4.2.26 Supreme Court arguments on birthright citizenship, the launch of Artemis II, and economists consider government welfare and private charity

Summary

Podcast Summary: The World and Everything In It

Episode: April 2, 2026 – Supreme Court arguments on birthright citizenship, Artemis II launch, and Government vs. Private Charity
Podcast by: WORLD Radio
Hosts: Mary Reichert & Myrna Brown

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Episode Overview

This episode delivers in-depth coverage of three standout topics reshaping headlines: President Trump’s unprecedented attendance at the Supreme Court’s arguments on birthright citizenship; the historic Artemis II moon mission launch; and an exploration of how government welfare programs interact—and sometimes clash—with private charitable giving. The episode also features a commentary on the evolving face of terrorism.

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Supreme Court Arguments on Birthright Citizenship

Scene Setting and Public Reaction

• President Trump made history as the first sitting president to attend Supreme Court proceedings, spotlighting the high-stakes case: Trump v. Barbara, regarding birthright citizenship and executive orders to deter “birth tourism” ([05:51-07:06], [07:21-07:43]).
• Protests erupted outside the court, with passionate voices from both sides.

“We waited in our own country for a decade, and once we came out here, we had to wait another decade to get citizenship... illegal immigrants, they come in with my citizenship done.”
— Homa Zaronihad, protestor ([06:55])

Inside the Courtroom

• President Trump’s rationale:

  “If you look at the original birthright citizenship papers, they all happened right after the Civil War. The reason was it had to do with the babies of slaves.... People are making a living, a big living, bringing people in and saying...your whole family is going to be a citizen of the United States. That’s not what it was for.”
  — President Donald Trump ([07:43-08:20])

• Unique atmosphere: Increased press and slightly tightened security, although the Supreme Court is always highly secured ([08:29-10:23]).
• Quieter arguments:

  “I will say the oral arguments, I think, were a little more subdued than usual...no idea if that’s because the president was there or just the nature of the arguments.”
  — Jenny Ruff, legal correspondent ([10:23])

Key Legal Questions and Expert Insights

• Focus of the case: Does denying birthright citizenship to children of noncitizen parents violate the 14th Amendment’s citizenship clause:
  “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof...” ([13:55])

• Crucial point of contention: The definition of “subject to the jurisdiction thereof.”

• Notable Justice reactions:

  “Sure seems to me it’s a mess.”
  — Justice Neil Gorsuch ([14:21])

  “General rules do get applied to future applications unknown at the time the rule was written.”
  — Paraphrased from Justice Alito’s microwave analogy ([14:32-14:59])

• Concerns on executive power: What if a future administration removes existing protections retroactively?
  — Justice Sonia Sotomayor ([15:11])

Predictions & Legal Analysis

• Josh Blackmon (South Texas College of Law):

  "I don't think it affected the argument one wit, it signaled how important this issue is to President Trump..." ([12:57])

• Expected decision: Most legal scholars on the episode anticipate a 7–2 ruling against the President, although with "splintered reasoning and lots of concurrences" ([15:35]).

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Artemis II: The Next Leap Toward the Moon

Launch Event & Public Excitement ([16:43–18:30])

• The Artemis II mission saw four astronauts launched in the first journey beyond low Earth orbit in more than 50 years.
• Beachfront crowds in Florida watched in awe as the rocket blasted off.

  “Oh, that was amazing. That was just so awesome!”
  — Onlooker Jacqueline Deneau ([18:27])

Science and Symbolism

• Astronomer Danny Faulkner:

  “We do everything differently today. And so back then they didn’t have computer chips for the most part aboard the spacecraft.” ([17:04])

• Comparison to Apollo 8: Artemis II is a “dress rehearsal” for a later lunar landing ([17:18]).

Mission Details

• Highlights:

  • The Orion capsule (size of a six-person tent) will travel 4,700 miles beyond the far side of the moon, the farthest humans have traveled.
  • Crew: Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen.
  • They’ll scope potential landing sites for a proposed 2028 lunar landing ([19:29]).

• Human perspective:

  “Can you believe there’s humans in that?”
  — Mary Reichert ([18:32])

• Next generation inspiration:

  “I think it’s really important for kids to be inspired and this is really inspiring. It’s the next generation of scientists, engineers, astronauts.”
  — Onlooker’s mother ([20:34])

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Government Welfare vs. Private Charity

Framing the Debate ([22:09–22:34])

• During COVID-19, government aid totaled $4.6 trillion; record levels of private charity ($600 billion, +6%) were also recorded ([28:11]).

Does Government “Crowd Out” Private Giving?

