- Today is Monday, November 19th.

Here is what's ahead.

The President says a sit down meeting

with Special Counsel RobertMueller is not likely.

We're gonna break downthe latest developments

in the Russia investigation.

Plus, we're gonna show youhow this pregnancy center

is getting dads involvedin saving the lives

of unborn babies.

And more than funny.

Award-winning comedian Michael Jr.

shares the message from God

that changed the way he tells jokes.

- [Announcer] This is CBN Newswatch.

- And thank you so much for joining us.

I'm Efrem Graham.

President Donald Trump says

that he is preparing to submit his answers

to Special Counsel Robert Mueller

in the Russia collusion investigation

and he is standing behindhis acting Attorney General,

Matthew Whitaker.

The President says he's completed

his written answers for Mueller,

telling Fox News he wrote them himself.

The President added a sitdown interview with Mueller

is not likely.

- I think we've wasted enoughtime on this witch hunt.

And the answer's probably we're finished.

There was no collusion whatsoever

and the whole thing is a scam.

- [Efrem] And the President says

that Whitaker will have the authority

to limit the investigation.

- It's gonna be up to him.

- But you won't overrule himif he decides to curtail.

- I would not get involved.

- And senior internationalcorrespondent Dale Hurd

joins us now with more on this story.

So when will the Presidentsubmit those answers

to Robert Mueller?

- Good question.

I think that the lawyersare still going over them.

It's interesting that one question

he will not be submitting,an answer to a question,

is about obstruction.

He insists there is noobstruction of justice.

- Now former AttorneyGeneral Jeff Sessions

took a lot of heat from the President

for recusing himself from the probe.

What's the future like

under acting Attorney General Whitaker?

- Democrats would likehim to recuse himself.

In the past, he's said things like...

He was on CNN saying thatyou don't have to kill the,

you don't have to fire Mueller,

you can just cut the funding

and the investigation will peter out.

And he's flat out said that there has been

no Russian collusion, sothe Democrats, of course,

are not happy.

- No, indeed.

How are they responding

in light of thosestatements that he's made?

- Well, they think that he is a part of,

he's going to become a partof a continuing cover up.

Adam Schiff, the Democratic leader,

is calling his appointmentunconstitutional,

so this is not over yet.

- No, not over, indeed.

Dale Hurd, thank you so much

for following this story for us today.

Want to take a look now

at some of the other majorstories we're following for you

inside the CBN newsroom today.

President Donald Trumpvisited California Saturday

to survey the devastation left behind

from wildfires across the state.

The President continued to show skepticism

about the impact of climatechange on the wildfires,

saying there were a lot of factors.

At least 77 people diedfrom the Camp fire.

and fire authorities arestill trying to locate

nearly 1,000 people.

Residents held a vigil Sunday

to remember those who were killed.

Senator Bill Nelson endedhis re-election bid Sunday

by conceding to Republican Senator,

Florida's outgoing governor, Rick Scott.

Nelson gave up the fight

when the results ofthe hand recount showed

he trailed Scott bymore than 10,000 votes.

Nelson and the Democratshad filed several lawsuits

over the recount, but a federaljudge rejected most of them.

Florida will not officiallycertify those results though

until tomorrow.

Hundreds of Tijuanaresidents are protesting

the thousands of Central American migrants

who are camped out awaitingentry into the United States.

Tijuana residents waved Mexican flags,

sang the Mexican nationalanthem, and chanted, "Out, out."

They accuse the migrantsof being messy, ungrateful,

and a danger to Tijuana.

They also complained about

how the caravan forcedits way into Mexico,

calling it an invasion.

And you can find moreon all of these stories

throughout the day at CBNNews.com.

Lawmakers may be in a lame duck session

the next few weeks, butthere's still a few bills

they must get passed before the new year.

Abigail Robertson brings usmore now from Washington.

- Congress has just a few weeksto agree on a spending bill

or we could see a partialgovernment shutdown in December.

- As long as Trump doesn't interfere,

we can move the government forward.

- [Abigail] One possible hang-up

is the $5 billion President Trump wants

to begin his promised border wall.

Schumer says Republicans and Democrats

agreed on $1.6 billion towardsstrengthening the border

through physical barriers aswell as technology like drones.

The question remainsif that will be enough

to get the President's signature.

- We need the money to build the wall,

the whole wall, not pieces of it all over.

- [Abigail] Senate MajorityLeader Mitch McConnell

feels confident they'llcome to an agreement

before parts of the government shut down.

- No, we're not gonna do that.

- [Abigail] Another issue that could lead

to a dramatic year end in the Senate

is a bipartisan effortto secure a floor vote

on a bill that protectsSpecial Counsel Robert Mueller

and his investigation.

