7.7.25 On Legal Docket, a challenge to Obergefell, David Bahnsen on the resilient market, and the fate of the Romanovs

Summary

Podcast Summary: The World and Everything In It Episode: July 7, 2025 – "On Legal Docket, a Challenge to Obergefell, David Bahnsen on the Resilient Market, and the Fate of the Romanovs"

---

Introduction

In this episode of The World and Everything In It, hosted by Mary Reichard and Nick Eicher, WORLD Radio delves into pressing legal disputes, economic insights, and historical revelations. Key topics include the ongoing legal challenges to the landmark Obergefell v. Hodges decision, an economic analysis by David Bonson on market resilience, and the resolution of the century-old mystery surrounding the fate of Russia's last monarchs.

---

1. News Updates

Timestamp: 00:05 – 06:12

Kent Covington kicks off the news segment with a tragic update on the devastating flash floods in Central Texas, which have claimed approximately 80 lives with more still missing, including ten girls from a summer camp. Texas Governor Greg Abbott has declared a state of emergency, and President Trump has activated federal assistance for Kerr County.

Additionally, Tropical Storm Chantel has made landfall in South Carolina, bringing heavy rains and winds, though fortunately, no fatalities have been reported there. Concerns remain about potential flash flooding in North Carolina as the storm weakens to a tropical depression.

On the political front, a heated debate ensues over President Trump's recently signed "big beautiful bill." Republicans laud the legislation for extending the 2017 tax cuts and increasing funding for border security, while Democrats criticize it as harmful to healthcare and predictive of increased national debt. Notable quotes include:

• Matt Staver (03:04): "I describe it as the big, ugly bill, not the big beautiful bill. It's going to do a lot of things that are going to hurt a lot of people in our country."

• Hakeem Jeffries (04:01): "If they pass the big, beautiful bill, it would allow us to unleash a deportation machine on steroids."

Kent highlights the bipartisan efforts and disagreements surrounding the bill, emphasizing its potential long-term economic impacts.

---

2. Legal Docket: Challenge to Obergefell v. Hodges

Timestamp: 06:12 – 16:56

Mary Reichard introduces the Legal Docket segment, focusing on the decade-long aftermath of the Supreme Court's Obergefell decision, which legalized same-sex marriage nationwide. The discussion centers on Kim Davis, a county clerk in Kentucky who defied the ruling by refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

Key points include:

• Dean Schooler (10:42): "No, we're not leaving until we have a license. We're not leaving until we have a license. Everyone in this office should be ashamed of themselves."

• Matt Staver (12:00): "She should at a minimum have the First Amendment free exercise clause as a defense. But also what caused all this Mess was the 54 opinion that has no basis in the Constitution, therefore it should be overturned."

The segment explores the legal ramifications of Davis's actions, her subsequent fines and lawsuits, and the broader cultural and legal battles that have ensued. Staver argues that the case against Davis could set a precedent to challenge the Obergefell ruling, citing potential impacts on various aspects of public life and civil rights.

Additionally, the discussion touches on inconsistent judicial outcomes in related cases and the need for Congressional intervention to safeguard civil rights litigations.

---

3. Monday Money Beat: Economic Insights with David Bonson

Timestamp: 17:57 – 26:14

Financial analyst and advisor David Bonson of the Bonson Group provides an in-depth analysis of the U.S. economy and stock market's performance in the first half of 2025. Highlights include:

• Dean Schooler (18:27): "It was certainly, if you're just looking backwards on the first six months, a very interesting kind of full circle ride..."

Bonson discusses the cyclical nature of the markets, the impact of geopolitical tensions, particularly between the U.S. and Iran, and the resilience of the economy despite challenges. He emphasizes concerns over the declining labor participation rate, attributing it to cultural shifts that discourage workforce engagement.

Notable insights:

• Dean Schooler (21:19): "You know, that sounds a lot less like a structural economic problem and more like a cultural one. Can you unpack that a bit, David, how our culture is shaping economic outcomes?"

Bonson critiques the newly enacted tax legislation, acknowledging both its potential benefits for business investment and its flaws, such as increased national debt and uneven distribution of tax cuts. He remains cautiously optimistic about the economic policies' long-term effects but warns of imminent fiscal challenges.

