras flashed in Madrid, Spain as Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez welcomed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Monday.

Zelenskyy has secured a commitment from Spain to deliver more urgently needed air defense missiles.

ZELENSKYY: [Speaking Ukrainian]

The president said Russia is dropping more than 3,000 bombs on his country every month.

Zelenskyy added that Ukraine still needs another seven U.S.-made Patriot defense systems to fend off relentless Russian airstrikes.

U.S. lawmakers visit Taiwan » A delegation of U.S. lawmakers is on the ground in Taiwan in a show of support after recent Chinese aggression.

House Foreign Affairs Chair Michael McCaul:

MCCAUL: We are not here as Republicans or as Democrats but as Americans in strong support of this beautiful island.

The group of four Republicans and two Democrats met with Taiwan’s new president Lai Ching-te.

Days earlier, Chinese warships and fighter jets carried out intense live-fire drills around Taiwan as “punishment” for Lai’s inauguration.

McCaul assured the president that weapons Taiwan has ordered from the U.S are on the way as Washington and Taipei hope to deter a Chinese invasion.

Weekend storms update » Officials in several U.S. states now report that fierce weekend storms killed at least 21 people.

Arkansas. Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders:

HUCKABEE-SANDERS:  Certainly, it's devastating to see, um, and anytime you have the loss of life, the loss of homes and businesses.

The storms also proved deadly in Texas, Oklahoma, and in Kentucky, where Gov. Andy Beshear said Monday:

BESHEAR: There are at least four families this morning that have suffered the loss of a loved one that are hurting and we ought to rally around them and do everything we can to carry them.

Strong winds and heavy rains knocked over trees and spawned deadly tornadoes.

The storms injured hundreds, left thousands without power, and many without homes.

Bill Walton obit » NBA Hall of Famer Bill Walton has died. He spent decades in American living rooms, as a player and later as a broadcaster.

He won the NBA’s Most Valuable Player award in 1978 and was a two-time NBA champion.

WALTON: Getting into the Hall of Fame is the greatest thing that’s ever happened to me in my life. It’s an incredible accomplishment. 

Walton heard here ahead of his induction in 1993.

In retirement, he became an Emmy-winning broadcaster covering the game for several networks.

Walton died after a battle with cancer. He was 71 years old.

I’m Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: A fatal mission in Haiti. Plus, leaving the occult.

This is The World and Everything in It.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: It’s Tuesday the 28th of May, 2024.

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.

I mentioned this yesterday, but it was, of course, a holiday, and we do see listener dropoff when we’re out of our usual habits.

Even still, we’ve already heard from quite a few listeners who’ve become first-time WORLD Movers. What an encouragement! And on Day One, no less.

But in case you missed it: This week is our new donor drive, and we’re doing something special this year, something a little different.

REICHARD: We have longtime WORLD Movers who are especially encouraged whenever new WORLD Movers join the ranks, and so to welcome you to the community if you’ve not given before. They like to make a tangible demonstration that supporting WORLD is a team sport. We’re in this together. No one gives alone. And so to help jumpstart this giving drive, for listeners of The World and Everything in It. This week only, they’re offering that for every dollar you give, they give two dollars.

EICHER: Right, a very generous triple match this week only to get us going. And, again, a surprise because of the holiday, we are off to a really good start, so I hope you’ll become a first-time WORLD Mover today.

Please visit wng.org/newdonor. Again wing.org/newdonor. …

REICHARD: First up on The World and Everything in It: confronting chaos in Haiti.

Last week, American missionaries Davy and Natalie Lloyd were murdered by gangs in Haiti. Their deaths follow months of social and political unraveling in that country and a multinational plan to address it.

EICHER: WORLD Reporter Travis Kircher spoke with a human rights expert about the latest efforts to bring Haitian gangs under control.