• Some, like Mark Horton (NYC resident with disabilities), see government programs as enabling churches and individuals to abdicate responsibility ([23:18]):

  “That shouldn’t be a government program. That should be the church... When we have the government doing welfare programs...I can go on my vacation now.”
  — Mark Horton ([23:18])

• Claudia Cummings (Philanthropy Roundtable):

  “One of the things that happens when you take government funding—there are always strings attached...the government can, through this financial mechanism, control the activities of the nonprofit...” ([24:30])

• Christine Michie (consultant):

  “The government just has so much more money than private philanthropy. Private philanthropy is dwarfed by the role the government can play at all levels. That just will always be so.” ([25:21])

Crowding Out: Partnership or Competition?

• Some see public and private charity as partners—government funds clients, nonprofits deliver ([25:34]).

• Paul Mueller (economist): Cites the community’s readiness to supplement or replace public benefits if necessary

  “When it looked like food stamps were going to be suspended last fall... thousands... began thinking through, okay, what do we do if, you know, this SNAP benefit is suspended.” ([26:23])

• Mueller’s deeper worry: Government aid is impersonal and less nurturing than private charity:

  “We should care about them as flourishing human beings who are...creative and made in God's image.” ([27:02])

• Michie: Not everyone wants charity with personal strings; some value autonomy ([27:59]).

American Generosity Endures

• “Americans are incredibly generous. It’s baked into who we are...we rise to the occasion day after day.”
  — Claudia Cummings ([28:32])

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Brief Commentary: The Myth of the Lone Wolf Terrorist ([29:19–32:49])

• Cal Thomas reflects on the March 12 Michigan synagogue attack, challenging the “lone wolf” label by arguing digital radicalization is intentionally structured by groups like Hezbollah and no less dangerous than direct orders.

  “Because ideology can function as a kind of remote command structure...it makes no legal difference if...the current leader of Hezbollah...called this man and told him to attack Temple Israel, or whether he simply heeded Hezbollah’s call to kill Jews.”
  — U.S. Attorney Jerome Gorgan Jr. ([32:23])

• Thomas’ call: Time to retire the “lone wolf” phrase—it masks the organized, intentional nature of modern terrorism.

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Noteworthy Quotes (with Timestamps)

• “Sure seems to me it’s a mess.” — Justice Neil Gorsuch ([14:21])
• “I don't think he was trying to intimidate the justices...I think he was probably just curious.” — Josh Blackmon ([13:20])
• “The government just has so much more money than private philanthropy. Private philanthropy is dwarfed by the role the government can play at all levels.” — Christine Michie ([25:21])
• “Americans are incredibly generous. It’s baked into who we are...and we rise to the occasion day after day.” — Claudia Cummings ([28:32])
• “Perhaps it’s time to retire the comforting phrase lone wolf, because it suggests randomness, it suggests isolation, and it can blind us to the broader reality.” — Cal Thomas ([32:49])

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Timestamps for Major Segments

• News Headlines & President Trump Address: [01:01–05:44]
• Supreme Court arguments (Birthright citizenship): [05:51–16:01]
• Artemis II Launch Coverage: [16:43–20:48]
• Government Welfare vs. Private Charity: [22:09–28:50]
• Commentary: Lone Wolf Terrorism: [29:19–32:49]

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Summary Takeaways

This wide-ranging episode uniquely combines frontline legal coverage, space exploration, and probing economic and social analysis. It delivers original reporting and thoughtful expert perspectives—unpacking the complexity of immigration law, rekindling national excitement in the space program, and challenging how we give (and receive help) in modern America. The featured commentary on terrorism reframes a crucial threat in our digital age.

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For more details on each Supreme Court argument, tune in to Monday’s Legal Docket.

Transcript

[Mary Reichert]

Good morning. President Trump makes a historic visit to the Supreme Court as it takes up the issue of illegal immigration and birthright citizenship.

[Myrna Brown]

Seems to me it's a mess. We'll talk to our reporter who was there. Also, a report from Florida on the Artemis II launch. And does government welfare reduce private charity?

[Christine Michie]

Private philanthropy is dwarfed by the role the government can play at all levels.

[Myrna Brown]

And world commentator Kal Thomas on why the lone wolf terrorist may be an endangered species.

[Mary Reichert]

It's Thursday, April 2nd. 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]

President Trump addressed the nation last night from the White House about the war in Iran.

[President Donald Trump]

Tonight, Iran's navy is gone. Their air force is in ruins. Their leaders, most of them terrorist regime they led, are now dead.

