10.7.25 Colorado’s conversion therapy law, hiring high-skilled immigrants, the National Guard in Memphis, and steadfast hope for the hostages

Summary

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The World and Everything In It – October 7, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode dives into major legal, political, and social issues shaping current events: a challenge to Colorado’s conversion therapy law before the Supreme Court; the impact of steeper fees for high-skilled immigrants and the H1B visa program; the deployment of the National Guard in Memphis and local reactions; and the ongoing anguish and perseverance of families with loved ones held hostage in Gaza two years after the October 7th Hamas attack. An additional reflection explores the rise of AI-generated avatars of deceased individuals and its implications for advocacy and authenticity.

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1. Colorado’s Conversion Therapy Law at the Supreme Court

Theme: Free speech, religious liberty, and the scope of state bans on “conversion therapy” for minors

Key Discussion Points & Insights

• Case at Hand: "Chiles v. Salazar"—a Christian counselor is suing Colorado, arguing the state’s 2019 law banning “conversion therapy” for minors restricts her First Amendment rights.
  • “We’ll cover the arguments in Monday’s legal docket. But today, conflicting visions for helping confused minors.”
    – Mary Reichert [07:18]
• Advocacy and Definitions:
  • LGBTQ advocates argue such laws protect youth from “junk science designed to shame them into denying who they really are.”
    – Jeremy Robbins via Trevor Project video [07:25-07:30]
  • Nearly half of US states have similar laws, all supported by leading medical associations.
• Expansion of Terminology:
  • Dale Johnson (Association of Certified Biblical Counselors) highlights how the definition of “conversion therapy” has expanded beyond aversive methods to cover any efforts at sexual orientation change or discussions involving moral views on sexuality.
    “They broadened semantically the concept of conversion therapy to include any what’s now called sexual orientation change efforts.”
    – Dale Johnson [09:14]
• Gender Identity Concerns:
  • Erin Friday, California attorney and parent advocate, criticizes that laws conflate sexual orientation and gender identity, but the latter is undefined and medical professionals may focus on gender issues to the exclusion of underlying mental health concerns. [10:07-10:47]
  • “None of these medical societies can actually even define what gender identity is without using the word gender, and they don’t define gender.”
    – Erin Friday [10:16]
• Critique of One-Way Counseling:
  • The law only allows counseling which affirms transition or sexual identity (one-way path); other therapeutic conversations are restricted.
    “It requires a one way path of support. … We’re going to say yeah, everything is wrong with you, but you can be fixed with drugs and surgeries.”
    – Kent Covington [11:04]
• Religious Liberty & Client Autonomy:
  • Amicus briefs from groups like Changed Movement point out devout Christian minors are left without access to counselors who align with their beliefs.
    “It’s largely a restriction of religious boundaries on sexual behavior in a professional counseling setting.”
    – Kent Covington quoting Elizabeth Woening [12:52]
• Collision Course:
  • “It is a debate over religious ideology as to what’s most healthy for an individual in relation to their sexuality. … We were probably on some sort of collision course.”
    – Dale Johnson [13:17]

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2. Sticker Shock for High-Skilled Immigrants: The H1B Visa Fee Hike

Theme: The consequences of restricting skilled immigration through exorbitant visa fees

Key Discussion Points & Insights

• Policy Shift:
  • President Trump’s recent proclamation raises the H1B visa fee from a few hundred dollars to $100,000, intending to curb perceived abuse and protect American jobs.
• Analogy & Argument:
  • Jeremy Robbins (American Immigration Council) likens foreign specialists on US teams to international MVPs in the NBA—if you bar them, you weaken your own side.
    “If you're a fan of the Oklahoma City Thunder, are you going to be like, no, that's a great idea. ... No, I want my team to win.”
    – Jeremy Robbins [14:50]
• Historical Context:
  • The H1B program was designed to bring in foreign workers with skills unavailable in the US, with checks to ensure Americans aren't displaced.
• Abuse and Criticism:
  • Critics like Laura Rees (Heritage Foundation) argue the program has strayed, with companies sidestepping regulation and not giving Americans fair access; she welcomes higher fees as a corrective.
    “We need to get this thing back into its original intent, ... and allow American students and American workers a fair shake at applying for jobs ... and that’s just not the situation right now.”
    – Laura Rees [18:31]
• Counterpoint/Data:
  • Robbins cites research showing American job creation increases where companies hire H1B visa recipients, as innovation and local investment rise. Forcing firms to hire abroad or telecommute means lost opportunities for communities.
    “Not only did the Companies that got H1B visas create more American jobs, the communities around them created more American jobs because there was more spending ... more innovation.”
    – Jeremy Robbins citing economic research [17:38]
• Underlying Tension:
  • It’s not a zero-sum game; high-skilled visa restrictions may ultimately harm, rather than help, American workers and the broader economy.