TIMOTHY LAURITO: This morning we’re going to forego the birthdays and the normal introduction that we have…

TRAVIS KIRCHER, REPORTER: Reverend Timothy Laurito of Bible Holiness Assembly of God Church in Neosho, Missouri was somber in his service opening this Sunday. Sound here from the service livestream, as Laurito remembers two of his younger congregants.

LAURITO: This past week – Thursday night – we received the tragic news of the passing of Davy and Natalie Lloyd in Haiti. 

The Lloyds were a recently married American couple in their early 20s who were working as full-time missionaries in Haiti. After leaving a church function on Thursday evening, they were ambushed by gangs and shot to death.

The UN estimates that more than 2,500 people have been killed or injured in Haiti in just the first three months of this year.

In a written statement, the U.S. State Department told WORLD it reached out to the Lloyds’ families to offer its sincere condolences. The department added, “the security situation in Haiti cannot wait – too many innocent lives are being lost.”

JEAN MARC BRISSAU: This news broke my heart.

That’s Jean Marc Brissau, a staff attorney for the Notre Dame Law School Global Human Rights Clinic. Brissau was born in Haiti and much of his family still lives there. He says gangs are destroying his country – and while they may be pushing any new Haitian government for amnesty, he wants them prosecuted and jailed.

BRISSAU: Why would you amnesty someone who had raped your daughter – kidnap your son, and destroy the economy of the whole country, you know? Destroy schools, hospitals, pharmacies, everything.

But disrupting the roughly 300 gangs in Haiti may prove to be a more difficult challenge than anticipated. The UN estimates 80 percent of the capital city is now under gang control. Earlier this month, gangs seized a police station in the community of Gressier in western Port-au-Prince. U.S. President Joe Biden addressed the situation on Thursday.

PRESIDENT BIDEN: This is a crisis. It's able to be dealt with, and we think we can be dealt with this way, with a multinational approach, with Haiti leading the way, and us providing intelligence and as well as equipment.

The U.S. is contributing $300 million to a multinational force of 2,500 troops, led by Kenya. Their goal? To help secure the Haitian capital so that the newly appointed transitional government can take power. In addition to the main force of 1,000 Kenyans, troops from Jamaica, the Bahamas, and other countries will join the ranks.

Speaking from the White House last week, Kenyan President William Ruto pledged that this coalition of nations would collaborate:

PRESIDENT RUTO: …to secure that country and to break the back of the gangs and the criminals that have visited untold suffering in that country.

The first 200 Kenyan troops were scheduled to be deployed this week, but that’s been delayed until later next month due to logistical issues. And Brissau has his concerns that 2,500 troops won’t be enough to uproot the gangs.

BRISSAU: I mean, you’re gonna just focus on Port au Prince, but the gangs -- they are not dumb. They will not stay in Port au Prince. They will go around the country. It is easy to have to just put the gun somewhere and then go mingle into the population and then start all over again.

He also questions if the Haitian police will be willing to work with the international troops, especially given their unequal salaries. Brissau says the average police officer in Haiti makes only the equivalent of 200 dollars per month.

BRISSAU: It's not just importing the troop from elsewhere to support your police, but also supporting your police to have, you know, pay them a good salary. If you're paying the troops seven – I mean, $1,500 – give the police at least half.

But amid the uncertainty, a ray of hope.

Last week, Haiti’s only international airport reopened in the capital city of Port-au-Prince for the first time since gang violence shut it down nearly three months ago. Brissau says it’s a welcome first step if it lasts.

BRISSAU: We are really hoping that it remains open so that us from abroad could travel back home to see our families, to see people. But I don’t know how long that will take because the gangs – they still have control of most of Port-au-Prince.

Once the gangs are neutralized and the transitional government is in place, preparations can be made for countrywide elections in 2026.

MUSIC: [God is in the Details]

For now, as a worship team sings, a Missouri church family continues to mourn. But not as the world mourns. And though Brissau didn’t know the Lloyds personally he still hurts for the families – and honors their sacrifice.

BRISSAU: Because they were helping my people, you know?

