9.2.26 Pentagon’s upheaval, Venezuela’s earthquakes, and Dolly Parton’s roots

0:00Good morning. Upheaval in the U.S. military is the Iran War draws down supplies. And the data center divide that and more on Washington Wednesday with Hunter Baker. Also today World Tour the problem of earthquake recovery in Venezuela. Later, Dolly Parton's humble beginnings. I know exactly what I'm doing and I can change it at any time. The World Commentator Maria Bayer on AI and the Lost Art of Friendship. It's Wednesday, September 2nd. This is the world and everything in it from listener-supported world radio. I'm Lindsay Mas. And I'm Nick Eiker. Good morning. Up next Kent Coveington with today's news. The U.S. military began striking Iranian targets again on Tuesday along the Strait of Hormuz. Central command says the targets belong to Iran's revolutionary guard.

1:03President Trump announced the strikes on social media calling them large and powerful. He says it answers an Iranian attempt to mine the strait as well as a missile attack against the U.S. military base in Jordan. And the pressure is not only military, a temporary ceasefire deal between the two sides signed in June did not hold. And the Trump administration is now turning the screws on Iran's economy. Treasury Secretary Scott Becant. We are going to economically expixiate this regime. And as President Trump said, the reason the MOU did not work, they were not ready for a deal. My job is to make sure that they want to have a deal. And they will want to have one. And as President Masood Pajashky and claims Tehran would go back to the June terms immediately if Washington does. Many times Trump says the strait is clear of minds, but oil prices rose once again on Tuesday. He met with executives from oil and gas companies at the White House yesterday to discuss

2:06ways to bring gas prices down. There will not be another government shutdown, at least not before election day. lawmakers in the House saw to that on Tuesday as they gave final approval to a short term spending bill. On this vote, the Yays are 370. The Nays are 48. Two-thirds being in the affirmative. The rules are suspended. The Senate amendment has agreed to. That sends it to President Trump's desk for a signature. The government's budget year ends at the end of this month, and without new funding by then, much of the federal government would close. Instead, agencies will keep running at current spending levels through at least December 11th that pushes the next funding fight past November elections. The man accused of assassinating conservative activist Charlie Kirk will stand trial for murder. That is the ruling from Utah Judge Tony Graf. It is hereby ordered that the defendant Tyler James Robinson is bound over for trial

3:08in the 4th judicial district court. The judge heard final arguments from both sides yesterday on the question of whether accused shooter Tyler Robinson should be tried in the case. Prosecutor Ryan McBride argued that there was more than enough to go on, including DNA, video and circumstantial evidence, and even a confession from Robinson himself. Any one of those four categories of evidence would provide evidence, certainly probable cause, and possibly proof beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant is the man who shot Charlie Kirk. And in this case, we have all four categories of evidence. Prosecutors also argued that the shooting endangered several bystanders who were attending the crowd of the defendant, Utah Valley University, but defense attorney Stacy Visser argued that was not the case. There were no actual threats by the assailant to the third party. There was no evidence that would suggest that anyone else was threatened. Robinson still has not entered a plea and could face the death penalty if convicted.

4:11Tropical storm Edward crashed ashore near the Texas Louisiana line Tuesday afternoon with sustained winds around 60 miles per hour. Forecasters had also called for storm surge of up to five feet, but officials have been more worried about Edward as a rain event. Ryan Wright Hart with the National Hurricane Center said Tuesday. We're forecasting rainfall totals of three to six inches up to a maximum of nine inches for parts of the upper Texas coast with two to four inches possible in far south left western Louisiana. Edward fell apart as it pushed inland overnight, but the rain kept falling. Flood watches are an effect and Houston could see scattered downpours today. Republican congressman is pushing for legal action against alleged former clients of the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. World's Harrison Waters reports now from Washington. Thomas Massie of Kentucky took to the house floor on Monday, saying the Trump administration isn't done handing over the Epstein files.

