Chris Woodward: Sometimes I forget my Bible, sometimes I use my phone

>> Eduardo: For more than 150 years, Blue Mountain Christian University has been committed to educating students through a Christian worldview rooted in scripture and truth. Our close knit campus community, affordable degree options and dedicated faculty prepare students for lives of faith, leadership and service with on campus and online programs. BMCU meets students where they are without compromising what matters most. Learn more at BMC Edu and move mountains with Blue Mountain Christian University.

>>  : Welcome to today's Issues, offering a Christian response to the issues of the day. Here's your host, Tim Wildmon, president of the American Family Association.

>> Tim Wildmon: Hey, good morning, everybody. Welcome to today's Issues on the American Family Radio Network. Today, looking at our calendar before us. It's, Well, I don't have a calendar. Actual calendar, but who has those anymore, right? Ed Battagliano. Good morning, Ed.

>> Ed Vitagliano: I've got one on my phone.

>> Tim Wildmon: That's what I'm saying.

>> Ed Vitagliano: How can I help you?

>> Tim Wildmon: Well, Krish Woodward. Good morning, Krish.

>> Chris Woodward: Good morning.

>> Tim Wildmon: Today is Monday, July 27, 2026. I mean, do people actually have calendars that they ha anymore at their home or.

>> Ed Vitagliano: my wife does in the kitchen where she keeps track of, you know, doctor's appointments and when she's babysitting.

>> Tim Wildmon: She's old school.

>> Ed Vitagliano: She is old school and she's not very high tech. She probably could not find her calendar on her phone. So I may be giving away too much. But you know what? She's so low tech, she doesn't listen to me on the air either. but I used to. What's interesting is I used to. Every year here. I've been here 30 years. Every year I would have a wall calendar.

>> Tim Wildmon: Me too.

>> Ed Vitagliano: And I would have a separate calendar I could write on, on my desk.

>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah, me too. I didn't have that, but I had the laminated wall calendar. I don't use that anymore.

>> Ed Vitagliano: I used to have the day runner, you know, with all the, the book with all the calendar things. I used to write everything down. I used to write shopping lists in there.

>> Tim Wildmon: Then our phones took over our world.

>> Ed Vitagliano: It was a glorious time.

>> Tim Wildmon: Yes. Krish, you, you use the wall calendar today, Krish, or.

>> Chris Woodward: No, I have the big calendar that somebody here comes by once a year to ask, hey, do you want a desk calendar? Yeah. And I do keep tabs on who's going to be off or who maybe is going to be half the day off or whatever. but by and large, I am fully electronic. I use my phone or my Outlook email for all my, stuff.

>> Tim Wildmon: I have a little bit of a guilt Syndrome regarding the, phone and the Bible.

>> Ed Vitagliano: should I listen? I know what you're saying.

>> Tim Wildmon: You know what I'm saying?

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.

>> Tim Wildmon: For those of us who really, those of us who grew up m. With a physical Bible, take it to church, read it, and now the scriptures are on the phone, but it just doesn't. It seems like I should be reading.

>> Ed Vitagliano: You should be turning pages.

>> Tim Wildmon: I do do that, by the way. I do do that. But I mean, you know, sometimes you just go, well, my Bible's in the car. And I'll, just

>> Ed Vitagliano: When I go to church on Wednesday night, I stay here at work until it's time to go. Our church starts at 6. Your church as well. Missed, you last Wednesday, by the way.

>> Tim Wildmon: I was down in my back.

>> Ed Vitagliano: But sometimes I forget my Bible. Here I have a Bible, an older Bible here at work. And I will use my phone. I have a Bible app. But I too feel guilty because first of all, nobody in the church will know whether I'm actually looking at the Bible.

>> Tim Wildmon: you need them to know. You need your fellow churchmen to know you're actually looking at the Bible.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Am I looking up Bruins scores?

>> Chris Woodward: It's funny you mentioned that. I was going to say, and I speak from experience. If you are the kind of person that plays fantasy football and, and you happen to be using your phone a lot for scripture purposes during church, silence your phone so that way you don't hear dunn dun dun dun every time somebody scores.

>> Ed Vitagliano: And then you look at the lady next to you. Every time I go to the Gospel of Matthew, that's the sound that plays.

>> Chris Woodward: Yeah. And hallelujah. Don't, do that either.

>> Tim Wildmon: You feel like you need to walk over and say, see, I really am looking at the Bible.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yes. It's a strange thing, right?

Ed: I watched Old Yeller yesterday afternoon on American Family Radio

>> Tim Wildmon: All right, I hope everybody had a good weekend. Thanks for listening to American Family Radio.

>> Ed Vitagliano: I confess, I, know we need to get to news, but I, I'm not a priest.

>> Tim Wildmon: But you.

>> Ed Vitagliano: I did something probably unwise this weekend. Yesterday afternoon I watched Old Yeller. The movie.

>> Chris Woodward: Did you cry?

>> Ed Vitagliano: I choked up. I've seen it I don't know how many times I've seen it. Have you seen the movie?

>> Tim Wildmon: Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Well, I thought, you know what I'm gonna see. It's probably been 20 years since I watched it. I just want to see if it still has the same emotional tug. And man, I choked up.

>> Tim Wildmon: Was it on tv? On streaming?

>> Ed Vitagliano: No streaming.

>> Tim Wildmon: Okay. You just pulled it up and started Watching it?

>> Ed Vitagliano: I did.

>> Tim Wildmon: How long is that movie? Like 2 hours? Hour and a half.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Probably closer to an hour and a half.

>> Tim Wildmon: Movies used to be reasonably. An hour and a half.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.

