- [Announcer] This is CBN Newswatch.
- And thanks for joiningus for CBN Newswatch.
I'm Heather Sells.
President Trump has shocked advisers,
congressional supporters, and allies
by announcing that he ispulling troops out of Syria.
- We have won against ISIS
and now it's time for ourtroops to come back home.
- The surprise move comes at a time
when Russia and Iran are getting stronger
and seeking more influence in the region.
President Trump spoke withIsrael Prime Minister Netanyahu
and Turkish President Erdogan
before announcing the decision.
The administration aims tohave all the troops home
by mid-January.
Critics are comparing the move
to former President Obama's decision
to prematurely pull out of Iraq,
which led to the rise of ISIS.
They are also saying itcould weaken US influence
in the region.
- If we've learned onething over the years,
enduring defeat of a group like this
means you can't justdefeat their physical space
and then leave.
You have to make sure theinternal security forces
are in in place to ensurethat those security gains
are enduring.
- The pull-out will also hurt US allies
like the Kurds and theDemocratic Syrian Forces
who fought alongsideAmerican troops against ISIS.
On Wednesday, theadministration also announced
a $3.5 billion arms sale to Turkey.
And Senior InternationalCorrespondent Gary Lane
joins us now.
You've visited Syria a number of times
over the years.- Yes.
- And tell us what we arehearing around the world.
We know that, in the US,there's a lot of push-back
against the president, butwhat about around the world?
- Our allies are not happy about it.
They were caught off guard.
They were surprised by whatPresident Trump decided.
In the UK, the foreignministry is basically saying
no, Mr. Trump, ISIS isstill a threat in Syria
and still needs to be dealt with.
As expected, Russian PresidentVladimir Putin, Heather,
was very pleased with the decision.
However, he's quite skepticalabout the time frame.
He added that the US has beenin Afghanistan for 17 years,
has not pulled out even though
we've said repeatedly we will,so he's a little skeptical
about when that willactually happen in Syria,
but very pleased about it.
Also, Bashar al-Assad,the president of Syria
and his government.
A member of parliament said this shows
the United States was defeated in Syria.
I don't know about that,but that's what they said.
- Right.
And what are we hearing from Turkey?
Very important in the region.
- Well, as expected, President Erdogan
was very pleased about the decision.
He talked to President DonaldTrump just last Friday.
Trump called him and they discussed it.
Now Erdogan says that he's getting ready
to have a military incursioninto northern Syria
and we have video, also, ofsome of the troop movements,
not the troop movements,but the equipment movements,
tanks and that kind of thing
going near the Syrian border in Turkey.
And basically, Erdogan sayshe wants to mop up the YPG,
that's the people protection units,
the Kurdish units there in northern Syria,
and he says thatPresident Trump said okay.
- Well I have to ask you.
This really seems like ahead-scratcher to a lot of people.
We only have 2,000 troops there.
No one was expecting this announcement.
It seems like it will solidify
perhaps Russia in theregion and other folks
we would not want to havegrowing influence there.
So what do you thinkmotivated the president?
- They already have influence there.
You've got Russian troopsand a Russian presence there.
Of course, the Iranians are there as well.
Turkey has influence inthe northern part of Syria.
President Trump knows thatthis war is winding down
and these people will be,
these countries will be at the table
in any negotiated settlement.
They're all drooling at the mouth
seeing what they can get out of this
and Trump knows that's coming about.
They have the real powerthere, not the United States.
We only have 2,000 troops inSyria and they're coming out
so we don't have a lot of influence there.
- So you think he's justcutting his losses, get out now?
- I think he sees the writing on the wall
and I think he wants tohave a friendly involvement
with our allies, especiallyTurkey and Erdogan.
They're a NATO ally.
He wants to improve relations with them
and abandon the Kurds.
Let me tell you, a lot of this is about
bringing the Kurds backinto the Syrian fold
because, as you know, several years ago,
they declared autonomy and Bashar al-Assad
wants them to be a part of Syria
and we know that theywill not be independent.
Turkey, Iran will not stand for that.
Neither will Iraq.
The Iraqis had a referendum,or the Kurds in Iraq,
and the United States did not agree
with that independence referendum
- All right.- and abandoned them on that.
- A lot of moving parts
- Yeah.- and pieces, Gary Lane,
thanks for your time.
- Sure.
- Well President Trump will not commit
to signing legislation
that would temporarily fund the government
in order to avoid a federal shutdown.
The measure has already passed the Senate
and would keep agencies andoffices open until February,
but it does not include the $5 billion
President Trump requestedfor a border wall.