[Kent Covington]

The president made the case for why the military action was needed. He said that despite his warnings, the Iranian regime had no intention of abandoning its pursuit of nuclear weapons.

[President Donald Trump]

They were also rapidly building a vast stockpile of conventional ballistic missiles and would soon have had missiles that could reach the American homeland, Europe and virtually any other place on earth.

[Kent Covington]

He said Iran's strategy had been to stockpile powerful nuclear capable ballistic missiles and other conventional weapons before making the final push to develop nuclear weapons.

[President Donald Trump]

They were right at the doorstep. For years, everyone has said that Iran cannot have nuclear weapons. But in the end, those are just words if you're not willing to take action when the time comes.

[Kent Covington]

And he once again said that the United States has nearly completed its objectives in Iran. Democrats criticized the address on social media. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called it a, quote, rambling, disjointed and pathetic presidential war speech, end quote. Meantime, in Israel, sirens rang out in Tel Aviv warning of an incoming missile. Those sirens were followed shortly by this sound. There were no immediate reports of casualties from that attack. But earlier in the day, Officials said an 11 year old girl had been severely injured from an Iranian missile in a separate attack. Israeli military spokesman Brigadier General Effi Deferin says it is possible that Iran and the Iran linked Lebanese terror group Hezbollah will fire on Israeli territory in an effort to harm citizens celebrating Passover. Passover began at sundown Wednesday and runs for more than a week. Russia claims that it has taken full control of the strategically important Luhansk region of Ukraine. But Kyiv says that's not so. World's Benjamin Eicker has more.

[Benjamin Eicher]

A Ukrainian military official refuted Moscow's claim, saying his forces still hold small positions in the Luhansk region. That came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke by video with two of President Trump's envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Jared Kushner, to discuss the possibility of broader peace talks. Zelensky said he told the Americans that Kyiv needs a sign that Russia is serious about discussing peace. He said if Russia were to withhold attacks on Easter Sunday, that could be one such sign. Zelenskyy said frontline fighting remains intense, but that Ukrainian forces are still holding their ground. Other Russian battlefield claims in the past have been proven false. For WORLD I'm Benjamin Eicher.

[Kent Covington]

The Trump administration has lifted sanctions on Venezuela's acting president, opening the door to closer economic ties with Caracas. The Treasury Department announced Wednesday that Delsey Rodriguez is off the sanctions list, freeing her to work with American companies and investors. Washington had already recognized her as Venezuela's head of state in legal and diplomatic settings. She stepped in after US Forces captured her predecessor dictator Nicolas Meuro in January and put him on trial on drug trafficking charges. Rodriguez was originally sanctioned during Trump's first term. She called Wednesday's move a step toward normalizing the two countries relationship. At Florida's Kennedy Space center last night. Four, three, two, one. Booster ignition and lift off. The crew of Artemis 2 now bound for the moon. Humanity's next great voyage begins. The 32 story moon rocket blasted off, carrying four astronauts on a high stakes flight around the moon. They will not land on the lunar surface, but this mission is an important step in that direction with the next moon landing potentially about two and a half years away. I'm Kent Covington. And still ahead, President Trump's historic visit to the Supreme Court. And we'll have a full report from the space coast of Florida on that architecture. Artemis 2 launch. This is the world and everything in it.

[Mary Reichert]

It's Thursday 2nd April. You're listening to the world and everything in it. And we're so glad you've joined us today. Good morning. I'm Mary Reichardt.

[Myrna Brown]

And I'm Myrna Brown. First up, the President visits the Supreme Court. Yesterday, the court heard the case of Trump v. Barbara. The case deals with an executive order signed by President Trump his first day back in office last year. It deals with birthright citizenship, deterring illegal immigrants, or so called birth tourists, from having children on American soil. Doing so means those children become American citizens, something the president wants to stop. The case hinges on whether that violates the citizenship clause of the 14th Amendment.

[Mary Reichert]

Now in a moment, we Will look briefly at the arguments. But first, some scene setting at the court as it took up this significant case. The issue is a controversial one. Before the arguments, protesters from both sides showed up outside the court.

[Jenny Ruff]

No. The 14th amendment.

[Myrna Brown]

No. Frank Lucas was holding signs quoting the text of the 14th Amendment. He says his parents immigrated here legally.

[Homa Zaronihad]

We waited in our own country for

[Myrna Brown]

a decade, and once we came out here, we had to wait another decade

[Homa Zaronihad]

to get citizenship versus illegal immigrants. They come in with my citizenship done,

[Myrna Brown]

you know, and that I see as kind of unfair. That's not a constitutional issue. That's a practical procedural issue, like which would they pick? Of course they're just going to come in illegally. But Homa Zaronihad said he thinks the issue is cut and dry.

