10.2.25 HHS studies autism, self-driving cars, and a conversation with Charlie Kirk’s fifth-grade teacher

Summary

The World and Everything In It – October 2, 2025

Episode Summary

This episode explores a range of topics, from the U.S. government's latest approach to autism research (and associated controversies), to the realities and future of autonomous vehicles in America, and the lasting influence of a Christian educator on conservative leader Charlie Kirk. The episode closes with a commentary on runaway government spending from Cal Thomas.

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Autism Research and HHS: Are We Asking the Right Questions?

[08:19–14:59]

Main Theme

The U.S. government, led by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., pledges increased funding and a new direction in autism research, raising both hopes and concerns in the medical and advocacy communities.

Key Points

• Press Conference: President Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announce new autism initiatives, bringing attention to Tylenol (acetaminophen) use during pregnancy as a potential risk factor for autism.
  • Quote: “Today we're delighted to be joined by America's top medical and public health professionals as we announce historic steps to confront the crisis of autism.” — Robert F. Kennedy Jr. [08:43]
• Mixed Messages on Tylenol: Trump’s warnings about Tylenol ("ideally you don't take it at all" [09:32]) contrast with the FDA’s more cautious guidance (“science is far from settled” [09:47]).
• Distrust and Numbers: Kennedy and allies highlight the rising autism numbers as a crisis.
  • Quote: “Just a few decades ago, 1 in 10,000 children had autism, and now it's 1 in 31.” — Kennedy [10:11]
• Advocacy Response: Mary Holland, president of Children’s Health Defense, welcomes renewed attention but expresses skepticism about true innovation in research funding.
  • Quote: “The President and the Secretary of HHS are deeply, deeply committed to ending the autism epidemic…that major message was incredibly welcome...” — Holland [10:45]
• Ongoing Vaccine Debate: Trump brings up vaccine schedules, echoing Kennedy’s longstanding concerns; this draws criticism from medical experts.
• Changing Research Focus: Kennedy criticizes previous genetic research as “politically safe and entirely fruitless.” He promises evidence-based medicine and new research directions.
  • Quote: “We are now replacing the institutional culture of politicized science and corruption with evidence based medicine.” — Kennedy [12:01]
• Skepticism from Experts: Dr. Jeffrey Singer (Cato Institute) warns that calling autism an “epidemic” ignores changed diagnostic standards and a broader spectrum.
  • Quote: “To call it an epidemic is really not to take into account the evolution of our understanding of autism…” — Singer [12:37]
• Research Funding and Critiques: NIH launches a $50 million Autism Data Science Initiative, prioritizing root cause research. Some fear this will bias grant approvals toward certain hypotheses (e.g., the acetaminophen link).
  • Quote: “Anybody who's wanting to do research...is going to be more likely to get a grant if...their research proposal suggests that it's going to reinforce the idea that acetaminophen can cause harm during pregnancy.” — Singer [14:03]
  • Challenge: Holland notes many grantees “don't seem to be really using innovative approaches...” [14:29]

Notable Quotes

• “So taking Tylenol is not good.” — Robert F. Kennedy Jr. [09:11]
• “Historically, NIH has focused almost solely on politically safe and entirely fruitless research about the genetic drivers of autism...” — Kennedy [12:01]
• “We are now replacing the institutional culture of politicized science and corruption with evidence based medicine.” — Kennedy [12:30]

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The Promise and Limits of Self-Driving Cars

[14:59–22:40]

Main Theme

An inside look at autonomous vehicles (AVs) as they debut in American cities, raising questions around safety, technology, and the future of driving.

Key Points

• Waymo Test Ride: Emma Eicher reports firsthand from a Waymo self-driving car in Phoenix, offering a “luxury road trip” feel, but noting abrupt stops and public curiosity.
• Public Skepticism: Many bystanders express hesitation about AVs.
  • Quote: “I'm not sure I'm ready to get in a car without a driver just yet.” — Philadelphia visitor [17:02]
• Pop Culture and Perceptions: References to driverless cars in movies highlight the public’s anxieties.
• Crash Data: Waymo claims 92% fewer pedestrian crashes compared to human-driven cars, with most accidents still due to human error.
• Safety Standards and Regulation: Lack of federal standards; oversight varies by state. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration currently focuses on data collection.
  • Quote: “There is no rating system per se right now.” — Gabe Klein, former federal official [19:42]
• Expert Perspectives:
  • Brian Reamer (MIT): AVs have not reached the “North Star of safety” and more decades of development are needed. [18:50]
  • Gabe Klein: “It's going to be complex...but they're definitely here.” [19:59]
  • Reamer notes American car culture will slow AV adoption, especially in rural areas: "Car ownership is going to succeed for as long as I have to worry." [20:55]
• Vision for the Future:
  • Semi-autonomous vehicles with human oversight likely to become mainstream before fully autonomous cars.
  • “Real value to AI…is not replacing us, it’s amplifying us.” — Reamer [22:24]

