3.19.26 Sen. Markwayne Mullin’s confirmation hearing, abortion drugs in wastewater systems, Connecticut homeschool oversight, and a jazz master’s sacred roots

Summary

Podcast Summary: The World and Everything In It

Episode: 3.19.26 | March 19, 2026
Host: WORLD Radio

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Overview

This episode delivers original reporting and analysis on several timely topics: Senator Markwayne Mullin’s contentious confirmation hearing as Homeland Security nominee, the connection between chemical abortion pills and US water pollution, a battle over increased homeschool oversight in Connecticut, and a profile of jazz legend Ron Carter’s new gospel album inspired by his mother’s faith. The tone weaves together seriousness, policy analysis, and personal reflection—grounded in the podcast’s biblically informed perspective.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

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1. Sen. Markwayne Mullin’s DHS Confirmation Hearing

(Segment begins at 06:44)

Main Themes:

• Mullin promises a less headline-grabbing Department of Homeland Security (DHS) while prioritizing immigration enforcement.
• Senators scrutinize his past remarks and temperament, including bipartisan concerns about his capacity to lead with restraint.

Key Moments:

• Opening Statement:

  • Mullin (07:41): "My goal in six months is that we're not in the lead story every single day."
  • He clarifies deporting dangerous illegal immigrants remains a priority.

• Personal Background:

  • Mullin brings a non-traditional resume: former plumber, MMA fighter, father of six, and only senator without a bachelor’s degree.

• Tense Exchanges:

  • Sen. Rand Paul (08:35): Confronts Mullin over his previous comments related to the attack on Paul.
  • Paul (08:49): "And you offer no apology today and no regrets."
  • Mullin (08:52): "And I’m not apologizing for pointing out your character."
  • Paul (08:54): "[...] you supported the felonious, violent attack on me from behind?"
  • Mullin (09:06): "I did not say I supported it. I said understood it."

• Regret and Reflection:

  • On calling a protester killed by agents "deranged":
    • Mullin (09:30): "Those words probably should have been retracted. [...] That won’t happen as secretary."
  • Refuses, however, to walk back similar past comments in other cases.

• Immigration Policy:

  • Vows to follow the laws set by Congress:
    • Mullin (10:11): "I will operate within the parameters and the policies and the laws that you guys set for me. [...] You guys pass the laws. I enforce those laws."
  • Outlines a vision for ICE as more of a transport agency:
    • Mullin (10:34): "I would love to see ICE become a transport more than the front line. If we can get back into just simply working with law enforcement, we're going to them and we're picking up these criminals from their jail."

Summary Insight:

The hearing underscores tension between maintaining order and leadership style, with Mullin signaling an aim to lower the public profile of DHS while remaining uncompromising on enforcement.

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2. Abortion Drugs and Water Pollution—A New Pro-life Strategy

(Segment begins at 11:16)

Main Themes:

• Rep. Mary Miller introduces the Safe Water Act, targeting the environmental impact of abortion pills, which are reportedly flushed into wastewater.
• Pro-life advocates propose requiring “medical waste kits” for those prescribed chemical abortion drugs and in-person doctor visits.

Key Moments:

• Rep. Mary Miller (11:38): "The murder for profit abortion industry is not only ending innocent life, but is also polluting our water."
• Tina Whittington, Students for Life (12:29): Raises public safety concerns about flushed medication.
• Findings:
  • Residues of mifepristone have been detected in U.S. water (1–11 parts per trillion), nearly three times EPA limits for other chemicals.
  • Whittington (13:39): "This is a generation of people that doesn’t want to drink out of a plastic water bottle, so they're not really wanting their water to microdose them with the progesterone blocker."
• Policy Proposal:
  • Require medical waste collection kits, reinstate in-person visit requirement, and prompt further study by EPA/FDA.
• Legislative Landscape:
  • Several states have introduced similar bills. The federal bill gains pro-life support but faces long odds in Congress.

Summary Insight:

Pro-life advocates are reframing abortion debate in environmental terms, emphasizing water contamination and public health while facing challenges in advancing related legislation.

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3. Connecticut Homeschool Oversight Debate

(Segment begins at 17:18)

Main Themes:

• Connecticut considers House Bill 5468, prompted by child abuse tragedies, which would introduce notification requirements and prevent withdrawal from school during a DCF (Department of Children and Families) investigation.
• Strong opposition from homeschool families and advocates who see the bill as criminalizing or suspecting all homeschooling parents.

