- [Announcer] This is CBN Newswatch.
- Thanks for joining us for CBN Newswatch.
I'm Mark Martin.
Days before Christmas,Washington typically slows down
instead federal workers are preparing
for a government shutdown.
This as one of the President'smost well respected advisors
Defense Secretary Jim Mattisannounces he's stepping down.
In his resignation letter Mattis writes,
because you have a right to have
a Secretary of Defense whose views are
better aligned with yourson these and other subjects,
I believe it is right for meto step down from my position.
He and the President buttedheads over the importance
of America's internationalalliances like NATO
and his recent surprise decision
to pull U.S. troops out of Syria.
Meanwhile on Capitol Hill,
the House passed a stopgap funding measure
to keep the governmentopen through February
that includes $5.7 billion for
the President's border security wall.
Now it's on to the Senatewhere it needs 60 votes to pass
and Democrats are not budging.
- President Trump is plungingthe country into chaos.
Throwing a temper tantrum and creating
the Trump shutdown of the government.
- For more on the turmoil in Washington,
we're joined now by our Senior Washington
Correspondent Jennifer Wishon.
Jennifer what are we expecting today?
- Well Mark that House bill that passed
that you just reported onis now before the Senate.
The Senate passed a measurethat does not include
this wall funding ordisaster relief funding.
The House passed one that does.
So now this House billgoes back to the Senate.
Here's the problem,there's 51 Republicans,
there's not a sure bet that all of those
would support this House bill.
Plus they would need nineDemocrats and as you heard
Chuck Schumer say there,
this is a no go for Democrats.
So we're at a stalemate.
And so we're all kind of waiting to see
exactly how Mitch McConnell'sgonna handle this today.
- Does this border wallmoney have any chance
of making it to the President's desk?
- It doesn't look like it does.
But you know I think ifyou look at the situation
politically from thePresident's perspective,
it's something that hereally had to push for.
And you know Mark those reallyconservative House members
the members of the Freedom Caucus,
they're the ones whoreally rallied around this.
They said Mr. Presidentthis is a campaign promise
and this is what your base wants.
And it's now or never to try to do this.
And you said you were willing to shutdown
the government over this.
And so here's your chance to do so.
So I think the President felt like
he had to do this politically.
But I'm not sure that thisbill is ever gonna make it
to his desk before Christmas.
And certainly afterChristmas in the New Year,
Democrats take over the House.
It's certainly not gonna get there then
unless there's some sort of miracle.
- Why did the President push for this
and risk a government shut down?
- Well politically like I said,
he just felt like he had to do this.
He had to put his money wherehis mouth was if you will.
I think we see that new polling shows
that 65% of Republicansfelt like this was worth
shutting the government down over.
We've seen these caravanscoming to the border.
I think visually conservativeshave kind of seen
what this looks like.
They believe the Presidentnow that there is a need
for this border wall.
I think a third ofIndependents even felt like
it was worth shutting down the government.
So the President sawthat there was support
and again he's been promising this.
And come two years whenhe's running for reelection,
he can say I didn't get thefunding for the border wall
but I shutdown the governmentand tried my best to do it.
So I think it's a smartpolitical move for him.
- Back to the resignationof Secretary Mattis,
Jennifer what does this mean
for the nation's defensepolicy going forward?
- That's another big question, Mark.
Heading into the New Yearwith lots of uncertainty here.
So the question is who will
the President replace Mattis with.
Will he choose someone who iskind of in the Mattis vein,
a traditional military man.
Or will he go with someone that is more
of a political appointment,
someone who's morepolitically aligned with him.
That is the big question.
Even his supporters, manyRepublicans are hoping
that he's gonna go with a Mattis 2.0.
Maybe someone he can getalong with a little better.
But someone who's gonnahave the same demeanor,
the same kind of world view as Mattis.
There's a lot of concern Mark over
the President's surprisedecision to pull those 2,000
American troops out of Syria.
Senator Lindsay Graham whohas been a staunch supporter
of the President held apress conference yesterday
he said, look we caneither fight ISIS in Syria
or we can fight them in our backyard.
Certainly Americans wouldrather fight them elsewhere.
- Well thank you so much Jennifer Wishon,
our Senior Washington Correspondent,
for your insights today.
We appreciate it.
- Thanks Mark.
- The US House ofRepresentatives voted to repeal
the Johnson Amendment as part of
the Retirement Savings andOther Tax Relief Act of 2018.
