- [Announcer] Tonight on Faith Nation,
the President in primetime, a preview
what to expect in his Oval Office speech.
(clicking)
18 days in, how the government shutdown
is affecting Americans.
And football players oftentakes hits to their heads.
What that could mean for their health.
That and more, tonight on Faith Nation.
(cheerful music)
- As the partial governmentshutdown heads into day 19,
the President is heading infront of the American people
tonight for a primetime televised address,
about the border.
Welcome to Faith Nation.
I'm John Jessup.
Well, the Oval Officeaddress will interrupt
network programmingtonight at 9:00 Eastern.
CBN White HouseCorrespondent, Ben Kennedy,
joins us from just outside the West Wing.
Ben, you're just steps awayfrom where President Trump
will make his case to the nation.
(swoosh)
Yeah, John you're right.
The President says his primetime address
will focus on the humanitarianand national security crisis
on our southern border.
We hear the approximateeight minute speech
will be delivered from the Oval Office.
As the President takes his pitch directly
to the American people,he could take matters
into his own hand.
- I may declare a NationalEmergency, dependent
on what's gonna happenover the next few days.
- [Ben] Vice President Pence reiterated
Trump's demand for a five anda half billion dollar wall.
- We need new resources,we need to build a wall.
We need the Congress to come to the table
and work with this Presidentto address this crisis
once and for all.
- [Ben] Trump says he's made a concession
for a steel barrierinstead of a concrete wall.
But Democrats say thatmakes no difference.
They maintain there'sneither a crisis or a need
for a border wall.
Party leaders want equalair time, writing that,
(random outdoor noises)
Now the President willtravel to the border Thursday
to see what he is callinga crisis, firsthand.
John?
- Now, Ben, this'll be thefirst time President Trump
gives an Oval Office address.
Clearly, this is such an important issue
that he's willing to dothis from the White House
in a primetime Oval Office address.
- Yeah, John, you nailed it right there.
This is PresidentTrump's first Oval Office
primetime address, which asyou were just talking about,
no doubt raised the stakesof this political impasse.
- Tonight gives the President a platform
to explain his position over what he calls
the border crisis, to the American people.
But some are calling it anight of dueling debates
with a Democratic responsescheduled to follow, right?
- John, you're right.
Trump's remarks will befollowed by a rebuttal
House Speaker, NancyPelosi and Senate Minority
Leader, Chuck Schumer, who has said
a wall is just not theanswer to border security.
They have met with thePresident twice in the past week
and could not reach a dealto end this partial shutdown.
Now in those meetings withthe Senate Majority Leader,
Mitch McConnell, whospoke a little earlier
today on the Hill.
Take a listen.
- For the sake of thehumanitarian crisis on our border,
as the President willdescribe in his address
to the Nation this evening,
I would urge our Democratic colleagues
to get past these harmful political games
and get serious about negotiating
with the President.
- So John, no doubt we willcontinue to hear from lawmakers
from the Hill, probablynot prior to the speech,
as it's just a few hours away,
but certainly afterwards, we'llget their take and impact.
- Ben we have very littletime, but I real quickly
want to ask you, when thePresident wants to make
a primetime address, like he will tonight,
what's the process?
Who gives the green light for that?
- Well John, the White Housereached out to television
and cable networks requesting to cut
into primetime programming to carry
the President's address.
ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox News and CNN agreed
and also plan to airthe Democratic response
to the President.
We have also learned thatSenator Bernie Sanders
will give a response tothe President's remarks,
via social media.
That is the latest fromthe North Lawn outside
the White House.
Ben Kennedy, CBN News.
- Well here now to cut through the flak
on both sides of the debate is CBN News,
Chief Political Analyst, David Brody.
David, it is pretty unprecedented,
if I can say the word, to see a rebuttal
from an Oval Office address.
What went into the networks' decision
to give equal time to the Democrats?
- Well, this has been a thornyissue to begin with, John.
It's a very controversialissue, obviously the shutdown,
and Donald Trump, to a degree,
I don't want to say mayhave brought it on himself,
but the networks have been very critical
of this President,especially when it comes
to getting the factsstraight, at least the way
they see it.
So I think this was an opportunity
to let the Democratshave a word in as well.
Having said that, I gotta tell you,
it is unprecedented andsomething that you don't
normally see but in the ageof Donald Trump, (laughing)
what a shock that we're seeinga first of another kind.
- Right, we'll see a jointaddress between Nancy Pelosi
and Chuck Schumer.
And then we just heardfrom Ben, another rebuttal
from Bernie Sanders.
In 2014, you were talkingabout this just yesterday,
President Obama requestedairtime from both
the networks and cable newschannels to discuss healthcare.
They denied that.
So what do you think is different here?
- Well, first of all,they denied it because
they felt at the time,it was overtly political.
