August 3

On Washington Wednesday, the Democrats' plan to beat back inflation; on World Tour, the latest international news; and a prayer warrior who loves to pray…

This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Mary Reichard. In his farewell address, Moses reminded the people of their sojourn in the wilderness with its fiery serpents and thirsty ground, all so that God, quote, “might humble you and test you, to do you good in the end.” Romans 8:28 comes to mind about God working all things together for good. A friend of a friend gave him a Bible. The acquaintance encouraged Chema to read it. Obey me, says the Lord, and you will be blessed everywhere—in the field, in the house, in the community. He spoke these words to a child-like nation in the wilderness of Arabah, just before entering their promised land. Many are hopeful it would ease some of the global food crisis and soaring prices brought on by the war. And then finally, the big one, the one that they talked about quite a bit and is a major focus and why they're very pressed and want to get this bill done is the provisions having to do with energy transformation. We appreciate the government of the DRC's commitment to investigating these events and holding accountable those responsible. Basically, this new bill would give Medicare and the government the authority to get much more involved with certain higher cost drugs in terms of setting the price for them. So there's a little bit of—as usual in these kinds of measures—some gaming and some gimmicks. There's one more having to do with carried interest, which is something that is smaller in terms of its revenue effect, but which is controversial just because of its effect on the financial services industry in particular. So it's trying to say to corporate America that if your company is making a certain amount of money, forget all the other loopholes, there's going to be a minimum tax of at least 15 percent.

China has threatened to hold major military exercises around Taiwan this week in response to Pelosi's visit to the island. Shortly after Pelosi landed in Taipei ...

The government said that the spokesperson, Mathias Gillmann, had made “indelicate and inappropriate” statements which contributed to the tensions between the population and MONUSCO. “The Congolese government considers that the presence of this official on the national territory is not likely to promote a climate of mutual trust and calm between Congolese institutions and MONUSCO,” said the statement from the foreign affairs ministry. “I count on the continued cooperation of the parties to meet their commitments and implement all elements of the truce and to negotiate in good faith to reach an expanded truce agreement, and to put Yemen on a path to sustainable peace. However, U.S. District Court Judge Amit Mehta said that a postponement would upend the court’s trial calendar and that trying to schedule the trial to avoid any potential conflict with the Jan. 6 committee would be unwise and likely ineffective. Mehta also denied former President Trump’s bid to dismiss three lawsuits brought by police officers injured in the Jan. 6 attack, rejecting his assertion that he is “absolutely immune” from the claims. Court records published on the website of the watchdog group American Oversight indicate that the Pentagon “wiped” the government-issued phones of senior Defense Department and Army officials who were in charge of mobilizing the National Guard to respond to the attack, including then-acting defense secretary Christopher C. Miller and then-Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy. The admission makes the Defense Department the latest known part of the federal government, including the Secret Service and other parts of the Department of Homeland Security, to have deleted records that could have assisted investigations into the events of Jan. 6. The first trial on seditious conspiracy charges related to the Jan. 6 attack is on track to begin next month after a federal judge turned down a bid by nearly all 9 defendants to delay the trial til next year. “Every principle of nuclear safety has been violated” at the plant, he said, “what is at stake is extremely serious and extremely grave and dangerous.” Edith M. Lederer report for AP. In addition to Kabaeva, the Treasury Department announced sanctions against a number of other oligarchs, a major steel production company and two of its subsidiaries as well as a financial institution accused of running a sanctions evasion operation and its general director. The State Department has warned that there is a “higher potential for anti-American violence” following the U.S. killing of al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri. “The Department of State remains concerned about the continued threat of terrorist attacks, demonstrations, and other violent actions against U.S. citizens and interests overseas,” the agency said in a Worldwide Caution advisory issued yesterday. The Treasury Department has sanctioned Russian President Vladimir Putin’s reputed girlfriend as part of a series of measures designed to punish the Kremlin for its ongoing war in Ukraine. Alina Maratovna Kabaeva, who has been romantically linked to the Russian leader, was sanctioned “for being or having been a leader, official, senior executive officer, or member of the board of directors of the Government of the Russian Federation,” a Treasury Department statement said. China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi has called Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan a “complete farce,” warning that “those who play with fire will perish.” “The United States is violating China’s sovereignty under the pretense of democracy,” Wang told reporters. James Lewis, the director of the Strategic Technologies Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, downplayed the attacks, noting they were likely not tied back directly to the Chinese government, and describing them as “squeals of rage.” Maggie Miller reports for POLITICO.

Pelosi meets with Taiwan's president as China reacts angrily, Kansas voters soundly reject anti-abortion amendment, and more.

California is "working urgently" to "slow the spread of monkeypox" by "leveraging our robust testing, contact tracing, and community partnerships" that were strengthened during the COVID-19 pandemic, Newsom said. Bestselling author Stephen King testified Tuesday as a witness for the Justice Department as it challenges Penguin Random House's proposed $2.2 billion acquisition of rival Simon & Schuster. The government is arguing in the antitrust trial that letting Penguin Random House, the biggest U.S. book publisher, buy the No. 4 U.S. book publisher would reduce competition, resulting in less pay for authors and fewer books for readers. "If a patient comes into the emergency room with a medical emergency jeopardizing the patient's life or health, the hospital must provide the treatment necessary to stabilize that patient." Relatives of the 17 people murdered by Florida school shooter Nikolas Cruz at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018 gave emotional testimony Tuesday for a second day during the penalty phase of his trial. Kansas voters on Tuesday resoundingly rejected a proposal to remove abortion rights from the state Constitution, with 59 percent opposing the amendment and 39 percent supporting it after 95 percent of the votes were counted. The latest victims were found in homes in rural Siskiyou County. The first two bodies were found in a burned vehicle earlier in the week. The Justice Department filed a lawsuit against Idaho on Tuesday, seeking to block the state from imposing a "near-absolute ban" on abortion on the ground that it violates federal laws. The Taliban faced a nationalist backlash on Tuesday after a spokesman for the Islamist group's government in Afghanistan released a statement confirming that al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri had been killed in Kabul by a U.S. drone strike, The Washington Post reports. "As Ukrainians continue to valiantly defend their homeland in the face of President Putin's brutal war, Russia's elite are running massive revenue-generating companies and funding their own opulent lifestyles outside of Russia," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said. But he was a hero to Islamist militants, who could pose a threat to the beleaguered Taliban's hold on power a year after it pushed aside Afghanistan's previous government as U.S. forces withdrew. Pelosi, the highest ranking American elected official to visit to Taiwan in 25 years, met with Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen early Wednesday. "America's solidarity with the 23 million people of Taiwan is more important today than ever, as the world faces a choice between autocracy and democracy," Pelosi said in a statement. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan in what she called a show of U.S. solidarity with the self-governing island, which China claims as part of its territory.