He has Risen is a downloadable resource that will inspire you and deepen your faith
>> Jeff Chamblee: This Easter season we're offering a special downloadable resource that will inspire you and deepen your faith. He has Risen is a digital booklet featuring powerful articles from the STAND and AFA Journal that explore the life changing truth of the resurrection, the significance of Easter, and how to share these foundational truths with others. For a limited time only. It's our gift to you for any donation of $5 or more. Help us continue to share biblical truth, defend Christian values and equip our families.
Today's Issues offers a Christian response to the issues of the day
Visit afr.net offers 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: Foreign everybody. And welcome to Today's Issues on this Monday, April 21, 2025. Thank you for listening to this radio program and to American Family Radio. In studio with me today, Ed Vitagliano. Good morning, Brother Ed.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Good, morning, Tim And Chris Woodward.
>> Christopher Woodward: Good morning.
>> Tim Wildmon: That's it people. Just three. That's it. You got one third. One third. One third of a brain, or we.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Got three brains and it's triple the brain power.
>> Tim Wildmon: And we're gonna bring it. Oh, we're bringing it, we're bringing it today.
There is sometimes a disagreement amongst Christians on which day should be considered Easter
so today is the, day after Easter and around the world Yesterday, Ed.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yes.
>> Tim Wildmon: You said, Christians all over the world celebrated just.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yes, this is, there is sometimes a disagreement amongst Christians on which day should be considered Easter between Western Christians and Eastern Christians. So Eastern Orthodox and then Catholic and Protestant. And it has to do with how, you determine, how many days after this and the, the spring equinox and, and all sorts of things. And I used to know it, but I don't know it anymore. Anyway, yesterday was Easter for everybody. I don't think there were any exceptions, to that. So both Eastern and Western Christians celebrated the resurrection on the same day.
>> Ed Vitagliano: So that's, that doesn't happen all the time, but sometimes it does.
Ed: Pope Francis passes away at the age of 88 on Monday
>> Tim Wildmon: So the Pope passed away. Yes, that's the leading international story right now.
>> Christopher Woodward: Yeah, I mean we're talking about it. We're looking at at least four networks that are talking about it. This will be the story throughout much of the day because if you've not heard yet, Pope Francis passed away at the age of 88. he was the first Latin American pontiff, meaning the first Pope from that part of the world. he passed away at the age of 88. Fox is doing live coverage. This has pretty much been the story all morning on that work. CNN is, sharing messages from people Like President Trump who's telling the Pope to rest in peace. MSNBC is on at BBC. This will be the big story. And on our website we have a little bit of, the passing as well as the rights and rituals following the death of a pop pope. In other words, the process now that people are going to go through to select the next one.
>> Tim Wildmon: So you said President Trump is telling the Pope to rest in peace?
>> Christopher Woodward: Yeah, Pope, Pope, or President Trump rest in peace. Pope Francis. That was his message.
>> Tim Wildmon: Fox also has that, Pope Francis, passed away. Did he pass away yesterday on Easter Sunday, or was it last night overnight.
>> Christopher Woodward: Described as happening on Monday? Okay, I thought so.
>> Ed Vitagliano: I think that's, I think it's like overnight.
>> Christopher Woodward: Yeah, I was, I was confused about that myself this morning because of the time difference between us and Vatican City. That's seven, eight hours.
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay. So, what does this mean, Ed? Ah, for the Roman Catholic Church?
>> Ed Vitagliano: Well, they will go through the process, which is, I guess hundreds, some, they would say 2,000 years, the process of selecting a, new pope. So, I'm not sure what that process is. it has to do, I think with the College of Cardinals.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yes, it does.
>> Ed Vitagliano: And there, there actually was some couple of series on this kind of process, here recently on I think Hulu. I have not watched it.
>> Tim Wildmon: But are you going to?
>> Ed Vitagliano: I might now. I mean, I don't know it, I don't if there's no objectionable stuff in it, I might. But, that is.
>> Tim Wildmon: Does it interest you that much?
>> Ed Vitagliano: It doesn't.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.
>> Ed Vitagliano: just yourself? Yeah, yeah, it's, it's there, there is a lot of ritual with these kinds of things, because, it is a, for the Catholic Church, the solemn responsibility to be prayerful and selecting. And then there's something this, is. This is really sad because I did go to an all boys Catholic high school. Our Catholic listeners.
>> Tim Wildmon: That's why I'm asking you this question.
>> Ed Vitagliano: there is something in Vatican City. If they vote and select a new Pope, there's white smoke.
>> Tim Wildmon: Right.
>> Ed Vitagliano: I think. And then if not, if they cannot decide, I think it's black smoke. In other words, they're still in the process. But I, I, they, I don't, I don't even know if that process had already begun because Pope Francis had been sick for a while. And so I don't know whether there was considerations.
>> Tim Wildmon: Wasn't he the first non European Pope.
>> Ed Vitagliano: in 1300 years? I think it's been A long time. Yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay.
>> Ed Vitagliano: maybe the first from Latin America, but he was the first, non.
>> Tim Wildmon: Maybe that's what I meant.
>> Ed Vitagliano: European, Pope in 1300 years.
>> Tim Wildmon: Anyway, they'll have his funeral services, I guess, tomorrow. I don't know when.
>> Christopher Woodward: Yeah, this is going to carry on for days.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah, I mean, it's, What is it, 1.4. How many Catholics are there? 1.4 billion or something, I think. yeah, that's a lot of Catholics. And. And you know that this. They'll be in mourning. I'm not sure how long that process, goes on, either.
>> Christopher Woodward: So, of course he, replaced Pope Benedict the 16th, who stepped away from the position back in 2013 because of an illness.
>> Tim Wildmon: Before that was John Paul. Right. Okay. So, not, to. I'm, going to talk in generalities about the Pope.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yes.
