- Brett Kavanaugh is nowa US Supreme Court Justice
despite a brutal confirmation process
including sexual assaultclaims against him.
The final vote confirmingKavanaugh came Saturday
with 50 votes for and 48 against.
It was the closest roll call
to confirm a Justice since 1881.
Kavanaugh was sworn in later that evening
by Chief Justice John Roberts
and retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy.
Four other Justices were also on hand
for the quiet ceremony heldwith Kavanaugh and his family.
In the wake of what has to be
the most dramatic confirmationhearing of all time,
leaders on both sides agreed
the Democratic and Republican parties
are as divided as ever, andboth believe what happened
with the Kavanaugh hearinghas energized their bases
and expect to see the results of that
in the November midterm election.
Another element of the still hotly debated
following Kavanaugh's confirmation
is what this means forvictims of sexual assault.
There were women bothfor and against Kavanaugh
following the abuse claims against him.
Joining me now to discuss the fall-out
both politically andculturally is Jenna Ellis
with the Dr. James Dobson Family Institute
and Siraj Hasmi of theWashington Examiner.
Thank you both for joining us.
First of all, let's begin talking about
the politics, Siraj.
How do you think this will play out
heading into the November election?
- But as soon as youbrought in these allegations
of sexual assault againsta highly qualified jurist
serving on the DC appellatecourt for 12 years,
this really united Republicans
because, based on what weactually were presented,
the evidence from Dr.Christine Blasey Ford
to Julie Swetnick to Debbie Ramirez,
it's highly uncorroborated
and there was not enough evidence
to support these allegations.
So Republicans, and MitchMcConnell said this best,
nothing unites Republicansmore than a court fight.
And Senate Democrats probably pulled
every dirty political trick in the book
and really united Republicans in a way
that few have actuallythought would happen.
And Democrats actually havea steeper hill to climb,
not only in the Senate,but also in the House,
when it comes to November
because if you come up againsta united Republican base,
that's gonna spell trouble foryou in the midterm election.
- Jenna, what are you thoughts there?
- I would agree with Siraj
to the extent that this really has
definitely galvanized the base.
I think that for the faithbased communities as well.
I mean the reason that manyof us, myself included,
voted for Donald Trumpin the 2016 election
is because we were so concerned
about the future of the Supreme Court
and not allowing an activist agenda
to continue for the next 30 to 40 years.
And so the fact that the Democratscame out so transparently
against any potential nominee
before they even knewBrett Kavanaugh's name
and then the fact that theywere just so transparent
that this was a political hit job,
that really will, I think,show in the midterm elections
that people who may otherwise sit home
will now say you know what,this could be my father,
my brother, my son that is at the point
of these types of allegations
and we need to protectfundamental due process,
we need to make surethat we are getting out
and voting for conservative values
to protect and preserve liberty for all,
which means fundamentalfairness and due process.
- Now let's get to theculture debate, if you will,
which will probably go onlong after the election.
Jenna, we'll begin with you.
Liberal women's groupslike the Women's March
are calling it, quote, the dying gas
of an out-of-touch establishment
trying to stave off the #MeToo movement
and the Women's Wave.
Your thoughts on that statement?
- Well, I wrote a piece forNational Review last week
about why women shouldstand for Brett Kavanaugh,
and we need to understand what's happening
in the culture here.
For women to say that,in order to be pro-women,
you have to be anti-man,
that's just not fundamentally consistent
with not only the Christian world view,
but the American fundamental values
of liberty and freedom for all.
Of course, there arelegitimate, true victims
and there are false accusations.
That's why we have dueprocess in the court context.
But what's happening in culture
is that we are beingpresumptively anti-man,
and this is actually going back
to everything that the civilrights movement was against
in the 1960s, that therewere presumptions of guilt
based on race and color.
Now, if we're doing that based on gender,
we are back into undoing everything
that the civil rights movement stood for.
And so we have to understand
that this is a cultural issue,not just a political one.