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3. National Guard in Memphis: Community Voices on Federal Intervention

Theme: Public responses to National Guard deployment in cities plagued by violent crime

Key Discussion Points & Insights

• Background:
  • President Trump authorized National Guard deployments and federal crackdowns in cities with surging crime rates, including Memphis; more than 270 arrests in eight days.
• Local Division:
  • Mayor Paul Young was not consulted and is opposed, arguing it circumvents city authority.
    “Just yesterday, I didn’t ask for the National Guard. ... That’s something that the president and governor decided.”
    – Mayor Paul Young [20:47]
• Mixed Resident Reactions (On-the-ground reporting):
  • Mark Bell (vet, Memphis native):
    "I'm not a fan of US Military being deployed to municipalities and cities ... I think things like providing something for our youth, programs... would be better for us in the long-term." [21:23]
  • Grace Walsh (resident):
    “We have been known to lock people up one day and they're out the next. So how is it that help in the crime?” [21:50]
  • Ralph Harrington:
    “Actually, I think it starts in the home. … When it’s a stronger home, it’s a stronger church, … stronger community.” [22:07]
  • Phil Thomas (Bellevue Baptist Church):
    “Hallelujah. We can always use the help.” [23:12] But: “Is it the answer though? No. Christ is the answer. The Bible tells us that man’s heart is deceitfully wicked.” [23:20]
  • Tina Downey: Welcomes National Guard, referencing crime near her neighborhood.
    [23:31-23:45]
  • John Knight:
    “I just feel like we all have a part to do. ... if we did what was needed and what was right and what was just, this wouldn't be called for. … maybe this is for the Christians to wake up and we start praying more for our city.” [24:09]
• Overall:
  • The deployment is divisive—some see it as needed help, others as evidence of deeper failures in policy and community life.

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4. Two Years After October 7: Steadfast Hope for Hamas Hostages

Theme: The ongoing trauma and undiminished determination of hostage families in Israel

Key Discussion Points & Insights

• Somber Anniversary:
  • Two years since Hamas’s attack on Israel—1,200 killed, 250 hostages taken; families and communities continue waiting and advocating for their return.
• Hostages Square, Tel Aviv:
  • Now a focal point for public mourning and protest—empty tables for missing hostages, yellow ribbons, memorials.
  • “I would prefer that it would be not like that just for people to just come here to celebrate good things.”
    – Activist in Hostages Square [27:29]
• Personal Testimony: Eli David (brother of hostage Eviatar):
  • Vivid, wrenching account of getting news that his brother was captured at the Nova Music Festival.
  • “He was tied up, shirt torn. ... dragging him inside the Gaza Strip.”
    – Eli David [29:40]
  • Enduring hope:
    “I could only scream and curse and punch the wall … but then I realized that he’s alive. And that’s something.” [29:57]
  • Hamas’s cruelty: Hostages forced to witness others’ release, endure malnutrition and psychological torment.
    “He was so weak. I mean he was barely able to speak.” [31:33]
  • Eli’s message:
    “We are not going to give up until he’s home. ... I want him to know that we are thinking the same. Nobody can give up.” [32:11]
  • The segment closes with palpable longing:
    “I miss his hug. I miss his smile. I miss those moments when we play together.” [32:54]
• Conclusion:
  • The episode offers a profoundly human face to global headlines—grief, hope, and the demand for action have not abated.

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5. Essay: The Rise of “Avatar Advocacy”—AI and the Likeness of the Dead

Theme: The ethical challenges of using AI avatars of deceased people for political and advocacy purposes

Key Discussion Points & Insights

• Recent Incidents:
  • Churches played an AI-generated video from the late Charlie Kirk.
    “Don’t waste one second mourning me. … I knew the risks of standing up in this cultural moment and I’d do it all over again.”
    – AI-generated ‘Charlie Kirk’ [34:20]
  • CNN’s Jim Acosta interviewed an AI avatar of Joaquin Oliver (victim of 2018 Parkland shooting), prompting wide criticism.
• Core Problem:
  • These avatars provide a simulacrum—giving the illusion of posthumous commentary or advocacy.
  • “The interview with AI Joaquin was criticized from both left and right as a grotesque puppet show.”
    – Joe Rigney [35:24]
  • While families may desire to keep a loved one’s “voice” alive for advocacy, the lines blur dangerously between honoring memory and exploiting it.
• Philosophical/Ethical Reflection:
  • “In our desire to extend our lost loved ones, are we losing their humanity? More importantly, are we losing our own?”
    – Joe Rigney [37:19]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On constraining counseling:
  “It’s largely a restriction of religious boundaries on sexual behavior in a professional counseling setting.”
  – Elizabeth Woening via Kent Covington [12:52]

• On skilled immigration:
  “Not only did the Companies that got H1B visas create more American jobs, the communities around them created more American jobs ... there was more innovation.”
  – Jeremy Robbins [17:38]

• On federal intervention in Memphis:
  “No. Christ is the answer. The Bible tells us that man's heart is deceitfully wicked.”
  – Phil Thomas [23:23]

• On hope for hostages:
  “We are not going to give up until he's home. And he cannot give up. ... Nobody can give up.”
  – Eli David [32:11]

• On AI advocacy:
  “The Bible tells us that human beings are made in the image of God. The question is whether we are truly honoring that image. ... Are we losing their humanity? More importantly, are we losing our own?”
  – Joe Rigney [37:19]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [07:01] Colorado's Conversion Therapy Law & Legal Challenge
• [14:09] H1B Visa Program Fee Hikes and Debate
• [19:49] National Guard in Memphis – Community Reactions
• [25:56] Two Years After Oct. 7 – Hope for Hostages in Israel
• [33:38] Essay: “Avatar Advocacy” – AI and the Ethics of the Dead

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Summary in the Podcast’s Original Tone

With its characteristic blend of field reporting, detailed analysis, and biblical worldview, this episode threads together America’s culture wars, complex immigration policy debates, faith community responses to crime, and the raw sorrow and resilience of those touched by Middle Eastern violence. It questions not only law and policy, but how we remember, advocate, and honor the image of humanity—grounded firmly in Christian understanding.