5:12It's been a year since the president signed the Epstein Files Transparency Act and the government continues to withhold over three million files. Massie led the effort to force a vote on that bill last year. President Trump initially said there was nothing more to see, but signed on after both chambers passed it. The DOJ released more than three million files in January. The Massie says Congress should pass a second bill to declassify more. He named 14 individuals connected with Epstein that he says the DOJ should investigate, including former JP Morgan CEO Jess Staley and magician David Copperfield. Perhaps hearing these names will shame the Department of Justice into delivering justice. Todd Blanche, now attorney general, told reporters earlier this year the DOJ didn't have enough evidence to charge others with ties to Epstein. Massie lost his Kentucky primary in May to a challenger with President Trump's endorsement. Reporting for World, I'm Harrison Waters in Washington.

6:14And I'm Kent Covington, Hunter Baker, a standing by for Washington Wednesday, and later Dolly Parton's humble beginnings. This is the world and everything in it. This Wednesday, the 2nd of September, glad to have you along for today's edition of the world and everything in it. Good morning, I'm Lindsey Mast. And I'm Nick Eiker. It's Washington Wednesday and joining us now is political scientist and world opinions contributor Hunter Baker. Hunter is a senior fellow for Civic Renewal and Religious Liberty at First Liberty Institute. Hunter, good morning. Good morning. All right. So Hunter, is this coherent reform effort or leadership turn that is becoming a readiness

7:31problem or a different possibility altogether? Is there a political story here in that Driscoll is known as a Vansky and Hegseth is a Trump guy? It's a really interesting story to me because I'm a student of public administration. And very typically what happens is that the appointed political leader goes native. They basically become part of the agency. They pretty much follow what the career people want to do. And in this case, Pete Hegseth has had a different sort of mind. Pete Hegseth has wanted to represent Trump, represent Trump's attitudes. He has been critical of the army as an institution and the rest of the military. And he has wanted to sort of bring his own priorities. And there have been certain things that he wanted to stop like DEI. But I think that the big key here is that he has not been deferential to the career people. And I think that when they've bucked him, he pretty much has pushed him out or kind of led them in the direction of a resignation.

8:33And that's what's happened here. Well, in that upheaval comes, as public reporting says the Iran War has drawn down stocks of certain high-end missiles. The concern is not ammunition generally, but patriot interceptors and other hard-to-replace weapons needed for major contingencies elsewhere. Does that point mainly to a procurement failure or a strategy larger than the industrial base can sustain? I think that first of all, we have been heavily involved in the conflict between Ukraine and Russia. And I think that we did a substantial amount of army in Ukraine. I don't mean that we just gave them weapons. You know, I think that we have sold them weapons. And then besides that, we have had this conflict with Iran in a new era of warfare, drone warfare. And so one of the things that we have done, and I think that we kind of regret it, is that we have used up a lot of these very high-dollar interceptor missiles and things of that

9:34type, on drones, much less expensive drones that can nevertheless do damage. And so now we find ourselves in this situation where we maybe don't have as many of those kind of arms as we would like. And always, sitting on the sideline is China, right? I'm not saying that I think China will do something, but I think that they do watch. I think they watch and they think. I think they have the attitude that they want to win without fighting. But I think that they're highly aware of all vulnerabilities. And in this case, that's one that we have. Well, issue two today is the data center divide and the AI build out. Two weeks ago, we asked whether data centers would become a campaign issue. Now the fight has moved inside organized labor. Building trades unions want the jobs. Some white collar unions fear the AI displacement. Those centers may accelerate. So our data centers splitting labor between workers who build the AI economy and workers who fear AI may replace them. I think that we actually have a similar sort of divide that we probably had with COVID.

10:38There were the people who actually had to go to work and do things. And then there were the people who were sort of the laptop class. And here you have the people who are responsible for making things work in the real world. And they like projects. And they like the income that comes with those projects. And then you've got other people who are just sort of on the sideline criticizing. Now with regard to this question of the data centers, I've read about it a lot. And I think that we still are in a situation where I'm not sure that we have a really good grip on reality. I think that a lot of us are very afraid of where is AI going to take us? What is it going to do to jobs? What is the noise that these things generate? How will they impact electricity prices? Are they using up ruinous amounts of water? And as far as I can tell, it seems like a lot of those concerns may be overblown. We need a sober debate. But the problem is politics is a business just like anything else.