---

4. World History Book: The Fate of the Romanovs

Timestamp: 26:50 – 33:28

Emma Eicher presents a gripping historical account of the Romanov family's tragic end during the Russian Revolution. The segment narrates the events leading up to the 1918 execution of Tsar Nicholas II and his family by Bolshevik forces, the ensuing mystery surrounding their disappearance, and the eventual resolution through DNA evidence.

Key moments include:

• Emma Eicher (27:13): "The Romanovs have been under house arrest for more than a year. In 1917, Tsar Nicholas II was forced to abdicate the throne during the Russian Revolution..."

• Matt Staver (32:05): "There were 11 people that were killed that night."

Advanced forensic techniques finally confirmed the fate of all family members, dispelling longstanding rumors of survival and bringing closure to one of history's enduring mysteries.

---

Conclusion

This episode of The World and Everything In It offers a comprehensive exploration of significant legal, economic, and historical topics. From the ongoing debate over same-sex marriage licensing and its potential to unsettle established Supreme Court decisions, to the nuanced state of the U.S. economy as analyzed by David Bonson, and the finally resolved story of the Romanovs, listeners are provided with in-depth reporting and insightful analysis grounded in a commitment to biblically objective journalism.

---

For more detailed coverage and expert analysis, tune into the full episode of The World and Everything In It on Apple Podcasts.

Transcript

[Mary Reichard]

Good morning. Today on legal docket, an update on the county clerk who refused to issue same sex marriage licenses 10 years after Oberga fell. Could her case be the path to overturn it?

[Matt Staver]

What caused all this Mess was the 54 opinion that has no basis in the Constitution, therefore it should be overturned.

[Nick Eicher]

Also today, the Monday money beat economist David Bonson standing by for a mid year assessment of the markets and the strength of the economy. And later, the world history book, how DNA evidence cleared up a nearly 100-year-old mystery of what happened to the family of Russia's last Monarch.

[Mary Reichard]

It's Monday, July 7th. This is the world and everything in it from listener supported World Radio. I'm Mary Reichert.

[Nick Eicher]

And I'm Nick Eicher. Good morning.

[Mary Reichard]

Up next, Kent Covington with today's news.

[Kent Covington]

The death toll from flash floods that raged through Central Texas has risen to roughly 80 people after crews found more bodies. And authorities say many more remain missing, including 10 girls from a summer camp wiped out by the flooding on Friday. Kerr County Sheriff Larry Letha we extend.

[Dean Schooler]

Our sincerest condolences and prayers for every.

[Kent Covington]

Single family affected by this tragedy and.

[Dean Schooler]

We continue to work around the clock and reunite these families.

[Kent Covington]

He said rescue crews will continue to search until everyone is found. And Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick added.

[Dean Schooler]

We are not giving up on a.

[Matt Staver]

Miracle happening because they've happened in the past.

[Dean Schooler]

We know that people can be found downriver.

[Kent Covington]

Days later, the destructive fast moving waters rose 26ft on the river in only 45 minutes before daybreak, washing away homes and vehicles. Governor Greg Abbott has declared an emergency and several counties. And President Trump has declared a major disaster for Kerr county. And activating federal assistance and flash flood watches remained in effect early this morning. Meantime, in the Southeast, tropical Storm Chantel slammed South Carolina Sunday with heavy rain and sustained winds of around 50 miles per hour. Meteorologist Andy McWilliams said as of last night, the storm had weakened down to a tropical depression near the Florence area.

[Dean Schooler]

And then a remnant low as it moves through parts of North Carolina.

[Kent Covington]

And as of last night, there were no reports of any deaths related to this storm. But it has raised concerns about flash flooding in North Carolina as forecasters predicted up to 6 inches of rain in parts of the state through today. In Washington, Republicans and Democrats continue to clash over what President Trump called his one big beautiful bill that is of course now law after the president signed it on Independence Day at a White House picnic. But Democratic Congressman Tom Suozzi said it's nothing to celebrate.

[Dean Schooler]

I describe it as the big, ugly bill, not the big beautiful bill. It's going to do a lot of things that are going to hurt a lot of people in our country.