And he’s asking for prayer for the guidance of the future leaders of Haiti. So that one day, the country will be peaceful again, so the perpetrators of this crime can be brought to justice.

BRISSAU: It's one more crime that should not have happened. And I really hope that God bring, bring comfort to this family. So one more, one too much.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Travis Kircher.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Next up: Three opinions handed down last week by the U-S Supreme Court.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: The first ruling raises the standard for what’s needed to challenge political maps as racial gerrymanders.

In a 6-3 vote, the majority finds that South Carolina’s newly drawn congressional districts are constitutional.

EICHER: The Constitution gives state legislatures power to draw congressional districts and by its nature that is political. But legal precedent says those maps cannot be drawn based predominantly on race considerations.

In a state where more than 90% of black voters vote Democrat, figuring out whether race or political preference predominates in the minds of mapmakers is tricky.

REICHARD: The high court says in those situations, challengers to the maps must “disentangle race and politics if it wishes to prove that the legislature was motivated by race as opposed to partisanship.” The challengers to the maps had no direct evidence of racial bias and circumstantial evidence was weak.

You can hear the eventual ruling in this from Chief Justice John Roberts during oral argument last October:

CHIEF JUSTICE ROBERTS: We've never had a case where there's been no direct evidence, no map, no strangely configured districts. Very large amount of political evidence, whether the district court chose to credit it or not, and instead it all resting on circumstantial evidence. I'm not saying you can't get there. But it does seem that this would be breaking new ground in our voting rights jurisprudence.

EICHER: So the upshot of this is that the Republican incumbent Congresswoman Nancy Mace has a much-better chance to retain her seat.

Dissenting justices Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor, and Ketanji Brown Jackson. They accused the majority of giving legislatures reason to use race as a proxy to get what they want. The case is reversed in part, and remanded in part to correct errors of the lower court.

REICHARD: This second decision also 6-3 is a loss for two men challenging the federal law known as ACCA, the Armed Career Criminal Act. That law mandates a 15 year minimum sentence on a three-time felon with a history of criminal violence.

The convicted men here argued their drug convictions don’t qualify as priors because those were state law convictions, not federal. But the Supreme Court disagreed, finding state convictions do count for purposes of ACCA so long as the drug involved was on the federal schedule at the time of conviction.

EICHER: This final opinion is unanimous, a loss for Coinbase, operator of a cryptocurrency exchange platform. The company ran a sweepstakes that consumers say misled them. Some users felt tricked into paying $100 to enter. The dispute is over two contracts that say different things; one saying any dispute must go through arbitration, the other saying any dispute goes through California courts. Which one prevailed was the question for the justices, and all nine agreed that a court has to make that determination of which contract controls.

NICK EICHER, HOST: New listing on the real estate website Zillow: a 9,000 square foot home on the North Shore of Chicago.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Swanky!

EICHER: Five bed, six bath, half acre lot. Price tag is five and a quarter million dollars and not just because of the neighborhood.

It’s the house that made Home Alone famous.

AUDIO: This is my house. I have to defend it!

Well, it’s not Kevin McCallister’s house anymore…the current owners bought the house back in 20-12 for $1.5 million and put in new fixtures, a gym and a home theater.

But keeping the home’s true value in mind, they left the staircase and foyer as it was.

REICHARD: Hey, word to the wise. I used to live in Chicagoland and drove past that place. Always a crowd taking pictures.

EICHER: No privacy!

It’s The World and Everything in It.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Today is Tuesday, May 28th. 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.

Coming next on The World and Everything in It: More Americans call themselves spiritual but not religious. The so-called “religious nones” —n-o-n-e —increasingly follow pagan and occult beliefs. Many say social media has played a big part in that.

EICHER: A former occultist hopes his story of bondage to spiritual darkness serves as a warning to those who are dabbling in what they may think is a harmless belief system.

WORLD senior writer Mary Jackson spoke with Adam Prout, a musician who gained recognition in the early 2000s on MySpace, one of the first social media platforms. He was known then as Adam Absinthe. His gothic androgynous look and alternative metal music attracted more than a hundred thousand followers.