Notable Quotes

• “The experience is supposed to be relaxing, but the car makes abrupt starts and stops at the Phoenix airport.” — Emma Eicher [16:33]
• “Do I think Waymo vehicles are doing really well on our roads? Absolutely. Do I think they have reached the North Star of safety? No.” — Brian Reamer [18:50]
• “Real value to AI…is not replacing us, it's amplifying us.” — Brian Reamer [22:24]

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The Enduring Influence of a Fifth-Grade Teacher: Cyndi Weber and Charlie Kirk

[25:07–32:51]

Main Theme

Mary Reichert interviews Cyndi Weber, Charlie Kirk’s fifth-grade teacher, exploring how Christian education and intentional mentorship shaped Kirk and other students’ lives.

Key Points

• Charlie Kirk’s Testimony: In a CBN interview, Kirk recalls accepting Christ in fifth grade after hearing “a hot gospel.” [25:21]
• Mrs. Weber’s Teaching Philosophy:
  • Focused on daily intentionality—ensuring every student felt seen and valued.
  • Wove faith into all subjects: “More important than best practices in teaching is making sure that God is present in all of your teaching.” [30:03, 31:44]
• Cultivating Faith:
  • Prayers were focused by day (missionaries, government leaders, school, gratitude, salvation for others) [26:38]
  • Used analogies and humor: “Walking into a garage no more makes you a car than walking into a church makes you a Christian.” [26:49]
• Nurturing Hearts, Not Just Minds:
  • Addressed bullying by focusing on students’ hearts and providing “social equity” to those struggling with peer interactions. [29:06]
• Impact on Charlie Kirk:
  • Known as a leader and “athletic nerd,” Kirk’s classroom conversion later informed his public testimony.
  • Mrs. Weber: “It is only the Holy Spirit, and I just happened to be there. And I happened to be there being intentional, and I happened to be there trying to point the kids to Jesus every day.” [30:37]
• Legacy:
  • Former students still reach out—even those whose lifestyles diverge from Weber’s values.
  • Advice for educators: “Don’t squash these precious children. Let them be who God created them to be, but help mold them…” [31:07]
  • “God's fingerprints really are everywhere you look.” [31:30]

Notable Quotes

• “More important than best practices in teaching is making sure that God is present in all of your teaching.” — Cyndi Weber [31:44]
• “Walking into a garage no more makes you a car than walking into a church makes you a Christian.” — Cyndi Weber [26:49]
• “It is only the Holy Spirit, and I just happened to be there…” — Cyndi Weber [30:37]

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Commentary: Cal Thomas on Balancing the Federal Budget

[33:36–38:50]

Main Theme

Cal Thomas reflects on U.S. fiscal policy, the cyclical nature of budget battles, and the lessons to learn from successful (albeit brief) past efforts to return to a balanced budget.

Key Points

• Historical Context: References the 1997 Balanced Budget Act signed by President Clinton and Speaker Gingrich, which produced four years of surpluses.
• Return to Red Ink: Federal debt now exceeds $37 trillion, and government shutdowns recur as political theater.
• Public Opinion: Polls show Americans think government wastes the majority of what it spends; 69% support a balanced budget amendment.
• Key Steps for Reform:
  • Sustained communication and coalition-building are essential to regaining fiscal discipline.
  • “The dramatically better future will be worth the time, conflict, and frustrations.” — Thomas, paraphrasing Gingrich [38:41]
• Memorable Lines:
  • “We don't have deficits because people are taxed too little. We have deficits because big government spends too much.” — Ronald Reagan (cited by Thomas)
  • Warning: Fiscal inaction could lead to “economic decay, fiscal bankruptcy and massive tax transfers from working Americans to foreign bondholders.”

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Timestamps for Key Segments

| Segment/Topic | Timestamps | |------------------------------------------|---------------| | News and headlines | 01:07–08:10 | | Autism research (Tylenol, vaccines) | 08:19–14:59 | | Autonomous vehicles field report | 14:59–22:40 | | Charlie Kirk’s fifth-grade teacher | 25:07–32:51 | | Cal Thomas' budget commentary | 33:36–38:50 |

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Tone and Language

The episode maintains an informed, measured, but conversational tone, with moments of personal reflection, particularly in the teacher interview. Faith integration is explicit and consistent, aligning with WORLD Radio’s mission of biblically grounded analysis.

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Memorable Moments and Quotes

• “There was the miraculous that the Holy Spirit tugged on Charlie’s heart, opened his eyes, removed the veil, and he finally saw and understood.” — Cyndi Weber [27:55]
• “Real value to AI to me is not replacing us, it's amplifying us.” — Brian Reamer [22:24]
• “We are now replacing the institutional culture of politicized science and corruption with evidence based medicine.” — Robert F. Kennedy Jr. [12:30]

---

This episode offers a nuanced look at some of America's most contentious and consequential debates, from science policy and technology to education and fiscal governance, always through the lens of faith and intentionality.