There were Catholics who did not like Pope Francis for his politics
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay. I guess generality, perception and his thoughts and ideas. I'm talking about the Pope that just passed away.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Francis.
>> Tim Wildmon: okay. There were a lot of Catholics who did not like him for his politics. Not.
>> Christopher Woodward: Ah.
>> Tim Wildmon: And, I remember one of my friends expressed, displeasure with the Pope, who was Catholic fellow. Was Catholic.
>> Ed Vitagliano: The Pope was.
>> Tim Wildmon: No, no, no, no.
>> Ed Vitagliano: The Pope Catholic.
>> Tim Wildmon: No. That's a trivia question. Is the Pope Catholic? That's my trivia question today. No, what I'm saying is there are a lot of traditional, Catholics, I guess you could say, who did not like his politics because his politics were very, very liberal in many ways. Talking about the Pope.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah. You know, to me, this is, this is proof that your faith does intersect with politics. Because Pope Francis in general, I think, had a more, what we might consider a more liberal interpretation of Scripture, which led to his, more liberal political views on things like immigration, and, other hot button topics, controversial topics in the news. So, to me, this is proof that you can't escape your faith or your non. Faith if you're an atheist in how you, interpret. And you know what?
>> Tim Wildmon: I didn't. The Pope Francis, the Pope Francis. Pope Francis was, the fellow who just passed away, the church leader of the Roman Catholic Church. He, was critical of the United States of America, especially President Trump, for his immigration policies. That is not allowing everybody to come here.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Right.
>> Tim Wildmon: Who wants to come here to the United States. And I thought, well, you're not letting everybody into the Vatican City to set up makeshift camps.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Right.
>> Tim Wildmon: And believe me, there are a lot of people who are coming in from, North Africa in particular and the Middle east coming into Italy. So much so it was a crisis for a while. May still be. I'm not sure. They were coming in from, land and sea. And he. And I didn't ever see Vatican City, who is a sovereign nation, by the way.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Right.
>> Tim Wildmon: They weren't welcoming everybody in to their museums and their. You know what I'm saying?
>> Ed Vitagliano: Right.
>> Tim Wildmon: So that was a bit hypocritical, seemed to me. it's easy from afar to say, okay, United States, you need to take everybody in from around the world because they're immigrants, and you need to be compassionate. That's the Christian thing to do.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Right.
>> Tim Wildmon: Ignoring the Christian compassionate thing to do is also to have law and order.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Right.
>> Tim Wildmon: And protect people, protect our citizens. But it just seemed like he. Pope Francis was forever critical of, the United States in our attempt to control our borders. I say forever. He criticized often, the idea of controlling, of denying, immigrants, you know, entry into America without due for law.
>> Ed Vitagliano: And this is, this is why people considered his views as being on the left side of the political and religious, spectrum. Because those who say what Pope Francis said about things like immigration will point to certain scriptures in the Bible.
>> Tim Wildmon: Right.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Whereas those who will say, well, the government has to protect its people and those kinds of things, uphold the laws, they'll. They'll look at passages like Romans 13. And that's generally viewed as being on the conservative side of the political spectrum. So I, you know, I don't. We're not being unfair to the pope. He had his biblical arguments. And those who believe similarly to Pope Francis have their biblical arguments, but those are generally, on the left side of.
So these cardinals will hold, uh, what's called the Conclave
So these cardinals will hold, what's called the Conclave. And that was. I think that was the name of the series I was trying to remember. I think it's just called Conclave. And, And so when they vote, I think the. The cardinals have to be under age 80 to be a part of the Conclave.
>> Tim Wildmon: And it's ageism.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Well, I, I think. I think the. The reasoning there is that you got to have a stake in what's coming for the Catholic Church. I. I don't know. I'm. That's. That's my guess. And then out of, you know, the Sistine Chapel, the. If it's. If they. I think they burn the ballots when they, after they count reason for the smoke, and then, so there's white smoke release from the.
>> Tim Wildmon: You don't want to get that wrong either, do you? If you're the guy who has to, has to put, put the ballots in. You don't want to mix them up.
>> Ed Vitagliano: You remember a few years ago for the, Oscars, Remember, someone read the wrong winner.
>> Christopher Woodward: Yeah.
>> Ed Vitagliano: And then they had to say, oh, I'm sorry, I made a mistake. Yeah. You don't want to get. You don't want to get the thing wrong.
>> Tim Wildmon: Come out and you're going right. But what.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yes, that would have been.
The Internet is already abuzz with who they think may be in line
>> Tim Wildmon: All right, next story. Chris, let me make real quick.
>> Christopher Woodward: related to this. The Internet is already abuzz with who they think may be in line to replace Pope Francis. this is an AI compilation of various Brad Pitt's not on there. but reading from the list here, there's a guy named Pietro Parolin. He's, apparently the current Vatican Secretary of the State. He's being seen as a moderate continuity candidate because he worked closely with Pope Francis. Then we get into some other people. That would be the first or the first in a long time. there is a gentleman by the name of Luis Antonio Tagli. He's the former archbishop, Archbishop of Manila. He is the, he would be the first Asian pope. there's a black man by the name of Peter Turkson who is supposedly in line. There's also a couple of American cardinals, Raymond Leo Burke And Sean Patrick O'Malley, that may be supposedly in line for Pope Francis, seat. We shall see.
>> Tim Wildmon: So the, for those who don't know are familiar with Catholic, governance of their church. The cardinals are the, like, let me just equate it this way. If you have a president of the United States, such as President Trump, and then you have a, then underneath him would be the governors of the 50 various states. Right. So equate that to the Catholic Church. You have the cardinal. Excuse me, you have the Pope, who is the president, as it were. And the cardinals are the governors. So that makes sense.