- We want to make sure

that the acting AttorneyGeneral does not interfere

with the Mueller investigation

and we believe our Republicancolleagues will join us.

- [Abigail] RetiringRepublican Senator Jeff Flake

will not vote to advance orconfirm any judicial nominees

until the SpecialCounsel bill gets a vote.

- How in the world mycolleagues don't see this

as priority now, I just don't understand,

so it does need to cometo the Senate floor

and I think it's worth usinga little leverage here.

- [Abigail] McConnelldoesn't think the legislation

is necessary.

- I've never heard anybody down there say

they want to shut it down.

I think it's in no danger

and so I don't think anylegislation is necessary.

- [Abigail] In the House,Republicans elected

Kevin McCarthy as theirnew Minority Leader,

while Nancy Pelosi is workingto quiet a growing opposition

within her party that could prevent her

from becoming the nextSpeaker of the House.

- I intend to win the speakershipwith Democratic votes.

I happen to think that, at this point,

I'm the best person for that.

- So far, no Democrats have come forward

to challenge Pelosi, butthe vote on the next Speaker

won't happen until January.

Reporting from Capitol Hill,Abigail Robertson, CBN News.

- And coming up, awomen's pregnancy center

that offers guidance for men.

See how this center is helping fathers

in the fight for life

(dramatic music)

There are nearly 3,000crisis pregnancy centers

across America.

Most focus on women caughtin an unplanned pregnancy.

One Florida center choosesa different approach.

As Charlene Aaron shows us,it helps expectant fathers.

- [Charlene] Located nextto Florida State University,

A Women's Pregnancy Center in Tallahassee

addresses the critical needsof unplanned pregnancies

in its community.

Started in 1985, its main mission

is to rescue babies from abortion,

offering free pregnancy testing,

adoption referrals, and ultrasounds.

- 80% of our clients willcarry their babies to term.

- Yet babies aren't theonly ones saved here.

A Women's Pregnancy Centeralso has a ministry for men

which encourages fathersto stand in the gap

and fight for life, for theirchildren, and their families.

- We've had men walk in the door

and say I need help with my girlfriend.

Or I've got a situation

I've gotten a girl pregnant

and I don't know how to help her.

Or my girlfriend just called me.

She's driving back from Jacksonville.

She tried to have anabortion, she couldn't get it,

and I just found out she's pregnant

and she wants me to get heran abortion in Tallahassee

and I don't know what to do.

- [Charlene] In the center'sJust for Men program,

trained male counselorswork one-on-one with men

seeking answers about fatherhood and life.

- I've counseled them many times

with the girl in the room with us

and it's a woman talking to a man

and I know the impact that it has.

But then, I'll connect him to the man,

and I'll see his body language change,

I'll see his eyes startlooking at the male counselor,

he's engaged.

- We're just trying to bring to the men

an understanding of the value of life

and the sanctity of life.

- [Charlene] The center also offers

an abortion recovery program.

Counselor Harold Francis oftenshares his personal story

to help others like him.

- My wife and I, whenwe first got married,

we'd only been married about 10 months,

we did have an abortion.

- [Charlene] He receivedmuch needed healing

after completing the coursebased on biblical principles.

- I think that I had asked many times

for God's forgiveness for what I had done.

It opened it up to me that, you know,

there were issues in my life

that I hadn't forgiven myself for,

which is directly related to the abortion.

- [Charlene] That enableshim to counsel other men

through their pain.

- I've had guys tell me in that room

things that they havenever shared with anybody

in their entire life.

I'm 69 and there's a youngAfrican American in there

that's 19 years old and,at the end of the session,

we're both crying and hugging each other.

- [Charlene] Daume oftensees that healing extend

to other family members.

- We've had fathers,oh my gosh, go from...

We're talking 50-year-old men

bringing their 16-year-old daughter here

thinking that abortion was the best thing,

and then meeting with a male counselor

and coming out of that room

saying to his 16-year-old daughter,

baby girl, we've got this.

You don't have to do this.

I'm here for you.

We're gonna make this work.

- [Charlene] Practicalneeds must also be addressed

for the soon-to-be dads.

- A lot of them are in toughsituations financially.

They're in between jobs,they're looking for jobs,

they haven't been working and they realize

I really need to step up my game

and actually go out and get a job now.

I give them assistanceand try to help them

with their job search andhelp them with their resumes.

- [Charlene] Several menhave even come to Christ.

- We've had men not evencome in to the center,

but the women give us permissionto call her boyfriend.

And the male counselorcalled the boyfriend

and the boyfriend is kind of going

really, you're interested in me?