Instead, the stop gap measurewill fund border security
and other programs.
Press Secretary Sarah Sanderssaid in a statement Thursday
that the president doesnot want to go further
with the measure without border security,
which includes steel slats or a wall.
Sanders says the presidentis weighing his options.
And an important win forchurches in Wisconsin.
A county judge there has ruled in favor
of five churches and afaith based radio station
seeking an exemption
to a city's non-discrimination ordinance.
The ordinance took the unusual step
of labeling religious organizations
as places of public accommodation.
That means that they wouldviolate the ordinance
if they preach that God determines gender
and condemns homosexual behavior.
Well, alarmed by the decree,the churches filed a lawsuit
to seek an exemption, citingtheir religious freedom.
The Brown County judge, William Atkinson,
wrote in his decision:
The court finds thatchurches and their campuses
are not public accommodations
and the city of De Pere's ordinance
infringes on the freedom of religion.
Brad Dacus with thePacific Justice Institute
joins us with more on the case
and the significanceof the judge's ruling.
Brad, your organization helpedto represent the churches
and the faith based groups.
Tell us why they felt so threatened
by this non-discrimination ordinance.
- This basically, Heather,was the government coming in
and telling churches who they could hire,
who they could not hire,that they had to compromise
their religious beliefs and convictions
regarding people working for their church.
So if an employee cameout in the church and said
yeah, I have a same sex sexual partner,
this would prevent the churchfrom letting that employee go
in order to maintain the beliefs
and the convictions thechurch has based on scripture.
This would be a terriblegovernment intrusion,
a violation of a realseparation of church and state
that was intended, whichis to protect churches
from such governmentintrusion and oppression.
So this is a very importantcase and a very important win
that we hope will senda signal to other cities
not to attempt to oppress churches
the way the city of De Pere attempted to.
- Well, I have to ask you
because you cover this kind of thing,
or not cover, but you'reinvolved in these kind of cases.
Have you ever seen beforea local jurisdiction
telling a church or another group
you are a public accommodationand you have to comply
with our non-discrimination ordinance?
- Yeah, this is the firsttime we've seen this,
and this is important becausewhat they were alleging
was that, becausechurches open their doors
to anyone who wants to comeand attend a church service,
or because a church is servingthe poor or the homeless,
well, that makes thema public accommodation,
and of course we said no.
Churches don't surrendertheir first amendment rights
of the free exercise of religion
simply because they open their doors
to people outside and servepeople in the community.
That would be a terribletravesty and precedent.
We at Pacific Justice Institute,
we actually warned the city ahead of time.
We gave them a legaldocuments ahead of time
saying this was unconstitutional.
They still adopted, theystill refused to back down
We had to go to court
and we are willing, make no mistake,
to take these cities onanywhere in the country
where they intrude uponthe rights of churches.
We just won a case inSan Rafael where the city
of San Rafael--- Well let me just intersect
for a minute here, Brad.
What are you expectingin terms of this case
and perhaps other casesaround the country?
What do you think will happen here
now that the judge has taken this action?
- I think other citieswill learn from this,
hopefully, Heather, thatthis is not the way to go
for them without having toface a lawsuit and lose.
There will still be somecities attempting to do this
in other jurisdictions.
This isn't binding legally
on jurisdictions across the country.
But it is a shot firedthat they will take note of
and I think it will be veryhelpful as we move forward.
By the way, if anyonewants to keep up with this
and other cases like this,
we have over 30 in activelitigation right now,
they can sign up to getour newsletter for free
at our website, pacificjustice.org,pacificjustice.org.
We love to keep people updated
and we serve people--- All right, well Brad Dacus,
we are out of time right now,
but thank you so much for your time today.
- Thank you, Heather, appreciate it.
Merry Christmas.
- Merry Christmas.
The president of LibertyUniversity is defending the school
after an MSNBC host slammedit and one of its graduates.
It started with a comment by Rachel Maddow
on a podcast with ChrisHayes and other MSNBC hosts.
Maddow was arguing against what she called
an anti-intellectual,anti-elite line of argument
from right-wing populists.
She said, "We've got a newJustice Department spokesperson
who's from Liberty University
and Liberty University wasfounded by a televangelist
so that your Christianchild wouldn't be corrupted
by actual higher education.
And now that's the spokespersonfor the Justice Department.
Well Liberty President Jerry Falwell
responded on a Fox News radio program
saying Maddow's commentshowed her religious bigotry.
"When she makes stupid comments
"like Liberty is not a real university
"because it was foundedby a televangelist,
"she needs to study her history.
"Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Brown,
"most of the Ivy League schools
"were founded by preachersand evangelists."
Falwell also praised thenew Justice spokeswoman,
Kerri Kupec, who graduated from Liberty,
for her professionalism.
Well, Illinois AttorneyGeneral Lisa Madigan
said Wednesday that heroffice has found accusations
of abuse against hundreds more clergy
than Illinois' six diocesesoriginally reported.
- While we have been reviewing
hundred and hundreds of files
that had been provided by the diocese
around the state of Illinois,
we've just been shockedto learn that there are,
in addition to the now over180, 185 publicly released names
where there've been credible allegations
against clergy members forabusing or assaulting minors,
there are another 500 wherethere are allegations,
but that information hasn'tbeen made public yet.
- The dioceses have saidthey had strict procedures
for rooting out sexualabuse since at least 2002.
Bishop Thomas Paprocki ofthe Springfield diocese
said Madigan's inquiry prompteda review of all priests
back to 1923 and motivated usto re-double our commitments
to stopping abuse.
Coming up, a disturbingtrend of child suicide.
What's causing it and whatcan be done to help children
in these difficult times.
- God Almighty is a God of blessing.
He always wants to bless his people,
but how do you get that blessing
and what principleswill unlock that secret?
- [Announcer] In Miraculous Blessings,
Pat Robertson shows youhow to open the floodgates
of God's awesome blessings in your life.
- In order to have a blessing,you've got to be blessable.
- [Announcer] Discover whatthe Bible has to say about
God's covenant of blessing,the laws of blessing,
and what are the hindrancesto the blessings of God.
- The words of Jesus,
they are as valid as the law of gravity,
and if we follow thoselaws, we will be blessed.
- [Announcer] You'llsee amazing true stories
of everyday peoplewhose lives were rescued
and transformed by God'smiraculous blessings.
- But even the doctors acknowledged
that this had to be a miracle.
- [Announcer] Call1-800-700-7000 or visit CBN.com
to become a CBN partner andget Miraculous Blessings today.
- Hello, I'm Terry Meeuwsen.
Did you know there are morethan 148 million orphans
in the world today?
148 million.
But it was three little girls
that taught me aboutthe plight of orphans.
My husband and I spent nearly a month
immersed in the daily activitiesof the Ukrainian orphanage
as we waited to adopt three sisters.
I saw firsthand the utterloneliness, the pain of rejection,
and the overwhelming desire to be loved.
That experience changedme forever and out of it
grew a ministry from my heartcalled Orphan's Promise.
Today, we're helping orphansand vulnerable children
in more than 50 countries worldwide.
Thousands of childrenare now in safe homes,
they're being educated, andthey're learning life skills.
I'm asking you to join with me
and become family to these children.
Will you call the numberon your screen right now?
Because every child deservesa chance to be happy.
- A 14-year-old Indianaboy recently killed himself
following his failed attemptto attack his school.
His death comes at a timeof increased suicides
among children and teenagers.
CBN's Charlene Aaron reports
that while expertspoint to various causes,
they find that childrenwith a religious upbringing
are less likely to fall prey.
- Although suicide amongyoung children is uncommon,
it is on a troubling climb.
According to the Centers forDisease Control and Prevention,
from 1999 to 2015, more than1,300 children ages five to 12
took their own lives in the US.
In Alabama, family and friendsare mourning the recent death
of nine-year-old McKenzie Adams.
Her family believes bullying at school
led McKenzie to take her life,
a claim disputed by school officials.
- Things you wouldn't thinka nine-year-old should know.
And for my baby to tell me
some of the things thatthey had said to her,
I was just like where arethey learning this from?
- [Charlene] At least threeother children under 12
have also died by suicide this year.
Mental health experts say,while bullying plays a big role,
other issues can contributeto this tragic trend.
- We are seeing an increasein the rates of depression
and anxiety, particularly in middle school
and high school aged children.
And much of that is dueto the frenetic pace
within which we lead ourlives in the modern era.
And of course a key contributor to that
is the non-stop accessing of technology.
- [Charlene] Child and family psychologist
Jesse Gill points out how young children
are especially vulnerable to technology.
- This is radicallychanging the neural pathways
of the human brain, thecapacity to pay attention,
the capacity even to havethe deeper attachment bonds.
- [Charlene] And the problem continues
as children get older.
Suicide is the secondleading cause of death
among young people betweenthe age of 15 and 24.
The Parents TelevisionCouncil has pushed Netflix
to remove 13 Reasons Why,a controversial program
about a teen who committedsuicide, from its line-up.