>> Ed Vitagliano: That's probably pretty. Pretty. So they're the advisors for the Pope.
>> Tim Wildmon: Right. And they're. And they're over various, geographical areas. Like in the United States of America, we may have, I don't know, five or six cardinals that are over various areas of the country in terms of the, It's very hierarchical. Hierarchical.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Hierarchical.
>> Tim Wildmon: I let you go for that one.
>> Ed Vitagliano: It's hierarch structured.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah, it's. It's what dad said right there. It's a church, so it's a. It's a very highly structured church. so anyway, we'll see what the Cardinals, do in terms of selecting a new pope to lead the church.
>> Ed Vitagliano: And by the way, that, that makes sense if, because you have bishops, over certain areas, sometimes over particular cities. And so if you got, you know, 1.4 billion Catholics, you got to have some organization, you know, priests have to be able to go to their bishop and ask questions and then they go.
>> Tim Wildmon: To archbishop and then they go the cardinal.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah, so. All right, that, that, that does make sense if you have been in existence as long as the Catholic Church and have to, have to, oversee a religion as a, a part of the Christian faith that's as large and with as many people in it as the Catholic Church.
>> Tim Wildmon: Next story.
>> Christopher Woodward: Chris.
Reuters reports Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth shared Yemen war plans in chat
All right, let's, bring it back home to the United States of America where there is a news story. this one is from Reuters and their headline is this. Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth shared sensitive Yemen war plans in second signal chat. This is according to a quote, source that told Reuters Secretary, Hegseth shared details of a March attack on Yemen's Iran aligned Houthis in a message group that included Hegseth's wife, brother and a personal lawyer. This is the second signal chat situation in which someone was, given access to information on a private chat that included at least one member of the Trump administration. The issue here is Hegseth supposedly also included his wife, brother and lawyer on this very personal private phone call. The White House weighed in on this this morning on Fox and Friends and White House press Secretary Caroline Levitt dismissed this story as a, quote, lie. Clip 12 the president stands strongly behind Secretary Hegseth who is doing a phenomenal job leading the Pentagon. They are lying about the Secretary of Defense. Let me reiterate, no classified information was shared in these chats. but you do have leakers who are leaking classified information, which is a crime, I will add.
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay, for those who don't know, because I didn't know before this happened a couple, three weeks ago. Signal S I G N A L is a app that is used for private conversations. Is that, is that correct?
>> Christopher Woodward: Yes.
>> Tim Wildmon: Kind of like WhatsApp.
>> Christopher Woodward: Yes, yes. Very secure, supposedly.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yes.
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay. So. So, I don't know if this was a phone conversation. That's why you, you said it wasn't.
>> Ed Vitagliano: It was a chat.
>> Christopher Woodward: Like a group chat message.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah, it was a group chat.
>> Christopher Woodward: Texting. Yes.
>> Tim Wildmon: And so the accusation is that Secretary Hexith, included his wife and what his brother in law.
>> Christopher Woodward: Brother and his lawyer.
>> Tim Wildmon: Lawyer in a chat having to do with the time Place for attacking the Houthis in Yemen. Yemen with, military force. US and of course he's Secretary of Defense. That's what she's talking about. No, what did he, what did she call it? No, classified information was, Anyway, I like Hexith and Secretary Hexith, and I know people who know him well and they speak highly of him. so I don't know what to think about this. Is this a fake story or is this, something he shouldn't have done? I don't know. It remains to be seen, I guess.
>> Ed Vitagliano: yeah, and I don't know the answers to those questions either. and of course the White House is defending Secretary Hegseth. I will say that, if this is true, I, I'm not sure how to, how to solve this problem. I mean you can't have. A lot of times you can't have phone calls where you're discussing sensitive information like military strikes on Yemen, because those can be intercepted.
>> Christopher Woodward: Hm.
>> Ed Vitagliano: And so there's got to be secure ways to communicate. You just got to be careful, about how you're doing it. I mean we've all. We talk about this when the first signal group chat issue developed is it's very easy to hit. You know, reply all when you're emailing or when you are texting because we all get busy and we're all going 50 miles an hour, 100 miles an hour, and then you, you go, oh, I didn't mean to include that person in, the long list, but you can't do that when you're talking about military strikes.
>> Tim Wildmon: So also. Excuse me, sorry. Yeah, no, that's related to this is the fact that in the last few days there have been some people dismissed from hexis inner circle. I'm talking about walked out of the Pentagon with a, with their cardboard box.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Right.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Right.
>> Tim Wildmon: you had Okay. According to Fox News top age to Hexith were placed on leave and escorted out of the building as the Pentagon probed unauthorized leaks. That's what she was talking about.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Caroline,
>> Christopher Woodward: Levitt.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah. Was talking about Senior advisor Dan Caldwell, Deputy Chief of Staff Darren, Selnick, and Colin Carroll, Chief of Staff to Deputy Secretary Steven Feinberg. so on Friday evening those three employees were fired. Two defense officials confirmed to Fox News Digital. That's pretty serious.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yep.
>> Tim Wildmon: I mean three intentional.
>> Ed Vitagliano: That's not accidental or even careless.
>> Tim Wildmon: Right. They were fired. These were three high level Pentagon positions surround that people that would have surrounded, exit. So I Don't know if he hired those people or if they were there left over and from the previous administration. You know. Go ahead.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah, I was going to say, I, I don't know if this is technically correct in terms of what people like this can be charged with, but that's not much different than spying. Now it might not be handing. They may not be leaking things to other countries, which is treasonous, but if you're leaking it to the news media or the Democratic Party, you know, the political opponents with the hopes that they are able to run with it and undermine Hegseth or President Trump, that's like spying in your, an official government position and then the Department of Defense. That seems extremely serious to me. I don't know whether that rises to the level of treason. probably not. But it is still like spying. If you're leaking things that, you know, your boss wouldn't want you to leak, you're spying for someone.