[President Donald Trump]

I think they're not gonna abandon 14th amendment.

[Cal Thomas]

Their interpretation should be what it is.

[Mary Reichert]

Inside the court, a first, a sitting president came to watch the proceedings. President Trump broke with tradition to come hear the arguments surrounding one of his biggest domestic policies, immigration. Here he is on Tuesday talking about

[President Donald Trump]

why, if you look at the original birthright citizenship papers, they all happened right after the Civil War. The reason was it had to do with the babies of slaves. And hopefully it's going to save because our country is being scammed. We're getting all of these people, they're selling the rights to them. People are making a living, a big living, getting hundreds of thousands and even millions of dollars from bringing people in and saying, congratulations, your whole family is going to be a citizen of the United States of America. That's not what it was for.

[Myrna Brown]

Our legal correspondent, Jenny Ruff was in the courtroom yesterday. She talked to us from outside the courtroom just after the arguments. Hi, Jenny.

[Jenny Ruff]

Hi there. Yes, I am outside the Supreme Court on the corner of Maryland Avenue in First.

[Myrna Brown]

Well, you've been in the court for a number of cases before, Jenny. How did this one compare in terms of activity outside, number of people inside, you know, things like that?

[Jenny Ruff]

Well, yeah, well, let me just back up a little bit. I'll just start with this morning. We were all told to get here really early, earlier than normal, 8:45 instead of 9:30. So I hopped in a ride share and my driver was foreign. He had a pregnant wife who's about to give birth. So he was really interested in hearing about what was going to happen at the courtroom today. And then I got here again early. So there were some protesters. There was a bullhorn alarm going off, but not a ton of protesters. I think they came later when I was already inside the courts. And then, you know, the press room was absolutely packed. You know, I come for a lot of cases, and even yesterday, in a case that touched on the death penalty, you know, there were, I don't know, maybe a dozen reporters. Don't hold me to that. But just today, it was just completely packed. I couldn't even guesstimate. But all of the. There's sort of three areas of press seating inside the courtroom. There's sort of the hard pass reporters, where you're gonna have NPR and cnn, and then you have the day pass reporters, and there's a handful of alcoves, and then there's even, like, a backup space in the hallway. I was in one of the alcoves, so I had a great view of the justices, but I could not see the president, who was sitting in the middle of the courtroom, like, in the public gallery. I was looking for just, like, a wisp of his hair, but I couldn't even see that.

[Myrna Brown]

Right. President Trump was the first sitting president to attend Supreme Court proceedings. What did you notice was different with him being there?

[Jenny Ruff]

I mean, there was maybe slightly increased security, but the Supreme Court has pretty tight security security to begin with. So the only thing I really noticed was that we had to walk through a metal detector again before we walked into the courtroom. You know, despite the two that we'd already been through beforehand, I will say the oral arguments, I think, were a little more subdued than usual, and I have no idea if that's because the president was there or if it was just the nature of the arguments.

[Mary Reichert]

Mm.

[Myrna Brown]

You aren't at every case at the court, Jenny, but you already had plans to be there yesterday before the president put it on his schedule. Tell us why.

[Jenny Ruff]

Yeah, it's funny. I mean, I feel like I keep saying this, but the court is hearing so many big cases. I keep thinking I have to go because I feel like I'm seeing history in the making. And I keep saying that over and over again, but with this case, I definitely felt that. And. And just being there in person, it's really interesting to watch the advocates before the justices. I mean, just to see Solicitor General Sauer. He turns directly to the justice who asked him a question. He kind of had his hand up on his chin as he's sort of thinking and contemplating and engaging with the justices. And then Cecilia Wang for the respondents did a great job, too.

[Myrna Brown]

You mentioned before we started recording that there were reporters predicting what the decision might be. Any thoughts on that?

[Jenny Ruff]

Oh, yeah. Well, this is. This is just an introverted, deep thinker. Person thing. But I do see reporters all the time kind of pop out of the courtroom after oral argument, and they love to give predictions. It's going to be seven to two. It's going to be six to three. It's going to be five to four. And I'm just, I always, always think of those verses and proverbs that warn about predicting the future. And I never quite know, you know, you just don't know what they're thinking. I mean, you can get a clue from the questions that they ask. And so I would want to give it the oral arguments a lot more deep thought, read all the briefs, read the amicus briefs before I would ever even come close to giving a prediction.

[Myrna Brown]

Well, Jenny Ruff outside the Supreme Court. Jenny, thank you so much.