>> Tim Wildmon: Then they. I don't know what happened. But yeah, but anyway, so you watched oh, Yeller.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Oh, Yeller. It's a good movie. Fess Parker's in it and Maureen, Sullivan.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Maybe.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Anyway, it's. It's just a good movie. But at the end when. Spoiler alert, folks, if you haven't seen

>> Tim Wildmon: it, the 40 year old spoiler alert

>> Ed Vitagliano: where he gets hydrophobia, gets rabies, and the boy who fell in love with the dog has he said, he's my dog, I'll do it. And he had to shoot the dog.

>> Chris Woodward: I've never seen it. I'm familiar with the plot line and how it is.

>> Ed Vitagliano: It's a really good movie.

>> Tim Wildmon: I don't think.

>> Ed Vitagliano: I'm sorry I spoiled it for you.

>> Tim Wildmon: I don't think you could make that movie today, people. It'd be. Yeah, yeah, the animal rights.

>> Chris Woodward: As soon as it goes to. As soon as it goes to black to bring on the credits, the first thing will be, no animal was harmed in the making of this film.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Anyway, I just, I, I just wanted to mention that, that, that probably wasn't the wisest thing. Yeah, my wife was in the living room too, while I was watching it. Yeah, I don't. I can't cry in front of my wife.

>> Ed Vitagliano: It's good.

>> Ed Vitagliano: It's bad.

>> Tim Wildmon: I watched, the Man. So we watched Mission Impossible. The first one.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Which one? Oh, the first one.

>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah. On our TV at home.

>> Ed Vitagliano: I like that music.

>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah. Yeah. So nobody shot a dog. They just shot each other.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Who cares about the people?

>> Tim Wildmon: Thom Cruise and company.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yes.

>> Chris Woodward: That one actually gets a little biblical at one point because he has to go to the book of job to find out the code that somebody is speaking with.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Well, thanks a lot. Okay.

>> Tim Wildmon: Spoiler alert. Thom Cruise survives. Okay. I just want to let you know

>> Chris Woodward: it's the reason he made 19.

>> Tim Wildmon: Mission Impossible makes a few more there. All right. you're listening to today's issues on American Family Radio. Tim, Ed and Krish. Krish, what is our first end of the world story?

Hundreds of thousands of French and Spanish people have been displaced by wildfires

>> Chris Woodward: Let's go to Europe, where wildfires are causing all kinds of problems for countries such as France and Spain. in France, for example, wildfires in France have driven a quarter billion. I'm sorry, a quarter million people, from their homes. And, they're creeping toward wine country there in Bordeaux. 250,000 people driven from their homes. A lot of stuff has been damaged. it's not only firefighters, but also civilians that are helping put down the flames. The military has now been called in. I've got some audio of a reporter on cnn, talking about the problems not only in France and Spain, specifically the conditions that are contributing to these fires.

>> Speaker H: Clip 2 the ground so dry, the vegetation in this part of the world so highly flammable, that once it started, it's just very, very difficult to stop. And it's not been helped by the weather conditions, not just the wind, but the fact that the heat is now back. We've got another heat wave this week, and that's going to be more trouble for the firefighters here in France, more trouble for them in Spain. they've been battling those monstrous fires to the west of Madrid and in the east of the country as well, with about 60,000 people there also evacuated from their homes, on top of the 220,000 here in the Gironde region of France. And when you look at a map of Europe this lunchtime, it's astonishing to see just how many countries are battling wildfires after this summer of record temperatures and drought conditions.

>> Tim Wildmon: You know, the reason I wanted to mention this story is the massive landmass this is covering in France and I didn't know Spain too. Right. M. But, and the hundreds of thousands of people that have been displaced, like over a half a million, like 300,000 people or more have been displaced because of these fires raging, in France. And I don't know if they don't have the capabilities that we have here in the U.S. you know, I don't want to sound like an arrogant American, but we have, we are used to the fires out west every summer. Right.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.

>> Tim Wildmon: So, but, this is just, this is like on a scale, like 10 times the size of the California, the, LA fires in terms of the, in terms of the land mass covered in the people who are having to get out.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Well, and whether or not a people or a country or a region, has the expertise to handle problems, really does make a difference. It's, it's, you know, like when we get a big snow or ice storm down here in the south, it makes a difference whether or not we, you know, we have snowplows and.

>> Tim Wildmon: Right.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Whether you have the ability to, to handle it. And so I don't. I do not know, maybe, Chris, maybe, you know, whether this is a. How common this is for a country like France or. Tim, like you said Also Spain, how common it is for them to have these kinds of fires during the summer. Now, it has been, as that segment just clarified, it has been a very hot summer in Europe, and we've had a lot of heat wave kind of temperatures here in this country as well. any idea whether or not this is a regular thing for them?

>> Chris Woodward: France, is not mentioned here, but according to various web searches, I, just found, Greece, Spain and Portugal are the ones over in Europe that tend to have the most wildfire fires.

>> Ed Vitagliano: So that could be to the point, that you're making, Tim. If France is not used to it, they may not have the equipment or the expertise to, handle it.

>> Tim Wildmon: And the remote areas, you know, you can't get what's, like, what's happening in Canada, you know, the Canadian wildfires. And I don't think that's affecting many people per se in terms of, you know, because it's out in the bass, wilderness of Canada. But all that smoke is coming down right to Michigan and Ohio and, you know, and, and even NewSong York and NewSong England and things of that nature.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.

>> Tim Wildmon: And Trump said, we're going to hold him accountable.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Hold who?

>> Tim Wildmon: Canada.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Canada for the smoke?

>> Chris Woodward: Yeah.

>> Tim Wildmon: We're going to tariff them. Did he really threaten a fire tariff on them? You didn't know this?

>> Chris Woodward: No, I didn't.

>> Ed Vitagliano: I think.

>> Tim Wildmon: No, no, there's no such thing as. I was kidding about the, quote, fire tariff.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.

>> Tim Wildmon: He did slap some other tariffs on them.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.

>> Tim Wildmon: Last week. which they weren't expecting. But, but he, he did say we're gonna. We are, we are. It's their fault that the, that the wildfires are. The smoke is drifting down across the border.