>> Christopher Woodward: Oh, yeah.
>> Ed Vitagliano: So I'm glad they got fired if they were doing this because it's not accidental and it's not careless.
>> Christopher Woodward: Probably what you'll see too is some sort of, news reports on like MSNBC or CNN quoting unnamed sources with knowledge of the situation at the Pentagon. Or maybe they'll bring in one of these individuals and do the whole, voice disguise, let's shoot him in the dark so we don't know who's talking to us kind of thing. This be the last time we're talking about it, is what I'm trying to say. And it may not even be the last round of terminations. This could be a drop in the bucket.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.
Three people are dead after severe storms hit Texas and Oklahoma over the weekend
All right. You're listening to today's issues on the American Family Radio Network. next story. Chris?
>> Christopher Woodward: Well, I do want to bring this to people's, attention because we need to be in prayer for our fellow Americans, especially in states like Texas and Oklahoma, where a slow moving active storm system brought heavy rain, large hail and tornadoes to parts of Texas and Oklahoma over the weekend. At least three people are dead. It could rise, as authorities, go through the damage, in various places there. But bottom line, storms on Easter Sunday, you hate to see those kinds of things. And while we're praying for the President and all kinds of people in government, we need to be remembering those that have to deal with things like this after Easter.
>> Tim Wildmon: yeah, well, springtime in the south, right? and the Midwest too. it's, it's always going to be, stormy because of the, just the weather Patterns. But yeah, that's sad that, ah, that happened to those folks.
>> Christopher Woodward: 17 reported events Saturday, of storms in just Oklahoma.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Oklahoma is, I mean, those people must.
>> Tim Wildmon: Be pretty hard living wrong, is that what you're saying? I'm trying to help you there. Oh, I was, you wanted to say it out?
>> Ed Vitagliano: No, I thought what I was wanting to say, I was saying they were, they're a hardy breed.
>> Tim Wildmon: Oh.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Because they get, they, they're like, don't they call that Tornado alley?
>> Christopher Woodward: Yes. And what's interesting is the, the southeastern U.S. mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee. We've actually started to get more storms on average per year on an annual basis, however you want to say it, than places like Oklahoma or Kansas.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Nebraska, Arkansas gets hit a lot in Missouri.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.
>> Ed Vitagliano: And so it's kind of right through the middle of the country.
>> Tim Wildmon: But Oklahoma is known for big tornadoes too. And the ground's relatively fat, flat, so it just sits on the ground and.
>> Ed Vitagliano: And I saw a movie once. Kansas, they have, they have tornadoes once.
>> Tim Wildmon: You saw a movie? Once I saw a movie.
>> Ed Vitagliano: There was this girl and she was running. I, I, I remember the name of it, you know, a lot of running with her dog.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah, it'll come to you. Yeah, it'll come to you in a minute.
>> Ed Vitagliano: There was a wizard. I don't remember exactly.
>> Christopher Woodward: It was the wizard.
>> Tim Wildmon: listen, ah, tragedy is not funny that, you're right, but we don't mean to make light of that. But the storms in, you know, as long as there's springtime, there's going to be storms in, Oklahoma and Kansas and yeah, the Southeast, because of, again, because of the clash of the coal Canadian air.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Right. Those Canadians.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah, the Canadians.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Oh, they're cold.
>> Tim Wildmon: And so, and then the Gulf coming up from the, and then they meet in the middle and it's ugly.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yes. Huh?
>> Tim Wildmon: it's ugly.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Gulf of America.
>> Tim Wildmon: this comes up from the Gulf of America does. We'll be back momentarily. Stay with us.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Will you take a moment and celebrate life with me?
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>> Jeff Chamblee: This is Today's Issues. Email your comments to commentsfr.net Past broadcasts of today's Issues are available for listening and viewing in the [email protected] now back to more of today's issues.
American Family Radio Network welcomes back Tim England and Ed and Chris
>> Tim Wildmon: Hey, welcome back everybody to today's issues on the American Family Radio Network. Tim, Ed and Chris, we hope you had a wonderful Easter weekend celebration and just hope everybody, you know, enjoyed the services yesterday.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Well, we had a great service at the church. My wife and I attend Hope, church here in Tupelo. We have a great pastor, Scooter Noland. he serves on the board, AFA board, of directors. The worship was just really, really great. We went to a Saturday night service. They asked some of our regulars to go.
>> Tim Wildmon: Not only Catholics.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Did that evangelicals say that because first of all we had Saturday night because our pastor asked some of our regulars to go to the Saturday night to make room in the sanctuary for the influx of, you know, once, once.
>> Tim Wildmon: A year, Christmas, Easter, Christmas.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yes, so we did that. We go on Saturday. But it's funny you say that because on the way, my wife said, well this. Isn't this what Catholics do? They go to mass Saturday night? Saturday night. And I said well I guess that's probably, you know, true. but it's funny that she said the same thing. But anyways, wonderful service. I hope everybody.
>> Tim Wildmon: We go to the same church. You do, but yes, we paid no attention to the.
>> Ed Vitagliano: You didn't go on Saturday? No.
>> Tim Wildmon: Make room for visitors.
>> Christopher Woodward: And technically we should celebrate the resurrection any day of the week.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yes, that's true.
>> Tim Wildmon: So we just went Sunday morning, 10:30.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah. Your regular time. You weren't going to be inconvenienced by those, huh?
>> Tim Wildmon: Bisters.
>> Christopher Woodward: Did you, did you have to move to a different pew? We had, it was funny in our congregation we had people that were sitting in like different parts of the sanctuary but just because of the visitors and stuff that we had. So all of a sudden these people that sit over like on my far left are now next.