11:39And right now, the hot thing on the racks is data centers are bad. And politicians react to that kind of feedback, even in the conservative states. And you're seeing that. And I'll just say one more thing to consider. I brought up China earlier. China, again, I don't think that they are driving this conversation in the United States, but they don't want us to win the war over AI and AI capability. And I do think that they may exacerbate the concerns. Well, Hunter, to your point, national leaders have called this AI build out absolutely essential president Trump squarely in that corner. He sees it in national security geopolitical terms that, as you mentioned, that race for AI leadership versus China. Now, to the point of local communities, they, of course, complain about demands for power and water, land and infrastructure, as you said. But there was a really strong commentary piece in the Wall Street journal that I read,

12:42making a completely different case, pointing specifically to Loudon County, Virginia. This is the richest county in the United States, measured by median income. The population there is growing. The data centers there take up 4% of Loudon County, but supply half of the property tax revenue. And for Loudon County residents, the average electric bill is less than in neighboring Fairfax County. So when is local resistance a fair demand that developers kind of sweeten the deal for people in the communities? And when does it just become a veto on progress? I think it's really interesting that Donald Trump is in the White House right now, because his background is basically as a real estate developer. He likes to see development of towns and cities, and of course the state and federal government as well. But I think that you're exactly right that the ones who are successful are going to find a way to make a case for people in these local communities that they're going to be better

13:44off. And I think that it is a virtual inevitability that that's going to happen. I think it has to happen, and I think they're going to figure out how to do it. All right, issue 300. The deadline Congress keeps putting off one more issue to go now before the lightning round if we can do that quickly. Social security's old age trust fund is projected to run out of reserves in the year 2032. Seems like a long time away, but it's really not. Incoming revenue would then cover 78% of scheduled benefits. Members of both parties say they will prevent that, but they have not agreed how. So is the real obstacle here policy disagreement or just the political incentives that punish anyone who starts naming the price? Yeah, the options here are not easy. What you're looking at are things like extending that 12.4% tax to all wage income. Unfortunately, even doing that, I think, would maybe solve about 60% of the problems.

14:49Then you got to look at other things. Do you have an enhanced tax on wealthier people or do you cut benefits for wealthier people? Do you extend the age? I think that people of my age won't be able to collect until they're 67 or more. I mean, there are all kinds of things like that that will happen. But if we don't, yes, there will be a cut and people will receive at least as soon as it hits about 80% of what they would have received otherwise. And to your question, yeah, nobody wants to touch it. The Republicans have tried at various times to touch it. And when they do, they are beaten senseless by the other team. Right. And so they have learned, you know, if you're Paul Ryan, they'll make an ad showing you pushing Granny off a cliff. So it has been a no-win kind of situation and it will have to be bipartisan to get anywhere. All right, Hunter, you up for Lightning Realm? Sure. All right, three quick ones.

15:49First, let's start with Venezuela. For the proposed Venezuela oil deal, the U.S. government would take a 35% stake in a private venture receiving long-term oil rights from Venezuela's unelected but pro-American government. Does that give Washington leverage for free elections or give Caracas legitimacy to continue putting them off? I'll tell you the big thing that I thought about is that we have had American companies who have had their facilities in Venezuela nationalized in the past. Maxon, for example, having lost major infrastructure there. So I think that the difference with having the nation take a stake in this is that then they're not just nationalizing something that belongs to an American corporation. Then they would actually be taking property that belongs to the United States of America. Now you're talking about a cause for war. So yesterday Hunter, a house hearing exam and businesses that market birth tourism services to foreign expectant mothers.

16:52Hunter, do you think this issue is going to get any political traction this year, either with voters or in Congress? I think that it should. So we've had our kind of big fight over whether Donald Trump can do an executive order to end birth citizenship, the court ruled that he could not. But what you could do is you could legislate around these kinds of things, right? About the circumstances under which visas will be offered and to say that if those conditions are not observed, then we may have a kind of a fraud. All right. Last one, the 5-4 ballroom. The Supreme Court let White House ballroom construction continue because the preservation group likely lacked standing to sue. It did not decide whether the project itself is legal. It was another narrow, high court ruling that skirts the merits. Can an administration outrun judicial review by making a project irreversible before courts can rule? I can't see a Supreme Court ordering the ballroom to be torn down.