The Johnson Amendmentallowed the IRS to audit
Christian ministries andwithhold tax exempt status
from nonprofits for political reasons.
Faith And FreedomCoalition's Ralph Reed says
repealing the Johnson Amendmentwill restore the right
to political speech by pastors,churches, and ministries.
Similar legislation passed last year
but was stripped from thefinal version of the bill
in the US Senate.
Congress is making a rareshow of bipartisanship
in this season of hope and good will.
A sweeping overhaul of thecriminal justice system
is being signed into lawtoday by the President.
Capitol Hill CorrespondentAbigail Robertson explains
how this bill will make crucial changes
in sentencing and rehabilitation.
- Moral is high on Capitol Hill this week
after lawmakers reacheda historic compromise
on criminal justice reform.
- This may be my proudest moment
in eight years of theUnited States Senate.
- [Abigail] Even SenateDemocrat Dick Durbin
who's pushed this issue for years.
And many of his colleaguespraised the White House,
specifically President Trump'sson in law Jared Kushner
for helping to deliverthis bipartisan victory.
- We worked with himthroughout this whole endeavor.
The net result of it lastnight is nothing short
of an historic vote that really changes
our outlook on our system of justice
for the first time in decades.
- [Abigail] Democrat Senator Amy Klobuchar
also praised members ofthe weekly bipartisan
Senate prayer breakfast.
- Some of the people involved in that
played some criticalroles coming out of that
in criminal justice reform.
Just because I think there'salso a religious piece of this
where people sit back and they look at
the criminal justice systemand say to themselves
is this really right.
Is this consistent withsort of faith based
look at the world.
- [Abigail] Key componentsin the First Step Act
include lowering mandatory minimums,
allowing more inmates toserve time under house arrest
or halfway homes instead of prison cells,
giving judges more discretionfor sentencing certain crimes,
and outlawing the shacklingof pregnant inmates.
- To the critics of the bill,
you say that somebody under this bill
will get out and do something bad.
That's probably true.
But what I'll hope you'llrealize is that most people
who get out under this bill a bit early,
are gonna contribute mightily.
- [Abigail] Lawmakers hopethe bill brings an end
to overcrowded prisons
and lowers the burden on taxpayers
footing the bill forincarcerating inmates.
Senator Corey Booker, however,
reminds his colleagues thisis indeed just the first step.
And there's more work tobe done on this issue.
- There's still lots of injusticesthat we need to address.
This is a first step in a long journey.
And the bipartisan commitmentincluding the White House
has said to me they'recommitted to continuing the work
let's celebrate thatthe work must continue.
- As lawmakers celebratethis bipartisan win,
some have expressed it could be a sign
of more cooperation to come in 2019.
Reporting from Capitol Hill,Abigail Robertson, CBN News.
- A well known women'sdoctor is speaking out
against a bill in California
that would require college health centers
to provide abortion drugs to students.
Dr Donna Harrison saysproviding the abortion drugs
while not being able toproperly care for the patient
would be considered malpracticein any other situation.
- We are looking at the complications like
women losing over halfof their blood volume.
Women who have come near to death because
of ruptured ectopic pregnancies.
This is not a safe drug.
This is a drug that's avery powerful anti-hormone
and it also suppresseswomen's immune systems.
That's why four women diedincluding one in California.
- Harrison says another 3,000 women
have had serious complicationsfrom the abortion drugs.
Governor Jerry Brown vetoed a similar bill
earlier this year.
The Parents TelevisionCouncil was urging Congress
to pass pending legislationthat allows families
to filter graphic contentfrom movies and television.
The Family Movie Clarification Act
would be an updated version of a 2005 law
that allows DVDs to be editedor transmitted during playback
with DVD sanitizing technology to create
a censored version of that movie.
The new bill wouldlegalize filtering services
such as Vidangel to filtergraphic and sexual content
on streaming platformssuch as Netflix and Hulu
in addition to DVDs.
- All this Family MovieClarification Act would do
would bring back technology,
that same technology to parents
so that we could use itwhen we stream media,
stream videos from Netflix,Amazon Prime, and so forth.
And what we're askingis Congress please give
this Christmas gift toparents, to families,
to those of us who are concerned about
today's toxic media environment.
- The legislation is pending in the house.
The PTC involved with morethan 30 pro-family groups
is pushing Congress topass the legislation
before the current session ends.