>> Tim Wildmon: They didn't know that was your place to sit. Right.
>> Christopher Woodward: Oh, I mean, it's fine, but it does throw you off a little bit.
>> Ed Vitagliano: I'm just gonna. I'm gonna confess something here. M. We all know we can be petty. I'll speak for myself. I can be a petty Christian.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Okay. And when Brent's bread's nodding. Our producer, Brent Creeley. Our. Our former producer, Brent Creeley. but, sometimes we have, like, a lot of people who are, coming, and my wife and I have a spot where we, sit normally. And I like being on the aisle. If I have to get up and go to use the restroom. I don't like climbing over a bunch of people. I'm on the aisle. We get there so that we can sit, and then sometimes our pastor will say, okay, we have a lot of visitors this morning. Everybody scoot towards the middle. I just, Openly defiant.
>> Tim Wildmon: Right, right. That's not a good attitude. But you.
>> Christopher Woodward: Scooter mentioned that to me one time in the hallway. What are we gonna do about Brother Ed?
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah, well, I. You know, I got here early, so.
>> Tim Wildmon: You have a specific place you sit?
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yes, that's right. It's kind of.
>> Tim Wildmon: I have a little. We have a little area.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Little area.
>> Tim Wildmon: A little corner area, but not like that seat right there. Oh, you.
>> Ed Vitagliano: We. We have a particular seat, and you.
>> Tim Wildmon: walk up, and if it's taken, you're. You're.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Oh, my goodness. That's. It's back. Hey, pal, you're gonna have to move.
>> Christopher Woodward: Bless your heart.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Unless you want to go out.
>> Tim Wildmon: That's a good greeting for church. I'm sure they'll come back. Hey, pal.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Hey, pal. Hey, guy.
>> Christopher Woodward: What are you doing?
>> Ed Vitagliano: So, we used to. In New England, it was always, hey, guy.
>> Tim Wildmon: Hey, guy.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Hey, guy. But it's been a long time since.
You want to move. How about moving? Yeah. Back in the old days, you know, I'm serious
>> Tim Wildmon: You want to move. You want to move it on down.
>> Ed Vitagliano: How about moving?
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah. All right. Well, what is your name on this pew? And then I think that's why they started putting names on pews back in the old days. Back in the old days, you know, I'm serious. They started putting family names on pews.
>> Ed Vitagliano: I know churches. I know. I was a pastor for many years. I know how this thing works.
>> Christopher Woodward: I know, my pastor has shared the story, though, before, about how it kind of throws him off. Like, at the end of the service, you'll. You'll. You'll call on somebody to pray, like, close us in prayer. And if. If some family or has moved to, like, a different pew. Like, it throws the Pastor off. Because he's used to, you know, Blaine being over here.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.
>> Christopher Woodward: All of a sudden, he's on his complete opposite direction.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Right.
Reuters story says Pentagon defense secretary shared Yemen war plans in second signal chat
>> Tim Wildmon: All right, next story. Chris.
>> Christopher Woodward: Well, we were mentioning this going to the break. I have an update. Continuing coverage, if you will.
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay.
>> Christopher Woodward: But, before the break, we were discussing this Reuters story that says Pentagon Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth shared sensitive Yemen war plans in a second signal chat. For those that didn't hear the story, the, scuttlebutt with this particular issue is Mr. Hegseth may, have,
>> Tim Wildmon: That would be Secretary Hegseth.
>> Christopher Woodward: Secretary Hegseth included, his wife, brother, and personal lawyer in this signal group.
>> Tim Wildmon: Chat, which he responded, and we got it.
>> Christopher Woodward: Yes, we do have audio of secretary, Hegseth himself.
>> Steve Hilton: You know, what a big surprise that a bunch of. A few leakers get fired and suddenly a bunch of hit pieces come out from, The same media that peddled the Russia hoax won't, get back their Pulitzers. They got Pulitzers for a bunch of lies. Pulitzers for a bunch of lies. And on hoaxes time and time and time again. And as they peddle those lies, no one ever calls them on it. See, this is what the media does. They take anonymous sources from disgruntled former employees, and then they try to slash and burn people. This is why we're fighting the fake news media. This is why we're fighting slash and burn Democrats. This is why we're fighting hoaxers.
>> Christopher Woodward: Hoaxers?
>> Ed Vitagliano: This group.
>> Steve Hilton: No, no, this group right here. Full of hoaxers that peddle anonymous sources from leakers with axes to grind.
>> Tim Wildmon: I didn't know that secretary was, Hexith was down at Mardi Gras. I don't know if that's appropriate or not to be walking in the Mardi Gras parade.
>> Ed Vitagliano: first of all, I was surprised. I. I thought he would have reached puberty by now, but I'm pretty sure his voice changed right there in the middle of that.
>> Tim Wildmon: All right, let me just say this, okay? And then we'll. We'll move on here. That's funny, Ed.
>> Ed Vitagliano: I mean, did you guys hear?
>> Tim Wildmon: It's Pinocchio.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yes.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah, it was. I agree. He may had something. Maybe he had, a bad.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Bumped into.
>> Tim Wildmon: Bad coffee or something, like, you know, somebody bumped into. Listen, I. Because I'm conservative.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: I want to believe what other conservatives say to be true.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Right.
>> Tim Wildmon: That's my default position. And I think that's true of every human being. Whatever their political view is, they want to Believe liberals wanted to believe Joe Biden was, was not losing his mind.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Right.
>> Tim Wildmon: So they ignored evidence, the truth. I don't want to do that either. However, I would say this. did, did he say in that comment and did he say the story was not true? That his, that he had a, signal that included his wife and his brother? You said what? His brother in law.