Key Moments:

• Background:
  • Bill motivated by two high-profile child abuse cases (18:18).
  • Rep. Jennifer Leeper (19:05): "[We're] not doing anything to require specific curriculums or learning, and we're not limiting what we know is a very flexible learning environment."
• Public Testimony:
  • Nearly 300 testified, most opposing; hearing lasted until 5am.
  • Homeschool advocate (19:48): “HB5468 ignores data based evidence singling out homeschooling parents as inherently suspect [...].”
  • Ralph Rodriguez, Homeschool Legal Defense Association (20:23): Underscores the importance of homeschool freedom as a draw to the state.
  • Studies cited show abuse correlates more with poverty/family structure than educational setting; homeschooling can shield kids from school-based abuse.
  • Opponents argue DCF already failed in abuse cases—the solution is reforming DCF, not new homeschool rules.
• Homeschool Student (22:14):
  • “I do not have to deal with bullies or live in fear at home, but I would at public school. I do not need you ruining what I have at home. My parents are doing a great job and do not need your help.”

Summary Insight:

The debate pits concerns for child safety against fears of state overreach and erosion of homeschool freedoms, with broad mobilization opposing any presumption of parental guilt.

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4. Jazz Legend Ron Carter’s Sacred Roots

(Segment begins at 24:47)

Main Themes:

• At age 88, bassist Ron Carter releases his first gospel album “Sweet, Sweet Spirit,” inspired by hymns from his childhood and his late mother.

Key Moments:

• Background (25:27–26:12): Carter’s storied career includes work with Miles Davis and over 40 solo albums.
• Genesis of the Project (27:28):
  • Carter’s sisters asked him to record their mother’s favorite hymns for her final days.
  • Ron Carter (27:28): "So they asked me, could I put together some kind of music form of her favorite hymns."
  • The recordings brought comfort to his mother at life’s end.
• Collaboration:
  • Blue Note Records’ Don Was suggested involving gospel choir director Ricky Dillard and his New G Choir.
  • Carter focused on crafting new arrangements true to the spirit and memories of his mother’s faith community.
• Spiritual Reflection (30:08):
  • Ron Carter: “I don’t know what makes me have the nerve to do that right then. I appreciate that help is somewhere beyond my physical presence. [...] There’s another spirit that’s involved in my choices.”
  • Making the album deepened this conviction.
  • (30:43): “Probably more capital letters. You know, again, I hear this stuff, I hear this music. [...] I can’t believe, man, that I had the audacity to try this right here. And no one is even more thrilled that I got by one more time.”

Summary Insight:

Carter’s latest work bridges jazz and gospel, honoring his mother’s faith and illustrating how musical mastery and spirituality intertwine—even in the late stages of a celebrated career.

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5. Fraud in Federal Government—A Commentary by Cal Thomas

(Segment begins at 32:04)

Main Themes:

• President Trump establishes a federal task force to address massive fraud in government payments.
• GAO estimates hundreds of billions lost to fraud, mostly in entitlement programs like Medicare and Medicaid.
• The challenge is both practical and moral, rooted in political risk and institutional complexity.

Notable Quotes:

• Cal Thomas (32:46): “According to the Government Accountability Office, the federal government loses between 233 billion and $521 billion every year to fraud and improper payments.”
• JD Vance, Task Force Chair (33:56): “Stop the fraud in the American taxpayer and make sure that the benefits that ought by right go to American citizens go to American citizens and not to fraudsters.”
• Cal Thomas (35:01): “Fraud is not just a financial issue. It's a moral one. [...] Where those conditions exist, corruption tends to follow, which means eliminating fraud may prove about as easy as eliminating sin.”

Summary Insight:

While new efforts to tackle fraud look promising, entrenched political interests and systemic complexity make resolution elusive, highlighting the need for moral and civic revival as much as bureaucratic reform.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Sen. Rand Paul (08:54): "So you're, you're jolly well fine. And you want the American public and the people up here to vote [...] to know that you supported the felonious, violent attack on me from behind?"
• Mark Wayne Mullin (10:11): "You guys pass the laws. I enforce those laws."
• Tina Whittington, SFLA (13:39): "They're not really wanting their water to microdose them with the progesterone blocker."
• Homeschool Student (22:14): "I do not have to deal with bullies or live in fear at home, but I would at public school."
• Ron Carter (30:08): “I appreciate that. That help is somewhere beyond my physical presence. If you call him the coach, yes. If you call him the head bandleader, there's another spirit that's involved in my choices.”
• Cal Thomas (35:01): "Fraud is not just a financial issue. It's a moral one. [...] eliminating fraud may prove about as easy as eliminating sin."

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 06:44 – Mullin’s DHS Nomination Hearing
• 11:16 – Chemical Abortion and the Safe Water Act
• 17:18 – Connecticut Homeschool Oversight Debate
• 24:47 – Ron Carter’s Gospel Album and Faith
• 32:04 – Cal Thomas on Government Fraud

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Conclusion

This episode explores the intersection of politics, policy, faith, and personal stories—moving from hard-hitting Senate hearings and environmental pro-life arguments to the personal faith journey of a jazz icon and an appeal for integrity in public life. It is a thorough, balanced exploration aimed at both informing and drawing connections between headline news and deeper societal and moral currents.

Transcript

[Mary Reichert]

Good morning. The new Homeland Security nominee spars with senators even from his own party.

[Senator Rand Paul]

And you offer no apology today and no regrets.