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Transcript

[Mary Reichert]

Good morning. A Christian counselor takes Colorado to the Supreme Court today, challenging a law that limits what she can say to young clients.

[Kent Covington]

It's largely a restriction of religious boundaries on sexual behavior in a professional counseling setting.

[Nick Eicher]

Also today, how tightening a work visa program could affect American workers. And what some churchgoers in Memphis are saying about the National Guard coming to town later. Two years after the brutal assault on Israel by Hamas. The hostages are not forgotten.

[Eli David]

We are not going to give up until he's home.

[Mary Reichert]

It's Tuesday, October 7th. This is the world and everything in it from listeners supported world radio. I'm Mary Reichert.

[Nick Eicher]

And I'm Nick Eicher. Good morning.

[Mary Reichert]

Time now for the news. Here's Kent Covington.

[Benjamin Eicher]

President Trump said Monday that he would be open to striking a deal with Democrats on health care, the issue at the heart of the now week long government shutdown. Democrats refused to pass a funding bill without new policy changes, particularly on health care subsidies.

[Kent Covington]

Up till now, there hasn't been a great deal of pain. There could be a great deal of pain, but up till now there hasn't been. I will say this, just hang in there because I think a lot of good things are going to happen.

[Benjamin Eicher]

And Trump seemingly suggested the talks had already started. But House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said.

[Kent Covington]

I do not know of any Democrats who have spoken to President Trump or members of his administration on this issue of reopening the government.

[Benjamin Eicher]

President Trump later followed up his earlier remarks by saying the Democrats must first agree to reopen the government and then those talks would take place. Meantime, in the Senate on Monday, on this vote, the yeas are 52 and.

[Kent Covington]

The nays are 42.

[Benjamin Eicher]

Three fifths of the Senate not having.

[Kent Covington]

Voted in the affirmative, the motion is not agreed to.

[Benjamin Eicher]

Democrats successfully blocked another attempt to pass a clean funding extension to reopen the government without first meeting their demands. The White House is criticizing a ruling by a federal judge blocking, at least for now, the deployment of National Guard troops to Portland, Oregon. President Trump ordered deployment of Oregon National Guardsmen to the city to safeguard Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and facilities amid sometimes violent protests. And Press Secretary Caroline Levitt said District Court Judge Karen Immergut was wrong.

[Kent Covington]

With all due respect to that judge, I think her opinion is untethered in reality and in the law. The president is using his authority as Commander in Chief. US code 124 06, which clearly states that the president has the right to call up the National Guard in cases where he deems it's appropriate.

[Benjamin Eicher]

After Judge Emmergut, a Trump appointee blocked the Oregon deployment. The president ordered troops from California to deploy to Portland, but the judge then expanded her order to block that as well. Meantime, Illinois and Chicago have filed a lawsuit aiming to stop President Trump's administration from sending hundreds of National Guard troops to Chicago. Democratic Illinois Governor J.B. pritzker told reporters.

[Kent Covington]

There is no invasion here, there is no insurrection here, and local and state law enforcement are on the job and managing the what they need to.

[Benjamin Eicher]

Trump authorized the deployment of 300 troops to protect federal officers and assets in Chicago over the weekend. A group of protesters aggressively boxed in immigration officials and one woman allegedly tried to run over federal agents with her car, forcing agents to open fire. Ukraine has carried out new long range strikes deep inside Russian held territory, World's Benjamin Eicker reports.

[Travis Kercher]

Officials say the attack hit an ammunition plant, an oil terminal in Crimea and a weapons depot. It's part of Kyiv's effort to disrupt Moscow's supply lines. Ukraine says it used only weapons made in Ukraine, but President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says US Support has not been blocked despite the American government shutdown.

[Kent Covington]

He added that Washington has now unlocked.

[Travis Kercher]

The possibility for Kyiv to to buy additional Patriot missile systems, though money remains an issue. Ukraine's defense industry continues to expand, aiming to supply at least half of its frontline weapons needs by the end of the year. The Ukrainian strike comes as Russia continues to target civilian infrastructure in Ukraine ahead of winter.

[Benjamin Eicher]

For World I'm Benjamin Eicher Psychologist and author Jordan Peterson is on a slow road to recovery after a nearly month long stay in the icu. His daughter Michaela Peterson said he battled pneumonia and sepsis and was diagnosed with critical illness polyneuropathy, serious nerve damage.

[Kent Covington]

We weren't able to communicate with dad really all of September, but after almost a month in the icu, he's been moved out to a less urgent floor. Praise God for that. We're still in the midst of this, but now we're seeing improvements daily.