Taking a look now atother headlines for you
from the CBN Newsroom.
MSNBC host Rachel Maddow recently slammed
Liberty University andone of its graduates.
Maddow was arguing what shecalled an anti-intellectual,
anti-elite line of argumentfrom right wing populists
and 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.
Liberty President JerryFalwell Jr responded
on a FOX News radioprogram saying Maddow's
comments showed her religious bigotry.
When she makes stupid comments like
Liberty University, or Liberty, is not
a real university because itwas founded by a televangelist,
she needs to study her history.
Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Brown,
most of the Ivy League schools
were founded by preachers and evangelists.
The Council for ChristianColleges and Universities
and the NationalAssociation of Evangelicals
are asking Congress toadd sexual orientation
and gender identity language
to federal non-discrimination law.
The Christian groups claim the compromise
is intended to protecttheir own religious freedom
from worse threats.
They write we are increasingly persuaded
that the most valuablepolitical strategies
for comprehensive religiousfreedom protections
can be combined with explicit support
for basic human rights formembers of the LGBT community.
The Alliance DefendingFreedom said Friday,
the legislation would actuallyundermine religious freedom.
A new report on sexualabuse by priests in Illinois
has determined thatCatholic church officials
knowingly withheld the namesof at least 500 clergymen
accused of misconduct.
Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan
released the findingsWednesday saying the church
has failed in its moral obligation.
Madigan's inquiry prompteda review of all priests
back to 1923.
The Dioceses say theyhave had strict procedures
for rooting out sexualabuse since at least 2002.
Gospel singer DonnieMcClurkin is praising God
after surviving a seriouscar accident last week.
McClurkin posted thenews on his Facebook page
that he passed out whiledriving on the highway.
The singer said it was two human angels
that helped guide his car off the road
and then pulled him from the vehicle.
He wrote two angels savedmy life, I owe them.
I am still here by the grace of God.
Thank you Lord.
McClurkin's car wastotaled and he was taken
to the hospital with minor injuries.
Coming up, Israel's responseto President Trump's decision
to withdraw troops from Syria.
- 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 you how to open
the floodgates of God'sawesome blessings in your life.
- In order to have a blessingyou've gotta be blessable.
- [Announcer] Discoverwhat the Bible has to say
about God's covenant of blessing,
the laws of blessing, and what are
the hindrances to the blessings of God.
- The words of Jesus, they are as valid
as the laws of gravity and if we
follow those laws we will be blessed.
- [Announcer] You'llsee amazing true stories
of every day peoplewhose lives were rescued
and transformed by God'smiraculous blessings.
- But even the doctors acknowledged
that this had to be a miracle.
- [Announcer] Call 1-800-700-7000
or visit cbn.com to become a CBN partner
and get Miraculous Blessings today.
- Hello I'm Terry Newsome.
Did you know there are more than
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 utter loneliness,
the pain of rejection and the
overwhelming desire to be loved.
That experience changed me forever
and out of it grew a ministry from
my heart called 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 deservesthe chance to be happy.
- Welcome back.
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu spoke
with President Trump forthe second time this week
over the U.S. decision towithdraw its troops from Syria.
CBN Middle East correspondentJulie Stahl has that story.
- [Julie] Israeli PrimeMinister Benjamin Netanyahu
said Israel plans to keep up the pressure
to prevent Iran from gainingmore power inside Syria.
- We'll continue to act very aggressively
against Iran's attempts toentrench itself in Syria.
On these two fronts, we don'tintend to reduce our efforts,
we will intensify them.
I know we're doing thisthe complete support
and backing of the United States.
- [Julie] Netanyahu madethe comments a day after
President Trump announcedhe would withdraw
US troops from Syria.
He said Israel is continuing its efforts
to neutralize cross-borderterror tunnels from Lebanon
belonging to Iran's proxy, Hezbollah.
- At this time, we areemploying special means
to bring about the specialneutralization of these tunnels.
- [Julie] The IDF released this footage,
along with a statementsaying it was beginning
what it called theneutralization and destruction
phase of the cross border tunnels.
The statement said, thisphase will be carried out
using several methods andmeans which will ensure
that the attack tunnels cannot be used
by the Hezbollah terror organization
and will prevent it fromimplementing its plans.
It said that Israel isholding the Lebanonese
government for the diggingof the attack tunnels
and warned Lebanoneseresidents to stay away
from the openings of thetunnels on the Lebanonese side.