[Mark Wayne Mullin]

I'm not apologizing for pointing out your good.

[Myrna Brown]

We have a report from Washington. Also today, a fight over homeschool freedom in Connecticut and an environmental approach to pro life policymaking. Later, a jazz legend trying something new

[Ron Carter]

for his mom because I put together some kind of music form of her favorite hymns.

[Myrna Brown]

And world commentator Cal Thomas on fighting fraud in the government.

[Mary Reichert]

It's Thursday, March 19th. This is the WORLD and everything in it from listeners supported world Radio. I'm Mary Reichert.

[Myrna Brown]

And I'm Myrna Brown. Good morning.

[Mary Reichert]

Up next, Kent Covington with today's news.

[Kent Covington]

In Israel, crews picked through the rubble after two elderly people were killed when an Iranian missile hit an apartment in the city of Ramatgan. And in central Israel, paramedics responded to another scene where officials say a man died after another Iranian missile hit a building. Iran has increasingly turned to firing cluster bomb warheads at Israel, which are designed to indiscriminately kill and injure civilians. Israel, meantime, continues to target Iran's leadership. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced that an Israeli airstrike had killed Iranian Intelligence Minister Ismail Khatib. Israel also attacked an Iranian offshore natural gas field. And Iran escalated its strikes on its Persian Gulf neighbor's energy facilities, hitting gas facilities in Qatar. Meantime, the White house says the U.S. onslaught against Iran's military continues. Press Secretary Caroline Levitt, We've now actually

[Lauren Canterbury]

struck more than 7,800 targets. More than 120 Iranian naval ships are at the bottom of the ocean, have been sunk.

[Kent Covington]

She also echoed President Trump's remarks in saying that the entire world benefits from the elimination of Iran's ballistic missile and nuclear threat and therefore other countries should step up to help safeguard the Strait of Hormuz.

[Lauren Canterbury]

He continues to speak with our allies in Europe and is calling on them to do more, just as he did when he called on them to step up with respect to their defense SPE spending in NATO. He's calling them to do more here and I think you'll see that come to fruition.

[Kent Covington]

The president has called out NATO allies in particular for refusing to help guard oil tankers against Iranian attacks. Intelligence community officials in the Trump administration answered pointed questions on Capitol Hill about threats to the US On Wednesday. World's Harrison Waters reports from Washington.

[Harrison Waters]

America is safer thanks to strict border control and cracking down on drug trafficking, according to Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard. But she told members of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence that threats from Islamist groups and nuclear powers like Russia and China are on the rise.

[Lauren Canterbury]

The IC assesses that threats to the

[Lindsay Mast]

homeland will expand collectively to more than 16,000 missiles by 2035.

[Harrison Waters]

Other threats include drug cartels and cyber attacks. Lawmakers also probed Gabbard on her assessment of the imminent risk posed by Iran after the intelligence community last year said Iran's nuclear program was obliterated.

[Mary Reichert]

It is not the intelligence community's responsibility

[Lindsay Mast]

to determine what is and is not an imminent threat.

[Harrison Waters]

That is up to the problem.

[Kent Covington]

No, it is. It is precisely. It is precisely your responsibility.

[Harrison Waters]

President Trump has said Iran posed an imminent threat to the United States. Gabbard avoided specifics on what the CIA and other intelligence agencies told the president before he authorized airstrikes on Iran. Gabbard and the heads of the CIA and FBI will report to members of the House Intelligence Committee later this morning. Harrison Reporting for World I'm Harrison Waters in Washington.

[Kent Covington]

The Federal Reserve is once again holding interest rates steady. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell announced that on Wednesday. He said the central bank is in no hurry to cut rates with inflation still hovering above the Fed's 2% target. The Fed had reduced its short term rate three times last year to around 3.6% before pausing in January and again on Wednesday. Powell said a major factor in this week's decision is the war in Iran. The chairman said its impacts on the US Economy are uncertain. The US Economy is doing pretty well.

[Arsenio Arteza]

It's just we don't know what the

[Kent Covington]

effects of this will be and really no one does. Powell also said that he has no intention of leaving the Federal Reserve before a Justice Department investigation into his congressional testimony is resolved. Washington is taking steps to boost global oil supplies during the war with Iran. The Treasury Department says it is easing sanctions on Venezuela's state oil company, letting U.S. buyers purchase Venezuelan oil on world markets. Separately, President Trump is waiving for 60 days rules that require goods moving between US ports to be carried on American flagged vessels. Both measures aim to ease pressure on oil prices, the president said, though he's confident that elevated gas prices will come down quickly once the war in Iran ends. And Washington is moving to loosen China's grip on a key ally's vast mineral resources. Striking a new trade deal with Indonesia World's Benjamin Eicker reports the United States

[Harrison Waters]

and Indonesia have sealed a new agreement giving American investors access to Indonesia's critical mineral sector that includes nickel deposits that power electric vehicle batteries. Indonesia is the world's largest nickel producer and Its mining sector is currently dominated by Chinese companies. Under the deal, Indonesia has also agreed to purchase $15 billion in American energy over time, mainly oil, natural gas and coal. In turn, the US trimmed a threatened 32% tariff to 19% and granted broader access to the American market. Indonesia's parliament still needs to ratify the agreement before it can take effect. For World I'm Benjamin Eicher.