[Benjamin Eicher]

But she says her father remains gravely ill and faces months of difficult recovery and asked for prayers. She suggested the nerve damage may stem from an underlying condition the family believes he developed over years from mold exposure. The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine this year goes to three scientists whose work reveals how the immune system attacks threats, but not our own tissues. Mary E. Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell and Dr. Shimon Sakaguchi are being honored for uncovering the rules that tell immune cells when to attack. Brunkow said when her phone rang and her caller ID said Sweden, she assumed it was a spam call and went back to bed.

[Kent Covington]

And then my husband was upstairs and then I heard a voice and he's talking to somebody in the living room and it's interloper on the front porch. There was someone on the front porch and it's the local news, the local AP photographer.

[Benjamin Eicher]

Their discoveries could pave the way for new treatments for autoimmune diseases and even help improve organ transplants and cancer therapies.

[Travis Kercher]

Foreign.

[Benjamin Eicher]

Cubpington and straight ahead, the battle to define so called conversion therapy plus blurring the line between causes and fabricated advocacy. This is the WORLD and everything in it.

[Mary Reichert]

It's Tuesday the 7th of October. So glad to have you along for today's edition of the World and Everything in It. Good morning. I'm Mary Reichert.

[Nick Eicher]

And I'm Nick Icar. First up today, so called conversion therapy laws. This morning, the Supreme Court hears oral arguments in Chiles v. Salazar. That's the case of a Christian therapist who is suing the state over a law she says restricts her First Amendment rights.

[Mary Reichert]

We'll cover the arguments in Monday's legal docket. But today, conflicting visions for helping confused minors.

[Jeremy Robbins]

Here's the truth.

[Kent Covington]

It's not about speech.

[Jeremy Robbins]

It's about protecting young people from a.

[Kent Covington]

Junk science that is designed to shame them into denying who they really are.

[Mary Reichert]

That video is from the Trevor Project, an LGBTQ advocacy group pushing for laws on conversion therapy across the U.S. nearly.

[Jeremy Robbins]

Half the states across the country have laws like Colorado's because every major medical.

[Kent Covington]

And mental health association agrees this is harm, not help.

[Nick Eicher]

America's leading medical, psychiatric, psychological and pediatric associations all support these laws, but what exactly do they do?

[Kent Covington]

The way state licensure works is it's not federally regulated. It's regulated by each individual state.

[Mary Reichert]

Dale Johnson is executive director of the association of Certified Biblical Counselors, and he spoke with Washington producer Harrison Waters about his organization's amicus brief.

[Kent Covington]

In the Chiles case, conversion therapy was offered first of all, not by Christians.

[Nick Eicher]

Initially, it was offered at a time.

[Kent Covington]

When the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders had homosexuality listed as a mental disorder. And unfortunately, there were times in the past where Christians fell for that concept.

[Nick Eicher]

Some therapists in the mid 20th century experimented with psychoanalysis techniques to jar patients out of same sex attraction, including electroshock and shaming. The numbers are murky on how many churches and Christian therapists adopted similar practices, but Johnson says some did indeed seek conversion of the mind instead of the heart.

[Mary Reichert]

When the American Psychological association changed course and began discouraging conversion therapy they did not limit it to specific techniques.

[Kent Covington]

They broadened semantically the concept of conversion therapy to include any what's now called sexual orientation change efforts.

[Mary Reichert]

That means the term now covers more than aversive methods like snapping rubber bands.

[Kent Covington]

It also now includes anything that we would do in discussing moral basis for sexuality with an individual who finds himself at a confused position in their life.

[Nick Eicher]

The first law that banned conversion therapy for minors was established in California back in 2012. While a few conservative states passed laws to Prevent similar bans, 23 other states followed. California.

[Kent Covington]

New York, now the 15th state to ban conversion therapy. This law will make that no longer available in Minnesota. Illinois is moving to make it illegal, but it's still available nearby.

[Mary Reichert]

While these laws are focused on sexual orientation, many lump in another category, gender identity. And that concerns California attorney Erin Friday.

[Kent Covington]

None of these medical societies can actually even define what gender identity is without using the word gender, and they don't define gender.

[Mary Reichert]

Friday also leads our Duty usa, a secular organization of parents concerned about their trans identified children.

[Kent Covington]

We have a parent in our membership who's daughter is anorexic and trans identified. She's afraid to get her any therapeutic help because the mental health providers only focus on the trans identity.

[Nick Eicher]

Colorado's 2019 minor conversion therapy law forbids efforts to change sexual orientation and gender identity, but it does allow two forms of gender counseling, supporting identity exploration and development and assistance in gender transition.

[Kent Covington]

It requires a one way path of support. We're going to support your belief, your self loathing, we're going to support that. We're going to say yeah, everything is wrong with you, but you can be fixed with drugs and surgeries.

[Mary Reichert]

Friday notes that many states already ban torture and other practices that some conversion therapists practice, making expansive laws unnecessary. She suspects they serve a different purpose.

[Kent Covington]

Really, if we want to talk about conversion therapy, the transgender movement is actually trying to convert kids who will likely grow up to be same sex, attracted to be, quote unquote straight by changing their exterior so that it looks like they are then in a heterosexual relationship.

[Nick Eicher]

Friday and other amicus brief writers are encouraged to see counselor Kaylee Chiles challenging Colorado's law.

[Kent Covington]

Childs is not applying a different approach to her clients who identify as LGBT than those who do not.