A short time later, the IDFreleased another statement
explaining that the explosionsheard near the border
were a result of the IDFneutralizing tunnels.
Lebanon's ambassador tothe UN complained earlier
that Israel was acting aggressively.
- Well all know, too well,how the so-call Israeli
right of preemptive ofdefense, which by the way,
has no international legal basis, is used
to justify illegal,aggressive acts and invasions.
- [Julie] But earlierthis week, Netanyahu said
comparing Israels self-defense
to Hezbollah's aggression isn't fair.
- It's like saying, oh well.
The police acted against the bank robbers,
so they use violence too.
Well, give me a break.
There is no symmetrybetween the bank robber
and the police, and there's no symmetry
between the arsonistsand the fire brigade.
We're the fire brigade.
- [Julie] Julie Stalls,CBN News, Jerusulem.
- And for news from the Middle East,
be sure to watch Jerusalem Dateline.
Here's a look ahead at tonight edition.
- On this weeks Jerusalem Dateline,
we have a special Christmas edition.
Coming to you overlookingthe city of Bethlehem.
And we highlight a number of the stories
from CBN's new DVD, Christmas:
The Story Behind the Traditions.
We talk about how advent,tradition of advent began.
We highlight the remarkablestory of soldiers
on both sides in December1914 during World War I
to come out into nomans land and celebrate
the miracle of Christmas.
And we highlight a localArab Christian shopkeeper
here in Jerusulem.
I think you'll love the show.
- You can watch Jerusulem Dateline tonight
at 9:30 here on the CBN News Channel.
Well still ahead, aswe prepare to celebrate
the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ.
Many still question if he's real.
A closer look at theevidence and his birth.
Evidence that is of his birth and life.
(upbeat music)
- 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 MiraculousBlessings, Pat Robertson
shows you how to open the flood gates
of Gods awesome blessings in your life.
- In order to have a blessing,you've gotta be blessable.
- [Announcer] Discoverwhat the Bible has to say
about God's covenant of blessing.
The laws of blessing, andwhat are the hindrances
to the blessings of God.
- The words of Jesus, they are as valid
as the law of gravity andif we follow those laws,
we will be blessed.
- [Announcer] You willsee amazing true stories
of everyday peoplewhose lives were rescued
and transformed by Godsmiraculous blessings.
- But even the doctorsacknowledged that this
had to be a miracle.
- [Announcer] Call 1-800-700-7000
or visit cbn.com to become a CBN partner
and get Miraculous Blessings today.
- Hello, I'm Terry Newsome.
Did you know there are more than
148 million orphans in the world today?
148 million.
But it was three littlegirls that taught me
about the 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 first hand the utter loneliness,
the pain of rejection,and the overwhelming
desire to be loved.
That experience changed me forever.
And out of it grew aministry from my heart
called 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 skill.s
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.
- In a few days,Christians around the world
will celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.
2,000 years after that blessed event,
many still ask, is Jesusreal, and is he God.
Paul Strand talked to fourtop defenders of the faith
who reached the same conclusionin very different ways.
- [Paul] Although believersand evidence exists,
there remains thequestion, is there a God?
Detective Jay Warner Wallacehas pursued the question,
applying the same proceduresused to solve cold cases.
Starting this investigation as an atheist,
he had to accept somethingbeyond the natural,
because he believed theuniverse had a beginning,
before space and time.
- It began from nothing.
Didn't exist prior to the big bang.
That means we're looking fora cause that is non-spacial,
non-temporal, and notmaterial 'cause those things
are not available until the Big Bang.
So you're already looking for something
that's extra-natural.
- [Paul] Astronomer Hugh Ross who heads up
Reasons to Believe seesGod in the universes birth.
- It has a beginning,which implies there must be
a beginner that wasresponsible for bringing
the universe into existence.
- [Paul] And there's such precise design.
- We have fine tuning in the universe
we're just so finely tunedthat the smallest variation
in the universal constants,you wouldn't even have
a universe in which we have life at all.
Now what are the odds ofthat happening on its own?
- [Paul] And just howfinely tuned is it for life?
- If you were to addthe weight of one dime
to the universe, or subtractthe weight of one dime
from the observable universe,that would be enough
to upset the balance tomake life not possible.
How can we escape theconclusion there must be a mind
with supernatural powerthat designed it just right
so we can be here?
- [Paul] But what about Jesus Christ,
his resurrection, and deity?