[Kent Covington]

And I'm Kent Covington. Straight ahead, Senator Mark Wayne Mullen lays out his plans for the Department of Homeland Security. Plus the environmental problems left behind by chemical abortion pills. This is the World and Everything in It.

[Myrna Brown]

It's Thursday, the 19th of March. 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 Reichardt. First up, making DHS boring again. President Donald Trump's new choice to lead Homeland Security appeared before a Senate committee yesterday. Mark Wayne Mullen, currently the junior senator from Oklahoma, took questions from colleagues, and he did not have an easy time of it. Mullen fielded questions about how he was going to run the agency differently from his embattled predecessor, Kristi Noem. At times, the questioning was personal, and not just by Democrats.

[Myrna Brown]

World reporter Josh Schumacher was in the room, and he has the story from Washington.

[Josh Schumacher]

During his opening statement, Senator Mark Wayne Mullen told his colleagues he hoped to make noticeable changes at DHS if he was approved to lead the agency.

[Mark Wayne Mullin]

My goal in six months is that we're not in the lead story every single day.

[Josh Schumacher]

But he was quick to clarify that deporting dangerous illegal immigrants would still be a priority.

[Mark Wayne Mullin]

My goal is for people to understand we're out there, we're protecting them, and we're working with them.

[Josh Schumacher]

Mullen, a father of six who married his high school sweetheart, took an unconventional route to the Senate. He was a plumber and then had a brief stint as a professional MMA fighter. He's also the only senator without a bachelor's degree. He said that he wanted DHS to be laser focused on its mission and stay out of the headlines. But some of the committee members questioned whether Mullen was the right man to take that kind of approach. Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairman Rand Paul centered much of his critique of Mullen on how he had previously discussed an attack against Paul, an attack which had left Paul with six broken ribs and lung damage.

[Senator Rand Paul]

My first question is, do you think that justifying that kind of violence sets a good example for the men and women of ICE and Border Patrol?

[Josh Schumacher]

Paul's questions about Mullen's comments on the attack led to what was probably the most tense exchange of the entire hearing.

[Senator Rand Paul]

And you offer no apology today and no regrets.

[Mark Wayne Mullin]

And I'm not apologizing for pointing out your character.

[Senator Rand Paul]

Good, good. So you're, you're jolly well fine. And you want the American public and the people up here to vote that may or may not vote for you to know that you supported the felonious, violent attack on me from behind?

[Mark Wayne Mullin]

I did not say I supported it. I said understood it.

[Josh Schumacher]

An interaction between ranking member Gary Peters and Mullen had a much more conciliatory tone. Peters questioned Mullen about remarks he'd made, calling Alex Preddy, quote, deranged. Preddy was the Minneapolis protester shot and killed by two Border Patrol agents in January. Mullin said he regretted using the term.

[Mark Wayne Mullin]

Those words probably should have been retracted. I went out there too fast. I was responding immediately without the facts. That's my fault. That won't happen as secretary.

[Josh Schumacher]

But later, during a conversation with Senator Richard Blumenthal, Mullen refused to walk back similar comments he'd made about Renee Goode. He argued that situation was different as it involved an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent under threat from a motor vehicle. Democrats on the committee focused many of their questions on how Mullen would approach immigration enforcement. Here's New Hampshire Senator Maggie Hassan.

[Senator Rand Paul]

What Secretary Noem did was give the green light to look. Are you going to give the green

[Mary Reichert]

light to lawless behavior?

[Mark Wayne Mullin]

I will operate within the parameters and the policies and the laws that you guys set for me. But be very clear, I don't get to choose the laws that I enforce. You guys pass the laws. I enforce those laws.

[Josh Schumacher]

Michigan Senator Elisa Slotkin dug deeper into the methods that Mullen might use to achieve that. Mullen explained that he imagined a very different role for ICE under his leadership.

[Mark Wayne Mullin]

I would love to see ICE become a transport more than the front line. If we can get back into just simply working with law enforcement, we're going to them and we're picking up these criminals from their jail. I don't think there needs to be a wall to change that. I think I can work within what is there, but there's an approach that can happen, but we gotta have partners.

[Josh Schumacher]

The Homeland Security Committee is scheduled to vote on confirming Mullin's nomination today, with a full Senate vote to follow as early as next week. Trump wants Mullen to take over DHS at the end of this month.

[Senator Rand Paul]

Reporting for World.

[Josh Schumacher]

I'm Josh Schumacher in Washington.