Transcript

[Mary Reichert]

Good morning. The U.S. government pledges more funding for autism research, but is it moving in the right direction?

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

We are now replacing the institutional culture of politicized science and corruption with evidence based medicine.

[Myrna Brown]

Also, how autonomous cars could reshape America's transportation. And the quiet influence of a teacher who helped light the fire of faith.

[Cyndi Weber]

More important than best practices and teaching is making sure that God is present in all of your teaching.

[Myrna Brown]

And world commentator Cal Thomas on the will to rein in runaway government spending.

[Mary Reichert]

It's Thursday, October 2nd. This is the world and everything in it from listener supported World Radio. I'm Mary Reichert.

[Myrna Brown]

And I'm Myrna Brown. Good morning.

[Mary Reichert]

Up next, Kent Covington has today's news.

[Kent Covington]

There is no end in sight to the partial government shutdown. The Senate voted once more on Wednesday on a measure to fund the government temporarily and end the shutdown. But the tally was the same as a failed vote the night before.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

On this vote, the A's are 55 and the nays are 45. Three fifths of Senate duly chosen and sworn.

[Kent Covington]

Not having voted in the affirmation, the motion is not agreed to. Republicans offered a clean stopgap bill to keep funding into November, but Democrats demanded policy add ons, including Obamacare tax credits and rollbacks to parts of what President Trump called his one big beautiful bill. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries says Democrats do not intend to back down. House Democrats and Senate Democrats remain consistent and in lockstep in defense of the health care of the American people, and that's not going to change. Republican Senator Steve Daines is urging his Democratic colleagues to support the temporary funding bill.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

It's passed the House.

[Kent Covington]

We have bipartisan support in the Senate.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Five more Democrats and we'll have this.

[Kent Covington]

And then we can get back to negotiating. And a quick note of correction. On Wednesday, we reported that two Democrats joined all 53 Senate Republicans in voting for the stopgap funding bill. But in fact, one Republican, Kentucky's Rand Paul, voted no. And Independent Senator Angus King, who caucuses with the Democrats, voted yes. No answer yet from hamas to a 20 point Gaza peace plan that the White House put forward this week. Press Secretary Caroline Levitt told reporters, I.

[Emma Eicher]

Can tell you that there are some.

[Emma Frere]

Very sensitive discussions that are taking place, but I certainly don't want to get ahead of any announcement at this point.

[Cyndi Weber]

Podium I'm going to let special envoy.

[Emma Frere]

Witkoff and the President of the United States handle that.

[Kent Covington]

Meantime, in Brussels, German Interior Minister Alexander Dorbert announced that authorities have arrested three alleged members of Hamas in a coordinated raid across several cities. He said today we have succeeded in averting a terrorist threat. He added that terrorists affiliated with Hamas had been making detailed plans to carry out attacks in Germany. Authorities believe the men were plotting against Jewish targets and said they had weapons and ammunition in their possession at the time of their arrests. Hamas, however, claims it has no connection to the three suspects. And in the Middle east today, Israel is recognizing one of the holiest days on the Jewish calendar. World's Travis Kircher reports from Jerusalem. The streets of downtown Jerusalem are normally bustling with traffic and squealing brakes, but last night they sounded like this. The roads closed shortly after sundown Wednesday in honor of Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement. Joseph Shulam is founder of Nativia Bible Instruction Ministry.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

We fast and pray all day long from the morning till about six at night. So it's a very intense day because none of us eat or drink for 25 hours.

[Kent Covington]

Last night, Shulam addressed a special Yom Kippur gathering at a messianic congregation in Jerusalem. He spoke from Leviticus 16 about Old Testament sacrifices, but said that since then God provided a new means of atonement.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

But we have Yeshua. God took our sins and transferred it not to a goat but to his son.

[Kent Covington]

The holiday comes as Israel intensifies its offensive. At Gaza City yesterday, Israel's defense minister said anyone still there must leave the area immediately. He called it their last opportunity and said from this point forward, anyone remaining inside the city will be considered a terrorist. Reporting for World I'm Travis Kircher in Jerusalem. European Union leaders are weighing a plan to provide long term financial and military support to Ukraine using hundreds of billions of dollars in frozen Russian assets. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

[Emma Frere]

We have to increase the pressure on.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Russia and this is why I have proposed reparation loans for Ukraine on the basis of immobilized Russian assets.