>> Christopher Woodward: His brother and lawyer.
>> Tim Wildmon: Brother and lawyer in a signal trap. Talking about the attack on the. That was supposed to be private.
>> Ed Vitagliano: So I don't think he was saying it was not true. I think he, what he was talking about is the leakers got fired.
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay.
>> Ed Vitagliano: And then, oh, now the media is coming out with hit pieces. In other words.
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay, I got you.
>> Ed Vitagliano: The media was talking to the people. I got you fired.
>> Tim Wildmon: I got you.
>> Ed Vitagliano: And so he was, he was questioning their, their motives. All right, well, I do want to assign to Brent, I would like from now on, when I am speaking on the show, I would like some trumpets gently playing in the background. I like, kind of like that sound. It just, you could say anything.
>> Tim Wildmon: The saints go marching in.
Supreme Court blocks Trump administration from deporting Venezuelans under wartime law
All right, next, story.
>> Christopher Woodward: All right. this very well could have been the lead.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.
>> Christopher Woodward: but, we had some other things to begin the show with. and we've updated our coverage on the Supreme Court and, President Trump when it comes to deportations of illegal immigrants, that are criminal gang members. the latest with this is the Supreme Court acted, quote, literally in the middle of the night and without sufficient explanation in blocking the Trump administration from deporting any Venezuelans held in northern Texas under an 18th century wartime law. Justice Samuel Alita wrote in a sharp dissent that castigated the seven member majority over the weekend, the Supreme Court ruled that, Trump couldn't do what he has been wanting to do here. And Justice Alito dissented to that, as well as Justice Clarence Thomas. we do have some audio on this, but I'll, I'll pause here. Any concerns that, about what I just mentioned?
>> Ed Vitagliano: you talking about the Supreme Court ruling?
>> Christopher Woodward: Yes.
>> Ed Vitagliano: I'm just gonna, I'm just gonna confess a little bit of ignorance here. This, okay, I'm going to confess this. This story is starting to confuse me. Okay. In terms of who has what authority. Okay. It seems to me that the chief, executive, the president, has the right to, under laws like this alien act, it's old from the 1800s to deport people who he considers to be, part of an invasion. On the other hand, I do understand the concern with due process. I would hate for a person who is innocent of being in a gang to be transferred out and deported to an El Salvadoran gang. But it seems to me, Prison.
>> Tim Wildmon: El Salvador in prison.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yes.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.
>> Ed Vitagliano: It seems to me that this, this guy Garcia. Is that his last name? that he was determined to be a member of a. Of Ms. 13. So I'm, I'm not quite sure why the Supreme Court and other courts, I guess those, some of those are activist judges, why they are making these kinds of rulings. It, to me, it's, it's like the president. If President Trump told the Supreme Court, I am ordering you to reverse your ruling on this, the Supreme Court's going to go, no, that's not your job. You're not allowed to do it. And I'm thinking the Supreme Court doesn't have the right to do what it's telling the President to do.
>> Tim Wildmon: What are they doing it in the name of. Was it seven to two?
>> Christopher Woodward: Yes.
>> Tim Wildmon: That's pretty good margin of, seven to two.
>> Ed Vitagliano: But Alito and Thomas dissented, and I'll agree with Samuel Alito and Justice Clarence Thomas all day, every day on getting the Constitution right. Yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: It's ironic that all three of Trump's Supreme Court justice appointments, went with the majority.
>> Christopher Woodward: Yes.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah, it's ironic. but not unexpected.
>> Christopher Woodward: Right.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Because, Judge, Roberts, who's the Chief Justice, Amy Coney Barrett. Well, I guess Brett Kavanaugh and, and Gorsuch.
>> Tim Wildmon: That's what I'm saying.
>> Ed Vitagliano: This is. I, I don't know what to make of this, but in my mind, if President Trump ordered the Supreme Court to change its ruling, all of us would go, you can't do that. And I'm thinking the Supreme Court doesn't have the authority to tell the President he can't execute the laws.
>> Tim Wildmon: So I agree with you. This is confusing. This story and this whole deportation, the big story, and what can the president do and can he do, and what law is he authorizing be enforced and so forth and so on. so seven to two, the Supreme Court, which I didn't know there was a hearing coming up before the Supreme Court.
>> Christopher Woodward: Oh, no, this was like a middle age.
>> Tim Wildmon: Not embanked. What do they call it? So this was, this was done without a full hearing?
>> Christopher Woodward: Yes.
>> Tim Wildmon: This was just an emergency ruling.
>> Christopher Woodward: Yes.
Supreme Court blocks deportations of Venezuelans held under 18th century law
I'm going to post a couple of things from afn.net on our Facebook page. the first one is about the, decision, and it says the Supreme Court on Saturday, blocked for now. The deportations of any Venezuelans held in Northern Texas under an 18th century wartime law. And it goes on to explain.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah.
>> Christopher Woodward: That Thomas.
>> Ed Vitagliano: And they had to turn the buses around.
>> Christopher Woodward: They did, and I'll share that, too, because Tim came across that story.
>> Tim Wildmon: Video footage.
>> Christopher Woodward: Yes.
>> Tim Wildmon: In Abilene, Texas, I think.
>> Christopher Woodward: Yes.
>> Tim Wildmon: They were getting ready to ship them out and put them on an airplane back to Venezuela, I think. Right. And, the, The Supreme Court order.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Came down because this is that, trend day. Aragua, gang. Venezuelan gang.
>> Christopher Woodward: Yes.
>> Ed Vitagliano: In this case.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah, I'm with you, Ed. I don't know how the, I would be interesting. So this is not a, a Supreme Court decision for all time. This is just a temporary time being. Yeah. Injunction, if you will.