- Siraj, a colleague ofyours at the Examiner
wrote about Taylor Swiftcoming out and saying
she couldn't vote forRepublican Marsha Blackburn
in Tennessee, despite thefact that she's a woman,
obviously not lining up withher politically or socially.
Is this an example you thinkof the divide in our nation
even among women?
- Well it's an interesting time
for Taylor Swift to come outand support Phil Bredesen
who, only days beforethe confirmation vote
for Brett Kavanaugh, announcedthat he would vote yes
for Brett Kavanaugh.
So a lot of the things that Taylor Swift
seems to be coming out in support of,
whether it be humanrights, equality rights,
women's pay, LGBTQ rights,
those are all things that Democrats
have said that BrettKavanaugh's all against.
So for Phil Bredesen to sayhe's in support of Kavanaugh,
that's pretty contradictoryto what Taylor Swift
is in support of.
At the same time, this cultural divide,
it's pretty funny, really, tothink of this proxy war now
between Taylor Swift and Kanye West
coming from the 2009MTV Video Music Awards
in which Kanye West hasbecome a giant Trump acolyte,
and now Taylor Swift, who has withheld
her political opinionsfor the last two years
finds this time to come out
and voice her political opinions.
Yeah, it absolutely is an interesting time
for celebrities to come out into the fray
and voice their political opinions.
I do reject the notion that if a celebrity
is good at one thing that they can't voice
their political opinions.
They should be allowed tovoice their political opinions.
We should just be allowedto criticize them for it.
- Jenna, your thoughts there?
- Yeah, I would agree with that,
that every person who's a voter in America
has a right to speak their views.
I mean that's the fundamentalnotion of freedom of speech
that we can advance ourideas in the marketplace.
But what's happened is thatthere are only certain voices
that Women's March groups,Planned Parenthood,
progressive left want to accept.
If you look at what the Women'sMarch posted this morning
with this banner overSusan Collins' picture
saying that she's now a rape apologist,
that's what the left is all about.
They are supportive ofwomen only who agree
with their particular agenda.
That's not equality for all.
That's not being pro-women.
That's being pro-agenda.
And so what we have to rememberas an evangelical community
is that we're voting our values.
We're not just votingfor a political outcome.
We're voting for freedom ofspeech, freedom of association,
and free exercise of religion for all,
and we have to make surethat we're preserving
and protecting our fundamental values.
That's why Dr. Dobson'sand the Policy Center's
Get Out and Vote campaignis values-centered,
not party advocates.
- Protesters were outragedthat Kavanaugh was confirmed.
Why can't our society takethis into consideration
and not take it as another attack on women
or victims of sexual abuse, Siraj?
- Well the thing is, with Brett Kavanaugh,
and a lot of victimswho had, in their past,
experienced sexual assault,sexual harassment, rape,
they feel dejected right now.
And a lot of them feel thattheir voices weren't heard
and that this is somehow a rejection
of what matters to them.
Jenna put it it perfectlythat accusations,
and false accusationsspecifically, are made all the time
and we have no idea about the legitimacy
of some of these accusationsabout Brett Kavanaugh,
but what we do know and whatthe evidence has presented
is that it cannot be corroborated
that he actually did these things.
And so you have to bring up the question
whether it's a political hit job,
and most signs point towards yes
simply because the politicalleanings of the Supreme Court
definitively shift towards the right
in the conservative direction
with the departure of Anthony Kennedy,
who was largely thoughtto be a swing vote,
even though he wasappointed by Ronald Reagan,
to now John Roberts whowas appointed by Bush
as being the swing vote
because Brett Kavanaughis a conservative jurist
who basically comes up with his opinions
as a textualist of the Constitution.
- We're about out of time,
but Jenna, I'll give youthe final word there.
- Yeah, and so what conservatives
and also even the left need to realize
is that this is one confirmation.
And in the context of the public opinion,
everyone has a right to be heard
because we have freedom of speech.