[Kent Covington]

Democrats say the law will take away health care for many Americans, kicking them off of Medicaid. But Republicans insist that spending cuts are focused on eliminating waste, fraud and abuse and will not affect the benefits of those rightly receiving them. Some critics of the bill also pointed to a projection from the Congressional Budget Office estimating that it would pile on to the national debt and. But top White House economic adviser Steven Mirren argues that those predictions are not accounting for the economic growth that he says the law will generate. You're going to get more people investing in factories as a result of these tax benefits.

[Nick Eicher]

More investment means more income.

[Kent Covington]

More income means more tax revenue, and.

[Nick Eicher]

As a result, deficits go down.

[Kent Covington]

Both the House and the Senate narrowly passed the bill last week, largely down party lines. It will, among other things, lock in 2017 tax cuts. The bill also includes more funding for border security. And Department of Homeland security. Spokeswoman Trisha McLaughlin says the Trump administration actually agrees with the top Democrat in the House about one thing the new.

[Dean Schooler]

Law will do, Hakeem Jeffries, the minority leader, saying that if they pass the big, beautiful bill, it would allow us to unleash a deportation machine on steroids.

[Nick Eicher]

And he's absolutely correct.

[Dean Schooler]

We will do just that.

[Kent Covington]

Of course, there is a difference of opinion across the aisle about whether that is a good thing. GOP Senator Mark Wayne Molen says the law also provides funding to help finish the border wall.

[Dean Schooler]

Last time that President Trump started the.

[Kent Covington]

Wall, obviously you saw the Biden administration.

[Dean Schooler]

Come in and just wreak havoc on.

[Kent Covington]

It and sell the material at pennies on the dollar. So the first thing we're doing is we're actually putting this into law. During Trump's first term, the president declared a national emergency at the border and then reallocated existing funds to build the wall. And but the new law directly funds border wall construction to the tune of about $47 billion. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has announced deals with Western partners to boost production of military drones. Kyiv has increasingly relied on drones to counter Russia's offensives. Zelenskyy said he talked about that with President Trump in a phone call over the weekend. He said they discussed, quote, air defense issues, adding, I am grateful for the willingness to help. Zelensky said his latest phone call with Trump was the most productive yet. And President Trump, for his part, seemingly signaled a commitment to get more Patriot missiles to Ukraine, telling reporters, well, they.

[Dean Schooler]

Need them for defense.

[Matt Staver]

I don't want to see people killed and they're going to need them for defense.

[Nick Eicher]

They're amazingly effective.

[Kent Covington]

The Pentagon recently paused shipments of certain weapons and munitions to Ukraine, saying stockpiles were thinning out. For domestic defense, I'm Count Cuffington. And straight ahead, an update on the county clerk who refused to issue same sex marriage licenses. Plus, the Monday money beat. This is the world and everything in it.

[Nick Eicher]

It's the world and everything in it for the 7th day of July, 2025. We're so glad you've joined us today. Good morning. I'm Nick Eickert.

[Mary Reichard]

And I'm Mary Reichard. It's time for Legal Docket, SUMMERTIME edition. The Supreme Court takes a summer recess. Ours is a little bit different. While the Supremes are on break, we turn attention to disputes brewing in the lower courts. A tiny fraction of those can wind up at the high court eventually. An even smaller slice of the caseload can cause the court to reconstruct. Consider prior rulings.

[Nick Eicher]

Right. It took 50 years to course correct on the abortion decision, Roe v. Wade. And the cultural, political and legal groundswell that led up to it had its roots in Christian churches.

[Matt Staver]

The question before us is on the.

[Kent Covington]

Adoption of resolution number five.

[Matt Staver]

Are you ready for the question?

[Nick Eicher]

Ten years ago this summer was the Obergefell v. Hodges case. The Supreme Court used to rewrite marriage laws in the United states. On that 10th anniversary, America's largest Protestant denomination openly called upon the court.

[Kent Covington]

Microphone 1A.

[Matt Staver]

Does your amendment pertain to resolution number five?

[Dean Schooler]

Yes, it does. All right.

[Kent Covington]

Go ahead.

[Dean Schooler]

My name is Dean Schooler.