>> Ed Vitagliano: And this is a point we need

>> Tim Wildmon: to do a better job of controlling our borders is what I would say.

>> Ed Vitagliano: No, no illegal smoke.

>> Tim Wildmon: No. I think coming across our borders. Need to put some ice up or something. I don't know.

>> Ed Vitagliano: it is kind of a point of contention between conservatives and quote, unquote, progressives over the tactics and strategies they use in a state like California or don't use to clear, away underbrush, which becomes the fuel for a lot of these fires, or to cut down trees so it's not as dense. And then the environmentalists say, you can't, no, don't touch the forest, and then it all burns anyway. So maybe in Canada, what President Trump was saying was, in Canada, you're using these quote, unquote, progressive, strategies, and that is leading to the fires which smoke comes across our border.

>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.

Chris Bell: President Trump is talking about the economy ahead of Michigan visit

All right. You're listening to today's issues on American Family Radio. Go ahead, Krish. Next story.

>> Chris Woodward: President Trump is going to be near Canada today. And I say that because he's going to be in the state of Michigan talking about the economy and how his agenda has helped Americans, with more take home pay, stuff like that. The usual, make America great again, keep America great talking, points that he has, tried to pass on. he talked about this very thing last week in Georgia, in Cobb county where the Braves now play. but it comes at a time in which Democrats, and other critics of the president have talked about how the war in Iran, for example, or the conflict in Iran have caused energy, price spikes. there's a story out from the Associated Press. This is their headline. Americans rewire their grocery shopping routines while digesting the biggest price jump in 50 years, according to the Associated Press. People are talking about having to just bare bones meals and spread stuff out, across several days, a, lot of leftovers, and stuff like that because they can't afford groceries.

>> Ed Vitagliano: I know the president, like any politician, is going to try to put the best spin on circumstances that affect voters. both political parties do this. I don't think that anybody's going to be buying what the president is saying if he's. And technically he may have, some valid points to make with regards to the economy, but until people feel it in their budgets, their pocketbook, so to speak, it's just a abstract idea that the economy is doing well or maybe it's doing well for somebody else. there are a lot of people who are, having a difficult time, like you said, with, getting food for their families. Gas has, you know, has gone up and down. I think it's up now, those kind of things.

>> Tim Wildmon: Oh, it's up.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.

>> Tim Wildmon: Those kind of oil. Oil price. Oil prices.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah. And I was just talking about at the pump.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.

>> Tim Wildmon: I don't know.

>> Ed Vitagliano: those kind of things, get into people's minds and nothing you say is going to, yeah. Dislodge it.

>> Chris Woodward: It is factually accurate to say that Americans are bringing more money home, they're less in taxes. Many Americans, depending on their yearly income, due in part to like the one big beautiful bill. It's accurate for him to say that and for anybody on TV to say as much. The problem is, is that many Americans, maybe most Americans have spent the extra money they're bringing home to put gas in the car.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.

>> Chris Woodward: And I say that, based on the fact that today's national average is $4.11. A year ago, $3.14. That's when things were starting to come down. And Caroline Levitt went on television in a press briefing and declared Biden's, Biden infl. but for several months now, due to the situation in Iran, prices have been going up. You mentioned oil prices. I did Google that. Right now it's $83. But depending on what happens between now and the end of trading day, it could be much more. We'll see.

>> Ed Vitagliano: and what I'm saying is, I think the closer we get to midterms, the more likely it is that whatever has kind of set up like concrete in the m. Minds of the American voter is going to be what they're going to vote on, regardless of what arguments you make. So for those who are on the Republican side, they want these prices to start coming down with enough time to get, it in the minds of the voters that things are moving in the right direction.

President Trump is meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu tomorrow about Iran and other issues

>> Tim Wildmon: All right. so you mentioned Iran, and we have not talked about Iran enough here on this show. You know, I think we've neglected that topic, too much and too long. So I would like to get into that right now.

>> Chris Woodward: Absolutely, we can do that, based on the fact, that it looks like, Iran and Ukraine are now getting into it.

>> Tim Wildmon: that's what we need.

>> Chris Woodward: Yes.

>> Tim Wildmon: Further expansion.

>> Chris Woodward: It is perhaps spreading beyond, the country of Iran here. we, of course, attacked them with airstrikes for about 12 days in a row. We went into Friday afternoon, expecting Trump to go even harder on Iran in terms of airstrikes. those have since, had a pause on things. Trump is talking to Benjamin Netanyahu tomorrow at the White House about situations, including Iran, which is still going after commercial ships. There were stories about, ships hitting mines that Iran put in the waters of the Strait. It is a mess still to this day.

You mentioned the Ukrainian Russian war and drones

>> Tim Wildmon: Well, what happened was, too, the, Ukrainians, somehow attacked. I say somehow. I don't know what weapons they used. A. Excuse me, I said Ukrainians. Correct.

>> Chris Woodward: Yes.

>> Tim Wildmon: Because, I mean, people are going to think, well, we're confused. No, the Ukrainians attacked a vessel in. What's the sea over there? Adriatic?

>> Ed Vitagliano: Caspian?

>> Tim Wildmon: Caspian. Caspian Sea. That was, going to Russia to give them parts for ammunition. That's the claim. Right. so Iran's mad now that their vessel was attacked by the Ukrainians and have declared, you know, the Ukrainians will pay but, you know, we live in a very volatile time, a very volatile world. I mean, you're talking about, I don't know how many people have been reading what's happening between the Ukraine and Russia. I sort of keep up with that. That's just. That's just hell. Excuse the. I mean. I mean that literal. Almost literal. Literal on Earth. Hell on Earth for the Ukrainians, but also for the Russians, because. And I'm talking about the Russian people who aren't associated with the Kremlin, just the average Russian people. They're now suffering, too, as is the Ukrainians. You would think they would just call a ceasefire, so stop all the suffering, because they are just bombing each other's power plants and oil refineries. And, the Ukraine, bombed. Drones have changed warfare.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah, they have forever.