[Jenny Ruff]

Thanks so much.

[Myrna Brown]

Well, as Jenny alluded to, it's newsworthy that a sitting U.S. president attended oral arguments at the Supreme Court.

[Mary Reichert]

Does it matter to the justices, though? I spoke with constitutional law experts Josh Blackmon from South Texas College of Law in Houston and Ilya Shapiro from the Manhattan Institute.

[Josh Blackmon]

I don't think it affected the argument one wit, it signaled how important this issue is to President Trump. The executive order on birthright citizenship was signed his very first day back in office. And this is one of his signature issues, along with the tariffs, which he thought about attending. That argument ultimately did not.

[Mary Reichert]

Josh Blackmon agreed.

[Josh Blackmon]

I don't think he was trying to intimidate the justices. He was sitting in the front row of the gallery, which is about 40, 50ft away from the justices. The lawyers were up front. So he wasn't even right in front of the justice's face. I think he was probably just curious. He wanted to see how it was going to go.

[Mary Reichert]

The justices stayed focused on the legal arguments before them.

[Josh Blackmon]

Anytime the lawyers tried to argue a policy that is, you know, this might encourage birth tourism, other countries in Europe don't have this birthright citizenship. And the justice is like, well, that's not what we're talking about. We're talking about legal issues. And so it was actually a very, you know, sober affair. There was no partisanship for an issue of such gravity. You wouldn't have known it based on the tenor of the arguments.

[Mary Reichert]

The core legal issue is birthright citizenship Stemming from the 14th Amendment's citizenship clause, which says all persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. And it's that second part, subject to the jurisdiction thereof, that is in contention now during oral argument, Justice Neil Gorsuch summed up what many may think, sure

[Myrna Brown]

seems to me it's a mess.

[Mary Reichert]

And Justice Samuel Alito wondered how to think about modern legal troubles, like people in the country illegally, when the drafters of the 14th Amendment weren't thinking about that at all.

[President Donald Trump]

Justice Scalia had an example that dealt with this situation. He imagined an old theft statute that was enacted well before anybody conceived of a microwave oven. And then afterwards someone is charged with the crime of stealing a microwave oven. And this fellow says, well, I can't be convicted under this because the microwave oven oven didn't exist at that time. And he dismissed that.

[Mary Reichert]

Justice Alito making the point that general rules do get applied to future applications unknown at the time the rule was written, Justice Sonia Sotomayor questioned the government's lawyer on practicalities.

[Claudia Cummings]

You asked us to concentrate only on the prospective nature of the citizens order, but the logic of your position, if accepted, is that the next president, this president or the next president or a Congress or someone else could decide that it shouldn't be perspective. There would be nothing limiting that, according to your theory.

[Mary Reichert]

So the justices must grapple with putting historical text to modern day dilemmas. And my two legal experts, they did go ahead with predictions that the president will lose this one by a vote of 7 to 2, but with splintered reasoning, lots of concurrences. I'll have much more detail on the oral argument on Monday's legal docket. So I hope you'll join us then.

[Kent Covington]

Additional support comes from Dort University, equipping students to serve others with faith, skill and conviction while they complete their master of Social Work degree in just four years. From the evangelistic film How I Got Here with Stephen Baldwin as the thief on the cross in 30 languages. OpenTheBible.org heaven and from the Joshua program at St. Dunstan's Academy in the Blue Ridge Mountains, work, prayer and adventure for young men. St. Dunstansacademy.org up next, a trip to space.

[Myrna Brown]

Yesterday evening, four astronauts took off into space, making sure their systems work before circling around the moon. They won't land on the moon this time, but still, it's the first time humans have been out of low Earth orbit in more than 50 years.

[Mary Reichert]

Astronomer Danny Faulkner says this new mission is built practically from the ground up.

[Josh Blackmon]

We do everything differently today. And so back then they didn't have computer chips for the most part aboard the spacecraft.

[Mary Reichert]

NASA wants to put people back on the moon by 2028. Faulkner says the whole plan sounds a lot like The Apollo mission, it's sort

[Josh Blackmon]

of like the Apollo 8 back in 1968. That was a dress rehearsal. They were still developing the lunar excursion module, so they weren't ready to land on the moon, but they wanted to go there in order to kind of test the system. They were testing different parts of the system and I suspect the same thing is going on with Artemis.

[Myrna Brown]

World's Mary Muncie went to the launch and brings us our story.