[Mary Reichard]

The Southern Baptist Convention resolution said legal rulings like Obergefell and policies that deny the biological reality of male and female are legal fictions. They undermine the truth of God's design. They lead to social confusion and injustice. It calls for the overturning of laws and court rulings, including Obergefell, that defy God's design for marriage and family.

[Kent Covington]

The question now is on adoption for resolution number five, as amended. All in favor, please raise your ballots. You may lower them. Any opposed, raise your ballots. The affirmative has it the resolution passes.

[Nick Eicher]

It's one sign that efforts to overturn the 2015 ruling are gaining a foothold. At least five states have introduced resolutions urging the court to reverse Obergefell. Idaho, Michigan, Montana, north and South Dakota. They haven't gotten far, though. And even if the resolutions progress, they have no legal force.

[Mary Reichard]

But the Supreme Court is a much different place than it was a decade ago, when Justice Anthony Kennedy issued the 5 to 4 opinion.

[Kent Covington]

The court now holds that same sex.

[Nick Eicher]

Couples may exercise the fundamental right to marry in all states.

[Kent Covington]

No longer may this liberty be denied to them.

[Nick Eicher]

Kennedy is off the Court now. Brett Kavanaugh took his place. Another justice who made up the Obergefell majority was the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Replacing her Justice Amy Coney Barrett.

[Mary Reichard]

And among the four who opposed Obergefell, three remain. Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito and the Chief Justice Roberts, who read the dissenting opinion.

[Nick Eicher]

From the dawn of human history, until.

[Kent Covington]

A few years ago, for every people known to have populated this planet, marriage was defined as the union of a man and a woman. That is true for the Kalahari Bushmen and the Han Chinese, for the Carthaginians.

[Nick Eicher]

And the Aztecs, for any civilization, at.

[Kent Covington]

Any time, at any place in the world, and certainly for those who wrote.

[Nick Eicher]

And ratified our Constitution.

[Kent Covington]

But today, five lawyers have ordered every state to change its definition of marriage to one that matches a new one that they favor. Because those lawyers have, in their words, new insight and a better informed understanding of liberty. Just who do we think we are?

[Dean Schooler]

I have no choice but to dissent.

[Mary Reichard]

Justice Kennedy in the majority opinion, took pains to suggest there are good people on both sides of the debate.

[Dean Schooler]

Of course, those who oppose same sex.

[Kent Covington]

Marriage, whether on religious or secular grounds.

[Nick Eicher]

May continue to advocate that belief with the utmost conviction.

[Dean Schooler]

Many who deem same sex marriage to be wrong hold that view based on.

[Nick Eicher]

Decent and honorable premises.

[Kent Covington]

Neither they nor their beliefs are disparaged here.

[Nick Eicher]

But the disparaging would take mere days. A county clerk's office in Round County, Kentucky, where same sex couples came into conflict with a clerk who refused to grant marriage licenses.

[Dean Schooler]

No, we're not leaving until we have a license. We're not leaving until we have a license. Everyone in this office should be ashamed of themselves. Is this what you want to remember? That your children have to look at you and realize that you're a bigot?

[Nick Eicher]

That county clerk is Kim Davis. She was jailed six days for refusing to go along. After her release, she pleaded for some kind of accommodation that would respect both her conscience and and the rule of law.

[Emma Eicher]

And so I'm here before you this.

[Mary Reichard]

Morning with a seemingly impossible choice that.

[Emma Eicher]

I do not wish on any of my fellow Americans.

[Mary Reichard]

My conscience or my freedom.

[Dean Schooler]

My conscience or my ability to serve the people that I love.

[Nick Eicher]

What Davis got instead was a fine and a lawsuit against her personally.

[Mary Reichard]

But the same sex couples came after her anyway. I spoke with her attorney, Matt Staver, of Liberty Council.

[Matt Staver]

Their feelings were hurt and they claimed that they were entitled to what they call emotional damages against Kim Davis personally, that Kim should pay them personally hundreds of thousands of dollars. When you tack on the attorney's fees, it goes up to 360,000 plus dollars.

[Nick Eicher]

Davis appealed. The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in March this year upheld the damages award. It said that as county clerk, her job was a quintessential state action that required her to issue same sex marriage licen no matter what. Today, her lawyer Staver says the case could become a vehicle to challenge Obergefell.