Really, you think my opinion matters?

Wow.

And then he'll start a conversation.

And we've had counselors actually

lead them to Jesus on thephone, not expecting it at all,

not expecting this phone callto be that kind of moment.

- [Charlene] The kind ofmoment the staff here call

nothing short of miraculous.

Charlene Aaron, CBN News,Tallahassee, Florida.

- Up next, he's thestand-up who's been featured

on Leno, Kimmel, and Oprah,

but he also enjoys telling jokes

to a much different kind of crowd.

See how Michael Jr. isusing comedy as ministry.

We've got the story when we come back.

(dramatic music)

And welcome back to CBN Newswatch.

A television spot froma pro-abortion group

features a video of a baby girl

to make the case for abortion.

The 40-second video by the Agenda Project

is called The Chosen.

(lullaby chimes)

(baby giggles)

I recently spoke with Laura Ricketts

with the pro-life groupAnd Then There Were None

about the ad.

Here's what she had to say.

So Laura, what's the message of this ad?

- The message of this ad

really reinforces the disconnect

between human in the womb,human out of the womb.

You see, the pro-abortion lobby

needs to reinforce the factthat a baby isn't a baby

unless you decide the baby's a baby.

You see, working with the men and women

who work in the abortion industry,

which is what And ThenThere Were None does,

I can tell you they know.

They know that that's a baby.

But abortion can't survive

if the general public accepts the fact

that humanity begins at conception.

And so the very subtle,very insidious message

of this advertisement is that

you don't get the cute andthe cuddly unless you want it.

It's not there really.

And that's a very dangerousmessage to be spreading.

Now we know most pro-abortion groups argue

that, as you said, the baby in the womb

is just a clump of cells,

not a human being deserving of protection.

It would seem, though, thisargument goes against that.

This ad goes against that.- It does.

It does.

And that's why, on the surface,

those of us who are pro-life are appalled.

But you see, when you workin the abortion industry,

or a woman who receives an abortion,

it's very hard to admit toyourself what you already know.

And what you already knowis that that is a child.

The men and women who workin the abortion industry

know it's a baby.

They know because theyhave to see that baby.

They have to see the baby

while they're performing the abortion.

But in order for abortionto survive as an industry,

the women who go and have abortions

have to be able to somehowdisconnect themselves

from that reality,

and that's what thisadvertisement reinforces.

- And this ad is from the Agenda Project.

Can you tell us what youknow about this group?

- To be honest with you,

we don't know much about this group

except that they appearto be very well funded.

Anytime any group comesand shows their face,

particularly the pro-abortion groups,

you need to follow the money,

see where the money comes from.

There are a lot of deep pockets

that fund the abortion industryfrom the inside and out,

and I would say this groupis most likely no different.

- Is this the first thingwe're seeing from this group,

or have you seen other things?

- To be honest with you, I don't know.

And Then There Were None focuseson assisting men and women

leaving their jobs inthe abortion industry,

so when we see something like this pop up,

we figure, well, thisis just another avenue

that the abortionconglomerate, if you will,

is taking to try to push their agenda

to try to brainwash,really, the American people.

- Oh, I tell you.

Laura Ricketts with AndThen There Were None,

thank you so much for your insight

and for joining us today.

- Thank you.

- Shifting gears, comedian Michael Jr.

has appeared on The TonightShow, Jimmy Kimmel Live,

and in the surprise hit film, War Room.

Michael commands laughs everytime he takes the stage,

but that is not nearly enoughfor this stand-up star.

In this interview, Michaelshares why his life's passion

is to be more than funny.

(upbeat music)

When Michael Jr. takes the stage...

- My name is Michael Jr.

I'm gonna do some jokes.

(audience cheers)

- [Efrem] Laughter follows.

- And ultrasounds come incolor now, which is ridiculous.

I know it's a black baby.

(audience laughs)

- [Efrem] His talent hasput his name in lights,

landing appearances on The Tonight Show,

Jimmy Kimmel, and Oprah.

Still, with all his success,

the comedian changed hisapproach to his craft.

His focus is now on what he can give

and not so much on what he can get.

- Normally when a comedian gets on stage,

we want to get laughs from people,

and I felt like a shift took place

where I felt like God was saying

instead of trying toget laughs from people,

I want you to give theman opportunity to laugh.

So this changed everything.

So I go on stage and we have a good time,

but it's different, likeI'm way more relaxed,

the audience seems tobe way more responsive,

and then, when I walkoutside, I see a homeless guy.

I'd never seen a homeless guyoutside this club before ever,

but that doesn't meanhe wasn't there before.

- Yeah, wow.- It just means before,

my mindset was to get laughs from people.