[Mary Muncie]

Crowds jammed the beaches and roads near the Kennedy Space center yesterday to watch the Orion spacecraft hurtle into the sky. As the final countdown started, everyone at spaceview park stood up. Then. Liftoff. The Orion streaked through the sky with a fireball that was hard to look at. The rumble hit us almost a minute later. It turned and we lost sight of it after about two minutes. People from all over the world and country were packed along the coast. One man flew in from Ohio for the day. Others happened to be in town for spring break. Jacqueline Deneau brought her two daughters to watch the launch.

[Myrna Brown]

Oh, that was amazing. That was just so awesome.

[Mark Horton]

Video. You got a cool video?

[Myrna Brown]

Yeah, I got a cool video.

[Mary Reichert]

Can you believe there's humans in that?

[Mary Muncie]

Now the astronauts are checking the Orion's systems and how it maneuvers in space. If all goes well, in a few days, they'll go 4,700 miles beyond the far side of the moon. That's the farthest any human has gone into space. They'll be there when the sun hits the far side of the moon, so they'll be able to get some of the first views of it. NASA says when the astronauts look out the window, the moon will look about the size of a basketball held at arm's length.

[Benjamin Eicher]

Space is pretty vast as you can imagine.

[Mary Muncie]

Mattia Barbarossa is an Italian rocket scientist. He was here on business and just happened to catch the launch.

[Benjamin Eicher]

The International Space Station, where most of

[Mary Reichert]

the human mission go nowadays, it's about

[Benjamin Eicher]

500 kilometers above our head, so about 300 miles away.

[Mary Reichert]

When we are talking about the moon,

[Benjamin Eicher]

we are talking about 300,000 miles.

[Mary Muncie]

The rocket is the size of a skyscraper, but the actual Orion capsule where the astronauts will live is about the size of a six person tent. Commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover and mission specialists Christina Cook and Jeremy Hansen boarded the Orion spacecraft and will be watching movies like Point Break. When they're not performing tests. Their other job is scoping out a landing point for the next mission. Putting humans back on the moon in 2028.

[Myrna Brown]

Awesome.

[Jenny Ruff]

And do you want to go to space?

[Mary Reichert]

I'M working actively to build a rocket to do so.

[Mary Muncie]

Back on the other side of the park, Dinant's 10 year old Clara has a different opinion.

[Jenny Ruff]

I don't want to die.

[Myrna Brown]

It's ridiculous.

[Jenny Ruff]

Like you can't predict what's going to happen.

[Mary Muncie]

Her dad is an engineer working at NASA just across the river. So she watched the Artemis I launch too.

[Mark Horton]

It was really nice.

[Myrna Brown]

It looks like a fireball was going into space.

[Mary Muncie]

Her mom thinks it's important for humanity to explore. It's part of what makes us human. I think it's really important for kids

[Jenny Ruff]

to be inspired and this is really inspiring. It's the next generation of scientists, engineers, astronauts.

[Mary Reichert]

That's what happened with the Apollo program, right? So here we are again, going to the moon.

[Mary Muncie]

Reporting for world I'm Mary Muncie in Titusville, Florida.

[Mary Reichert]

Enjoy. Is this your first time? Well, in bowling, one challenge is to roll the ball down the lane, knocking down as many pins as possible. But for David Rush, holder of some 300 Guinness World Records, remaining upright was the key. So he climbed onto a unicycle, which for some I can attest is already the whole trick, and started adding greater difficulty, specifically loading himself up with bowling balls.

[Mary Muncie]

Okay, under the arm.

[Mary Reichert]

The first under the other arm. Then one more, two. And another. Three, four, five, six.

[Christine Michie]

All right, one more on top of him.

[Mary Reichert]

Seven bowling balls cradled in his arms.

[President Donald Trump]

Two, one, go.

[Mary Reichert]

And off he went for a record breaking ride. Come on. Seven bowling balls, one wheel. Ten seconds to a new world record. Go, David. It's the world and everything in it.

[Myrna Brown]

Today is Thursday, April 2nd. Thank you for turning to world radio to help start your day. Good morning, I'm Myrna Brown.

[Mary Reichert]

And I'm Mary Reichardt. Coming next on the World and everything in it, generosity and the government. Proverbs chapter 18, verse 16 says a gift opens the way and ushers the giver into the presence of the great. During the hard economic times of COVID American donors seemed to live up to that verse. They gave at record levels, even though on average disposable income was shrinking.

[Myrna Brown]

Also during COVID government programs provided about $4.6 trillion in pandemic aid. A lot of money, enough, some say, to keep private donation from reaching its full potential. World's Lauren Smith has the story.