[Matt Staver]

She should at a minimum have the first amendment free exercise clause as a defense. But also what caused all this Mess was the 54 opinion that has no basis in the Constitution, therefore it should be overturned.

[Mary Reichard]

Staver traces many of the culture battles of the past 10 years to the fallout from Obergethell.

[Matt Staver]

But beyond that, what does this policy say? That gender doesn't matter in a gender based relationship? Well, let's take it outside of marriage. What about boys and girls, sports, boys going into women's private spaces? If gender doesn't matter in a gender based relationship, then it extends out to these other areas as well. So the Kim Davis case is symptomatic of a bigger problem. It affects all of us. You may not be involved in the marriage issue. You might even say, well, it doesn't affect me. No, it does affect you. It affects everyone. It affects the cake baker, it affects the website maker, it affects the florist, it affects you in the workplace. It affects the LGBTQ indoctrination in the public schools. All of this is really rooted in the issue and the problems in the Kim Davis case 10 years ago.

[Mary Reichard]

In 2015, Staver says that precedent must not stand. The Supreme Court in 2020 declined to hear an earlier appeal from Davis. So we wait to see whether the court will accept this appeal once it's filed.

[Nick Eicher]

All right. Now another matter out of Kentucky. Back in 2020, Governor Andy Beshear issued orders banning mass gatherings to limit the spread of COVID The ban was unevenly applied. For example, big box stores could stay open, churches could not.

[Mary Reichard]

Maryville Baptist Church held an in person Easter service where people could show up, stay in their cars and hear the service on a big screen. Other people did enter the church. Kentucky State Police put quarantine not on all of the windshields.

[Matt Staver]

They ticketed every single person that was in their car with the windows rolled up listening to a loudspeaker. Now they could have gone to the big box center or an abortion clinic and listened on the radio or to a loudspeaker, it'd be no problem. But doing that in a church parking lot was a problem for that governor. And so, as a result of this citation, these people had to stay in quarantine for a month. They could not leave the county without permission. They could not take public transportation. And several of them, when they returned to work on Monday and Tuesday of that following Sunday, they were terminated by their employers when they realized that these individuals had attended Maryville Baptist Church. So some of them lost their livelihood over this issue.

[Mary Reichard]

The church and its pastors sued Governor Beshear, alleging violation of First Amendment rights. Beshear argued it was all about public health. Liberty Counsel also represents the plaintiffs in this case.

[Matt Staver]

We got the first court of appeals injunction in the entire country blocking these church lockdowns. And we got several injunctions at the court of appeals, all of them unanimous, three to zero decisions. Interestingly, there were some other people that were not attendees of this church that wanted to come to the church because they knew that it was open. And so they were there on the same Easter Sunday. And so using our pleadings in the case that we filed and for which we got an injunction, they also filed a separate lawsuit. And they, too, because of our injunction, got an injunction.

[Nick Eicher]

The problem is, each case with similar facts, under similar laws, drew a different judge, and that produced different results.

[Matt Staver]

But in our case, a separate judge ruled, even though it's identical, and we're the ones who led the case, that we were not prevailing parties. It went to the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, and the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals said, look at the decision we just issued in the identical same situation. Go back and reconsider. It went back down to the lower court judge that originally ruled against us and ruled against us again.

[Nick Eicher]

So no attorney's fees in that case. Those are awarded only when you are deemed a prevailing party in these kinds of cases. The consequence of that is that civil rights lawyers may not want to take cases like these when a deep pocket state can just wait it out.

[Matt Staver]

So that's why this needs to be addressed by Congress, so that this particular decision, which really, I think, hurts civil rights litigations and constitutional rights issues, needs to be reversed and changed in accordance to the way it used to be for decades.

[Mary Reichard]

And that's a common refrain these days, pushing Congress to do its job. Other Supreme Court decisions do seem to be trying to get the three branches into their proper lanes, and that's this week. Legal docket.

[Kent Covington]

Additional support comes from Cedarville University committed to transforming lives through Christ Centered Education. Cedarville Edition From Nicaea Conference 2025 A historic gathering of church leaders from every inhabited continent. [e-mail] and from Water's edge Kingdom Investments personal investments that build churches 5.05% APY on a three month term watersedge.com invest.