>> Tim Wildmon: So the drones have allowed Ukraine to be at basically a standstill in terms of war, with Russia, when everybody thought Russia would take over in weeks. Here we are, what, four years later, are we? Four years into this?

>> Chris Woodward: February of 22.

>> Tim Wildmon: But the use of high technology and particularly drones. They bombed the Ukraine. They bombed inside Russia, their Amazon plant. Now, that's not called Amazon, it's called something else. but it's the equivalent of our Amazon. They bombed their distribution center over there. I mean, it's just, I don't know where this is going to end. But you got that going on. You got the Iranian war going on, and that threatens to spread. Hopefully it won't. But that's. The other Middle Eastern countries there, you know, they're getting attacked by Iran because Iran says they. These, especially these Arab states over there, like Saudi Arabia and other places are in alignment with the United States. So it's very tenuous. it's a powder keg over there.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah. And you just wonder if, you know, what it would take to make this turn into World War Three. Yeah, you know, that's. That's the big unknown when you have regional wars that have some overlapping interest. You mentioned the, you know, Ukrainian Russian war and drones, and that really, that switch to drones happened as a result of that conflict. Ukrainians are becoming experts on. On producing drones that have been highly effective in kind of, blocking some of, Russia's Putin, you know, within

>> Tim Wildmon: a year from now. I'm not saying this will happen. I'm saying it could happen. Putin can be out because it could have a couple, even in Russia, because they're now what the Russians. What Putin has been doing is getting mercenaries.

>> Tim Wildmon: well, I don't even know if you call them mercenaries from North Korea. Like, North Korea. He's drafting. Not drafting, like, an official US Military draft. I mean, he's getting North Korea to send soldiers to go fight in the Ukrainian war from North Korea still today.

>> Ed Vitagliano: And those soldiers have no choice because North Korea probably wants them to get fighting experience.

>> Tim Wildmon: Right?

>> Chris Woodward: You know?

>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah. Instead of just marching.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah, well, it's. It's. I think it's a pretty big difference between training and being in actual combat. And they don't have a choice. If Kim Jong Un says no, you're going to. You're going to the Russian front.

>> Tim Wildmon: Well, it's really sad what's happening to those people, because I've seen it, like, they're showing these soldiers from North Korea. I've seen video of these soldiers from North Korea fighting against, in the Ukraine, on behalf of Russia. Compulsory, as you're saying here. And they don't know what they're doing. They're out there getting slaughtered. Yeah, it's really terrible, tragic situation.

>> Chris Woodward: I looked it up. according to the center for Strategic and International Studies.

>> Tim Wildmon: That's me.

>> Chris Woodward: Estimates place Russian military deaths in the Ukraine war between 450,000 and nearly 500,000, with total casualties, including wounded, reaching roughly 1.4 million people. In a war that's been four years and a few months.

>> Eduardo: Yeah.

>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah. It'll take them decades to rebuild, especially Ukraine. It's just, awful.

Today's Issues is sponsored by American Family Radio Network

you're listening to Today's Issues. Let's go ahead and take our break right here. And we shall be back with more of today's Issues on the American Family Radio Network. You got any more sad movies to review?

>> Chris Woodward: No. Coming up, this Brian Song.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Oh, no, I've already. I've already tried that. That still hits hard.

>> Tim Wildmon: James Khan and Billy Dee.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Billy D. Williams.

>> Chris Woodward: That.

>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah, that was bright. Songs right up there at the top, especially for guys. Yeah.

>> Ed Vitagliano: it is a football movie.

>>  : Yeah.

>> Ed Vitagliano: I'm not saying girls don't like football, but in terms of that camaraderie. Camaraderie. And then, Well, I'm just giving. Spoiler alert. Well, by the way, the Avengers lose. Infinity War.

>>  : No.

>> Ed Vitagliano: So for some of you who haven't

>> Chris Woodward: seen it yet, it was inevitable that you would make that joke.

>> Tim Wildmon: We'll be back in a minute. Stay with us.

>> Ed Vitagliano: That was good.

>> Chris Woodward: Yeah.

Preborn Network helps mothers facing unexpected pregnancies discover hope through a free ultrasound

>> Ed Vitagliano: This year, America celebrates its 250th birthday. Two and a half centuries of courage, innovation, faith and freedom. But what will the next 250 years hold? The next generation could hold the next Billy Graham, the next Rosa Parks, the next Ronald Reagan, the next child whose life will impact generations. But first, they must be given the chance to live every day. PreBorn Network clinics help mothers facing unexpected pregnancies discover hope through a free ultrasound. When a mother sees her baby and hears that tiny heartbeat, her baby is twice as likely to be given the gift of life. What story will God write through America's Next Generation? In honor of America's 250th anniversary, we're asking friends to consider a special gift of $250. Your gift can help provide nearly nine life saving ultrasounds. Dial 250 and say the keyword baby. That's 250 baby or donate securely at preborn.com afr that's preborn.com afr Every gift is tax deductible.

>> Tim Wildmon: Hello, everyone, I'm Tim M. Wildmon, president of American Family association and American Family Radio. Hey, we've got some great tours lined up for March of 2027. We've got one tour we call the Footsteps of Paul tour that's mainly in Greece or only in Greece, including Athens and Corinth and Thessalonica. And then we've got a separate tour to Italy where we're going to Venice and Florence and Pisa and Rome and all the sites of Italy. So you, can do both of these tours if you want to. We've arranged that as well. Also, this tour of Italy, it's not like the Olive Garden tour of Italy, you know, this is, we're really going there to Italy to see Italy and to eat Italian food too as well. So for information on any of the tours I've mentioned here, go to tours.afa.net tours.afa.net tours.aca.net

>> Ed Vitagliano: always be humble and gentle.