[Kent Covington]

She said the EU would not be confiscating the assets and that Ukraine would have to repay the loan if Russia pays reparations. The Kremlin, of course, does not like the idea. Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the EU is scheming to, in his words, illegally confiscate Russian property, which he called theft. The biggest pot of ready funds is held in Belgium, amounting to nearly $230 billion. Planned Parenthood is out of business in the state of Louisiana. World's Benjamin Eicher reports. The nation's largest abortion provider says it has shut down its two Louisiana locations. Governor Jeff Landry celebrated the closures, calling them a victory for women and children. Planned Parenthood also closed its Houston facility, described by Students for Life as the largest abortion site in North America. Those closures add to a growing list. Multiple clinics in California, Ohio, Michigan and Minnesota have also shut their doors this year. For World, I'm Benjamin Eicher. In the Philippines, rescuers continue a frantic search for survivors after a powerful earthquake. Crews have been digging through debris with tractors and jackhammers. Police, army troops and civilian volunteers have also been carrying out house to house searches. The 6.9 magnitude earthquake hit a central region of the Philippines on Tuesday night. The death toll has risen to at least 69 and is expected to rise further. Jane Goodall has died. She was a British primatologist renowned for her discoveries in chimpanzee field research. The evolutionary anthropologist also founded the Jane Goodall Institute, which promotes wildlife research and conservation. Goodall is best remembered for living among chimpanzees in Africa decades ago. She documented the animals using tools and doing other activities previously believed to be exclusive to humans. She also noted their distinct personalities. The institute said. Jane Goodall died of natural causes in California. She was 91 years old. I'm Kent Covington. And straight ahead, the search for a cause. The HHS eyes, Tylenol and other potential autism factors, plus how a fifth grade teacher can change much more than a student's life. This is the World and Everything in it.

[Myrna Brown]

It's Thursday 2nd October. Glad to have you along for today's edition of the World and Everything In It. Good morning. I'm Myrna Brown.

[Mary Reichert]

And I'm Mary Reichard. First up, pain meds and autism. Last week, President Trump joined Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. At a press conference on autism treatments. In it, Kennedy questioned whether the use of Tylenol during pregnancy could affect the development of unborn babies. Here's world reporter Emma Frere.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Today we're delighted to be joined by America's top medical and public health professionals as we announce historic steps to confront the crisis of autism.

[Emma Frere]

After President Trump appointed vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. To the top job at HHS, Kennedy promised to investigate the causes of autism. His promise this spring to release preliminary findings by September was met with raised eyebrows. Last week's press conference did little to lower them.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

So taking Tylenol is not good.

[Emma Frere]

Trump started by announcing the FDA would notify physicians that taking Tylenol during pregnancy can be associated with a higher risk of autism for the baby. Trump was unequivocal in his advice regarding Tylenol's active ingredient, acetaminophen.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

So ideally you don't take it at.

[Emma Frere]

All, but if you the FDA's actual letter to physicians is much more cautious. It stresses that the science is far from settled and Tylenol is still safer for pregnant women than other over the counter medicines like ibuprofen.

[Kent Covington]

There was no news there for us at all as doctors.

[Emma Frere]

Dr. Jeffrey Singer is a senior fellow at the Cato Institute. He said doctors have long known there are trade offs when it comes to Tylenol during pregnancy.

[Kent Covington]

This is something we've known for a while and that obstetricians have discussed with their patients.

[Emma Frere]

But the press conference sends a message that autism is high on the Trump administration's list of priorities.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

The meteoric rise in autism is among the most alarming public health developments in history. There's never been anything like this. Just a few decades ago, 1 in 10,000 children had autism, and now it's 1 in 31.

[Emma Frere]

Numbers like that have led many to distrust the medical establishment's efforts to understand and treat autism, and they are happy to see the president shining a spotlight on it. Mary Holland is the president of Children's Health Defense, a non profit advocacy group founded by Kennedy.

[Cyndi Weber]

The President and the Secretary of HHS are deeply, deeply committed to ending the autism epidemic and to identifying causes and to informing people in a real time kind of way. And so that major message was incredibly welcome and had never been said before by anybody in that level of authority.

[Emma Frere]

While the press conference was supposed to focus on Tylenol, Trump took the opportunity to once again link autism and vaccines. He echoed many of the concerns Kennedy has expressed over the years on the vaccines.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

It would be good instead of one visit where they pump the baby, load it up with stuff, you do it over a period of four times or five times.

[Emma Frere]

Interest in delayed vaccination schedules grew after the 2007 book from Dr. Robert Sears recommended a more customized approach Approach to the shots after the press conference, the American Academy of Pediatrics put out a statement criticizing Trump's comments and stressing the importance of not delaying or spacing out the vaccines on the schedule. When Gennady took the podium, he promised a new approach to tackling autism.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Historically, NIH has focused almost solely on politically safe and entirely fruitless research about the genetic drivers of autism, and that would be like studying the genetic drivers of lung cancer without looking at cigarettes. Despite the cataclysmic impact of the epidemic on our nation's children, we are now replacing the institutional culture of politicized science and corruption with evidence based medicine.

[Emma Frere]

Singer at the Cato Institute thinks the use of the word epidemic to describe rates of autism is overblown.

[Kent Covington]

To call it an epidemic is really not to take into account the evolution of our understanding of autism over the last 50 years. It's the spectrum, so it depends on what end of the spectrum you're on.