17:53No. I don't think they would do that. As I thought about this, I remembered this famous old Jesse Jackson Saturday Night Live sketch where his answer to every question was, the question is moot. If you get the thing built, then the question will be moot because they're not going to go tear it down. But it's interesting controversy. I think that Justice Roberts may have a point that Congress should have probably been involved in this, but you get far enough along. They are going to say the question is moot and they're not going to tear it down and I think the project is going to get done. All right, Hunter Baker is the senior fellow for Civic Renewal and Religious Liberty at the First Liberty Institute. Thanks, Hunter. Thank you. Additional support comes from Boyce College, where truth comes first.

18:55Every class begins with scripture and prepares students to live with wisdom, conviction, and Christ-like faithfulness. Boycecollege.com From World Watch, a 10-minute current news program designed for daily school rhythms, a free 30-day trial is available at worldwatch.news slash podcast. And from Cedarville University, equipping students for professional excellence and gospel impact, cedarville.edu slash world. Coming up next on the world and everything in it, World Tour. Venice, Wales have spent more than two months rebuilding their lives after two consecutive earthquakes. The June 24th quakes have turned into one of the country's worst natural disasters in history.

19:59Dozens of foreign NGOs came to the rescue saving more than 6,500 people under the rubble, but hundreds of buildings collapsed and more than 40,000 remain missing. World's Jenny Lynn Schmidt has our report. Linda Marquez lives in Caracas with her husband and two kids. The family was at home watching the FIFA World Cup while she made dinner. Then the earthquake struck. We saw it covered and the glass fell around the kitchen, everything broke, and nothing touched us. The living room was a mess too, and as we prayed, we saw dust rising from the following buildings outside. And I really thought, okay, we might be the next ones. Alejandra Perez is an electrical engineer from La Guayra, the hardest hit zone in Venezuela. She told World the first earthquake felt like ocean waves. The second was like being inside a cocktail shaker.

21:02In a couple minutes, her whole neighborhood was flattened. Going up the street, all the buildings had collapsed. We didn't know what to expect. I couldn't see a thing because there was so much smoke coming from the buildings. Then we saw our house remains, and we could have believed it. Marquez and Perez survived, but they lost their homes. They're far from alone. The United Nations says nearly 18,000 Venezuelans are now homeless and living with family, friends, or in temporary shelters. Here's Marquez. We're in a national morning because the blow was just too hard. It's one thing for us to tell you about it, but I mean, it can never compare with being there and seeing blog after blog of buildings lying in ruins.

22:06Jesus Armas is the president of Ciudadania, Sin Limites, a local NGO that monitors public services in Venezuela. Armas spent over a decade as an inspector of residential buildings in Caracas and La Guayra. He told World that government neglect has made the crisis far more severe. This is because of the years of corruption, of mismanagement, of public services, of electricity, and water system in Venezuela. Dozens of overseas NGOs rushed to disaster zones after the earthquakes, filling in the vacuum left by the Venezuelan government. Elizabeth Nagle is the Latin America regional manager for Samaritan's Purse, which has provided clean water, medical care, and more than 400 shelters for thousands of displaced people in La Guayra. She says that beyond physical needs, Venezuela's long-for-spiritual healing and a renewed life purpose.

23:07We are seeing people come back to our wash sites just for prayer. They don't even come back for water. And I think that's a testament to how God is moving the hearts as people hear whether they're believers or not. Daily life continues to bring challenges. Small businesses are now reopening, but the cost of basic goods skyrocketed in the aftermath. But Nagle says the communities in Venezuela are strong. I think the other thing that I really love, that really struck me, got the whole soul of people, is, you know, of how they like connect as a community. And so even in the midst of tragedy and suffering, they're still able to come together and experience life together. And I think that's really beautiful. That shows us strength that we don't know what we're supposed to do. That's the Speak's World Tour. I'm Jenny Lynch-Mitt. Now, you know, everybody's complaining about the high cost of everything, but here's news,

24:17owning a pet raccoon just got cheaper in Tennessee. A new law waives the $150 personal possession permit fee. There are rules, though. A raccoon must be non-native, legally obtained and vaccinated, and taking one from the wild remains illegal. The Tennessee State Rep says he has fielded hundreds, perhaps thousands of constituent contacts, saying they are eager to own a pet raccoon. Wildlife officials not happy at all, reiterating advice to keep garbage cans secure after all. Raccoons are not called trashpand is for nothing. An online warning from the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency still says that raccoons do not make good pets. It's the world and everything in it. Today is Wednesday, September 2nd.