[Mary Reichard]

Next up on the world and everything in it the Monday Money Beat.

[Nick Eicher]

Time now to talk business, markets and the economy with financial analyst and advisor David Bonson. David heads up the wealth management firm the Bonson Group. He is here now. Good morning to you David.

[Dean Schooler]

Good morning Nick. Good to be with you.

[Nick Eicher]

All right. Well we have just passed the 4th of July holiday weekend, so a natural point to pause and take stock of the stock market. David, looking back on the first six months of the year, what stands out to you about the markets? Any themes or trends that are have defined the first half for you?

[Dean Schooler]

Well, I mean it was certainly, if you're just looking backwards on the first six months, a very interesting kind of full circle ride in the sense that we started off the year with markets pretty frothy in their price and a lot of The Big Tech Mag 7 AI names really kind of expensive. And then in between the start point of the year and where we are now at the mid year point you had a lot of headline driven events primarily around the threats of a trade war and tariffs. There was some geopolitical sparks in there as well with Israel and the US Attacks on Iran. And then by the end of the first half of the year you just kind of went back to where you started with pretty good economy, pretty good earnings and a pretty expensive market.

[Nick Eicher]

Well, David, I'd like to dive in a little bit to that pretty good economy. So when you look at the big picture, beyond just the market performance, how do you assess the health of the overall US Economy?

[Emma Eicher]

Now?

[Nick Eicher]

Are the fundamentals solid or do you think there's something kind of going on beneath the surface?

[Dean Schooler]

Well, I continue to believe that there is a very different conversation about the short term, intermediate term and long term outlook and that the primary issue long term is still and is going to stay the indebtedness of the country and the burdens that the excessive governmental debt represents on the US Economy in the short term. The jobs report that came last week right before the holiday weekend were really instructive on both fronts, the good and the bad front as to what I think is the state of our labor market. On one hand you had a pretty low unemployment number, 4.1%. You had pretty decent job creation, 147,000. That was higher than expected. You continue to kind of defy the critics who think DOGE is eliminating a lot of government jobs when the government was the biggest addition to jobs created, albeit more on a state and local level than federal. So certainly the DOGE layoffs so far have vastly underestimated, underwhelmed what people expected in terms of eliminating some of the government excess. But, Nick, the decline in the labor participation force, again, over 200,000 people leaving the workforce, which is the mathematical reason that the unemployment percentage went down. That's just an awful development that is getting worse, not better. And so, on one hand, you have a pretty good jobs market for people who want a job, being able to get one. On the other hand, you have far too few people who want a job.

[Nick Eicher]

You know, that sounds a lot less like a structural economic problem and more like a cultural one. Can you unpack that a bit, David, how our culture is shaping economic outcomes?

[Dean Schooler]

Well, you're exactly right. It is a cultural problem. But that doesn't necessarily bifurcate from an economic problem, because the cultural problem, which is a cultural cause, results in an economic effect. And so I think that the price paid in the economy for the cultural causation of just simply a society that is less embracing of work is less productivity. And by the way, it increases the need for immigration, which then adds to the political hostility, because we clearly have a lot of forces that are working against higher immigration. And we could say we want to isolate that topic to just really focus on the perils of illegal immigration. But the problem is that that topic gets a lot more complicated and a lot more controversial around illegal immigration when there is a significant amount of the labor force that is leaving and increasing incentives for employers to look to the immigration pocket to meet their labor needs.

[Nick Eicher]

Well, David, hey, before we go, you know, we've talked about this so called big beautiful bill, but now it's law, the big beautiful law. And I guess what it has gained in legal status, it has lost in alliteration. But no small thing here politically that the House Speaker, Mike Johnson, was able to keep his narrow majority together. But let's set the politics aside and now that this is law, what are you watching for as the economic effects begin to play out?