- If there's a being outthere that could create
all space, time, and matter from nothing,
I'm guessing it couldprobably rise from the dead.
I'm guessing he couldprobably walk on water.
I'm guessing those areprobably small potato miracles
compared to Genesis 1.
- Some people say they'llnever believe Jesus Christ
is God because all the prooffor it is in the Bible.
And they just don't believe the Bible.
As an atheist, JoshMcDowell set out to disprove
Christianity in the Bible,but found so much evidence
it changed his life.
The result was his bookEvidence That Demands A Verdict.
And he found much proof forChrist outside the Bible.
- In this book, evidence.
I give 20-some totallyextra-biblical sources
that you could recapture from it
almost everything about Christ.
That he was raised the dead,he fulfilled the prophecy,
et cetera, et cetera, et cetera,from non-biblical sources.
- [Paul] Alex McFarland putson conferences nationwide.
Like this one in NorthCarolina to arm Christians
with proof their God and faith are real.
He points out what one ofAmerica's top 20th century
historians, Will Durant, anon-believer, had to say.
- Durant, when he was not a Christian,
said that the four biographies,Matthew, Mark, Luke,
and John, their historicitywas quote, indisputable.
- [Paul] Some claim theNew Testament was written
hundreds of years after Jesus' time,
so all the supernaturaldetails about Christ
could have been addedin long after his death.
But as witnesses, theearliest disciples memorized,
sang, and wrote down statements of Christ
miraculous life, startingright after his resurrection.
- Deity death resurrection.
Son of God paid for oursins, rose from the dead.
These doctrinal formula, if you will,
these statements of belief, come to us
within not years, not months, but weeks
after the crucifixion.
- [Paul] And these disciplessaid not only were they
eye-witnesses to Christs miracles,
but so were their opponentsthere in Jerusalem.
- They would constantlyappeal to the knowledge
of hostile witnesses of thetruth that they're saying.
They would say, you knowwhat I'm talking about,
you were there, you saw him dothis, you heard him do this.
- But you may feel none of thishas anything to do with you
and you shouldn't have to think about it.
Well what if there is an eternity,
and what you believe about Jesus Christ
will determine where you spend it.
Wallace says if you'rea total non-believer,
for your own sake, consider the idea
there's a miracle working savior.
With this one caveat.
- You can't begin by saying
I don't believe in the supernatural.
That's the thing you'retrying to investigate.
If you start off bydenying the supernatural,
you'll never get to whether or not
there's anythings supernatural.
You already decided there isn't.
- [Paul] McFarland mentionswhat's known as Pascal's wager.
- If we live as if there is God,
and it turns out therewasn't, we've lost nothing.
Plus we've lived a goodlife and been happy.
But if you, the atheist,live as if there's not a God,
and it turns out there is,you've lost everything.
So the wise man would wagerthat there might be a God.
- [Paul] Paul Strand, CBN News,
reporting from Greensboro, North Carolina.
- Coming up, what a Florida boy did
to capture the attentionof Franklin Graham.
Stay with us.
- 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 gotta be blessable.
- [Announcer] Discoverwhat the Bible has to say
about God's covenant of blessing,
the laws of blessing, andwhat are the hindrances
to 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 willsee amazing, true stories
of every day peoplewhose lives were rescued
and transformed by God'smiraculous blessings.
- But even the doctorsacknowledged 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 Newsome.
Did you know there are morethan 148 million orphans
in the world today?
148 million.
But it was three littlegirls that taught me
about the plight of orphans.
My husband and I spent nearly a month
immersed in the dailyactivities of the Ukrainian
orphanage as we waitedto adopt three sisters.
I saw first hand theutter loneliness, the pain
of rejection, and theoverwhelming desire to be loved.
That experience changed me forever.
And out of it grew a ministry
from my heart called 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 Florida boys missionto help the homeless
captured the attention ofevangelist Franklin Graham.
Graham wrote Delandon Martinis just eight years old,
but he's making adifference in peoples lives.
He said, God spoke tome through this feeling
and led me to spread hisword in everything that I do.
Graham said Delandon saved his money, $250
from birthdays and Christmas to buy food
and other items for the homeless.
Wow, that is awesome.
Well, that's all the time we have for now.
Be sure to visit cbnnews.comfor your news anytime.
And watch us on the CBN News Channel.
You can do that by checkingyour local listings
or watch on demand on our website.
Until next time, goodbye and God bless.
(upbeat music)