[Mark Horton]

Mark Horton has lived in New York City on and off for the past 30 years. He can't walk like he once did, so he uses the city's public transport for the disabled accessoried to get around.

[Homa Zaronihad]

It's very helpful because I can go door to door for the same amount that I would have to pay for a subway or a bus.

[Mark Horton]

But those inexpensive rides might come with a hidden cost that Horton is increasingly reluctant to pay.

[Homa Zaronihad]

That shouldn't be a government program. That should be the church. When we have the government doing welfare programs and taking care of the homeless and taking care of the elderly, elderly or the disabled, it lets a lot of church, you know, well, the government's taking care of them. I can go on my vacation now.

[Mark Horton]

Economists call this crowding out when public welfare spending causes a decrease in private charitable giving. If the government provides, donors may feel their contributions aren't needed. Welfare programs may also bring higher taxes, leaving less income available for donation. Since 2000, the government has taken a larger share of the economy. Economists call that gross domestic product, or gdp, the total value of everything produced in a year's time. Churches, charities and other nonprofits have grown, too, but much more slowly. That could be evidence of crowding out, but if so, it's not clear how big the effect is. One report from the Philanthropy Roundtable suggests that for every dollar of public welfare spending, private giving falls by about 50 cents. Here's Claudia Cummings, Vice president of public affairs.

[Claudia Cummings]

One of the things that happens when you take government funding there are always strings attached, and so the government can, through this financial mechanism, control the activities of the nonprofit that has received those dollars.

[Mark Horton]

Many large charities now expect the government to cover more than half their operating costs. That makes them less resilient to policy changes like the Doge cuts last year, which canceled more than $3 billion in grants.

[Claudia Cummings]

20% is kind of a maximum that you would want to look for from a single source.

[Mark Horton]

But it can be tough for a nonprofit to diversify its donor base, says Christine Michie, who runs the charity consulting firm Impactful. And even when diversification is possible, one donor is still a whole lot richer than the rest.

[Christine Michie]

The government just has so much more money than private philanthropy. Just like, I mean, private philanthropy is dwarfed by the role the government can play at all levels. That just will always be so.

[Mark Horton]

Michie sees the relationship between public spending and private donations as a partnership between a customer and a client. When the government can't do something well, it uses grants to to hire, so to speak, a non profit to do it better. Mitchie and her clients see public and private philanthropy as complimentary, not opposed.

[Christine Michie]

I never have ever once heard anyone say, well, don't they have government money for that? Or they don't really need. I never have heard that Michie says

[Mark Horton]

nonprofits rely on the government in the same way businesses rely on customers. Dramatic policy changes might disrupt things for a while, but she believes nonprofits are resilient in the long run. So does economist Paul Mueller. But he takes it a step further. In his Colorado hometown, Mueller says private charities have already proven they could handle a total break from government funds.

[Paul Mueller]

When it looked like food stamps were going to be suspended last fall, with the government shutdown, people at my church, we started talking about, okay, are there people in our congregation who are on food stamps? Are there people we know? What do we do in terms of helping them? And we were not alone in that. Right. Thousands, tens of thousands of organizations, you know, especially churches, but others as well, began thinking through, okay, what do we do if, you know, this SNAP benefit is suspended.

[Mark Horton]

For Mueller, the real danger of the crowding out effect isn't that the government can't feed the hungry and clothe the naked. Instead, he worries that impersonal government programs ignore the human connection that private charities nurture.

[Paul Mueller]

Look, if we were only concerned about people starving, we could send them rice and beans that'd be very cheap. But we should care about them as flourishing human beings who are not only desires and needs, but are creative and made in God's image.

[Mark Horton]

That lines up with Horton's concerns about accessoride and the lack of personal responsibility in providing the service.

[Homa Zaronihad]

I get conflicted because I'm like, I don't know how I'm supposed to participate in this. Am I supposed to say, well, you know, the Lord will provide. I don't need the exception. That's a ride, you know, and if I can't get, if I can't get there, if I can't afford to get there, I just won't go.

[Myrna Brown]

Or

[Homa Zaronihad]

is it something that's, well, Lord, it's there and it's a way of you providing. I just don't, I don't know how I feel about that.

[Mark Horton]

Still, Michie points out that not everyone wants that personal connection. Some just need the help and value their autonomy.

[Christine Michie]

I think you have to be careful of that intrusion. Any one of us is kind of any given day, you know, doesn't necessarily need to welcome somebody into our problem, our pain, or just our day to day, you know, moment of caring for our family.