[Dean Schooler]

Well, it is a big political victory for both Speaker Johnson and President Trump. The reason it's a political victory for President Trump is there is absolutely no denying right now that this is his party, that the Republican Party is his. Now, the question that people are Asking me, Nick, is what do I think of the bill? When you put aside the politics, what it teaches us, where things stand, Speaker Johnson's clearly underrated ability to manage his own caucus. But you know, all that stuff is really political and a little less interesting to me than the economic side. And I think that three things are true. I'll say them very quickly. One, the tax cuts got extended. They had to be extended. You would have created a recession to have that kind of big tax increase. So the part that everyone knew was going to happen, that's the least surprise to it got done and that's a good thing. Second is the most negative, that it is a significant increase to the deficit over time and that this was a chance to actually decrease the deficit and it just simply didn't do it. The fact that some knobs got moved around that I like, but most of those knobs that got moved I liked were offset by other knobs moving the wrong way. And, and I don't think the Democrats will get a lot of political benefit other than people that are already predisposed to not liking President Trump with their, oh, he's slashing the social safety net, he's slashing Medicaid argument. It isn't true, but I don't think that's gonna have a big impact here. I more focused on the Medicaid side that the Republicans did such an absolutely awful job making the case that they were not slashing Medicaid. And then the third thing, which is more important, relevant to markets, there's some modestly good stuff on the business side, full expensing of capital investment that was made permanent, not just a four year thing. Now look, I think this no tax on tips stuff is just totally silly. And the no tax on overtime and some of the personal tax stuff, it isn't pro growth. It picks a certain winner over a loser. A few people will benefit. People always tell me I'm supposed to say I'm in favor of any tax cuts, but I really am not. I mean, I'm in favor of tax cuts that are evenly distributed across the economy. And I think that this doesn't do that. But it's so interesting. It's only a few years and then it goes away. And so that side of it is not the pro growth side. The business stuff is more pro growth and I hope that there will be a good result there. But it isn't the big needle mover that President Trump's fantastic legislation was in 2017. You know, that was a much bigger deal in My mind.

[Nick Eicher]

All right. David Bonson, founder, managing partner and chief investment officer at the Bonson Group. He writes regularly for us at World opinions [e-mail] David, thanks so much. We'll see you next week.

[Dean Schooler]

Thanks so much, Nick.

[Nick Eicher]

Today is Monday, July 7th. Good. Good morning. This is the world and everything in it from listener supported World Radio. I'm Nick Iger.

[Mary Reichard]

And I'm Mary Reichard. Up next, the world history book. Back in 1917, the Bolsheviks overthrew the royal family during the Russian Revolution. Soldiers forced the Romanovs into house arrest and for many years, their fate was shrouded in secrecy. World's Emma Eicher has the story.

[Emma Eicher]

On July 16, 1918, the Russian royal family sleeps soundly in a modest two story stone house, a far cry from the opulent palaces they're accustomed to. Guards downstairs are quietly slipping Colt pistols into their pockets. If all goes according to plan, the Romanovs will be dead by dawn. Voice actor Kim Rasmussen reads with the head guard. Yakov Yurovsky later remarked, it's no easy.

[Dean Schooler]

Thing to arrange an execution. Contrary to what some people may think.

[Emma Eicher]

The Romanovs have been under house arrest for more than a year. In 1917, Tsar Nicholas II was forced to abdicate the throne during the Russian Revolution, and the Provisional Government wasn't sure what to do with the family. They only knew they must protect them and limit their influence over counter revolutionaries. So under constant guard, the family of seven moves from house to house around Russia. At each location, they lose more food, money and possessions. Nicholas wife Alexandra writes this in a letter to her sister in law. Voice actor Michelle Schlavin reads, We live quietly, have established ourselves well, although it.

[Kent Covington]

Is far, far away from everybody.

[Mary Reichard]

But God is merciful.

[Kent Covington]

He gives us strength and consolation.

[Emma Eicher]

The children have to adjust to life outside the royal Palace. There's Olga, the oldest at 23. Then there's Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia, and the only son, Alexei. He's the youngest at 14. At first, revolutionaries treat the Romanovs gently. They want to cultivate good public opinion at home and abroad. But then anger at the royal family starts to mount. Communist leader Vladimir Lenin and violent Bolsheviks, a Marxist faction, replace the Provisional Government. They ask themselves, why should the exiled Romanovs live protected and comfortable while peasants scrape by on meager rations? And they have other worries. Loyalists to the Crown are beginning to gain ground. The White army, as they're known, advances threatening to topple the Bolsheviks. They're getting close to the place where the Romanovs are imprisoned. And if they find them, they'll set them free. The head guard, Yurovsky and his friends at Bolshevik headquarters decide it's time to send a message. One of Lenin's officials says later, the.