WORLD’s Kristen Flavin has the story.

KRISTEN FLAVIN: By 2008, Adam Prout had a Hollywood music agent, and acting and modeling jobs. But his plunge into the occult, debauchery, and drugs and alcohol, led him down a different path.

PROUT: A couple of us just kind of created alter egos for ourselves and made our profiles and started really being entrepreneurs and just promoting ourselves.

MUSIC: [Taken — Adam Absinthe]

Adam mirrored his alter ego after the rock star archetype. Musicians and bands like Mötley Crüe, Nine Inch Nails, and Marilyn Manson.

PROUT: It had always been this, you know, feminized lead singer thing, you know, wearing the makeup, skinny, long hair and that's what I had. I became sort of a poster boy of this Gothic emo, you know, rock star type, which was very popular back then.

Underneath this alter ego, Prout sought love and acceptance. That desire stemmed from a troubled childhood, including physical and sexual abuse. But his efforts to mimic rock musicians led to other things.

PROUT: I was incorporating just like they did a lot of occultism, Satanism, witchcraft, things of that nature into the imagery and the lyrics and all this kind of stuff.

Prout’s journey into the occult started out small. He owned a deck of tarot cards but didn’t use them. He started reading books on Satanism and New Age spirituality. But when MySpace died, so did Prout’s fame. He turned to the occult to fill the void.

PROUT: I was sort of trying to reinvent myself and what I would do next. And I became deeply, deeply entrenched in the occult, at that point, that became the thing that defined me. And I wanted to be this YouTube personality, this lightworker, healer kind of guy. And I was going, I mean, hardcore.

Prout says his involvement in these practices, coupled with substance abuse, opened him up to demonic oppression, self harm, and suicidal ideation.

PROUT: I was having nightmares of demons. I was seeing demons and ghosts. I was waking up with like, handprints on my wall, scratches on me, and schizophrenic sort of elements were coming in. And I began this thing that lasted for years of wandering around like Legion in the Bible. I would wander all night long. If you combine alcohol, drugs, and all this black magic witchcraft, I mean, does it really surprise anybody that demons are now in you? Like, how much more of an open door could you give them?

One night while in this altered state, he fell into a river. Somehow, he managed to grab a hold of a bridge and pull himself out. The next morning, when he came to his senses, he knew he shouldn’t be alive.

PROUT: I fell to my knees and I cried out to God, the very God that I had committed so many blasphemies about, made such a big part of my MySpace persona about hating God, hating Christians. And there I was. Just so over, done. I gave up on everything. And I said, God help me. Please just help me.

Prout believes God heard his cry. He got his hands on a Bible. He joined a church. At a men’s retreat, Prout made a confession of faith in Christ. Shortly after that, he was baptized.

Four years later, Prout returned his focus to social media, but this time with a very different mission.

PROUT: Did one of the internet’s first celebrities become a Christian? What I tell you next may shock you. The reason he went from this to this is because of Jesus. And that’s not all. That man is me.

That’s Prout in a 40 second clip he made for TikTok. It includes side-by-side imagery of his days as Adam Absinthe and now. The video went viral.

PROUT: I can see like, wow, this is really edifying for the body of Christ, because you can really see like physically see the transformative power of Jesus. I went from a frail, pale, androgynous wraith to, you know, a man, and like, it's just cuz of Christ. Because 2nd Corinthians 5:17, I'm a new creation, because I'm in him now.

At first, venturing back into social media was unnerving.

PROUT: It struck me, somewhere down the line that I used my talents that God gave me to glorify myself, the world, and the devil. And it hit me like a ton of bricks, like, you know what I'm going to, I have to use these to glorify Him.

At age 44, Prout now sees online evangelism as part of his calling.

On his social media channels, Prout addresses more in-depth details about his story. He also posts reflections about demons, spiritual warfare, and the dangers of the occult. He aspires to reach those who are seeking the divine on social media.