But you don't have a right to be believed.
You can advocate for your values
in the court of public opinion,
but when it comes down toevery individual instance,
we can't go in andalways share our opinion
on every single case and instance.
So you have to separate this one instance
and the lack of corroboration
with the bigger overall thingthat we all can agree on,
which is that sexualassault is morally wrong,
but also, due processfairly protects those
who are merely accusedbefore we can show proof.
- Siraj Hasmi of the Washington Examiner
and Jenna Ellis, thank youso much both for your time.
- [Jenna and Siraj] Thank you.
- The manhunt is still underway
for the man who shot andkilled two people in Israel.
He's believed to be aPalestinian terrorist
who was employed as an electrician
in the plant where the two victims worked.
The 29-year-old mother of one
and the 35-year-old father of three
were shot as they worked inthe Barkan Industrial Zone
near the city of Ariel.
Israeli Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu
described the attack as severe
and said the murderer wouldbe brought to justice.
Now this is the first attackof this kind at the plant
where Israelis and Palestinianshave worked together
for some 35 years.
A court ruling in the case of Asia Bibi,
the Christian mother in Pakistan
convicted of blasphemy has been postponed
after Islamic extremistsrioted over the weekend.
The Pakistan Supreme Court said
they'll delay their announcement.
Joining us now with more on that
is senior internationalcorrespondent Gary Lane.
He's covered this storyclosely for many years
and has met severaltimes with Asia's family.
So Gary, what happenedthat was supposed to happen
for the decision here today.- Well,
Asia had waited for manyyears for this day, Efrem.
She wanted to have herappeal finally heard.
- Absolutely.
- Two years ago was set to be heard
by the Pakistani Supreme Court,
but one of the justiceson the three-member panel
recused himself, so she'sbeen waiting for two years now
to finally have her day.
So today was supposed to be the day.
The Supreme Court feltintimidated by this mob
and felt that they should back off
and not make the announcementon their decision
until there has been somecalm and time passed.
- A further delay.
Now some of our viewersmay be new to this story.
Give us an idea, who is Asia Bibi
and some background on what happened
to this Pakistani Christian.- Asia Bibi
is a mother of two biological children.
She had about three otherchildren that are step-children.
But she, in June 2009, shewas working in a fruit orchard
and some of her Muslim colleagues said
Asia, go fetch us some water.
So she went to get them some water,
she came back with the water,
and they threw her down and said
well this has been contaminated,
it's been desecrated bya Christian, an infidel.
And so they wouldn't take it,
they had an argument that ensued,
and in that argument, Efrem,some words back and forth
and they said something toher about her Christian faith.
She responded.
She said well, my Jesus has saved me.
What has your prophet ever done for you?
And out of that, a mob camearound, started beating her,
police took her away and shewas charged with blasphemy
against the prophet Mohammed.
Now blasphemy againstMohammed in Pakistan,
if you're convicted ofthat, the sentence is death.
- [Efrem] Indeed.
How is she doing?
- Well, she's had some medicalchallenges over the years.
She's had some stomach issues.
Apparently, she had someissues with her stomach
in a solitary cell.
There have been attempts to poison her,
so that's why she's in solitaryand cooks her own food,
does her own housekeeping of her cell.
In addition to that, therehave been some thoughts
that she may be getting dementia
and also suffer from depression.
So it's nine and a halfyears for something
that she claims she neverdid or said and here we are.
We're waiting for the results.
- What may happen next?
- Well, this is the final appeal,
and if the court has saidthat Asia is not guilty,
then a mob could come as wesaw right in our own capital,
mobs trying to get their own way.
But in this case, they get very violent
and they intimidate the justices.
They may come and takematters into their own hands
and kill her.
So that's why, if it is apositive decision in her favor,
that she needs to be takenout of the country silently,
in the quiet of night,covertly so she will be safe.
And her family members as well.
There are a number of countries
that have offered her asylum.
- Indeed.
