2023
March
07
Tuesday

Monitor Daily Podcast

March 07, 2023
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When I was visiting Boston from my home in Southern California last week, photos of extraordinary snowstorms in the Golden State hit my social media news feed like a blizzard. Snow atop the Hollywood sign in Los Angeles? That was definitely worth a bunch of “wow” emojis.

But since my return on Friday, I can see this situation involves a lot more serious kind of “wows” than beautiful pictures of snow-draped mountains with palm trees. Almost two weeks after this epic snowfall, many residents who live in the San Bernardino Mountains east of LA remain trapped in their homes, some without power and unable to get to food and medicine.

More than 8 feet of snow fell in the region, which is a popular recreational and residential area. Snowstorms have buried California’s mountain communities from Tahoe in the north to Yosemite National Park, which is closed indefinitely. The governor has declared a state of emergency in 13 counties, and that unleashes extra help, including from the California National Guard.

In San Bernardino County, officials admit they were not prepared to handle the deluge. Snow fell so fast their plows could not handle it, and there wasn’t enough time to bring in special removal equipment, they’ve said. In the meantime, they’ve cleared more than 450 miles of road and set up food distribution sites, but residents are angry and say officials aren’t moving fast enough.

As so often happens in a crisis, though, the residents themselves have stepped up. Volunteers and organizations have formed a group called Operation Mountain Strong to bring supplies to people who are stranded. The effort involves churches, businesses, and residents, who are getting food and other essentials to people by car, on foot, and by helicopter.

Meanwhile, more storms are on the way, and forecasters are warning about flooding. But there is an upside to what has been a very challenging winter. After three bone-dry years, more than half of California is out of drought and rapidly moving toward complete emergence.


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Today’s stories

And why we wrote them

A surprising number of Democrats in Congress, as well as President Joe Biden, back a measure that nullifies Washington, D.C.’s new criminal code. In this case, crime trumps D.C. home rule.

Aaron Wilson/MEAC
The "Fab Five" athletic directors oversee sports in five of the eight schools in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. They are (from left to right) Melody Webb from Norfolk State University, Keshia Campbell from South Carolina State University, Dena Freeman-Patton from Morgan State University, Tara Owens from the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, and Alecia Shields-Gadson from Delaware State University.

Three of every four athletic directors across the NCAA are male. But in one conference, women are the majority. Here’s a look inside a sports revolution.

NICK ROLL
Mariama Jobarteh co-wrote a “child-friendly” version of Gambia’s Truth, Reconciliation, and Reparations Commission report so that students can understand their country’s past – and help create a better future.

A “child-friendly” report in newly post-dictatorship Gambia gets to the heart of a universal truth: To avoid future atrocities, past ones must be remembered.

To fully gauge the dangers posed by white Christian nationalism, a religion scholar and former evangelical shares his insights into the connection between some strands of evangelicalism and political extremism, such as the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. 


The Monitor's View

Reuters
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol

On Monday, the president of South Korea, Yoon Suk Yeol, offered a plan to end a cycle of revenge between his country and Japan. Ties between the two neighbors have declined in recent years over how to resolve issues left over from Japan’s 1910-1945 occupation of the Korean peninsula. At the heart of Mr. Yoon’s plan is an intriguing idea: that any apology or reparations from Japan must be voluntary.

As a former prosecutor, Mr. Yoon probably knows an apology is a dish best served with warm sincerity. His plan indirectly acknowledges that Japan did offer massive compensation to South Korea in 1965 for its past rule and to formalize postwar relations. It also seems to recognize the broad apologies offered by the Japanese emperor and government in the 1990s.

What’s lingered since then has been political demands within South Korea for direct Japanese apologies and compensation to the remaining Koreans who labored in colonial-era war factories or military brothels. Mr. Yoon’s plan leaves a door open for that still to happen. But he indicated in a March 1 speech that Japan deserves recognition for its postwar progress.

“Japan has transformed from a militarist aggressor of the past into a partner that shares the same universal values with us,” he said. The two nations, both democracies, also face rising military threats from North Korea and China and a need to form a better three-way alliance with the United States.

One of the plan’s concrete steps calls for Korean companies that benefited from Japan’s postwar compensation to make “voluntary donations” to a public foundation that will assist 15 wartime victims. In return, officials in Tokyo suggest Japanese companies might contribute to a foundation that would pay for “future-oriented” activities aimed at Korean youth. Japan’s officials also hint they may reassert the “deep remorse and heartfelt apology” given to South Koreans more than a quarter century ago.

In recent decades, South Korean politics has thrived off anti-Japanese sentiments. Mr. Yoon, who came to power last May, brought in a different sensibility. Already his plan has seen results. Since the plan was unveiled, the two governments have begun to back off trade threats made in the recent past. Japan might invite Mr. Yoon for a visit to Tokyo and to the G-7 summit in Hiroshima in May.

The two governments have worked closely for months to reach this moment. Mr. Yoon’s plan may fail in the heat of Korean politics. But at the least, he’s shown that real reconciliation relies on voluntary action, often unilaterally and from the heart. “For the sake of our people, the vicious circle should be broken,” said South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin. “I hope this will become a historic window of opportunity for us to go beyond antagonism and conflict.”


A Christian Science Perspective

About this feature

A new perspective can feel like a refreshing breeze. This is certainly the case when we discover more about God and yield to His ever-present healing power.


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Eloisa Lopez/Reuters
Volunteers in Pola, Oriental Mindoro, Philippines, help clean up an oil spill from the MT Princess Empress on March 7, 2023. The fuel tanker sank last week off the coast of Naujan. Its cargo of industrial oil is leaking, threatening coastal waters and coral reefs, and covering pristine beaches with sludge. The pollution has forced fishers to suspend their work as well. Efforts are underway to pinpoint the exact location of the ship and to begin cleanup efforts.
( The illustrations in today’s Monitor Daily are by Karen Norris. )

A look ahead

Thanks for joining us. Please come back tomorrow when we’ll have a story from Ukraine, where Scott Peterson spoke with Ukrainian troops at five different points along the war’s eastern front.

More issues

2023
March
07
Tuesday
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