[Myrna Brown]

Coming up next on the World and everything in it A new Pro life strategy now, this story contains some possibly disturbing details, so we'll give you a moment before we Continue. On Wednesday, U.S. congresswoman Mary Miller introduced a bill called the Safe Water Act. It's not your typical environmental bill.

[Mary Reichert]

The murder for profit abortion industry is not only ending innocent life, but is also polluting our water. The bill aims to require distributors of abortion pills to take responsibility for the way they handle the remains of aborted babies. It's the first time this kind of legislation has been introduced in Washington, after lawmakers in four states introduced similar legislation. How might it both clean up chemical abortion and American water systems? World's Lauren Canterbury has the story.

[Lauren Canterbury]

Chemical abortions are now the most common way unborn babies are killed in this country, and abortion groups often tell women who take the drugs at home to flush the remains of their child down the toilet. Executive vice president of Students for Life of America, Tina Whittington says that poses a public safety problem.

[Mary Reichert]

A lot of medication when you take is no longer active. It goes through your body, flushes out, she says.

[Lauren Canterbury]

The government has failed to monitor water systems for traces of mifepristone, leaving Americans in the dark about what chemicals they may be consuming.

[Mary Reichert]

Mifepristone is an anti progesterone. It blocks progesterone when it enters your body. It continues. It is active. The three active metabolites in it are still active when it's out through your body into our wastewater system.

[Lauren Canterbury]

SFLA and the pro life group Liberty Council Action estimate that anywhere from 30 to 50 tons of human tissue and blood are flushed into the water system each year due to abortion. The last environmental study on mifepristone's contamination of water took place in 1996, when a nonprofit research group told the FDA the effects would be minimal. But since then, the rate of chemical abortions has risen dramatically, and pro life groups say it is alarming that no further studies have been conducted.

[Mary Reichert]

We reached out to about 25 different companies in the US who test water. They all said, no, we pass. We don't want the job.

[Lauren Canterbury]

After contracting with a European company, whittington said tests found anywhere from 1 to 11 parts per trillion of mifepristone's metabolites in samples collected. That's nearly three times the limit for forever chemicals set by the Environmental Protection Agency. Christy Hamrick is vice president of media and policy at Students for Life. This is a generation of people that doesn't want to drink out of a plastic water bottle, so they're not really wanting their water to microdose them with the progesterone blocker. Hamrick says the EPA has rules for disposing of human tissue and medical waste that should also apply to abortion pills.

[Lindsay Mast]

Even if you sold insulin drugs, you

[Lauren Canterbury]

have to talk to people about how to handle your sharps.

[Lindsay Mast]

There's just rules for all this because again, the government caused the problem.

[Lauren Canterbury]

The government should seek the solution.

[Lindsay Mast]

They allow for this distribution.

[Lauren Canterbury]

Lawmakers in Wisconsin, Maine, West Virginia and Wyoming have all tried to propose similar legislation to the federal bill introduced this week. So far, none have advanced. Representative Miller's bill would require abortionists to include medical waste collection kits with every dose of mifepristone they distribute. It would also reinstate in person visit requirements for women to be prescribed the drug.

[Mary Reichert]

Our water systems were never designed to filter these toxic substances.

[Lauren Canterbury]

So far, 14 legislators have co sponsored Miller's bill, and pro life groups and individuals have asked the EPA and the FDA to do their own research on the drug's potential harms.

[Mary Reichert]

When women are fully informed of the harms of chemical abortion pills, I believe they are far more likely to choose life, sparing not only the life of their unborn child, but also preserving the health of our population.

[Lauren Canterbury]

Hamrick says the bill is good policy, but she recognizes it faces long odds to pass in Congress. She's also concerned about the Trump administration's attempts to delay legal action in several state level cases until HHS completes a safety review of mifepristone, a safety review that is nowhere to be seen.

[Mary Reichert]

I think the bigger picture is the failure of the EPA and the FDA and hhs, which is their boss, to demand that we are evaluating these things.

[Lauren Canterbury]

Regardless of how the Trump administration responds, pro lifers have made it clear that they will continue calling for more common sense studies and protections around abortion drugs. Reporting for world, I'm Lauren Canterbury with additional reporting from Harrison Waters.

[Kent Covington]

Additional support comes from Barnabas. Aid, hope and support for our suffering brothers and sisters around the world. Aid from Christians through Christians to Christians barnabasaid.org From the masters University Equipping students for lives of faithfulness to the Master Jesus Christ masters. Edu and from Truth for Life and a book to share this Easter titled the man on the Middle Cross by Bible teacher Alistair Begg. Truthforlife.org World

[Myrna Brown]

coming up next on THE WORLD and everything in it Homeschoolers under suspicion. This story also contains an element some parents may find too strong for younger listeners. We'll resume in just a moment.

[Mary Reichert]

Last week, homeschooling families in Connecticut gathered at the state Capitol. They came to speak against proposed homeschool regulations in a state that currently has almost none. World's Lindsay Mast reports.