>>  : Be patient with each other, making allowance

>> Ed Vitagliano: for each other's faults because of your love.

American Family Radio broadcasts weekly issues on the American Family Radio Network

>>  : Ephesians 4:2American Family Radio this is Today's Issues. Email your comments to commentsfr.net Past broadcast of today's Issues are available for listening and viewing in the [email protected] now back to more of M. Today's issues.

>> Tim Wildmon: Hey, welcome back everybody, to today's Issues on the American Family Radio Network. Thanks for listening to afr. If you, want to send us an email, the address is commentsfr.net commentsafr.net we do live video stream this here show, don't we? Ed?

>> Ed Vitagliano: We do. You can. And you can access that video stream. Oh, yeah, in A in several different ways. If you want to go outside the ministry, you can go to YouTube or Facebook and just simply search for today's issues or today's issues live. they have a different name on each platform. Or you can go to our own platform, stream.afa.net stream.afa.net and all three of those platforms. You can watch the live video stream. You can listen live online to all our AFR programming at afr. However, I don't think we have a live video [email protected]. you just get the audio live. So.

>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.

There's a plethora of ways to watch us. Who wouldn't want to watch that

All right. So, we have, actually, we have a plethora.

>> Ed Vitagliano: It is. There's a plethora of ways to watch us. And who wouldn't watch. Want to watch two old guys and one young guy who looks older?

>> Chris Woodward: Yes, I sure do.

>> Ed Vitagliano: And. And the back of the head of our producer, Brent Creely. Who wouldn't want to watch that?

>> Tim Wildmon: I'm with you, brother.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.

>> Chris Woodward: I'm a millennial. That looks like Papa Smurf. If you've never seen me, you would, you would.

>> Tim Wildmon: If you entered a Papa Smurf look alike contest, I think you'd be right there.

>> Ed Vitagliano: You paint your face blue, man. You're, you're, you're a winner. Please.

>> Chris Woodward: We, on 4th of July, we went to the, park here to watch the fireworks and we took a little family photo. And, we. My wife was playing with like some filters, just to see what options it would pop up. And for some reason, like AI, it made it like a cartoon type image. And AI made me fatter and I look like Santa. I look like this woman had taken her two daughters to see Santa at the fourth of July. I'm not bitter.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Well, and listen, for some of us, I'm not mentioning any names. You don't even have to use a filter to wind up looking like.

>> Chris Woodward: Yeah, that's true.

Seattle police searching for second suspect in deadly weekend shooting that left three dead

>> Tim Wildmon: So, all right, what's your next story, Chris?

>> Chris Woodward: Well, this could very well have been the lead. and I say that because in Seattle today, police there are searching for a second suspect in a deadly weekend shooting that killed at least three people, injured four others. the dead were ages 1944 and 56. Those injured include a two year old boy, that were hospitalized. the two year old is reportedly in stable condition. Police say this doesn't appear that these people were targeted. Instead, two, individuals may have gotten in some sort of a shootout, and these people were caught in the crossfire. One reason I bring this up is because this comes in a state or occurred in a state and a city that has a lot of gun restrictions. So once again, gun, restrictions did not prevent people with a gun from shooting one another.

>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah, this was like an outdoor food festival.

>> Chris Woodward: Yes.

>> Tim Wildmon: Right. In Seattle, you would think, what's more peaceful than an outdoor food festival amongst

>> Ed Vitagliano: a bunch of hippies?

>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah. Yeah. And yet here we are. You are correct. These, strict gun control laws don't work.

>> Chris Woodward: People with guns are gonna use them.

>> Tim Wildmon: Well, they only restrict, oftentimes, just law abiding citizens who want to protect themselves. Protect themselves. Ah.

>> Ed Vitagliano: You know, the response on part of the gun crowd is, yeah, our gun laws actually work. But these guns are coming over into Washington from states who do not have gun control. That's the problem. But the flaw in that argument is that we're talking about the fact that criminals will find a way to get guns and use them illegally. And I'm, guessing that the people, if they ultimately catch them, will be citizens of the state of Washington. And so the only ones obeying the law are law abiding citizens. And that's why folks who believe in the state.

>> Tim Wildmon: Why can't liberals understand that, Ed, what you just described, why can't they understand, or do they, that when you outlaw guns, that's what they try to do, then only outlaws will have guns? Yeah, I mean, I know that's cliche, but why is that so hard to understand? Why do they keep on saying no? They'll say gun violence, you'll see that we got to stop gun violence is what they say. You know, that's the liberal mantra, gun violence. Now, as I mentioned here before, so when I read that, I go, no, what you're doing, you're trying to use gun violence to say, to take the personal responsibility away from the culprit.

>> Ed Vitagliano: I think that's. I think that's it.

>> Tim Wildmon: From the criminal.

>> Ed Vitagliano: I think that's it. If you're on the left, the political left, but especially the spiritual left, you cannot say this phrase, this sentence, some people are just evil. You can't say that. what you have to say if you're on the left is people act in evil ways because the system and their lives and the fact that they don't have money forces them to do it. They cannot accept personal responsibility. So they have to make the argument that the guns are at fault. The system is at fault, and if we just had the laws, it would and economic opportunity. I'll toss that into the pot. Then you wouldn't have gun violence. But you can't say that people are sometimes just evil because then you start veering into a religious or Christian worldview.

>> Tim Wildmon: again, I've mentioned this before, I didn't, this is not original with me, but m. It does make sense. The exception to gun violence arguments on the left, that's when a crime is committed. They'll say, yeah, we gotta stop gun violence is when, when the police have to shoot somebody. When the police shoot somebody, then it's not. We gotta stop gun violence.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Right?

>> Tim Wildmon: No, we gotta stop the police from shooting people. Right.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Especially if it's a person of color.

>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah. So you gotta say that. And I'm going, well, which is it? Do guns act on their own or do people, or are our people, including police officers, individually responsible for their own actions?