[Mary Reichard]

Execution of the Tsar family was needed.

[Dean Schooler]

Not only to frighten, horrify and dishearten the White army, but also to shake up our own ranks, to show them.

[Mary Reichard]

That there was no turning back, that ahead lay complete victory or complete ruin.

[Emma Eicher]

So Yurovsky orders his soldiers to clear out the cellars. He handpicks a few of them to carry out the execution. And at 1:30 in the morning, he wakes up the family. He says the White army is approaching and they have to go down to the cellars for their own safety. The family complies getting ready with their maids, the family physician and the house cook. Then guards lead all 11 of them into the cellars below.

[Dean Schooler]

Yurofsky recalls they still did not imagine anything of what was in store for them.

[Emma Eicher]

Three days after the execution, the government releases an official statement saying they killed Nicholas ii, but the rest of the family is safe, though they won't say where they've taken them. One official says privately, the world will.

[Dean Schooler]

Never know what has become of them.

[Emma Eicher]

The White army captures the town a week later, and officials are still hopeful that the Romanovs are alive. Soldiers search the house and find the cellar pockmarked with bullet holes. But there aren't any bodies, so they figure the family might still be alive, or at least some of them. News of the Romanovs mysterious disappearance swirls through the nation and beyond into Europe and the Americas. What happened to them? For eight years, the Russian government insists that Alexandra and the children are safe. But the family gathers mystique in the public eye. Rumors of their survival circulate across the globe. People report seeing the Romanov daughters in Crimea, North America, even Japan. In fact, individuals claiming to be Anastasia or Marie or Alexei step forward. More than 200 people claim to be the missing children over the next 60 years, until investigators finally uncover the truth. Audio here from a National Geographic documentary.

[Kent Covington]

So what did you find?

[Emma Eicher]

They discover a shallow grave in the forest near the house where the Romanovs were last imprisoned.

[Dean Schooler]

In 1991, nine sets of remains were found.

[Matt Staver]

There were 11 people that were killed that night.

[Nick Eicher]

Two sets of remains were still missing.

[Emma Eicher]

On July 9, 1993, British forensic scientists used DNA samples to determine that the remains belonged to the Romanov family in their royal entourage. But it takes more than a decade to find evidence of the other two bodies. In 2007, archaeologists unearthed another grave a few hundred feet away containing bone fragments. They take DNA samples, but it's difficult to conduct tests.

[Kent Covington]

The mystery within the mystery is what happened to Anastasia.

[Matt Staver]

Did she escape or is she here right now?

[Kent Covington]

I can't tell whether I have two females or a male and a female, or whether these fragments are part of the other bones that were already recovered.

[Emma Eicher]

Using advanced technology, they determine the fragments belonged to both Alexei and one of his sisters, either Maria or Anastasia. Nearly 90 years after the early morning executions, the analysis finally puts to rest the secrecy behind the Romanov family's fate.

[Kent Covington]

It was surely not the end any of them expected. But the DNA evidence makes it clear that's what really happened on the night.

[Nick Eicher]

When Russia's longest lived dynasty came to.

[Kent Covington]

Its abrupt and bloody end.

[Emma Eicher]

That's this week's world history Book. I'm Emma Eicher.

[Nick Eicher]

Tomorrow, Medicare, Medicaid, and what qualifies as a cut? And we'll meet some enthusiasts who don't just collect old flint arrowheads, they make them. That and more tomorrow. I'm Nick Iger.

[Mary Reichard]

And I'm Mary Reichert. 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 that when Jesus got into the boat, his disciples followed him. And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves. But he was asleep. They went and woke him, saying, save us, Lord, we are perishing. And he said to them, why are you afraid, O you of little faith? Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea. And there was a great calm. And the men marveled, saying, what sort of man is this that even winds and sea obey him? Verses 23 through 27 of Matthew, chapter 8. Go now in grace and peace.