So I asked myself, Iwas like what about him,

how can I could give himan opportunity to laugh?

And then four days later,

this lady at one of my eventscame up to me and she said,

"Hey, would you considercoming to the homeless shelter

"where I work at to do comedy?"

And I was like wow.

- (laughs) No.No, no.

I never even thought of such a thing.

Why would you do that?

So I actually went to thatshelter and did comedy.

And then, it was so powerful,

so what we decided to do,we added that to our tour.

So when we would go to a city,we'd find a homeless shelter

or a prison, abused children's facility,

and we would do comedy there

before the big comedy show that night.

- [Efrem] Prisons, shelters,

and children's homeshave been regular stops

on Michael's tours for about nine years,

often sharing toughstories from those visits

on his larger comedy stages, even today.

- And then, when it came timeto film my comedy special,

I was like Why don'tI take my camera crew,

we go out, we find the bestthree stories that we can,

and we put them in themiddle of the jokes.

This isn't a Michael Jr.thing, this is about a family.

People y'all never metbefore heard y'all's story.

We decided to do a comedy show fundraiser

so y'all could have this.

- [Efrem] Michael's idea made this movie,

titled More Than Funny.

- We're filming in front of 4,000 people

at Hope Community Church in Memphis,

but then, suddenly, boom,you're in the woods,

- Yeah.- helping homeless people.

And then, boom, we'reright back to laughing.

- [John] I'm John with Hands of Hope.

We're--- Oh, my god!

(dramatic music)

- [Efrem] The movie is now a movement

with a challenge from Michael Jr.

- A comedian will use anyresource, any talent he has,

to make an audiencethink in one direction.

But a punchline occurs whenhe changes that direction

in a way that they're not expecting.

And when they catch onto that change,

that's actually them actuallyreceiving the punchline

and the results are revelation,fulfillment, and joy,

but it's expressed through laughter.

I felt like God has shown me

that life is very, very similar.

There's a set-up andthen there's a punchline.

Your set-up is the factthat you're married,

you got a car, you got a house.

Your set-up is about what you've received.

But your punchline is aboutwhat you're called to deliver.

And if you don't know your punchline

and you just go all of this set-up,

you'll think what you need tobe fulfilled is more set-up.

If I could just get married.

If I could just make more money.

If I could just get more laughs.

But what you really need toknow is what is your punchline.

- [Efrem] In other words,

how can you make a positive impact?

And with punchliners.com,

Michael has created an online community

to help people find their own punchlines.

- When you catch onto this change,

you have received the punchline.

- [Efrem] It's a life changing connection

Michael'd see on stage

and following one show in particular.

- After the show, security says to me

there's a guy who wants to talk to you

and he's really adamantabout talking to you.

I'm like okay.

So I go out to meet this guy

and you could tell his eyes are puffy

'cause he's been tearing up or something.

And then he says to me, hesaid, "I gotta talk to you."

He said, "The reason Icame to this comedy show

"was 'cause my life isso heavy right now."

He said, "I didn't know what to do

"so I just came to this comedy show."

He said, "But after listeningto what happened here

"and what's going on," he said,"I'm a fugitive of the law

"and I feel like I should turn myself in.

"Would you go with me to turn--"

Like I'm blown back.

Like what in the world?

I'm doing jokes andsharing a little bit of me

and as a response, this guy says

I think I need to get mylife right, turn myself in.

Now the comedian in me is like

was the comedy that bad?(Efrem laughs)

What did I do wrong,you wanna go to prison

instead of being here?

But it was such a powerful moment

and I realized laughter opens up hearts.

But if I'm gonna open up hearts,

I want to make a depositthat's gonna make a change.

- And the positive that'sgonna make a change.

Now to find out where you can catch

one of Michael Jr.'s shows near you,

go to our website, CBNNews.com.

Stay with us, we'll be right back

with much more of CBNNewswatch right after this.

(dramatic music)

And welcome back.

Time now for your Monday inspiration,

and inspire is exactly whatI hope this moment will do.

In giving God thanks forall that's happened in life,

it's also good to thank him for the things

that have not happened.

In case that doesn't makesense, consider this.

Thank you, God, for the crisisthat didn't make me crazy.

Thank you for my lying down last night

that it wasn't my last.

The list goes on and on.

With that, I encourage you to make this

a marvelous Monday.

That is gonna do it for thisedition of CBN Newswatch.

Remember, you can find moreof our exclusive coverage

of the issues you caremost about at CBNNews.com.

And we'd love to know what you think

about the stories you've seen here today.

You can do that byemailing newswatch@cbn.com.

We'll see you tomorrow.