[Lindsay Mast]

State legislators introduced House Bill 5468 as a response to two high profile cases of child abuse. One of those involved the death of 11 year old Mimi Torres Garcia. Authorities say Garcia's mother took the child out of public school, saying she would be homeschooled. Within weeks, the child was dead. Audio from Wtictv 11 year old Mimi's

[Mark Wayne Mullin]

remains were found last October inside a

[Harrison Waters]

plastic storage tote behind an empty home in New Britain.

[Mark Wayne Mullin]

The state medical examiner ruled her death

[Harrison Waters]

a homicide, saying she died from fatal

[Mark Wayne Mullin]

child abuse with starvation.

[Lindsay Mast]

Supporters of the bill say cases like Garcia's expose a gap When a child leaves the school system, they argue, regular contact with teachers, counselors and administrators disappears and with it a layer of visibility that might otherwise surface concerns. HB 5468 would require parents to notify school officials if they plan to homeschool. That information would then be shared with the state Department of Children and Families. The bill would also prevent parents from withdrawing a child from school during an active DCF investigation. State Representative Jennifer Leeper we're not doing

[Lauren Canterbury]

anything to require specific curriculums or learning, and we're not limiting what we know is a very flexible learning environment.

[Lindsay Mast]

In homeschool climate proponents couch the bill as child protection. They say because homeschooling could be used to conceal child abuse. More state oversight is needed, but for many families, the question is not how much oversight is appropriate, it's whether the state should be overseeing homeschooling at all. Some argued the proposal starts from the wrong assumption that parents who choose to homeschool should be treated as potential risks. Nearly 300 people testified at a marathon public hearing that stretched nearly 19 hours, almost all opposing the bill.

[Lauren Canterbury]

HB5468 ignores data based evidence singling out homeschooling parents as inherently suspect rather than presumably innocent. If DCF has no previous history with the family, reviewing their files is an unwarranted intrusion on the family's educational decisions.

[Lindsay Mast]

The committee was unable to adjourn the hearing until 5am Even some school administrators spoke in opposition, saying staffing isn't sufficient for the proposed oversight. Backlash against the Connecticut bill was strong. In addition to those who came to the capitol, more than 3,600 sent written testimony. Ralph Rodriguez of the Homeschool Legal Defense

[Ralph Rodriguez]

association and we heard from so many families over the course of a 19 hour marathon public hearing that it's not just being able to homeschool. According to the law, it's the scope of homeschool freedom within the state of Connecticut, and that either attracts people to the state to home educate their children or keeps them there.

[Lindsay Mast]

An estimated 6% of the school aged population nationwide is homeschooled. While there are confirmed instances of parents using homeschooling as a cover for abusive practices, studies have not found the problem to have significant scope. One found that abuse is more related to household poverty and family structure than school type. Another found homeschooling often serves to protect against abuse in institutional schools. Moreover, opponents of the bill argue the law also wouldn't have prevented Garcia's death. The child and her mother were already known to DCF Rodriguez again, so DCF

[Ralph Rodriguez]

had an open case on them long before the perpetrators of the crimes even thought of homeschooling to be used as an angle to cover up their wrongdoings. And so we believe because of that, reform is needed within the child welfare system and DCF itself, not regulation on homeschooling.

[Lindsay Mast]

This was a theme in the testimony against the bill in Connecticut, making the point that the proposal risks expanding the power of a system that already failed.

[Lauren Canterbury]

The tragic cases of children harmed or killed in situations described as homeschooling over the past decade were never the result of homeschooling. These cases were failures of dcf. These failures are not rare. They are predictable. And when these failures are predictable, expanding the authority of that same system without first fixing it should concern every member of this legislature.

[Lindsay Mast]

Students also spoke out, describing homeschooling not as a danger but as a refuge.

[Lauren Canterbury]

I do not have to deal with bullies or live in fear at home,

[Mary Reichert]

but I would at public school.

[Lauren Canterbury]

I do not need you ruining what I have at home. My parents are doing a great job and do not need your help.

[Lindsay Mast]

Under current Connecticut law, parents have broad freedom to homeschool. HB5468 would change that with notification requirements that supporters say are both modest and necessary to ensure children don't fall through cracks in the system. Opponents counter that even limited oversight creates a new relationship between families and the state.

[Ralph Rodriguez]

As Rodriguez notes, if something is ceded today, then that just invites future regulation. And so though the bill does not mandate any curriculums or it doesn't really take away the right to homeschool per se, they are encroachments on freedom.

[Lindsay Mast]

Connecticut is one of several states which have considered new homeschool regulations since 2025. Meanwhile, at least six other states have introduced or passed laws either loosening homeschool restrictions or allowing greater access to educational savings accounts. The education committee could act on HB 5468 as early as next week. Reporting for World I'm Lindsay Ma.