>> Christopher Woodward: I think part of the reason why it's confusing and nobody really knows the answer is because people drafting our Constitution in the late 1700s never envisioned this. They thought government was only going to be so big instead of this big, huge monolith that it is now, that this. Nobody envisioned somebody in their late 80s would be in the House of Representatives or a, senator, all these kinds of things. I'm not saying we need a new Constitution, because that would be the worst.
>> Ed Vitagliano: And this, and this is why people talk about activist judges. And it's not just on the Supreme Court, other federal judges. You sit there and you go, well, it's not your job. It's not a, part of the federal judiciary's job description to tell the President what he can and can't do unless it involves some violation of the Constitution. And we have separation of powers for a reason. This is why I say we would all think President Trump was nutso if he said to the Supreme Court, reverse your ruling. Well, that's not your job. The Supreme Court has its job, but the chief executive has his job. And for the court to be saying, no, you can't do that to me, seems to be, breaking through on that separation of powers. This is, this is very strange. And, we mentioned in our story meeting, I don't know if you got the figures on this. I saw, posts, all weekend after the Supreme Court made its ruling, talking about the amount of deportations that other presidents, including Democratic presidents, have made without judicial interference. It's like all of a sudden the judiciary is taking an interest in deportations that the executive makes under current law. It's just very frustrating.
Real ID is something, uh, that involves post 911 legislation
>> Tim Wildmon: Hey, related to this, have you guys heard about this? something called the Real id?
>> Christopher Woodward: Yes.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yes.
>> Christopher Woodward: I've been covering this for a while.
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay, what is this?
>> Christopher Woodward: All right. Real ID is something, that involves post 911 legislation that was signed into law by then President George W. Bush. The idea being that it would put all, all the states would come up with the same kind of driver's license and real ID once it takes effect next month. And I'll get into that in a minute, it's going to, basically help take steps to ensure that people are who they say they are when they enter, when they try to fly or they enter a federal building. So this was post 911 legislation designed to protect people by helping cut down post 9 11.
>> Tim Wildmon: That's been like 20 something years ago.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yes, they had to under the Patriot Act. Or is this a different act?
>> Christopher Woodward: It's, it's from that same era. I don't know that it's directly.
>> Tim Wildmon: How come we're just not hearing about it?
>> Christopher Woodward: Well, because they put states basically on a timetable. Hey, you got to get your ducks in a row and start doing this. There were some challenges and things like that. Now, Christy Noem, who is now the Secretary of Department of Homeland Security, put out a video in recent days saying, hey, real ID is going to take effect on May 7th. You're not going to be able to board a flight or enter a federal facility without a real id. So.
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay. Okay. So I'm, Is my driver's license a real id?
>> Christopher Woodward: Does it have a gold star on the top?
>> Ed Vitagliano: I checked my does.
>> Christopher Woodward: Yeah.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Do you have your.
>> Tim Wildmon: Not, on me on you?
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah, it's if you're in the car.
>> Tim Wildmon: You may go get it if you.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Pull out your driver's license. Because I did this this morning.
>> Christopher Woodward: Yeah.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Okay. I've been meaning to check it. I pulled my.
>> Tim Wildmon: Because people have travel plans. Yeah, go ahead.
>> Ed Vitagliano: And I pulled it out and in the upper, I'm pretty sure it was in the upper right hand corner there is a star.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Which means it is a real id.
>> Christopher Woodward: Correct.
>> Ed Vitagliano: And I think they can. Is this, Chris, similar to like if I pull out a $20 bill, it has a little strip, an internal strip that validates. This is a valid legal, note. $, 20 bill.
>> Christopher Woodward: It's similar to that. Yeah.
>> Ed Vitagliano: So this is something that cannot, under most circumstances on the driver's license be fabricated.
>> Christopher Woodward: Yes, yes. Now there are groups, including one that's based in Minnesota called Citizens Council for Health Freedom, that disputes pushes, from the government saying you have to have real ID in order to board a flight. Because, Twyla Brace, who heads up Citizens Council for Health Freedom, has forever told AFN that you could still board a flight with things like government, improved passports.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yes.
>> Christopher Woodward: and things of that nature. It might take more of a headache for you to actually get on the flight. their concern at Citizens Council for Health Freedom is that this could pave the way for like a China, like, social credit type system where a future administration might require you to have real ID for all kinds of other things. That's their concern.
>> Ed Vitagliano: And there's concern. Do these real IDs have a chip in it or is it just a, mark on the ID that is like a, like a watermark or something like that? Because here's, here's if, if there is a, some sort of chip in your driver's license that allows the federal government to track you, okay. Now then that becomes kind of problematic for most people. Although other people I've heard arguing about this say, well, they can track you by your phone.
>> Christopher Woodward: They're already tracking. They're already tracked.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah. Or they can't. They chat. They track you when you use a debit card. I. This is a tough thing because the argument in favor of this is you can, you can figure out who's here legally. You can determine if somebody is faking being an American citizen or, a Chinese national, so, it's easier to find criminals. I understand all that. Okay. At the same time, as you said, Chris, what about another Biden administration who, not just him, but someone who is like him, who doesn't like Christians, who's hostile to conservative Christians, how they can track you, they know where you're at, then they come after you.
>> Christopher Woodward: Right. That is the concern because every administration's actions could and will often be used as precedent for another administration to say, well, so and so did it. Nobody cares. There is some confusion over real ID in the sense that, for example, last Friday Fox News went hard and heavy with real, id and they quoted people like, Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky and even former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. Thomas Massie was quoted as telling Fox, listen, if you thought this was some sort of, if you thought real ID was some sort of issue to ensure voter integrity, you're going to be sorely mistaken. Nobody has ever said that it's going to ensure you are who you say you are at the ballot box. This is the stated purpose for it from the government, is to ensure that somebody doesn't pretend to be somebody else to get on a flight and then try to take it over. But the concern is this can and will be used in the future by some other administration to require you to have this and this to be able to do all kinds of things, beyond just flight.