- We have to speak up and speak out.
That's why we're trying tobuild a national choir on this.
The more voices to the choir, the better.
- [Charlene] Meanwhile,there are positive ways
to address these issuesin most neighborhoods.
Studies show kids who attend church
may be less likely to fall victim
to depression and suicide.
Researchers say aregular religious routine
such as attending services or prayer
was associated with positive outcomes
such as higher levels ofhappiness and volunteering.
This lines up with findings
that kids had a lower risk of suicide
if religion was importantto their parents.
Experts recommend parentslimit their child's
technology intake and spend meaningful,
one-on-one time with them.
- These are the things thatare going to bolster us
and preserve us and trulyhelp our kids to experience
the love of God, the savinggrace of Jesus Christ
through those tangible expressions
of our relationship with them.
- Several states are beginning to require
mental health education for students
to help them cope with someof these issues facing kids,
from bullying to depressionand suicidal thoughts.
Charlene Aaron, CBN News.
- [Heather] After the break,
doctors say one woman's survival
and recovery is a miracle.
We'll bring you her story next.
(dramatic music)
- [Announcer] Parents,the Superbook Bible App
is a great way to get yourchild reading the Bible.
Because in today's busyworld, we can use some help.
The free Superbook Bible App has fun stuff
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- [Announcer] watching cool videos,
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The Superbook Kid'sBible App, available now.
- [Announcer] Life.
It's meant to be lived fully.
Jesus said it.
I came to give you life.
Life to the fullest.
Life in your family.
Life in your finances.
Life in your body, mind, and spirit.
Life in your every day.
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At CBN.com, we're takingwhat Jesus said seriously.
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CBN.com.
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- We had four jobs that didn't go right,
but we didn't waver in our faith.
- That's when God put on my heart
that we needed to do the well.
- [Husband] Within a couple of days,
we got an insurance refund check
that we had no idea was coming.
- And here we are, thisyear, it's just booming.
- You go out and help other people
and you get rewarded for it.
- [Announcer] Get PatRobertson's latest teaching,
Miraculous Blessings.
- Two days before Christmas,
Denise Dickerson was helping a family
whose car was stuck in the snow.
At the same time, anothercar was speeding over a hill.
Within seconds, Denise waspinned against her trunk,
losing blood, and fighting for her life.
- I called and called,text messages, nothing.
Finally decided there'sgot to be something wrong.
I'm gonna get my work truck.
- [Reporter] December 23, 2011.
It had been a couple of hours
since Guy Dickerson talkedto his fiancee, Denise.
After leaving her son's house,
she had stopped to help a family
whose car was stranded on the highway.
- About 1:30 in the morning.
I'm panicking.
- [Reporter] Before long,
he came to the scene of an accident.
- Her car was spun out in the ditch
and the back end of it was smashed.
There was a highway patrolman there.
I pulled over and he's like,
"This is an accident, you need to go on."
And I was like, "Wellthat's my fiancee's car."
And he got a funny look on his face
and he said, "Well, youneed to get to the hospital.
"She's been hit by a car andshe's in really bad shape."
- [Reporter] Guy prayed as hemade his way to the hospital.
- Let her be okay.
Lord, let her be alive.
- [Reporter] Then hecalled Denise's son, Kyle.
Just two years earlier, his brother Cody
had been killed in a car accident.
- Immediately go worst case scenario.
She's in an accident, I think oh no,
I'm gonna lose somebody else in my life.
- [Reporter] Now at the hospital,Guy got to be with Denise.
He learned that as she lefther car to help the family,
an out-of-controlvehicle crashed into her,
crushing her from the waist down.
- So I go in and talk to her.
I was like, "You doing okay?"
"I'm okay, I just don'tunderstand why my legs hurt."
"Well, honey, you've been hit by a car."
- [Reporter] But herinjuries were more extensive
than they let on, and soon,they were on a medevac plane
headed to Northwest Hospital in Amarillo.
Dr. Toby Risko and his teamwere waiting when they landed.
- She had multiple long bone injuries
that had been basically crushed.
She had multiple fractures in her pelvis.
All those things, you could lose
your whole entire bloodvolume pretty quickly
with those injuries.
In my opinion, she was very near death.
- [Reporter] Denise was placedin a medically induced coma
and rushed into surgery.
She was still there whenKyle and her parents arrived.
- She was in surgery for hours and hours.
Every time a nurse or doctor walks in,
my heart drops 'cause I'mlike, oh, here they go,
they're gonna tell me she didn't make it.
I'm saying God,
I've already lost my brother.