>> Ed Vitagliano: I think that's a, that's a mic drop argument for, on this issue. I don't, I don't see how you can argue what you just said.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Unless you are willingly refusing to concede the logic of what you said. Because you can't. Because you've got to hold to the argument.

>> Tim Wildmon: Now they also will come out, the liberals will, and they'll examine, they'll say if it's a so called hate crime, I'm not saying there aren't hate crimes, people motivated by hate, but if they suspect it's something like that, like a white male skinhead or I don't know, goes on a killing rampage somewhere, they'll say, well it's because of his whiteness or his hatred in his heart.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah, that's making him do it.

>> Tim Wildmon: That's making him do it. Yeah, but they won't say if you switch colors of the person or ethnicity. They won't say, well this Hispanic man took it out on white people because he hated them. They won't do the same flip flop.

>> Ed Vitagliano: There was an incident in Hawaii, wasn't in our story meeting, but I saw it over the weekend where some white people who were over there vacationing got jumped by a group of 30 to 40 Native Hawaiians. And they were saying outright, we're gonna beat up the white people. So those kind of things do happen. And like you said, it happens on both sides. There's enough hate to go around. It's a fallen race that occupies the planet. But if you're on the left, you can't really say that because you're always blaming the system for creating the environment that it forces people to do things that aren't Right. Rather than say they're responsible for their actions.

>> Tim Wildmon: But the proper way to view crime is to hold the individual accountable for their actions.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yes.

>> Tim Wildmon: whoever they may be.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Right.

German man drives car into gay pride parade, injuring 29 people

>> Chris Woodward: That was another unfortunate, situation over the weekend, this time in Berlin, Germany, where authorities say a German citizen with Lebanese roots drove a vehicle into a gay pride parade, injured at least 29 people, before he was shot and killed by police in a confrontation on Sunday. I was surprised by this. but even the Associated Press refers to this as, quote, an Islamic extremist terrorist attack.

>> Ed Vitagliano: And you know what?

>> Ed Vitagliano: Listen.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Here at American Family association, we do not believe in, pride for any kind of sexual sin. we have worked for decades and decades against the homosexual movement in terms of marriage, all these kinds of things. But we are absolutely opposed to this kind of behavior where if homosexuals, you know, at a gay pride parade are being targeted, that is wrong. We call that kind of thing wrong. And, so I just want people to know we're not happy that anybody gets hurt. We are saying that people are responsible for their actions, and this Islamic fundamentalist, whatever, radical is responsible, and we question whether his ideology gives him a green light to do it.

>> Tim Wildmon: When acts of violence are committed against LGBT people, like the Q people like that, it's almost always a, radical Muslim individual. Christians, we believe in persuasion. okay, so if people are living immorally, like many of these LGBT people, qr. According to the scripture, you try to reach them with persuasion. You don't kill them.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Right.

>> Tim Wildmon: Okay. You're not their judge in that way.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Right.

>> Tim Wildmon: You know, so, that's the difference. I've not read about a Christian radical Ram's car into LGBTQ parade. Have you ever read that? I've never read that.

>> Ed Vitagliano: I have not.

>> Tim Wildmon: But you do read about this a few times a year somewhere around the world, a Muslim, you know, extremist, would take a car or some other means and kill people they consider to be infidels.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Listen, we were critical of the Westboro Baptist Church. I don't know if that church is still around, but because they would go and pick it, and use signs with hateful, sayings on it, and that we just did not believe that was the right way to reach anybody with the gospel.

>> Tim Wildmon: Yes, again, Christians may oppose the agenda of the lgbtq, movement, but we don't hate the people.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Right.

>> Tim Wildmon: No more than you, but we get accused of hating the people. But it's not true, because, as I've said before, you can hate alcoholism without Hating the alcoholic.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Right.

>> Tim Wildmon: Can you not?

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.

>> Tim Wildmon: so I don't.

>> Ed Vitagliano: And if there was a movement to make alcoholic alcoholism great again. Okay. And to promote it, he would be opposed to that.

>> Tim Wildmon: Right, right. But that wouldn't mean you hated the alcoholic.

>> Ed Vitagliano: That's right.

>> Tim Wildmon: You would try to use persuasion and other, you know, and oppose the

>> Ed Vitagliano: laws that might be trying to spread.

>> Tim Wildmon: Right.

>> Ed Vitagliano: a belief that alcoholism is great.

>> Chris Woodward: By the way, don't Google Westboro Baptist Church because. To see if they're still active like I just did.

>>  : Yeah.

>> Chris Woodward: because their website address is awful. It does not need to be mentioned on air. I wouldn't even.

>> Tim Wildmon: You just did.

>> Chris Woodward: Well, I'm telling people to avoid it. Don't, don't live Google like I do.

>> Tim Wildmon: Warning, warning.

>> Chris Woodward: It is still active. that awful church that is Baptist in name only.

>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah. All right. You're listening to today's issues on American Family Radio.

The chief executive officer of Cracker Barrel is stepping down after months of criticism

Next story.

>> Chris Woodward: Alright, this story, appeared on Fox News just as we were about to begin this program. The chief executive officer of Cracker Barrel that tried to take it way off track, make it woke.

>> Tim Wildmon: You said cracker what?

>> Chris Woodward: Cracker Barrel.

>> Tim Wildmon: Okay.

>> Chris Woodward: Cracker Barrel.

>> Tim Wildmon: Okay.

>> Chris Woodward: but, Julie Messino is the lady's name. and the reason I bring this up is because basically the CEO that tried to make it woke, is now stepping down. after months of criticism. I mean a lot of people said I'll never eat at Cracker Barrel again. Based on what she did. she's going to resign in the coming weeks. Somebody else is going to take over. and there are already stories about how people are saying they will go back now, that they're going to have a change in leadership.