[Mark Horton]

They may not agree on how exactly to fund nonprofits, but Cummings, Michie and Mueller do agree that the spirit of generosity is alive and well in the United States. In 2024, the most recent data available, Americans donated nearly $600 billion, smashing the previous year's record by more than 6%.

[Claudia Cummings]

Americans are incredibly generous. It's baked into who we are from before we were even a nation. It was decided that we would be a nation that relied heavily on a voluntary society. And we rise to the occasion day after day.

[Mark Horton]

For World I'm Lauren Smith in New York City.

[Mary Reichert]

Good morning. This is the World and everything in it. From listeners supported world radio. I'm Mary Reichert.

[Myrna Brown]

And I'm Myrna Brown. The FBI says the attack on a Michigan synagogue last month was the not the act of an isolated lone wolf. World commentator Count Thomas says that distinction matters.

[Cal Thomas]

Since the attacks of September 11, government officials have warned about what they call lone wolf terrorists. Individuals who radicalize on their own and strike without direct orders. That idea has shaped how we think about terrorism for a generation. But after the March 12 attack on Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, Michigan, that label looks increasingly misleading. Here's FBI Detroit Special Agent in charge Jennifer Runyon.

[Myrna Brown]

Based on the evidence gathered to date, we assess this attack to be a

[Jenny Ruff]

Hezbollah inspired act of terrorism purposely targeting

[Benjamin Eicher]

the Jewish community and the largest Jewish temple in Michigan.

[Cal Thomas]

A Hezbollah inspired act of terrorism, not random, not isolated, and not in any meaningful sense alone. Investigators say the suspect spent weeks consuming pro Hezbollah propaganda, searching for synagogues, buying weapons and preparing for viol violence. Runyon again, in this case, the evidence

[Myrna Brown]

shows the attacker was motivated and inspired

[Jenny Ruff]

by Hezbollah's militant ideology.

[Cal Thomas]

Now think about that for a moment. We tend to hear, inspired by and assume something less serious than directed by, as if one is real terrorism and the other is something smaller. But listen to U.S. attorney Jerome Gorgan Jr.

[Benjamin Eicher]

I've seen some odd attempts to explain away or even lessen this terrorist attack by claiming that he was an isolated lone wolf. But that is misleading.

[Cal Thomas]

Misleading because terrorist organizations have adapted. They no longer need to dispatch operatives or issue direct commands. They broadcast, they repeat. They saturate the digital space with ideology and wait for someone to answer the call.

[Benjamin Eicher]

Gorgan again, terrorist propaganda is designed to activate the so called lone wolf to act on behalf of the terrorist organization.

[Cal Thomas]

Activate. That's the word. And once you understand that, the phrase lone wolf starts to sound less like a description and more like a misunderstanding. Because this attacker didn't emerge from nowhere. He was shaped over time by what he watched, what he read and what he chose to believe. According to investigators, he targeted what he believed would be the largest gathering of Jewish people in Michigan, including children. He bought a rifle. He stockpiled fuel and fireworks. He sent messages declaring his intent to carry out the attack.

[Mark Horton]

This evidence makes very clear the attacker

[Myrna Brown]

intended to cause significant amounts of harm.

[Cal Thomas]

Now, authorities say there's no evidence of co conspirators, but that doesn't mean he was acting in isolation, because ideology can function as a kind of remote command structure. And that brings us back to Gorgon's key point.

[Benjamin Eicher]

It makes no legal difference if the current leader of Hezbollah himself, Naim Qasem, called this man and told him to attack Temple Israel, or whether he simply heeded Hezbollah's call to kill Jews and in his words, burn their world. So do not be misled. This terrorist acted on behalf of Hezbollah.

[Cal Thomas]

No legal difference and arguably no practical difference either. So perhaps it's time to retire the comforting phrase lone wolf, because it suggests randomness, it suggests isolation, and it can blind us to the broader reality that terrorist movements today often operate not through direct orders, but but through influence. And when that influence turns into action, the result is no less organized, no less intentional, and no less deadly. For world I'm Cal Thomas.

[Mary Reichert]

Tomorrow Culture Friday with John Stonestreet. We'll talk about the 2026 Dirty Dozen list, revealing which mainstream website contribute to sexual abuse and exploitation. And Colin Garberino reviews Nintendo's latest the Super Mario Galaxy movie. 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 says. And he came and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives. And the disciples followed him. And when he came to the place, he said to them, pray that you may not enter into temptation. And he withdrew from them about a stone's throw and knelt down and prayed, saying, father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours be done. And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. And being in agony, he prayed more earnestly. And his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground. Luke, chapter 22, verses 39 44. Go now in grace and peace.