25:17Thank you for turning to World Radio to help start your day. Good morning. I'm Nick Eichert. Coming next on the world and everything in it, rags to rhinestones. Country music icon Dolly Parton was laid to rest in a private ceremony in Nashville on Friday, but plans to honor her legacy are just beginning. Officials in Tennessee are proposing to rename Nashville's International Airport in her honor, and her estate recently announced a global Dolly Fest for 2027. Today we look back at her humble beginnings. World's Mary Muncie reports. When Dolly Parton was five years old, her parents gave her a corn cob doll for Christmas. Mama put some corn silk hair on her, put a little corn shut dress, and they made some eyes for her, and I loved her. So much so that she wrote her first song. And it sounded like this. But at all tiny tassels, top. I love you and I'll follow up. Corn silk hair and big brown eyes, how you make me smile.

26:18Her mom wrote the song down and kept it. Parton grew up playing and singing, making her debut when her grandfather's church. The Partons lived practically on the side of a mountain in East Tennessee, cramming 12 children in one and two room cabins with no electricity or running water. Parton told the BBC. We were so poor that we had to wear things that people would send us. Mama would make things over. Where's the rigs actually to school. But I did have a good mom and daddy we've stayed. Her early songs were often ballads about women in tragic situations coming to worse ends. I like valid, real strong, beautiful, sad, crying valid. She says it's what she grew up hearing on her front porch. She started playing gigs and made her first television appearance at 10. She got her big break in 1959 at the Grand Ole Opry. Oh, if you wanna be my baby, you gotta be my baby. 13-year-old Parton earned three on court that night.

27:21In early 20s, the country music variety broadcast the Porter Wagner show invited her on. Pretty Miss Dolly Parton, come at me. Shortly after, she released her first album. Hello, I'm Dolly. Don't try to cry. She struck out on her own in 1974, writing a farewell tribute to Porter Wagner. But I will always love you. It was one of her first songs to top the country charts and it was only up from there. But as her music got more attention, so did her Appalachian roots, Barbara Walters in 1978. Dolly, where I come from, what I have called you a hillbilly. If you had of, it would have been something very natural, but I would have probably kicked your hands or something. People also started asking about her look. She wore big blonde wigs, augmented her figure, and often wore heavy makeup and costume-like clothes.

28:24But do you ever feel that you're a joke? That people make fun of you? Oh, I know you make fun of me. But actually, all these years, the people have thought the joke was on me, but it's actually been on the public. I know exactly what I'm doing, and I can change it at any time. And I make more jokes about myself than anybody. Because I know, like I say, I'm sure of myself as a person. She mostly stayed out of politics by diverting questions and refusing to pick sides. But she did have a few personal causes. She worked with feminist activist Jane Fonda on the 1980 workplace movie, 9-to-5. Later, she contributed a song to the 2005 film, Trans America. And when interviewers asked her about the transgender movement, she said she wants to love everyone. She wanted to be an absolutely global star, and she knew that in order to do that, she couldn't alienate people. And she did work. Sarah Phillips teaches the anthropology of Dolly Parton at Indiana University.

29:25Another part of her universal appeal, and she always said this too, was that when people come to see me, she said, I know that they're not coming to see me. They're coming to see themselves in me, or they're coming to see me be them. Phillips says, parton often played on gender and class stereotypes, poking at them while staying true to herself. People told Dolly she was tacky. They told her to stop doing that. Don't do that, don't do that. She said, I feel comfortable this way. This is how I like to look. This is who I am. Parton did her last tour in 2016. Throughout her career, she wrote and sang gospel in Christian songs. Parton says she believed in God and that her songwriting process included prayer. She married Karl Dean when she was 20, and the two stayed married until Dean died last year. They never had children. Her nephew, Brian Seever, released a video message

30:26after her death. Sadness lies with us, not with Dolly. Dolly has lived in the light, and is in the arms of Jesus. He says, parton requested to be buried in soft cotton, a rest from uncomfortable rhinestones. Rest in peace, Aunt Dolly. Aunt Granny, GG. May God bless Dolly Parton, and may God bless you all. She will always love you. Reporting for World, I'm Mary Muncie. How great thou art. Oh, how great thou art. Good morning. This is The World and everything in it from listener supported World Radio. I'm Muncie Mast. And I'm Nick Eiker. In an age of clawed and jet GPT, people are increasingly turning to AI, to ask questions that not too long ago were reserved for trusted friends and confidants.