PROUT: The algorithms are going to push more and more soul-damning, evil stuff out there that people are going to grab on to for hope, and be left high and dry. And that's, you know, a big reason why I'm an online evangelist, because it’s sort of like, well, let's break into the algorithm, just like you would step into Rome, like Paul, and all this paganism. And it's all around us. But let's break it and get some people saved.

Prout recently released his first single since his days as Adam Absinthe. It’s a praise song called, “The Children’s Bread.” He plans to release more music––and a book. But those pursuits are slow going. Prout works a day job. He’s in the process of moving. And he’s prioritizing his own spiritual health and growth––and God’s perfect timing.

PROUT: I do believe I went through what I went through for such a time as this.

MUSIC: You are victory from the night
You are freedom, Jesus Christ
I am baptized, purified.
Armored, ready for the fight
By your name, we are the light.
We’re saved
We’re saved

For WORLD, I’m Kristen Flavin. This story was written and reported by Mary Jackson.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Today is Tuesday, May 28th. 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. Up next: WORLD Opinions commentator Daniel Suhr on recent calls for a liberal Supreme Court justice to resign.

DANIEL SUHR: President Joe Biden is 81 years old. Democrats have the burden of showing that despite swirling questions about his mental and physical capacity, Biden should hold the presidency for another four years. And yet, some Democrats are pressuring Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor to retire this year at the younger age of 69.

These Democratic strategists recognize that the political landscape likely won’t improve for them anytime soon. Democrats currently hold a razor-thin 51-49 majority in the Senate, and it’s possible they may lose that majority this November. Moderate Democrat Joe Manchin’s retirement in West Virginia is a likely GOP pickup, and the four toss-up seats are all currently held by Democrats. Even if President Biden wins, a Republican Senate majority will insist on someone older and more moderate than the liberal dream Democrats could get today.

As a result, the campaign is underway to force Sotomayor to announce her retirement. Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal, himself 78, said last week: “I’m very respectful of Justice Sotomayor. I have great admiration for her. But I think she really has to weigh the competing factors. We should learn a lesson. And it’s not like there’s any mystery here about what the lesson should be. The old saying—graveyards are full of indispensable people.” Similarly, Democratic Senator Sheldon Whitehouse said recently, “Certainly I think if Justice Ginsburg had it to do over again, she might have rethought her confidence in her own health.”

Republicans nearly learned that lesson the hard way when Antonin Scalia died in the final months of Barack Obama’s second term. His seat would have gone to Merrick Garland apart from two things: Donald Trump won an unexpected victory in 2016, and then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell held the seat for Trump to fill.

Democrats did learn that lesson the hard way when Ruth Bader Ginsburg, heroine of the legal left, passed away during the final year of Trump’s presidency. Trump replaced her with conservative Judge Amy Coney Barrett. One could also point to Thurgood Marshall’s retirement due to his health during the presidency of George H.W. Bush. He was replaced by conservative visionary Clarence Thomas.

The flip side of today’s putsch against Sotomayor is that it politicizes whatever retirement decision she does make. Before Stephen Breyer’s retirement, Noah Feldman of Harvard Law School pointed out, “Every column or television comment—the more prominent, the worse—traps Breyer into having to stay out so as not to appear to be acting as a partisan.” Just so for Sotomayor: the more pressure she comes under, the more she may push back in the name of judicial independence.

The entire sad affair shows that raw power politics once again surpasses any attempt at principled politics. Biden is 81? He’s in great health. Let’s give him four more years with his finger on the nuclear button. Sotomayor is 69? She’s had a good run, but it’s time to make way for the next generation. The real lesson: never expect a politician to let consistency get in the way of the right talking point.

I’m Daniel Suhr.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Tomorrow: Takeaways from the Libertarian presidential convention on Washington Wednesday. And, how Christians in Syria survive destruction from ISIS terrorists. 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: “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” —Colossians 3-17

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.