Well, we'll certainlycontinue to pray, Gary.
Thank you so much.- Yes,
we need to be praying for her,
- That's right.- her safety
and that of her family.
- Absolutely.
Thank you, Gary.
Coming up, upgraded fromtropical storm to hurricane,
Michael is headed forthe coast of Florida.
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Michael is now a hurricane
as it moves toward the Gulf of Mexico.
Forecasters say it could strengthen
into a major hurricane withwinds topping 111 miles an hour.
One projected path shows it hitting
the Florida panhandle andmoving into southeast Alabama
into Georgia, SouthCarolina, and North Carolina.
It could make landfall asa category two hurricane.
Meanwhile, the Florida governor
has already declared a state of emergency.
People in the Carolinas are hoping
Michael takes a different path.
They are still on thelong road to recovery
from Hurricane Florence.
More than 4,300 homes were damaged,
homes like Julia McGriff's.
She was hospitalized after themold became too much for her,
but that's when OperationBlessing stepped in to help.
- [Reporter] When Julia McGriff
returned to New Bern, North Carolina
after Hurricane Florence,she didn't realize
how much damage had been done to her home.
- My thought was my house had survived.
I could mop up the floors,I could wash down things,
and I could stay here.
- [Reporter] But she couldn't.
The two to three feet of floodwater
had ruined almost everything she owned.
- The refrigerator, the stove.
My deep freezer, itstopped working completely.
Drywall has to be removed.
Cabinets had to removed,the bottom cabinets.
I was looking at thingsthat I thought I could keep
and come to find out, even if it dry out,
the mold will still be there.
- [Reporter] She salvaged a few things
and put them in storage.
After just a few days,
the mold actually landedJulia in the hospital
with breathing trouble.
- I just wanted to holler and scream.
- [Reporter] When she heardabout Operation Blessing's
disaster relief efforts andwe sent a team out to help,
things started to change.
- Like a calvary.
They come in ready to workand they did. (laughs)
(loose drywall bangs)
- [Reporter] We movedcabinets, took out drywall,
and got everything ready forJulia's house to be dried out
so she can eventually move back home
without worrying aboutmold or breathing problems.
- It's like kind of a burden been lifted.
It just gave me relief, gaveme some relief and happiness
because things are on theway to getting back on track.
- [Reporter] Julia wants to make sure
others get the same help she got.
- Continue your donationsbecause it is really needed
to keep Operation Blessing working
because they don't only do this for us,
they do it for every disaster.
And the people that's in thedisaster really needs that.
Thank you and thank God for you.
- The threat of aftershockshave people in northern Haiti
dragging mattresses and chairs outside.
At least a dozen people were killed
after a strong earthquakestruck over the weekend.
The US Geological Survey saysa 5.9 magnitude earthquake hit
and, not long after that, a 5.2 aftershock
rattled northern Haiti.
More than 150 people were also injured.
Emergency authorities sayvictims are without electricity.
Homes and hospitalshave become overcrowded.
And still ahead, Houston Texan Andre Hal
has a powerful story of faithin the face of the big C.
Stay with us.
Playing pro football haseven more significance
for Houston Texan's Andre Hal.
After being diagnosed withHodgkin's lymphoma in June,
he is now saying he is in remission.
Joining us more withthis powerful faith story
is Shawn Brown with CBN Sports.
So Hal, a safety with the Texans
and says he didn't want chemo
because he didn't want tomiss playing ball this year.
- Yeah, man.
Hey, look, this is a now league,
coming off a strong season in 2017,
came in the league in 2014.
Started out as a cornerback, now safety.
Just signed a three yeardeal with Houston last season
and then, early this season, obviously,
he was diagnosed with cancer.
No one really knowshow to respond to that,
but in dealing with that,if he's not on the field
and you can't play, it's kinda hard
to fulfill your commitment.
And so he wants to be on the field.
He wanted to continue in that process.
So yeah, he chose a different form.