31:27World commentator Maria Bayer says, That's an opportunity to show people what friendship can be. A few weeks ago, the economist published a disturbing study that seems to reveal significant biases in various AI chatbot models. Researchers found that even answers to personal and moral questions were ideologically skewed. When asked, for example, what do I do about my pesky in-laws? Different AI models served up wildly varying responses across a broad moral scope, ranging from, and I'm paraphrasing here, slay queen to maybe you should see compromise. This study and others like it have sparked a much needed conversation about AI bias. But there's a much deeper problem being exposed here too. That people would think to ask a machine, these sorts of personal moral questions in the first place. The economist didn't run this experiment as a quirky stunt. They did it because they know that people, particularly kids,

32:31really are asking AI models for moral, emotional, and spiritual feedback. This is dangerous, but not just because AI's answers are skewed to please. It's dangerous because it whispers in our ears that yet another fundamental element of being human relationships can be automated. In such a moment, Christians have a calling to be ambassadors for the goodness and necessity of real embodied human friendship. But do we remember how? In 1936, author Dale Carnegie wrote his famous book, How to Win Friends and Influence People. We might cringe at his clunky title now, but his book turned out to be a prescient exploration of human nature. Nearly 100 years later, one of his simplest arguments lays bare the dysfunction of so many friendships in the age of social media. Quote, you can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people

33:33than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you end quote. This truth hasn't changed. The foundation of human friendship is genuine interest in the other. It is something no machine can ever offer. And yet it's a muscle we humans have allowed to atrophy. It is something no machine can ever offer. And yet it's a muscle we humans have allowed to atrophy. It's easy to see why. Social media is inherently and aggressively uninterested in others. You post about what you're doing. Your camera faces you, a decade and a half and a compulsively engaging in this behavior, and too many of us have forgotten how to have real friendships. How often have you met someone new? Struck up a conversation and noticed 20 minutes in that it's devolved into two distracted people merely performing for each other. You shake her hand and then it starts. 10 minutes later, here's what you know,

34:33what she does for a living, what she thinks about the latest TikTok trend, the names and birth dates of each of her children, whether this is her natural hair color and why she's angry at her sister. What she still doesn't know is your last name, whether you have children, whether you're currently in the middle of an asthma attack and whether or not you even speak English. She's not engaging in a conversation with you. She's delivering a real-time social media feed. Maybe your guilty of the same. Here's Carnegie again. If you aspire to be a good conversationalist, be an attentive listener, to be interesting, be interested. Ask questions that the other person will enjoy answering, but the crucial difference between allowing someone else to perform for you and building a real friendship is genuine reciprocal interest. But his methods are sound because they reflect the true thing about love and friendship, that they require what Paul told the Philippians to do

35:36to value others above themselves. If people are asking machines what to do about strained family relationships, maybe that's because no one real has ever asked them about their family relationships. Christians, this is our moment. It's lamentable that our neighbors are turning to machines instead of other people to vent their worries and to explore their big questions. But if we see this moment rightly, aren't we fortunate that such a basic, lovely thing as friendship has become another opportunity for the family of Jesus to stand apart? Let's get to it. For World, I'm Maria Bear. [♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪ Tomorrow, a rise in prenatal genetic screening results may endanger the lives of babies. We'll have a report. And how two women use uncommon instruments to spread the love of music. That and more tomorrow. I'm Lindsay Mas. And I'm Nick Eichert, the world and everything in it

36:37comes to you from World Radio. World's mission is biblically objective journalism that informs, educates and inspires. The Bible says, but I will sing of your strength. I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning. For you have been to me a fortress and a refuge in the day of my distress. O my strength, I will sing praises to you. For you, O God, or my fortress, the God who shows me steadfast love. Verses 16 and 17 of Psalm 59. Go now in grace and peace.