[Emma Frere]

Holland disagrees. She thinks epidemic is exactly the right description. She thinks the true autism rate may be as high as 1 in 20. She argues autism must be placed within the wider context of high rates of chronic disease in America.

[Cyndi Weber]

Most people in the United States have some kind of chronic health condition that's not normal. Over half of kids have some kind of chronic health condition, be it severe allergies, obesity, diabetes, asthma, ADHD, autism, cancer.

[Emma Frere]

Later in the HHS press conference, Dr. J. Bhattacharya, who heads the National Institutes of Health, announced the launch of major new research into the causes of autism.

[Kent Covington]

The NIH has launched the Autism Data.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Science Initiative to turbocharge autism research, devoting.

[Kent Covington]

An additional $50 million to the cause of studying autism.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

The NIH peer Reviews chose the 13.

[Emma Frere]

Best projects focused on root causes and therapies. The research grants encouraged groups like the Autism Science foundation and Autism Speaks, who offered cautious support. However, Singer fears the massive influx of funding will actually distort research into the causes of autism.

[Kent Covington]

So anybody who's wanting to do research on the subject obviously is going to be more likely to get a grant if the way they they they make their research proposal suggests that it's going to reinforce the idea that acetaminophen can cause harm during pregnancy.

[Emma Frere]

Mary Holland of Children's Health Defense is also concerned about some of the grantees. She worries they will continue looking at potential causes for autism that she thinks have already proven to be dead ends.

[Cyndi Weber]

They are largely grantees who seem to have been in the pipeline before. They don't seem to be really using innovative approaches or really completely aligned with what the President and Secretary Kennedy spoke about on Monday.

[Emma Frere]

Many of the research projects will take three years to complete, and Kennedy has promised to give updates as soon as he has them. Reporting for world I'm Emma Frere.

[Mary Reichert]

Coming up next on THE WORLD and everything in it does the future of driving look driverless? Autonomous vehicles, or AVs, are already part of city life in places like Austin, Atlanta and Los Angeles. Tesla recently announced plans to roll out its robo taxis on Nevada's highways later this year, and Google's Waymo is hitting the streets in Denver by next year.

[Myrna Brown]

It's been almost a decade in the making. Phoenix, Arizona became the proving ground back in 2016. By 2020, Waymo was offering fully autonomous rides there. Still, despite an exceptional track record, people remain uneasy about trusting their lives to an empty driver's seat. World's Emma Eicher went for a spin in a Waymo to find out what it's really like.

[Emma Eicher]

Hello from Waymo.

[Kent Covington]

This experience may feel futuristic, but the.

[Emma Frere]

Need to buckle up is the same as always.

[Emma Eicher]

So keep your seatbelt fastened, please. Waymo offers a luxury road trip. CALM, AMBIENT MUSIC PLAYS an electric Jaguar engine hums beneath the black leather seats. There's a screen in the center console to change the music or tap a button to talk to a real person. At Waymo headquarters, we'll do all the driving, so please don't touch the steering.

[Emma Frere]

Wheel or pedals during your ride.

[Cyndi Weber]

We may use interior cameras, check on.

[Emma Eicher]

Riders, improve our products and more. The wheel rotates on its own and the turn signals click on automatically. Waymo uses a combination of radar cameras and sensors to assess the road. The experience is supposed to be relaxing, but the car makes abrupt starts and stops at the Phoenix airport. Some out of towners take pictures of the Waymos as they roll up to the curb. One couple hails from Philadelphia, where AVs haven't yet arrived.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

I'm not sure I'm ready to get.

[Mary Reichert]

In a car without a driver just yet.

[Cyndi Weber]

Maybe local, but not here in highway.

[Emma Eicher]

The idea of driverless cars has been around since Ford's Model A. And there's no shortage of cinema depicting futuristic machines, like the 1977 horror film the Car, where a driverless car runs down pedestrians. Eventually, the police chase it up a mountain.

[Kent Covington]

Got him. He's trapping himself up there.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Come on, guys.

[Emma Eicher]

Many of these stories are pessimistic. The technology eventually fails in the end. Or in the worst cases, the cars go rogue. A 2024 video promoting Waymo seemed to acknowledge that negative perception.

[Kent Covington]

Well, it's finally happening. The robots.

[Emma Eicher]

They're coming almost 50 years on from movies like the car. Autonomous vehicles are fast becoming reality.

[Kent Covington]

Maybe that's a good thing.

[Emma Eicher]

And they're expanding, especially in America's big cities. Companies like Google and Tesla are eager to help urbanites accept them as part of city life. A few months ago, Google released an impressive six year driving record for their Waymo fleet. Compared to human driven cars, Waymos have 92% fewer crashes with pedestrians. And human error caused the majority of accidents involving Waymos. Google says their AVs follow cutting edge safety practices and are generally better drivers than humans. But how safe is safe enough?