It was gonna be about immigration reform,
not about a crisis at the border,
more about his immigration reform.
And about DACA we well,which was controversial
at the time.
But also, on healthcare,it was gonna be more
just about the state ofour nation when it comes
to healthcare and what wasgoing on in the debate there.
So they said no to that.
What's different this time,couple of different things,
first of all, DonaldTrump's good for ratings.
Let's be honest and I thinkthat's a big part of it.
Also, in 2014, when they weregonna do the immigration,
when President Obamawanted immigration time,
that was in November.
Hang on, let me think,November sweeps, ratings,
this is different, it's in January.
That's also a factor.
There are a lot ofdifferent factors as well.
But I think those are a couple things
that played into it.
- Yeah, you don't havethat primetime sweeps
lineup that you're competing with.
- That's right.
- Well, you had your frequentflier miles in today,
between the Bureau and the White House.
You were visiting with the President
and heard from him firsthand.
- Right, so there was an off the record
network anchor luncheon.
CBN has been invited tothese, actually it was
the fourth one that I'veattended in a couple years now.
An he normally does this before
State of the UnionAddress or some big event,
obviously the Oval Office Address tonight
is a big one.
It's his first one ever.
And I should point out by the way,
going back to that last question,
that's another reason, the networks were
would be more apt to giveTrump the stage tonight,
it is his first Oval Office Address.
So, it makes it historic.
- And what is your sense, isthere going to be a moment
tonight, where he makesthat case to declare
a crisis on the borderfor a National Emergency?
- I don't think it's gonna happen tonight.
Though, that's anotherreason why they're taking
this live, because he'sleft this option open
that it could happen tonight.
I don't personally thinkthat it's gonna happen.
Having said that, there'sno doubt he's going to talk
about how if he needs to do it, he will.
But that decision has notbeen made at the White House.
The President was in good spirits today.
There's no doubt aboutit, he's in rare form
with those Network Anchorsand CBN was included
so it was a pretty goodtreat to kind of get to see
a little bit of where he's atbefore the big speech tonight.
- You didn't see anynerves or any jitters?
- Not at all, I mean, andhe's not one to do that.
And I will just say this, that typically,
when the big momentarrives is whether be it
the convention or some other big event,
throughout his first twoyears, when he's on prompter,
when he's on prompter John,
he typically rises to the occasion.
It's usually when, at leastfrom a mainstream media
standpoint, he gets his best marks,
when he is able to beready for the big moment
and Trump's all about big moments.
And my guess is it'llbe pretty sound tonight.
I will tell you this,within the White House,
they are making sure thatthey're going over the facts
in the seven or eightminute speech tonight,
to make sure that their factchecked, not just properly,
but they have their facts together.
- Chief Political Analyst, David Brody,
thank you so much for you time.
- Thanks, John.
Alright.
Well, the border stalematemakes the three week
government shutdown thethird longest in history.
CBN News CongressionalCorrespondent, Abigail Robertson,
joins us with the detailson what that means
for people across the country.
Abby?
- That's right John, since December 22,
some 800,000 federalemployees have been forced
on unpaid leave or forced to go to work
without knowing when theirnext paycheck might come.
And that strain for many ofthem, is starting to take
a very real financial toll.
(protestor chanting)
Federal workers acrossthe country, such as these
in Missouri, have had enough.
- We're just really fed up right now.
We're just so fed up.
(traffic passing)
- We're almost the pawnsin a political chess game.
This is unfair.
- [Abigail] Transportationsecurity officers
like Mike Gayzagian, willnot get paid on Friday
if a deal on border securityisn't made this week.
- It's gonna affect uswhen it comes to mortgages,
paying rent, daycare, evenfood, gas, everything.
It will affect manyofficers here, especially
TSOs but all federal employees.
(chopper blast)
- [Abigail] The President hopes creditors,
landlords and federal workers will adapt.
- [Abigail] Kenny Swick,Indiana Correctional Officer,
calls a sample lettergiven to federal workers
to send creditors, worthless.
- It's very sad thatthe government expects
that this is gonna make a difference
with creditors because it doesn't.
- Even if you're for reducingthe size of the federal
government like I am, tomake it more efficient,
live within its means,like we did in Indiana,
you still, people are involved.
- [Abigail] Indiana Senator,Mike Braun, on Faith Nation
Monday, called on membersof Congress to forgo
their own paychecks ifthe shutdown continues.
- If we can't collectively,Senators and Congressmen
and women, get a budgetdone, I don't think
we deserve to get a paycheck either.
- [Abigail] On socialmedia, the #ShutdownStories
is rife with federalworkers feeling the pinch.
one father of four tweeted.
- We don't know if we're going to have
like our phone bill paid,our food for the rest
of the month.
- Ultimately, at the end of the day,
there's not a lot that I can do.
I'm locked out of my job.
I want to go to work, I want to do my job.