>> Tim Wildmon: What did she do exactly?

>> Ed Vitagliano: She, changed the logo and wanted to move the restaurant chain away from its kind of, down home roots. in terms of, changing up the look of the restaurants. They're famous for having old timey signs for products and tools from, you know, 50, 75, 80, 100 years ago, that kind of thing. To change that and to update it. By the way, I, I pronounce this restaurant change chain Cracker Barrel. but Cracker, Cracker.

>> Tim Wildmon: Oh, that's NewSong England.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah. Cracker. Yeah, we gotta, let's go down to the Cracker Barrel. but, Julie Messino thought this would be a great idea. It turned out to be a disaster in terms of, public perception and man, they got pushed back right away.

>> Chris Woodward: Yes.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Including from President Trump.

>> Chris Woodward: Oh yeah, yeah, it was, it was a big, Big deal.

>> Tim Wildmon: Does she go to Cracker Barrel?

>> Ed Vitagliano: I don't.

>> Chris Woodward: He goes to McDonald's. I know that.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah. Cracker Barrel would be a step up health wise from McDonald's, I would think.

>> Chris Woodward: I actually, years ago, when Chad Pennington was going from college to the NFL, Chad Pennington played for Marshall, in West Virginia.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Jets.

>> Chris Woodward: Eventually. Yeah, he got drafted by the Jets. And I was reading in Sports Illustrated, they were like, hey, do you miss home? You've went from West Virginia to NewSong York City, what are you missing? And he said, I really miss the food. And he told Sports Illustrated that he looked into how much it would start, how much it would cost him to start a Cracker Barrel in NewSong York City. And he, was like, never mind. Because apparently it was a lot.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Well, just the real estate in NewSong York City is probably astronomical.

>> Tim Wildmon: So Cracker Barrel has 660 restaurants nationwide.

>> Ed Vitagliano: How many?

>> Tim Wildmon: 660.

>> Chris Woodward: I bet 659 of them are located right off a highway.

>> Tim Wildmon: Oh, that. Well, they used to be famous for. Well, famous. They used to be known, for only putting their Cracker Barrel restaurants on interstates.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Oh, is that right?

>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah, that's, yeah. But I think they changed that over the years. But that's what they were known for.

>> Ed Vitagliano: That's a lot of restaurants.

>> Tim Wildmon: this says that the rebrand of Cracker Barrel was part of a 700 million dollar overhaul across the company's 606 plus restaurants, which also included a 13 per state, roughly.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Probably a great number of them.

>> Tim Wildmon: Let me ask you this. If you had a restaurant chain that had 666 doors, would you, what would you do?

>> Ed Vitagliano: Well, I'd add another one or add one.

>> Tim Wildmon: You'd add one or get rid of one?

>> Ed Vitagliano: yeah, I wouldn't leave it as six. I personally don't think there's anything wrong with 666 stores. It's got nothing to do with the mark of the beast.

>> Tim Wildmon: I wouldn't risk it.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah, kind of like the 13th floor on a hotel.

>> Tim Wildmon: If you can have 665, 667. I wouldn't, I wouldn't stay with 666.

>> Chris Woodward: Right. There is a fitness center here in Tupelo. that, in the men's locker room. It has a locker and it's 666. And I was like, I'm never putting my stuff in there.

>> Tim Wildmon: No, that locker is going to be unused probably, down here in the Bible Belt. All right, what's your next story, Chris?

Benjamin Netanyahu to meet with President Trump tomorrow at the White House

>> Chris Woodward: All right, let's let's keep it with NewSong York City for just a moment. I mentioned this briefly in the first half hour. Netanyahu, Benjamin Netanyahu is going to meet with President Trump tomorrow at the White House. But Netanyahu also plans to come to NewSong York City in September, to speak at the UN that, of course, comes at a time in which people like NewSong York City, Mayor Zohra and Mamdani have called Netanyahu a war criminal, saying he should be arrested. Netanyahu, or Mamdani actually campaigned on arresting Netanyahu for being a war criminal. He has in recent days said, I don't actually have the authority, but he still should be arrested because he's a war criminal. And, we've got some audio here of Netanyahu talking about all this briefly. Clip 4.

>> Ed Vitagliano: When this regime is either toppled or it's sufficiently weakened, I'm sorry, to end its nuclear program just about every year. Not every year, but almost every year in my prime ministership, unless there are security conditions. But, barring that, and I don't expect that to, be the case this time, yes, I do intend to come to NewSong York.

>> Chris Woodward: We probably will hear more from him and maybe even President Trump on this issue tomorrow when they have the cameras in the White House.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Well, Mamdani might have campaigned on it. That was just fodder for the troops. There is just no way the mayor of even a city as wealthy and as influential as NewSong York City. There's no way a mayor can arrest, legally arrest the, leader of another nation. They have diplomatic immunity. I looked this up because we talked about this last week, and I made the statement. I think you can just about get away with murder. And I looked this up, and you can get away with murder if you have diplomatic immunity. Now, there can be some other consequences, but you can just basically skate. That's, that's how, how much latitude diplomats have in this country. There's no way the mayor could have arrested him. He was, he was lying. That's what I, that's what I call it. He had to know that he had no authority to arrest him and turn him over to the icc, the International Criminal Court.

>> Chris Woodward: I mean, I think Mamdani, number one, he might actually believe, all that and maybe even think he has the authority to do that as mayor. But part of me also thinks he was just trying to play to the, anti Semitism that is rampant in the Democratic Socialist wing of the party of which Mamdani is a member of, because A number of people that, have been running for Congress, not only in NewSong York City, but in other parts of the US have also made anti Israel remarks.

>> Tim Wildmon: Changing the topic. you know, as we. As we get older, Ed and Krish, too, but as you get older, celebrities, that you grew up with start dying or.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.