[Kent Covington]

Do I think Waymo vehicles are doing really well on our roads? Absolutely. Do I think they have reached the North Star of safety? No.

[Emma Eicher]

Brian Reamer is a research scientist for Transportation Logistics and at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

[Kent Covington]

At the end of the day, safety is not so simple and causation is something that we need to dive deep into understanding so we can hone these systems over, not the next year or two, over the decades ahead.

[Emma Eicher]

AVs are still fairly unregulated. States have their own mixes of laws and there's no federal licensing rules for operating AVs. For example, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is primarily focused on collecting data on the AI in autonomous vehicles. And they don't enforce specific safety standards for sensors or cameras. Recently, Tesla's robo taxis came under fire for using inaccurate 360 degree cameras, posing major safety issues.

[Kent Covington]

There is no rating system per se right now.

[Emma Eicher]

Gabe Klein is the former head of the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation. He says there will be some roadblocks as regulators navigate the new industry, but the future is bright.

[Kent Covington]

I think it's going to be complex.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

Going to take some time to work out, but they're definitely here.

[Kent Covington]

They definitely can impact safety for the better. And what we want is the right tool to be used for the right job.

[Emma Eicher]

Still, AVs are limited to certain areas of the country, mainly cities with good weather. So it'll be difficult for a fully autonomous car to become a mainstay with the American public until they're more reliable in less predictable conditions. Tesla has been making inroads with their full self driving feature, but the electric car's popularity plummets outside urban areas as networks of AVs expand. Many of the top players in the industry see car ownership and changing with it. But America's landscape revolves around transportation, especially out in the country. And MIT researcher Reamer says many people aren't ready to let go of their own cars just yet.

[Kent Covington]

In at least in America, where car ownership is a status symbol and many of us live miles apart in rural America outside of dense urban cities, car ownership is going to succeed for as long as I have to worry.

[Emma Eicher]

Reamer recently authored a book called how to Make AI Useful. And in it he explains the uphill battle. It will take time to fully integrate AVs using AI into city infrastructure, but in the meantime, there may be a much more obvious solution to society's need for smarter, more efficient cars.

[Kent Covington]

I do believe highly automated features are going to evolve in the decades ahead where we will potentially subscribe to an automated driver who can pilot my car from one point to another.

[Emma Eicher]

Reamer envisions semi autonomous vehicles which still rely on humans to make the executive decisions. On our way to get ice cream with the grandparents, we tell the car which street to take. The car uses AI to take care of the rest, getting us from point A to point to point B.

[Cyndi Weber]

You're here.

[Mary Reichert]

Please make sure it's clear before exiting.

[Emma Eicher]

As the technology improves, AVs are likely to make certain aspects of our lives easier. And in the meantime, we'll still need to keep at least one hand on the wheel.

[Kent Covington]

Real value to AI to me is not replacing us, it's amplifying us. It's really much like the computer, the smartphone. It is providing me with tools that can allow me to do things better.

[Emma Eicher]

Reporting for world, I'm Emma Eicher in Phoenix.

[Kent Covington]

Additional support comes from Asbury University where students are known, supported and prepared to lead customized visits. Available asbury. Edu visit from Barnabasade providing hope and support for our suffering brothers and sisters around the world. Aid from Christians through Christians to Christians. [e-mail] and from watersedge offering church building loans that are ministry backed, ministry built and ministry bound. Watersedge.com loans.

[Myrna Brown]

Well, Mary, the feathers really flew. In New Zealand's latest election, the annual bird of the year poll crowned the champion as the Kyrie falcon. It's a lightning fast raptor that eats its rivals for breakfast. The falcon is even on New Zealand's $20 note flip side of Queen Elizabeth II. Nicola Toki is forest and bird chief executive.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

They are fierce.

[Cyndi Weber]

They are the spitfire of the bird.

[Myrna Brown]

World, one of our most effective and.

[Cyndi Weber]

One of our handful of avian predators.

[Myrna Brown]

So move over Kiwi. This falcon just dived bomb and its way to the top perch. It's the world and everything in it.

[Mary Reichert]

Today is Thursday, October 2nd. Thank you for turning to watch world radio to help start your day. Good morning, I'm Mary Reichert.

[Myrna Brown]

And I'm Myrna Brown. Up next, the teachers of future leaders. Christian conservative Charlie Kirk became a Christian at an early age. Here he is on CBN not long before his assassination.

[Emma Eicher]

When did you accept Christ?

[Kent Covington]

5Th grade at Christian Heritage Academy. I remember, I mean I was kind of, I heard a hot gospel and so I realized the stakes in fifth grade. I was like oh my goodness, I'm a sinner, I'm selfish, I'm broken and only thanks to Jesus. Perfect sacrifice coming and living a perfect life. That I get something I do not earn, but has been given to me, this free gift of eternal life.