[Nick Eicher]

Elizabeth Woening is executive director of a.

[Kent Covington]

Group called Changed Movement, a growing worldwide network of people who have left LGBTQ culture and its kind of sociopolitical identities.

[Mary Reichert]

Woening and many of her associates are professing Christians, and their amicus brief tells the stories of several people with concerns about their homosexual behavior.

[Kent Covington]

And so it was essential to them that they find a like minded counselor because frankly, both of them believed that their spiritual life was in peril because of the behavior.

[Nick Eicher]

Because Colorado's law does not specify the practices it prohibits, Woening says that the ban makes it difficult for young people of faith to get the help they want.

[Kent Covington]

It's largely a restriction of religious boundaries on sexual behavior in a professional counseling setting.

[Mary Reichert]

Colorado argues its power to regulate professional conduct extends to the counseling room. On the other side, liberal parents and Christian counselors alike fear the consequences of states regulating conversations about unhealthy sexual practices and thinking. Here's Johnson again.

[Kent Covington]

It is a debate over religious ideology as to what's most healthy for an individual in relation to their sexuality. So we've seen this growing for quite some time knowing that we were probably on some sort of collision course. A win in this particular case I think would be so encouraging to the.

[Nick Eicher]

Church and I think help to buffer.

[Kent Covington]

The radicalism that we're seeing.

[Nick Eicher]

Up next, sticker shock for high skilled immigrants. Last month, President Trump issued a proclamation that hiked the H1B visa fee from a few hundred dollars to 100,000 dol. He says it'll end abuse and safeguard American jobs. Others say it could backfire on American businesses and communities. World reporter Josh Schumacher has the story.

[Benjamin Eicher]

Working the perimeter hits a dribble wide dancing camp Free Dort knocks it away.

[Jeremy Robbins]

To Visualize the current H1B visa debate, picture an NBA sports team.

[Kent Covington]

Imagine you are the Oklahoma City Thunder, right? And you are competing for a national championship and your best player, the mvp, is a Canadian immigrant.

[Jeremy Robbins]

Jeremy Robbins is the executive director of the American Immigration Council. In his sports analogy, he says the team then puts in place a new policy saying Canadian immigrants can no longer play for the team. The reason? The team wants to give more spots to American players.

[Kent Covington]

If you're a fan of the Oklahoma City Thunder, are you going to be like, no, that's a great idea. I really want. You want? No, I want my team to win. I want them to be competitive.

[Jeremy Robbins]

And it's that competitive edge that Robbins believes the current administration is losing sight of in its approach to the H1B visa program, in its bid to protect American workers by keeping high tech specialists from other countries out. He fears the White House will only end up hurting America's chances of competing in the technology marketplace. Here's a little background. Congress created the H1B visa program in 1990. The goal of the program was to help companies bring in foreign workers with special expertise that most Americans didn't possess, companies could enter a lottery every year to see whether they could nab one or a few of the 85,000 H1B visas that US Citizenship and Immigration Services would hand out. That year, companies paid pocket change to enter the lottery, but to qualify, they had to promise to pay the worker the same amount as a similar American worker and notify American workers that there was a job they were looking to hire an H1B visa applicant for. But over the years, the program has shifted and it's drawn criticism for unfairly disadvantaging American workers.

[Kent Covington]

We have gotten far afield from the original intent of H1B.

[Jeremy Robbins]

Laura Rees is the director of the Immigration center at the Heritage Foundation.

[Kent Covington]

It has become a visa that is being used for not specialty occupations and shutting the door, not allowing American workers to compete.

[Jeremy Robbins]

She says that companies haven't always followed the H1B program's rules. In recent years, companies such as Meta and Apple have had to pay millions in settlement agreements with the Department of Justice after being caught hiring H1B visa applicants without considering American workers. Reese argues that putting a steep price tag on H1B visas will stop such abuse going forward.

[Kent Covington]

What this fee does is it raises the price. It makes employers have to prioritize. Okay, you can still get a H1B, but you're going to have to be choosier about who you're going to get such a visa for.

[Jeremy Robbins]

But Jeremy Robbins doesn't think that it will guarantee American jobs.

[Kent Covington]

And what's very clear from the data is that it's not a zero sum game where like, oh, well, if you can't get the H1B visa there, somehow you're going to hire an American and it's going to create more American jobs. It's the opposite.

[Jeremy Robbins]

Robbins says many companies will find other workarounds like telecommuting or establishing international offices, and he believes that's a bad thing for the United States. Robbins points to the research of economist Giovanni Paris. Paris tracked H1B visa workers and their effects on the companies that hired them and the communities where they worked.

[Kent Covington]

So not only did the Companies that got H1B visas create more American jobs, the communities around them created more American jobs because there was more spending in the community, there was more innovation, there's support functions that come with it.

[Jeremy Robbins]

Robbins argues that if companies can't bring in these high skilled workers into the country easily, American workers will actually lose in the long run.

[Kent Covington]

They might make the decision that, you know what, like, let's not even bring that employee here. Let's, let's put them in Canada or put them in Germany or put them someone else. And then you lose not only that employee and that spending, but then you lose all of the support functions around them. And all those external jobs are not created in America. They're created elsewhere.