>> Tim Wildmon: Can you start dying? anyway.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Well, yeah, the. The people as a group, individuals, they

>> Tim Wildmon: get sick or they can't do their shows anymore because of some reason. It's really.

>> Ed Vitagliano: They can't memorize their lines.

>> Tim Wildmon: Right. so you remember Carly Simon?

>> Ed Vitagliano: Oh, yeah.

>> Tim Wildmon: I mean, she was a huge star back in the 70s.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah. Who didn't have a crush on Carly Simon?

>> Tim Wildmon: Carly. She was up from your neck of the woods when she, the Massachusetts area.

>> Ed Vitagliano: She may have been NewSong York.

>> Tim Wildmon: Anyway, she has Parkinson's disease. She announced.

>> Ed Vitagliano: How old is she?

>> Tim Wildmon: She is, I don't know, 83,

>> Chris Woodward: according to page six.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Okay, 83. That's. Wow. I can't believe she's that old.

>> Tim Wildmon: She's. But anyway, she was a big. I mean, singer.

>> Ed Vitagliano: 80 years old.

>> Tim Wildmon: 70s, 70s were her heyday, I guess. You're so vain. Anticipation and all those songs.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah. maybe late 60s, too.

>> Tim Wildmon: 83 years old. so anyway, I just thought, well, that I grew up with her music. And there she is.

>> Ed Vitagliano: She was born in NewSong York City.

>> Tim Wildmon: Okay. But I'm going, she's 83.

>>  : Wow.

>> Ed Vitagliano: I know. And the picture I'm looking at here, on Wikipedia, you've got a different, website. You see the pictures of. This is a picture of her in 1972. So, you know, at the time, she was not even 30 years old. And that's the way you kind of remember these people. And then you see a picture of them now, and you just go, yikes. let me just.

>> Chris Woodward: Let me just.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Let me.

>> Tim Wildmon: Why do you say yikes?

>> Chris Woodward: Yeah, say yikes.

>> Ed Vitagliano: I say yikes.

>> Tim Wildmon: We all get older, and you think people look at you and go, man, you're so vain.

>> Chris Woodward: I bet you think this show is about you.

>> Ed Vitagliano: That's the second time you come with a good one. listen, I will admit to having some vanity. My wife, yesterday, we got out of the car to go to church, and she came around to my side because I was getting my briefcase out of the back, because I teach Sunday school class, so I come fully strapped. I got everything in there. Okay? And she said. She said, ed, you are completely gray in the back of your head. Because I was kind of maintaining some salt and pepper stuff for a while.

>> Chris Woodward: Good for you.

Carly Simon once said she was married to James Taylor

>> Ed Vitagliano: And I said, why did you have to tell me?

>> Tim Wildmon: I know. Why was that necessary?

>> Ed Vitagliano: She just blurted it out.

>> Tim Wildmon: Right.

>> Ed Vitagliano: and it's not that I consider myself.

>> Tim Wildmon: Did you turn around to try to see if it was true?

>> Ed Vitagliano: I tried, but I wasn't quick enough. The back of my head kept. Kept getting away from me.

>> Tim Wildmon: So she, Carly Simon, you know, she was famously married to James Taylor. The singer?

>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.

>> Chris Woodward: I think they have a child together.

>> Tim Wildmon: Get one or two. Anyway, he is 78. I saw him in concert.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Why are you depressing me, man? About all this?

>> Tim Wildmon: About five years ago.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Does he still do Well, I think

>> Tim Wildmon: he's still out there on the concert trail. but, yeah, I saw him in Memphis about five years ago. James Taylor. And then I saw him in the 70s. Yeah, he's still in Memphis as well.

>> Chris Woodward: He's actually got, tour dates, as early as August 30th.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Can I preach for 60 seconds before the break?

>> Tim Wildmon: You go.

>> Ed Vitagliano: All right, folks, let me just tell you, it is true. We do. Us older folks do react this way, in terms of seeing, folks who were young and get old.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Right.

>> Ed Vitagliano: Listen. The body is designed by God to be temporary, okay? What's inside is what's permanent and eternal. Your soul. So rather than become fixated on or about that which is temporary and perishable, meaning the human body, please, please consider the state of your soul, because Jesus Christ died for you on the cross. And the thief on one side of Jesus, asked Jesus to remember him when he came in his kingdom. And Jesus told that thief, that criminal, you will be with me today in paradise, because the you that is eternal is going to outlive that body which is about to die. So, folks, please take stock of the state of your soul.

>> Tim Wildmon: We'll be back momentarily with more of today's issues on American Family Radio. The views and opinions expressed in this broadcast may not necessarily reflect those of the American Family association or American Family Radio.

Tim and Ed talk with Chris on top news headlines of the day including a discussion on wildfires in France and also a shooting over the weekend in Seattle. 

Chapters:

(00:00) Chris Woodward: Sometimes I forget my Bible, sometimes I use my phone

(04:40) Ed: I watched Old Yeller yesterday afternoon on American Family Radio

(07:24) Hundreds of thousands of French and Spanish people have been displaced by wildfires

(13:01) Chris Bell: President Trump is talking about the economy ahead of Michigan visit

(16:28) President Trump is meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu tomorrow about Iran and other issues

(17:28) You mentioned the Ukrainian Russian war and drones

(22:53) Today's Issues is sponsored by American Family Radio Network

(23:57) Preborn Network helps mothers facing unexpected pregnancies discover hope through a free ultrasound

(26:19) American Family Radio broadcasts weekly issues on the American Family Radio Network

(27:52) There's a plethora of ways to watch us. Who wouldn't want to watch that

(29:08) Seattle police searching for second suspect in deadly weekend shooting that left three dead

(35:49) German man drives car into gay pride parade, injuring 29 people

(39:51) The chief executive officer of Cracker Barrel is stepping down after months of criticism

(43:59) Benjamin Netanyahu to meet with President Trump tomorrow at the White House

(49:18) Carly Simon once said she was married to James Taylor