I don't think I can take losing my mother.
- [Reporter] They spread theword asking people to pray.
- People flooding her Facebook.
We're praying for you, ourwhole family is praying for you.
It was incredible to see,
and that did help me make it through that.
(clock ticks)
- [Reporter] As the night wore on,
Guy tried to preparehimself for the worst.
- I told God, you know,
if you want her, I'm okay with it.
You know?
I'll understand.
If that's your will.
That's an awful hard prayer to make.
Really hard.
- [Reporter] At eighto'clock that morning,
they had their first updateon Denise's condition.
- There's a glimmer of hope,
which is more than I had the whole night.
We have your mother stabilized.
We have her vital signswhere we want them.
He said, "By no means isshe out of the woods yet."
He said, "But the oddsare getting better."
- [Reporter] Christmas Day came and went
and Denise continued to get stronger.
The doctors had to amputatepart of her left leg,
but it was soon clear she would live.
- Thank God that she's pulling through.
I don't even care abouther foot being gone.
I don't care about anything.
All I care about, she's making it.
- It's a big answer to prayer.
Big answer to prayer.
- [Reporter] Several days later,
they brought her out of the coma.
- I walked up to kiss her
and there was something different.
There was a glow about her.
And with the tubes still in,
I leaned over and I toldher, "You're different."
- [Reporter] Denise says that's because
she had seen a vision of heaven.
- Just instantly, I said I saw Cody.
And he looked at me and hesaid, "Mom, I love it here
"and I'm so happy, butyou can't come right now
"because Kyle needs you."
God knew what I needed.
I needed him to tell me he was okay.
Now it's time to get on with it.
- [Reporter] In the weeks that followed,
Denise underwent more surgeries
to repair the damage to her legs.
But as she started the longroad of physical therapy,
she felt God had put anew purpose on her life.
- He allowed it to happen
so that I could get the closure I needed
and because other people needed me.
And so he needed me to be a bolder witness
and, boy, did he wake me up (laughs).
- [Reporter] Denise's recovery
surpassed all the doctor's expectations.
- As a doctor, there's things I can do
to stabilize people and getbones in the right place,
but God's the one that heals them, not me.
- But God, absolutely.
I mean he had his hand in every step.
- [Reporter] 11 months after the accident,
Denise walked down the aisleat her and Guy's wedding.
- Going from saying aprayer of here she is Lord,
take her if you need her
to God saying here's your bride,
that was awesome.
God is good.
(emotional music)
- [Heather] Up next, abig milestone for NASA.
What cool instrumentthey just landed on Mars.
(dramatic music)
- When you give,
smiles grow bigger.
When you care,
homes are happier.
When you comfort,
the hurt goes away.
When we all come together to love,
miracles happen.
- Hello, I'm Terry Meeuwsen.
Did you know there are morethan 148 million orphans
in the world today?
148 million.
But it was three little girls
that taught me aboutthe plight of orphans.
My husband and I spent nearly a month
immersed in the daily activitiesof the Ukrainian orphanage
as we waited to adopt three sisters.
I saw firsthand the utterloneliness, the pain of rejection,
and the overwhelming desire to be loved.
That experience changedme forever, and out of it
grew a ministry from my heartcalled Orphan's Promise.
Today, we're helping orphansand vulnerable children
in more than 50 countries worldwide.
Thousands of childrenare now in safe homes,
they're being educated, andthey're learning life skills.
I'm asking you to join with me
and become family to these children.
Will you call the numberon your screen right now?
Because every child deservesa chance to be happy.
- Hello.
Is this thing on?
Hey kids.
Do you love games?
And do you love discovering things.
(explosion)Yeah!
Well, do you?- Yeah!
- [Announcer] Then you're gonna love this.
It's the new freeSuperbook Kid's Bible App.
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find answers to your questions,and a whole lot more.
The new Superbook Kid's Bible App.
Free downloads available oniTunes and Google Play now.
- NASA scientists are celebratingthe successful deployment
of a seismometer on Mars.
It allows them to peerinto the Martian interior
and study Marsquakes.
Each Marsquake, they say,acts like a flash bulb
illuminating the planet's interior
and helps them analyze it.
"Having the seismometer on the ground
"is like holding a phone up to your ear,"
says Philippe Lognonne,
a principal investigator on the project.
He says they can't waitto receive data from it.
And you can find more ofour exclusive coverage
of the issues that you careabout most at CBNNews.com.
Please tell us what you think
about the stories that you have seen here.
You can do that by emailing us.
Have a great night.
(dramatic music)