[Jeremy Robbins]

But Laura Reese warns that something must be done to better protect the American job market. And she argues that businesses need to be pushed to give Americans a better chance of advancement.

[Kent Covington]

We need to get this thing back into its original intent, back into the box, so to speak, and allow American students and American workers a fair shake at applying for jobs, being interviewed for jobs, being hired for jobs and being retained at their jobs. And that's just not the situation right now.

[Jeremy Robbins]

Reporting for world, I'm Josh Schumacher.

[Benjamin Eicher]

Additional support comes from Cedarville University, equipping students for professional excellence and gospel Impact Cedarville. Edu World from Covenant College, where Christian faculty equip students for their callings through heart, ideas, deep questions and meaningful work. Covenant. Edu World. And from Ambassadors Impact Network, helping entrepreneurs who are looking for more than just funding discover a community of Christian faith. Led investors [e-mail].

[Mary Reichert]

Eight days into President Trump's federal crime crackdown in Memphis, more than 270 arrests and roughly 70 illegal guns off the streets. We sent World's Myrna Brown to Memphis to find out what locals think about the crackdown.

[Myrna Brown]

Inside one of the city's largest congregations, a local pastor issues a strong warning. Audio from Greater Imani Church in Northeast Meadow.

[Travis Kercher]

We don't want to watch the news.

[Kent Covington]

But you better watch the news. You better stay aware of what's going on. You better know we've got troops in Memphis right now.

[Myrna Brown]

Last month, President Trump signed an order to set up a task force in Memphis, Tennessee. Sky high crime rates have put Memphis at the top of the FBI's list, including America's most dangerous cities. Republican Tennessee Governor Bill Lee supports the effort to crack down on crime, while Memphis Mayor Paul Young is strongly opposed. Here's Young on fox.

[Kent Covington]

Just yesterday, I didn't ask for the National Guard. That's something that the president and the governor decided.

[Travis Kercher]

And as mayor, that removes my ability.

[Kent Covington]

To determine whether they come or not.

[Myrna Brown]

Like Mayor Young, some residents don't like the idea and think there are better ways to help the community. Standing in the morning sun, Mark Bell, a Memphis native, helps his wife unload the minivan at the Greater Imani Church parking lot. What did you think when you heard that the National Guard was coming.

[Kent Covington]

I kind of had mixed emotions.

[Travis Kercher]

Being a former veteran.

[Kent Covington]

I'm not a fan of US Military being deployed to municipalities and cities and things like that. I think things like providing something for our youth programs and things like that.

[Travis Kercher]

Would be better for us in the.

[Kent Covington]

Long term versus the National Guard being deployed. Because right now they'll be here.

[Travis Kercher]

What happens after the six months?

[Kent Covington]

Will they deploy?

[Myrna Brown]

Another Memphis native, Grace Walsh, also has a question.

[Kent Covington]

We have been known to lock people up one day and they're out the next. So how is it that help in the crime?

[Myrna Brown]

Ralph Harrington believes both questions are valid, but he says there's something more to consider when talking about the city's high crime rate.

[Kent Covington]

Actually, I think it starts with the in the home. I think we need to talk to the parents and the parents talk to the kids. And when it's a stronger home, it's.

[Benjamin Eicher]

A stronger church, if a stronger church.

[Kent Covington]

Is a stronger community.

[Myrna Brown]

Harrington says what's missing in Memphis and other corners crime ridden cities is the church.

[Kent Covington]

I think the role of the church is to lead. That's what the church has always been about.

[Myrna Brown]

Not just this church, but generally speaking, is the church doing that now?

[Kent Covington]

I think we've got a ways to go. I think we once were, but sometimes we get even. Churches get distracted. I want to ask you to bow your heads and as you do, I want to give you time to just.

[Benjamin Eicher]

Do business with God.

[Myrna Brown]

About 15 minutes to the east. Service at Bellevue Baptist Church is just ending. Audio from Bellevue Baptist.

[Kent Covington]

You back?

[Myrna Brown]

Good afternoon. Outside in the parking lot, Phil and Brenda Thomas are already in their car with their windows down. When you heard that the National Guard and some of the other law enforcement agencies were coming, what did you think?

[Kent Covington]

Hallelujah. We can always use the help.

[Myrna Brown]

Is it the answer though?

[Kent Covington]

No. Christ is the answer. The Bible tells us that man's heart is deceitfully wicked.

[Myrna Brown]

Tina Downey says she's seen that evil in her own neighborhood, Sycamore View and.

[Kent Covington]

Pleasant View in Sycamore. That area around there, there's especially a hotel where prostitution and drugs are running rapid.

[Myrna Brown]

Downey says she and her family welcome the outside help.

[Kent Covington]

Four or five nights ago my son was out on the back deck and he saw the helicopters going by, but he went out there and he was waving at him. He said, all right.

[Myrna Brown]

Walking towards his car carrying a backpack, 27 year old John Knight says he was disheartened to see the National Guard in the city where he was born and raised.

[Kent Covington]

I mean, respectfully, I just feel like we all have a part to do. And if not just in our city, just in general, people of the world, if we did what was needed and what was right and what was just, this wouldn't be called for. God has a plan for everything, you know, and so maybe this is for the Christians to wake up and we start praying more for our city. We're just not handling business and we don't know how to act. And so that's why there's a need for this. So I feel like when we start acting like we have some home training, things will get better.