And I'm being prevented from doing that.
- [Abigail] To ease those frustrations,
restaurants here in Washington are giving
federal workers free lunch,but it comes at a cost.
- I don't think it's smartat all to use federal workers
and put them out of work whenthey'd rather be at work.
- Many in that Package Express there,
they're fed up, theyfeel like they're pawns
in these negotiations.
They're ready to get backto work and they're ready
for financial certainty again.
- Abby you were just talkingabout federal employees
feeling like pawns.
But they're not the only ones feeling
the financial pinch from the shutdown.
That's right, right?
- Yes, many Americansare going to start to see
essential programs that they rely on
run out of money.
Take Food Stamps for example.
The Department ofAgriculture has yet to say
how much longer theycan fund that program,
that 39 million low incomeAmericans rely on each month.
Now a senior Administration official said,
they believe Food Stampscan be funded through
the end of January,possibly early February
but that is not muchtime if the government
is not reopened.
And a lot of lawmakers onboth sides of the aisle
are starting to raisealarm bells about this
and use it as yet anothermotivator for them to reach
a compromise and get thesepeople, the government
and these people back to work.
- Now, Abby, the Presidenthas been floating
the idea of an EmergencyDeclaration to come up
with the money to build a walland reopen the government.
What kind of support is therefor that on Capitol Hill?
- Well, Republican Senate Majority Leader,
Mitch McConnell has yetto weigh in on this.
I know he was asked at least twice today
and would not respond to it.
But other RepublicanSenators and House Members
have expressed their support,like Senator Mike Braun,
who said that many Republicans,there's growing support
for this, they would back the President up
if he chooses to do that.
But he will almost certainlyface a legal challenge
almost immediately fromDemocrats if he declares
this National Emergencyto get that wall funding.
That could be a very messy legal battle
that draws out for months, if not years.
So it's not exactly a winningbipartisan solution. (laughs)
- Abigail Robertson,reporting on Capitol Hill.
Thanks, Abby.
- Thank you.
- Well, in a move viewedas a rebuke of the US
Turkey's president snubbedWhite House National Security
Advisor, John Bolton.
President Erdogan refused to meet with him
after Bolton set the conditionthat Turkey must help
protect the Kurds afterAmerican troops leave Syria.
Erdogan insisting that's not the agreement
he had following a phoneconversation with President Trump.
The new terms of Bolton'sconditions to bring home
2,000 American troops,contradict the President's
original announcement,saying he'd bring home
US soldiers within 30 days.
- I think they might justbe confused at the moment.
I mean, it's very hard evenfor a lot of US government
officials to figureout what the policy is.
We've seen severaldifferent timelines cited
by the President and his advisors.
And that creates a lot of lack of clarity
about our ultimate goals.
- Bolton's Middle East isdesigned to assure allies
the US is not abandoning themwith their Syrian withdrawal.
While visiting Jerusalem, Bolton claimed
defending Israel and otherallies who fought against ISIS
is absolutely guaranteed.
(swoosh)
Well, coming up, a finalact of an outgoing governor
and how it's helping onehuman trafficking victim
get a second chance at life.
(tense music)
Welcome back.
A new effort to combat human trafficking
is set to become law.
Designed to beef up thegovernment's efforts
to prevent sex and labor trafficking
and protect victims bothnationally and internationally.
The Frederick Douglas Act authorizes
$430 million over fouryears, to assist victims
with shelter andcounseling, provide training
for airline employees tospot potential victims
and mandate oversightto make sure government
purchases do not employ traffickers.
The bipartisan legislationis named in honor of Douglas
who was born into slavery,fought to abolish it
and became an American diplomat.
- Well, a teenage traffickingvictim, serving a life
sentence for murder is now looking forward
to a life of freedom.
Tennessee's outgoinggovernor granted clemency
to 30 year old Cyntoia Brown
days before officially leaving office.
Heather Sells has the story.
- By all accounts CyntoiaBrown is a changed person.
On Monday, she creditedthe Lord for giving her
his saving grace and a second chance.
- This is an Action by the Governor
of the State of Tennessee.
- [Heather] Governor BillHaslam's move to grant clemency
follows years of nationalattention and support
from celebrities and politicians.
At age sixteen, Brown's lawyers contend
that she was a victim of sex trafficking
and feared for her lifeafter this man, Johnny Allen,
bought her for sexual activity.
She shot him and fled the scene.
Her punishment, at least51 years in prison.
A PBS documentary broughtattention to her plight.
- Why would you throw meaway for the rest of my life?
- [Heather] By manyaccounts, Brown undertook
steps towards transformation in prison,
deciding to follow theLord and coming close
to finishing her Bachelor'sDegree from Lipscomb,
a Christian University.
At a hearing in May, she explained.
It was so necessary to change.
It wasn't so much of achoice, but I had to.