>> Tim Wildmon: So if I want to travel, I got a plane, I got a flight in June. I need to go out, when the show's over and check my driver's license if I got a start.
Several states have already moved towards, uh, real ID compliance
>> Ed Vitagliano: When did you, when did you get your driver's license?
>> Christopher Woodward: Have you gotten it renewed in the last couple of years?
>> Tim Wildmon: When I was 15.
>> Ed Vitagliano: No, no, I mean when, when did you get. Chris asked the right question. When did you, when did you last renew your driver's license? Is it within the last several years?
>> Tim Wildmon: I've got to renew it next year.
>> Christopher Woodward: It's probably already compliant. Mississippi and a number of states have already moved towards, real ID compliance. Odds are it has a star at the top of it, a little gold star.
>> Tim Wildmon: Okay.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Now you can travel with a passport.
>> Tim Wildmon: I do have a passport.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yes.
>> Christopher Woodward: And that could work to prove who you are as well, because that has a photo. your passport or passport book has at least one photo of you. Some passports now have a color and a black point.
>> Tim Wildmon: Is that a real id, which is what the Kristi Noem and others are talking about right now. A real ID beyond just a, driver's ah, license. It's a driver's license with a star.
>> Christopher Woodward: Yes, yes.
>> Tim Wildmon: And you gotta have that or they're not gonna let you on the airplane. That's what you're saying. That's gonna be traumatizing to people who go the airport for their vacation this summer and can't get on the plane if they don't have this.
>> Christopher Woodward: Very true.
>> Ed Vitagliano: And it's, I think it's scannable. Okay. That star or something in the driver's license can be scanned. In other words, you can't go down and talk to Billy, who's behind the KFC and get a fake id.
>> Christopher Woodward: For example.
>> Tim Wildmon: I wonder if this is part in part to counteract the, blue states who are giving driver's license to illegal aliens. Do you know that? Well, they, some of the blue states are giving driver's license to people who are here illegally.
>> Ed Vitagliano: I don't know if they're giving real IDs or not. That's a good question. We're giving real IDs. That's, that's problematic.
>> Christopher Woodward: Yeah. We have been airing a story today on afn. I know radio wise, we've aired a couple of, real ID stories already once, that posts on afn, Net. I'll share it on the Today's Issues Facebook page. It is a big story. And you're going to be hearing more about it between now and May 7, because that's the day it's set to go into effect.
>> Ed Vitagliano: And we're just talking a couple of weeks away, right? Yeah.
>> Christopher Woodward: And it's been a. I mean, I've been. I've been here almost 15 years now. I've been covering Real ID for at least 10 years here. And the concerns over that's just, you.
>> Tim Wildmon: Know, this one of the stories I've missed. I just haven't out.
>> Ed Vitagliano: I'm the same.
>> Tim Wildmon: You've been.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah, well, I wasn't paying attention.
>> Christopher Woodward: And see, that's to Tim's point. People are going to show up at Reagan National Airport or wherever going. I've never heard of this. What do you mean? I got to have a star on my license?
>> Ed Vitagliano: Yeah.
>> Tim Wildmon: You know, Chris has been living this alone. You know, I'm with this.
>> Ed Vitagliano: He's been carrying his burden.
>> Tim Wildmon: He's had this story for how many years have you been covering it?
>> Christopher Woodward: I would probably say ten years. I mean, I've been doing interviews on this and the concerns over it since.
>> Tim Wildmon: Here we are. And yet Ed and I evidently, have had our heads in the sand.
>> Ed Vitagliano: It's a tough place to proverbial pelican. The pelican with its head in the sand.
>> Tim Wildmon: Is it the pelican?
>> Ed Vitagliano: No, I'm pretty sure it's the ostrich.
>> Tim Wildmon: Yeah, yeah, that one. That one, yeah.
>> Christopher Woodward: pelican might identify as an ostrich, which is a part of another story.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Tell. we're coming up here on a break, but tell our listeners.
American Family Radio broadcasts radio and print news about real ID
You mentioned afn. That's number M. What does that stand for? And how do. Why do we do this? How do people get tied into that?
>> Christopher Woodward: Thank you very much. AFN stands for American Family News. The great thing about AFN is that it's radio and print news. So if you like to get your news audibly, listen to us at the top of every hour on American Family radio and about 100 non AFR stations that now air our radio newscasts. You can also find those stories and a whole Bunch more on afn.net for the print version of all that information.
>> Tim Wildmon: Chris, if someone wanted to go back and read your archived stories of the last 10 years about the real ID, where can they do that?
>> Christopher Woodward: Yeah, you can go to, afn.net and type in real ID in the search box at the top of the page and you'll find all that information.
>> Tim Wildmon: That's what I'm talking about.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Well, I'm doing it right now. Real id.
>> Tim Wildmon: I'm going to go to my car.
>> Christopher Woodward: Here at afs, some information will appear. We've updated our website a few times.
>> Tim Wildmon: See if my driver's license got a star on it or not. So if I got a star, I'm good. If I don't, I'm gonna be denied entry.
>> Christopher Woodward: And, you could probably face an uphill battle.
>> Tim Wildmon: I do have passport, though. All right.
>> Ed Vitagliano: Hey, here's stories.
>> Tim Wildmon: That's what you want. Hey. Yeah, I'd read them all. I'd just take a few hours to read them all. We'll be back momentarily with more of today's issues after this short, break for news. Stay with us.
>> Ed Vitagliano: The views and opinions expressed in this broadcast may not necessarily reflect those of the American Family association or American Family Radio.