[Myrna Brown]

Reporting for world, I'm Myrna Brown. In Memphis.

[Nick Eicher]

In Southern California, people say it'll take an act of God to bring real estate prices down. As it turns out, that's exactly what happened. In the LA suburb of Monrovia in what insurance adjusters literally call an act of God, a massive tree came crashing through a one bedroom bungalow and sliced it clean in two. Now what's left is on the market for what neighbors say is half off, about half a million dollars, or 499k to be exact. The listing says it's a fixer. Upper the listing agent tout's open floor plan, as in wide open. Quite the view. It's the world and everything in it.

[Mary Reichert]

Today is Tuesday, October 7th. Thank you for turning to World Radio to help start your day. Good morning, I'm Mary Reichert.

[Nick Eicher]

And I'm Nick Eicher. Next up on THE WORLD AND Everything in At a somber anniversary two years ago today, Hamas terrorists stormed across the border from Gaza into Israel. They slaughtered more than 1200 people and took another 250 hostage.

[Mary Reichert]

The war that began that morning still rages and families still wait for their loved ones to come home. World reporter Travis Kercher reports from Israel.

[Travis Kercher]

It's the hope of seemingly every Jew in Israel, from prayers whispered at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, that we should.

[Kent Covington]

Come to an end of the war.

[Travis Kercher]

Soon enough to have our hostages. Back to demonstrations last week outside the US Embassy branch office in Tel Aviv, where activists chanted and waved signs calling on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump to cut some kind any kind of a deal with Hamas, one that would secure the immediate release of dozens of hostages still held by the terror group. And in a public plaza outside the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, a more somber scene where Orel Shirabi plays piano under a nearby tree. The music and warm sunshine may be soothing here, but it's clear from the yellow ribbons and jarring posters that all is not well. In fact, just under two years ago, this plaza got a new name, Hostages Square.

[Kent Covington]

I would prefer that it would be not like that just for people to just come here to celebrate good things.

[Travis Kercher]

In the weeks after the after the massacre, families and supporters of the more than 250 hostages kidnapped by the terror group Hamas claimed this plaza as their own. And the signs are everywhere as a memorial. The charred remains of a bombed out car left after the attack. Posters hanging from tree branches showing the faces of loved ones still in captivity. Even a series of long tables with empty chairs and place settings symbolizing a few future feast for each of the hostages when they finally come home. Caleb McCall is visiting from Tennessee.

[Eli David]

It just really brings to life anti Semitism that it's real, that it's happening.

[Kent Covington]

Across the globe and it is very, very sad.

[Travis Kercher]

But While pilgrims like McCall may experience October 7th in the abstract, for others it's far more personal.

[Eli David]

It's hell.

[Travis Kercher]

That's Eli David. His younger brother Evyatar was one of the concert goers at the Nova Music Festival on October 7th. The two brothers grew up in a small town just north of Tel Aviv.

[Eli David]

He's one of my best friends. We both love music and every week we used to play music together.

[Travis Kercher]

In addition to music, Eli says his brother loves socializing and sharing Shabbat dinners with her mother, father and sister.

[Eli David]

He's the kindest person I know. He's the best son to my parents. I'm his older brother. But I do learn from him how to be a better son.

[Travis Kercher]

Eli says he and his brother had just returned from a family vacation shortly before the Nova Music Festival. Eviatar left at midnight the evening before the attacks. The next morning, their lives turned upside down.

[Eli David]

We wake up to the sirens, to the alarms. We run to the bomb shelter. My mom is trying to communicate with Evyatar.

[Travis Kercher]

Eli knew the Nova Music Festival was on the very edge of the Gaza border, so he knew Eviatar was in danger. Six hours later, when a video emerged of his brother in the hands of Hamas, Eli's heart sank.

[Eli David]

He was tied up, shirt torn. He was bruised without his glasses, and a tail was was holding him from his neck, dragging him inside the Gaza Strip.

[Travis Kercher]

Eli says that video left him seeing red.

[Eli David]

I could only scream and curse and punch the wall and kick the wall. But then I realized that he's alive. And that's something. That's something.

[Travis Kercher]

Since that day, nearly 150 hostages have been returned alive and the bodies of nearly 60 have been recovered. Hamas is still holding around 50. More than half of that number are feared to be dead, no matter how.

[Joe Rigney]

Hostage deal.

[Travis Kercher]

Now, over the past two years, family members and supporters have pressured Netanyahu to reach a deal with Hamas to bring the hostages home, no matter the concessions. But Netanyahu insists any deal must result in the demilitarization of Gaza and the dismantlement of hamas, or else October 7th could happen again. For his part, Eli says he knows his brother is still alive. In February, when fellow hostages were released, Eli says Hamas cruelly made Eviatar watch their release from a nearby van.

[Eli David]

They forced them to watch. They shut the door of the van and they throw them back to the dungeon right after they beg for their lives.

[Travis Kercher]

And in August, Eviatar appeared in another video. Eli can't bear to watch it. In the video, Eviatar is seen digging his own grave. His body is emaciated, and he's been surviving on little more than beans and lentils.