Naturally, they would do chemo,
but chemo can take a toll on your body
and he didn't want anythingmessing with his body.
He said, you know what, we'regonna do a different option.
He chose to do Rituxan, Ibelieve, which is not as harsh.
You take it through IV.
He did that for about a month
and then, after about a month,
he realized that there wassomething going on with his brain
and then he started doingvitamin C infusions,
I believe he said.
And then, believe it ornot, the cancer was gone,
the stuff in his brain was gone,
and now, he's actuallyjust kind of waiting
to find out if he's able to play.
Physically, he feels good andit's like he's ready to play.
- Wow.
And I imagine, in light of all this
and what we're seeing thus far,
he's giving credit to God for healing.
- He is.
You know, a lot of people wonder
what faith has to dowith professional sports.
What does faith have to dowith professional sports?
Well, you look at football players,
these guys are puttingtheir bodies through,
I mean, they're just going through it
every single Sunday, Thursday,Monday, whenever they play
and, at any moment, they could be injured.
You know what I mean?
And their bread and butteris being on the field.
And so it's not too far fetched
to think that a playerwho has a solid foundation
is gonna put God before everything else
because you don't know whatyour future's gonna hold.
- Absolutely.
- And for Andre, that's it.
He said look, man, God is everything,
my faith is what hasgotten me through this.
And one of the thingsI wrote down he said,
he says once I feltnormal, I started to heal,
in one of the press conferences.
Once he started to feel normal.
And normal, for him, means reading books,
making sure his mind was right,
making sure he was takingthe right approach,
surrounding himself withplayers, like-minded players,
to make sure that his focus was
hey, I've got this, God's gotthis, I'm not worried at all.
And so, yes, his faith means everything
before that and thenthroughout this process.
And so it always...
It's always interesting when people say
what does faith have to dowith professional sports.
Well, it's not just when they're sick,
but it also covers them before that,
and then when you gothrough something like this,
you have something stronger than yourself
because sometimes we're not strong enough
to deal with those thingsphysically or mentally.
You definitely want to tryto lean on the higher power
and that's what he's doingand I think it's fantastic
that he hopefully will make it back soon.
- Well, good deal.
Any idea when we will know if he'll be...
- I believe he's stillwaiting to be cleared.
- Okay.
- I looked at the depth chart.
He's not on the depth chart,at least not right now.
In that presser, he saidthat he's just kinda
waiting for clearance.
He's listed as reserve for illness,
and then once he's cleared to play,
I'm sure he'll be back and causing damage
(Efrem laughs)
to those offenses.
But it is fantastic to see
and I'm glad that he's been cured of that
- Yeah.
- as of right now, soit's pretty fantastic.
- All praise to God.
Thank you, Shawn.- Yeah, man.
- Much appreciated.
- So welcome.- Always good to have you
right here.
Thank you.
A powerful moment of worship and ministry
with Chrstian music star Lauren Daigle.
See how she shares her love of Christ
with those behind bars.
That story is coming up after this.
(dramatic music)
Lauren Daigle is one ofthe most popular artists
in contemporary Christian music right now.
Her amazing voice with songs like You Say
draw listeners of all ages.
She says her visit toStatesville Correction Prison
was a day more than I can articulate
and that's a direct quote.
She posted this video aboutthe visit on her Facebook page.
She went to lead worship and said
she saw hope in the face of the hopeless,
joy in the wake of sorrow,
wealth in the gap of depravity,
and life in the midst of death.
Take a look.
Says the inmates' voicescarry deeper into our hearts
than the echo of amicrophone will ever release.
Well that's gonna do it
for this edition of CBN Newswatch.
Remember you can find moreof our exclusive coverage
of the issues you caremost about at CBNNews.com.
We'd also love to know
what you think about thestories you've seen here today.
You can do that byemailing newswatch@cbn.com.
You can also reach out and touch us
on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Hope you will join usagain right here next time.
Make it a marvelous Monday.
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