[Mary Reichert]

Officials in a small town in Sicily say they have finally cracked a case of illegal dumping. But the culprit may surprise you. Surveillance cameras captured images of a small dog leaving its home with a bag of trash in its mouth, trotting down the street and depositing the bag neatly at the roadside. Now, at first, officials wondered whether it was just a coincidence. But after reviewing the footage, they say the dog clearly had been trained for the job.

[Myrna Brown]

Bad owner.

[Mary Reichert]

Bad, bad owner. Authorities tracked the owner down and find him, officials calling the scheme as cunning as it is doubly wrong, not just for the illegal dumping, but for dragging an otherwise innocent dog into this mess, proving that it's not always necessity but laziness that's often the mother of invention. It's the world and everything in it.

[Myrna Brown]

Today is Thursday, March 19th. Thank you for turning to world radio to help start your day. Good morning, I'm Myrna Brown.

[Mary Reichert]

And I'm Mary Reichard. Coming next on the World and everything in it, one of the most prolific and influential musicians in jazz puts out his first gospel album.

[Myrna Brown]

Yeah. The bassist Ron Carter has performed on more than 2,000 recordings, earning him the nickname maestro. And those recordings aren't just any recordings. They include some of the most famous albums in jazz. Now one might think that at age 88, Carter would be winding down his career, but world music critic Arsenio Arteza says he's begun a new challenging chapter instead.

[Arsenio Arteza]

From 1963 to 1968, Ron Carter was the bassist in Miles Davis Second Great Quintet. During that time, he appeared on more than a dozen of the legendary trumpeters albums, including Davis most popular album of the 1960s. 1963's Seven Steps to Heaven showcased Carter's nimble dexterity and elevated him into the echelon of jazz elites. But by the time his tenure with Davis ended, he was sought out by more than jazz artists.

[Mary Reichert]

The first time.

[Arsenio Arteza]

Roberta Flack's the First Time Ever, I Saw youw Face was the number one single of 1972 and won a Grammy for record of the year. Carter went on to win Grammys of his own for best instrumental composition in 88, best jazz instrumental performance in 95, and best jazz instrumental album in 2022. But awards or not, his touch and versatility had made him the go to bassist for musicians in need of something special. Carter has released over 40 solo albums and he turned 88 last May. But because of his prolific productivity and his seemingly endless energy, people kept asking him about his next project.

[Ron Carter]

And I never had a real answer because I didn't have a project in terms of what they meant by project in mind. And the more they asked me, the more annoyed I got that I couldn't answer them other than I don't know. Ultimately I ran into Don was at a gig somewhere and they of course, being from Blue Note, he said, hey man, what's your next project? I said, oh man, not you.

[Arsenio Arteza]

Don was as the president of Blue Note Records, the iconic jazz label, and Carter knew that he deserved more than I don't know. So he mentioned an idea that he'd been pondering for some time, ever since the last phase of his late mother's life.

[Ron Carter]

My sisters who were taking care of her in her older waning days, decided to put her in a wonderful nursing home and they felt that she would like to have some music during her last hours. So they asked me, could I put together some kind of music form of her favorite hymns.

[Arsenio Arteza]

Carter made a list of hymns that he knew his mother would love because he'd learned them as a child going to church with her. Hymns such as Softly and Tenderly, Just a Closer Walk with Thee and in the Garden. He then recorded them and gave the recordings to his sisters who bought their mother a boombox.

[Ron Carter]

This was her music for the rest of her unfortunately limited life. And we're all sure, my sisters and I, that she had some additional comfort. In addition, another route to going upstairs with this music that she remembers from so many years ago and so many times having sung them.

[Arsenio Arteza]

Turning these private solo recordings into something bigger is what Carter told Don WUZ his next project would be. WUZ said he knew someone who might like to be involved. The gospel choir director, Ricky Dillard. The album is called Sweet Sweet Spirit and those voices you're hearing belong to Dillard's 80 voice new G Choir. They make a joyful noise. But thanks to the production skills of WUZ and Zeke Listenby, Carter's bass remains audible and palpable throughout.

[Mark Wayne Mullin]

Father alone will know all about

[Senator Rand Paul]

the

[Arsenio Arteza]

G in New G Choir, by the way, stands for generation and a new generation is certainly something that Carter's and Dillard's arrangements will help these hymns reach in Carter's mind. However, Sweet Sweet Spirit's target audience remains

[Ron Carter]

his mother and my job was to trust Zeke and Mr. Dillard with the sensitivity to understand the focus of this music. It was not me. It was not them. It was the thought behind the arrangement, the choice of notes, the choice of tempo, the choice of keys that I thought that my mom would understand. She would appreciate a newer version of her songs that she had us sing in church 80 years ago or so.

[Arsenio Arteza]

In 2022, Carter was the subject of the documentary Finding the Right Notes. Midway through, the musician John Batiste asks him whether there's a spiritual component to his approach.

[Ron Carter]

I was one of those guys, John, who never wanted to know the mystery of the music.

[Kent Covington]

You know what I mean?