[Mary Reichert]

Cyndi Weber was Charlie's fifth grade teacher. She thinks of him simply as my sweet Charlie. And she taught at Christian Heritage Academy near Chicago for. For 18 years. My own kids attended that same school at that time. Her classroom, a daily laboratory for the Christian faith, a place where prayer, science, math, all subjects pointed to the Creator. I visited with her in her home in the Chicago suburbs last week. Her heart now is for mentoring other teachers.

[Cyndi Weber]

So whether it was intentionally making sure that someone felt seen, if I felt like they were not easily making friends, just trying to have even like an inside joke with each of the students or with the class as a whole, like, so intentionality, but also so let's translate that now to faith in Christ.

[Mary Reichert]

That intentionality structured her week. Monday prayers for missionaries, Tuesday prayers for government leaders, Wednesday prayers for their school. Thursday prayers for gratitude.

[Cyndi Weber]

And then Fridays we prayed for unsaved family members and unsaved friends. That topic was always an open opportunity for me to ask my students, and what does it mean to be saved? And I heard this saying from a pastor, a local pastor one time, like, and this, this analogy falls apart quickly if you look into it too deeply. But for the fifth graders, it would always make them laugh and it would make them kind of. There was like a little light bulb that would go off. Walking into a garage no more makes you a car than walking into a church makes you a Christian.

[Mary Reichert]

Later in her career, she added response cards for the students that allowed the children to privately mark whether they'd accepted Christ, rededicated their lives, or still had questions. It created opportunities for spirit led discussions. But her gospel teaching was not formulaic. She borrows a phrase from a book that called Forming Faith in Children. The mundane, the miraculous, and the mysterious that resonated with her own life in the classroom, including the one young Charlie Kirk was in.

[Cyndi Weber]

They were talking about the forming of faith in children, the formation of faith. And he broke it down to being. There's the mundane, like the daily intentionality, the mundane in the classroom, the daily intentionality of going through what seems like the motions, of not growing weary, of doing well by trying to talk to a child's heart, trying to always point to Jesus. In all the subjects that we're talking about. Every student in my class heard that same whatever information Charlie heard. Everyone else heard that information too. And there could be others who came to know the Lord that year too. I don't know of them, but there was the miraculous that the Holy Spirit tugged on Charlie's heart, opened his eyes, removed the veil, and he finally saw and understood. And then there's the mysterious, like, we don't know when and why and how exactly it's going to happen. When faith is forming in a child.

[Mary Reichert]

Faithfulness includes shaping character. When unkindness showed up between students, Mrs. Weber would address their hearts and not merely their behavior.

[Cyndi Weber]

Just to bring it down to a heart issue, like what you are doing to another person is making them feel this way, and what does that say about the condition of your heart? But with the child who was being bullied, I found it to be helpful and powerful to give them opportunities to lead and to serve. And a term that I had heard was social equity. Give them social equity. So helping, doing things with me in the classroom, having, having fun with them, like just trying to show I value this person and trying to help the other children, or whoever it was that was struggling with unkindness, let that speak to their heart.

[Mary Reichert]

Into that environment stepped a boy with big glasses and even bigger ideas. Mrs. Weber remembers Charlie Kirk as focused and bright, respectful in class, who always handed his work in on time and who was a leader on the playground every recess.

[Cyndi Weber]

I don't remember a recess where this wasn't true. He would organize a football game and he was always the quarterback and everybody was invited and included, and that was how he spent his recesses. Very much a leader, very much his own person.

[Mary Reichert]

She laughs to recall that Charlie Kirk could be described as an athletic nerd. He equally at home analyzing ideas as he was in calling plays in sports. She doesn't really know the precise moment of Charlie Kirk's conversion to Christ, but years later, she heard him credit that fifth grade year for it.

[Cyndi Weber]

It is only the Holy Spirit, and I just happened to be there. And I happened to be there being intentional, and I happened to be there trying to point the kids to Jesus every day. Like thousands of other Christian educators.

[Mary Reichert]

And her influence went beyond the one who became famous former students still call her decades later, one came back to talk. Even after choosing a lifestyle not aligned with the faith, the teacher welcomed her former student with the same steady, solid love as she always had.

[Cyndi Weber]

I had to constantly remind myself not to grow weary of doing good. And so don't squash these precious children. Don't squash them. Let them be who God created them to be, but help mold them to behave in a way that's appropriate, to not distract the other peers around them, but help them grow in their strengths.

[Mary Reichert]

Mrs. Weber told me. That is the core of her advice to other teachers. Be ready before the bell rings. Build a bond with each child. Bring scripture into every subject. After all, God's fingerprints really are everywhere you look.

[Cyndi Weber]

More important than best practices in teaching is making sure that God is present in all of your teaching. Like if we just learn only about math, but we don't know understand God's connection to math. If we learn only about science and how the world works, but we don't understand God's connection to that, then it's, I feel like it's futile. God is a God of order. He created the earth in a very orderly way, very specific things on certain days. And math is very orderly. And we see God's character in math and we see God's creativity in science.