Cyntoyia's transformation, isnothing short of a miracle.
To watch her go from whereshe was to where she is,
is the most amazing thing.
- [Heather] Anti-traffickinggroups like Exodus Cry,
The National Center on Sexual Exploitation
and Shared Hope, havelauded the governor's move.
And Southern Baptistspokesman, Russell Moore,
called Brown's clemencyan important development.
Moore and other evangelicalspushed hard for prison reform
last year, leading tolawmakers passing the
First Step Act.
Brown's lawyers say her caseshould prompt further reform.
- We need to see thisas a national awakening
to change the draconianlaws that allow juveniles,
children to be placed in adult prisons
when they're just children.
- Brown is expected to bereleased from prison in August
after serving 15 years behind bars.
Heather Sells, CBN News.
(swoosh)
- When we come back,how the dangerous side
of one of America's favorite sports
is putting players' health at risk.
(tense music)
Clemson shocked numberone, Alabama, last night
rolling over the CrimsonTide by a score of 44 to 16
to win the NCAA CollegeFootball National Championship.
Alabama was favored towin, but Clemson's defense
stopped the high scoringTide and even scored
the first touchdown of the gamewith an interception return.
Number two, Clemson, hada commanding 31-16 lead
by the half and the Tidewas never able to come back.
Clemson is the first teamto win college football
playoffs with a 15-0 record.
Well, CTE is a brain injuryassociated with repeated blows
to the head.
Reports highlightvictims' becoming violent,
even to the point of murder,or suffering depression
driving them to take their own lives.
Most people associate thiscondition with football.
But as CBN Health Reporter,Lorie Johnson shows us,
it goes far beyond the gridiron.
- [Lorie] May people couldn'tunderstand why a Super Bowl
standout with a $40 millioncontract would murder someone,
then commit suicide at age 27.
But when scientists autopsiedthe brain of Aaron Hernandez,
and discovered an extremelysevere case of CTE,
his erratic behavior made more sense.
- [Lorie] Dr. Bennet Omaluwas one of the first doctors
to raise awareness about chronicTraumatic Encephalopathy,
better known as CTE.
He says, hits to the headdamage the area of the brain
responsible for decisionmaking and judgment.
(slate clack)
- [Lorie] Dr. Omalu'smedical contributions
led to the groundbreakingmovie, Concussion,
starring Will Smith.
- Tell the truth.
- [Lorie] While Omalu says thefilm's content was accurate,
the title was misleading.
- Dr. Omalu says in just oneseason of practices and games
players can suffer hundredsof violent blows to the head.
- [Lorie] Boston University's CTE Center
houses hundreds of brainsof deceased football players
and others from all walks of life.
- 20% of our cases, the donorshave never had a witnessed,
diagnosed or reportedconcussion in their lives,
yet have CTE at the end of the day.
Dr. Lee Goldstein andhis colleagues found CTE
in nearly all former footballplayers they studied.
What's possibly moredisturbing, is they also found
the condition in brainsof military veterans
exposed to explosions, but who had not
suffered a concussion.
- We were very surprisedby this and very confused.
- So they went back to the lab.
This is the shock tube.
It perfectly simulates in mice
what IED blasts do to soldiers.
All of the animals tested developed CTE.
But what's interesting isnone of them had concussions.
In fact, they seemedperfectly fine afterward.
We were able to figure outwhat happens in blasts.
And that is the head ismoving very, very quickly,
and it's that head motion,we call it the bobble-head
effect, that causes thedamage that leads to CTE.
- [Lorie] That raises thepossibility that battle worn
soldiers may have CTE ratherthan the often diagnosed
Post Traumatic Stress.
- Very common, that these folks come back.
They are not the same andin some very real sense
they are not the sameperson they were before.
In fact, the front part ofthe brain may be damaged
and in that respect, theyreally are different people.
- [Lorie] According to Dr. Goldstein,
there are likely manyother types of people
beyond vets and athletessuffering from this brain trauma.
- The homeless population,people who are chronically
mentally ill, people who areat risk for domestic abuse,
intimate partner abuse,child abuse, elder abuse,
incarcerated populations,populations at risk
for violence, people in poverty.
- [Lorie] CTE can onlybe confirmed after death.
And while there is notyet a cure, scientists
are developing a test todiagnose it in the living,
which could lead to a treatment.
Lorie Johnson, CBN News.
- Well, for more healthnews from Lorie Johnson,
make sure you check out herprogram, Healthy Living.
It airs every Tuesday night a 9:30 Eastern
on the CBN News Channel.
For more information onhow to watch the show,
go to CBNNewsChannel.com.
Well, that's gonna do itfor tonight's Faith Nation.
Don't forget to tune into watch the President's
Oval Office address tonight right here
on the CBN News Channel.
We hope to see you again tomorrow.
(upbeat music)