[Ron Carter]

Yes. I don't know what makes me have the nerve to do that right then I appreciate that. That help is somewhere beyond my physical presence. If you call him the coach, yes. If you call him the head bandleader, there's another spirit that's involved in my choices.

[Arsenio Arteza]

I asked Carter whether his experience making sweet, sweet spirit had given him anything to add to that answer.

[Ron Carter]

Probably more capital letters. You know, again, I hear this stuff, I hear this music. I hear my attempts to help the project. And when I listened to it back six minutes later or six weeks later or six months later, I can't believe, man, that I had the audacity to try this right here. And no one is even more thrilled that I got by one more time.

[Arsenio Arteza]

Maybe no one is more thrilled, but thanks to Carter Dillard and Dillard's choir, the number of the equally thrilled is likely to grow.

[Ron Carter]

Foreign

[Arsenio Arteza]

I'm Arsenio Orteza.

[Myrna Brown]

Good morning, this is the world and everything in it. From listener supported World Radio, I'm Myrna Brown.

[Mary Reichert]

And I'm Mary Reichard. With tax day coming next month, Americans are once again reminded how much money flows into Washington. And that raises an old question. How much of it is being lost to fraud and abuse? World commentator Cal Thomas now on the problem and why it proves so difficult to fix.

[Senator Rand Paul]

President Trump has signed an executive order creating a new task force to crack down on fraud in federal programs. It will be chaired by Vice President J.D. vance. The administration says the effort could recover billions of dollars for taxpayers. At the White House, the president made it official with a stroke of a pe.

[Ron Carter]

So I'll sign and then we'll take

[Senator Rand Paul]

some nice questions from our wonderful media. And if the numbers are anywhere close to accurate, the problem he's trying to tackle is staggering. According to the Government Accountability Office, the federal government loses between 233 billion and $521 billion every year to fraud and improper payments. Hundreds of billions of dollars. The GAO admits it cannot provide a Precise figure. Because many losses are never reported, even the confirmed cases are remarkable. Sixteen federal agencies reported $162 billion in improper payments across 68 programs in fiscal year 2024 alone. Medicare and Medicaid account for more than half of that total. And yet meaningful reform has proven politically radioactive. Politicians know that touching entitlement programs invites attacks from the opposition party and possibly from voters who benefit from the system. So the money keeps flowing and the debt keeps growing. The administration says the new task force will try to change that. JD Please say a few words.

[Mark Wayne Mullin]

Yes, sir. Well, thank you, Mr. President. This is a very important whole of government approach to tackle the fraud problem. And what this executive order does is force the entire apparatus of the federal government to do two things. Stop the fraud in the American taxpayer and make sure that the benefits that ought by right go to American citizens go to American citizens and not to fraudsters.

[Senator Rand Paul]

At the White House, Vance pointed to one example investigators say they uncovered.

[Mark Wayne Mullin]

In Minnesota, we saw evidence that in Minneapolis there were Somalis, primarily illegal immigrants, who were defrauding a Medicaid program that was meant to go to autistic children. There are a lot of people getting rich off of the fraud while American citizens got poor.

[Senator Rand Paul]

According to the White House, fraud in Minnesota alone may have totaled $19 billion. And officials believe similar vulnerabilities exist in several other states. President Trump says eliminating fraud could even balance the federal budget. If we found half of the fraud that's taking place in this country, and I think think you have a chance of doing that, we would have much more than a balanced budget.

[Ron Carter]

That's the kind of numbers you're talking about.

[Senator Rand Paul]

The theft is incredible. Well, that sounds appealing, but it is almost certainly optimistic. Even if every dollar of fraud disappeared tomorrow, it would not erase a national debt that now exceeds $38 trillion. Balancing the budget would still require something Washington has not shown much appetite for. Spending discipline. There's also another problem. Fraud is not just a financial issue. It's a moral one. Government programs contain large sums of money distributed through complicated systems, often with weak oversight. Where those conditions exist, corruption tends to follow, which means eliminating fraud may prove about as easy as eliminating sin. Still, the effort is worth making. Taxpayers. Roughly half the country are about to send another round of payments to Washington by April 15th. They have every reason to hope someone is finally paying attention to where that money goes. There was a time in America when living within one's means was considered a virtue. The old Puritan ethic emphasized thrift, honesty and responsibility. Those values may sound quaint today, but recovering even a portion of them might do more for the federal budget than any task force ever could. For World, I'm Cal Thomas.

[Mary Reichert]

Tomorrow, Katie McCoy is back for Culture Friday, and an old fashioned sci fi blockbuster hits theaters. We'll have a review that and more tomorrow. I'm Mary Reichard.

[Myrna Brown]

And I'm Myrna 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 Bible records Jesus speaking to his disciples and I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you. Seek and you will find. Knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, it will be open. What father among you? If his son asks for fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you, then who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him? Verses 9 through 13 of Luke, chapter 11 go now in grace and peace.

[Ron Carter]

It.