[Eli David]

I mean, you could barely recognize his voice in this video. I recognized it when I heard it by accident, to be honest, but my sister couldn't. And he was so weak. I mean, he was barely able to speak. He did it only to he got a treat, a prize.

[Travis Kercher]

In the video, Eli knows the clock is ticking on his brother's life. He says doctors have told him that in his current state, Eviatar's body could give out at any time from shock or hunger. And he says he has one message for his brother.

[Eli David]

I love him, that all the family loves him. And we are not going to give up until he's home. And he cannot give up. And I know that he doesn't give up. But I want him to know that we are thinking the same. Nobody can give up.

[Travis Kercher]

He also says that if Hamas agrees to any deal, the international community must hold their feet to the fire to make sure they carry it out. So for now, the piano will keep playing in Hostages Square, and Eli will keep praying, praying that someday the empty table in this plaza will be filled with food and laughter when the missing sons and daughters of October 7th finally come home.

[Eli David]

I miss his hug. I miss his smile. I miss those moments when we play together.

[Travis Kercher]

Reporting for World I'm Travis Kercher. In Israel.

[Nick Eicher]

Today is Tuesday, October 7th. Good morning. This is the world and everything in it. From listener supported World Radio, I'm Nick Eicher.

[Mary Reichert]

And I'm Mary Reichard. World Opinions contributor Joe Rigney is sounding the alarm over what he calls Avatar advocacy. Using the likeness of the dead to push the politics of the Living.

[Joe Rigney]

On September 14, churchgoers at Plano's Prestonwood Baptist Church received an unusual message. An exhortation from the late Charlie Kirk.

[Jeremy Robbins]

First, I want you to know I'm.

[Kent Covington]

Fine, not because my body is fine, but because my soul is secure in Christ.

[Joe Rigney]

Other churches played the same video.

[Jeremy Robbins]

Death is not the end.

[Travis Kercher]

It's a promotion.

[Joe Rigney]

The message wasn't from Charlie himself. It was an AI generated response using a simulation of Charlie's voice and cadence.

[Jeremy Robbins]

Don't waste one second morning me.

[Travis Kercher]

I knew the risks of standing up.

[Kent Covington]

In this cultural moment and I'd do it all over again.

[Joe Rigney]

In the one minute message, AI Charlie exhorted the congregation to not let the violence divide the country, nor let it lead to fear or retaliation. Instead, he told them to double down on faith and family. Attendees at Prestonwood responded with a standing ovation. The clip is another phase in the growing controversy over the use of AI avatars of the deceased. It began as a way of bringing back crucial characters in movies like Star wars and Fast and the Furious after the actors had died. But it's quickly become something much murkier. Former CNN anchor Jim Acosta recently conducted an interview with an AI generated avatar of Joaquin Oliver, a 17 year old victim of the 2018 Parkland school shooting.

[Benjamin Eicher]

Joaquin, I would like to know what.

[Kent Covington]

Your solution would be for gun violence.

[Benjamin Eicher]

Great question.

[Kent Covington]

I believe in a mix of stronger gun control laws, mental health support, and community engagement.

[Joe Rigney]

The interview with AI Joaquin was criticized from both left and right as a grotesque puppet show. The most recurring criticism was the use of a dead boy as an avatar for a particular political agenda. Joaquin's parents, Manuel and Patricia, have publicly stated that they created the avatar in order to, in their words, keep his voice alive and fight for a world without gun violence. This, of course, is not new. Grieving families across the political spectrum have used the image and memory of their deceased loved ones to advocate for policies that they believe would have prevented their deaths. But the use of artificial intelligence takes this practice to another level. The use of such AI characters as avatars for activism highlights the blurring of the lines between the real and the virtual that our technology represents. Acosta's conversation with Manuel Oliver demonstrates the tension. On the one hand, Mr. Oliver insisted that he is in no way trying to bring his son back. At the same time, Acosta asserted this.

[Benjamin Eicher]

What's amazing about this, Manny, is that, you know, we've heard from the parents, we've heard from the politicians, now we're hearing from one of the kids, but.

[Joe Rigney]

We'Re not the image on the screen was not Joaquin, but AI Joaquin, a simulacrum built by programmers who combined LLMs with images, texts, and videos from Joaquin's life. Joaquin was and is not present. The same is true of AI Charlie. Kirk, a pastor, may invite his congregation to, quote, hear what Charlie is saying to us regarding what happened to him. But we're not. Charlie and Joaquin are both dead, their lives tragically ended by evil men. And no amount of technological necromancy can change that. The Bible tells us that human beings are made in the image of God. The question is whether we are truly honoring that image. When we construct an image of an image and get it to say the things we want it to say in our desire to extend our lost loved ones, are we losing their humanity? More importantly, are we losing our own? I'm Joe Rigney.

[Nick Eicher]

Tomorrow, Washington Wednesday with Hunter Baker and a World Tour special report on persecution of Christians in Nigeria. That and more tomorrow. I'm Nick Iger.

[Mary Reichert]

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 psalmist writes, lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world from everlasting to everlasting. You are God. You return man to dust and say, return, O children of man, for a thousand years in your sight are but as yesterday when it is past, or as a watch in the night. The first four verses of Psalm chapter 90 go now in grace and peace.