[Mary Reichert]

Now that Charlie Kirk is gone, Mrs. Weber thinks about his worldwide influence. Recalls the massive memorial service that lifted up the name of Jesus. She is amazed, but she isn't surprised.

[Cyndi Weber]

My sweet Charlie. Yep, he was my sweet Charlie. Yeah. Yeah.

[Mary Reichert]

From the mundane to the world stage, Cyndi Weber's fifth grade classroom became the seedbed for a future leader and for countless other children loved by their creator.

[Myrna Brown]

Today is Thursday, October 2nd. Good morning. This is the world and everything in it.

[Mary Reichert]

From listener support.

[Myrna Brown]

Welcome to supported World Radio. I'm Myrna Brown.

[Mary Reichert]

And I'm Mary Reichert. Up next, what it'll take for the government to stop spending beyond its limit. Here's world commentator Cal Thomas.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

On August 5, 1997, President Bill Clinton and the Republican controlled Congress led by Speaker Newt Gingrich enacted the Balanced Budget Act. We come here today, Democrats and Republicans, Congress and President, Americans of goodwill from.

[Kent Covington]

All points of view and all walks of life, to celebrate a true milestone for our nation.

[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]

In a few moments I will sign into law the first balanced budget in a generation. This bipartisan agreement aimed to balance the federal budget by 2002. Most of the credit goes to Gingrich because Clinton had vetoed previous Republican proposals for reducing the debt. The deal resulted in four consecutive years of budget surpluses, a rarity. But the big spending addicts returned and so has the debt now more than $37 trillion. We are once again in another so called government shutdown. Democrats are hoping the current one will be blamed on Republicans as in the past. Perhaps it's time to bring back Clinton and Gingrich to work their previous magic. As with President Trump's dogecoin, Gingrich exposed large amounts of wasteful and unnecessary spending. In an email to me, Gingrich says he visited Capitol Hill last month and gave Budget Committee staff of the House and Senate a workbook detailing how to balance the budget and pay down the national debt. Gingrich says public support is crucial. He believes voters must be convinced debt reduction is a necessity. He references a 2014 Gallup poll, which found respondents believe the government wastes 51 cents of every dollar it spends. A 2025 YouGov Cato poll found that number had increased to 59 cents per dollar. America's New Majority Project reported last month that 69% of voters support a constitutional amendment requiring Congress to balance the budget. Gingrich writes this a major part of any serious balanced budget debt repayment program must include hearings and reports highlighting waste, fraud, inefficiency and ineffectiveness. The theme must be that a modernized, effective government would deliver better results for the American people at a much lower cost. This theme is especially important in health and health care, which must be improved dramatically if the budget is ever to be balanced. Health care is 18% of GDP and the largest expense of the federal government. It costs $1.7 trillion, nearly twice what we spend on defense. More than 27% of all federal spending is focused on health care. He adds that messaging is key and many variations should be tried until the right one is found. Among them might be Ronald Reagan's line, we don't have deficits because people are taxed too little. We have deficits because big government spends too much. Gingrich says government spending went up 58% from 2019 to 2025, while the population only went up 3%. The former speaker proposes three steps. First, there must be a concerted communications effort. Two in Margaret Thatcher's language, win the argument and then win the vote. One possible future means economic decay, fiscal bankruptcy and massive tax transfers from working Americans to foreign bondholders. The effect of that decaying future on the economy, American society and our national security must be driven deeply into the collective mindset. It is simply irresponsible and destructive to allow the current wasteful, self indulgent and selfish system to continue. Second, says Gingrich, there must be a broad coalition that sustains this vision for years. The American system, and especially the American news media, has a powerful commitment to having the urgent drive out the important Elected officials alone do not have the time or communications wait to sustain such a big strategic goal. Over time. Many people and institutions must be committed to saving America by reestablishing fiscal stability. They must return to this commitment daily without regard to headlines that seek to distract from the vital long term goal third, Gingrich says elected officials, congressional staff and the executive branch must commit to be the team that saves America from bankruptcy and economic collapse. If one third of the Republicans in Congress and the executive are seriously, constantly focused on balancing the budget and paying off debt, their party and institutions will follow. They must be prideful and militant about doing something historic. The dramatically better future will be worth the time, conflict and frustrations there's much more in the Gingrich workbook. Reducing debt and balancing the budget can again be achieved. All that is necessary is the will. I'm Cal Thomas.

[Mary Reichert]

Tomorrow, Katie McCoy is our guest for Culture Friday. And some surprising big names turned up on the recent Reagan movie soundtrack. Arsenio Ortezza talks with the producer. That and more tomorrow.

[Myrna Brown]

I'm Mary Reichardt and Imyrna 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 psalmist writes, teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth. Unite my heart to fear your name. I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever. Verses 11 and 12 of Psalm 86 go now in grace and peace.