- Welcome to The 700 Club.

The Sackler Family made a fortune,

I mean a multi-billion dollar fortune,

and they went around the country saying

pain is something wemust not allow anymore

and we have something called OxyContin

that's going to take care of the pain.

And then somewhere along the way,

the FDA has said well, thisis not just for occasional use

which is what it would maybe be good for.

But it's going to begood for continuous use

and that of course putbillions of dollars more

into a company called Purdue Pharma.

Well, Purdue Pharma, thankthe Lord, is facing bankruptcy

because there are thousandsof lawsuits claiming the role

of that company inAmerica's opiod epidemic.

Wendy.

- As Lori Johnson reports,many drug addicts started

out taking prescription painkillers

and that opened the doorto more deadly drugs.

- An estimated 3/4 ofheroin and fentanyl addicts

first became addicted to prescription

painkillers like OxyContin.

That includes formerparatrooper Matt Gossard,

who received prescription painkillers

after an injury from a parachute jump.

Like millions of others,Matt got hooked on the pills

and when the prescription ran out,

turned to the painkiller's cousin, heroin.

- Because it's almost the same thing

except for heroin's juststronger and it's cheaper

and it's more availablewhich is the scary part.

- [Lorie] That was in Ohio.

In nearby West Virginia,Alaine Vance also started

on painkillers then switched to heroin.

- I remember the firsttime I ever done heroin.

I remember thinking this might kill me.

I may die.

- [Lorie] In 2017, morethan 47,000 people died

from overdoses involving opioids including

prescription painkillers,heroin, and fentanyl.

Ohio Governor Mike DeWineis one of thousands

to sue Purdue Pharma andothers alleging company

execs knowingly concealedthe dangers of opioids.

- We had a number ofpharmaceutical companies

that developed pain meds andthey were pushing those out

and they were telling the doctors

these are not very addictive.

Turns out they are very addictive.

- Filing for bankruptcyprotection would stop the lawsuits

and would let a judgesupervise negotiations

between Purdue Pharma and those suing it.

In a statement, the companysaid they are deeply concerned

about the opioid addiction crisis

and is proud of the actions we have taken

to ensure opioids areprescribed appropriately,

increased access to theoverdose antidote naloxone,

and fund youth education programs warning

of the dangers of opioids.

Every day more than 130 people

in the US die after overdosing on opioids.

Matt could have been one of them but,

like Alaine and many others,discovered a way out.

- I believe that JesusChrist is the only answer.

I believe that there is noother answer other than Christ.

- I started getting to know Jesus

and I realized that the same power

that rose Him from the graveis what fights addiction.

- The treatment that works many

times has a faith-basedcomponent part to it.

- [Lorie] Lorie Johnson, CBN News.

- It's just hypocritical for Purdue Pharma

to say we're proud of the work we did.

They are the ones that hooked America.

Then some of the othercompanies got into the act

and they started dumpingtens of thousands of doses

of that thing onto rural communities

in West Virginia and Ohioand all these places.

And thousands and thousandsof people began to be hooked

and then there was thathighway down into Florida

where these prescriptiondrugs were being passed out

like candy and people by thethousands are being hooked.

The problem with this opiod thing is it's

just not like coming off of heroin

or cocaine or one of these other drugs.

There's something thathappens to a person's mind

and their physiognomy whenthey're taking these opioids.

They can't stop.

And so you say, well,let 'em go cold turkey.

They can go cold turkey for a few weeks

and then they can onlyget right back on it.

And so there has to be something.

They're developing new drugs to try

to bring people down slowlybecause they can't take it,

it's just a horrible addiction.

OxyContin and then there's something

called hydrocodone and they are deadly.

And the companies, inaddition to this Purdue

which was the centerof it, they are others

that should pay the price.

And the FDA, tip my hat to 60 Minutes,

a few weeks ago theybrought out that expose

on the fact that the FDA had written in

to the rules that allowedthese opioids to be given

on an ongoing basis as opposedto only one or two doses.

And that of course meantbillions of dollars

into the pockets of the people

who pushed these dreadful drugs.

Now you've heard the Democratssay there's no crisis

on the border but thepeople down there say

that it is overwhelming,they can't meet the demand.

There's so many peoplecoming to our border,

trying to cross and they've go this deal

that if they've got children with them

they get a special permit and the courts

that deal with this are overwhelmed,

they can't handle it.

And they are saying willCongress please do something

and the Democrats in Congress say no way,

we're not doing anything,

we're going to embarrass the president

who has said it's a national emergency.

John Jessup has more.

- Pat, as you were just saying so many

immigrants are crossingthe southwest border,

officials say the systemis at a breaking point.

Customs and Border PatrolCommissioner Kevin McAleenan

says 66,000 arrests weremade in February alone,

the highest number since 2010.

A total of 76,000 actuallycrossed the border illegally

and it's more families with children.

- It should be veryclear from these numbers

that we are facing alarming trends

in the rising volumes ofpeople illegally crossing

our southwest border or arriving

at our ports of entry without documents.

- The commissioner blamed the increase

in border traffic on quote

"the vulnerabilities in our legal system."

He says what Border andCustoms Patrol are doing now

to accommodate people coming here

illegally is not sustainable.

The White House is fighting back

against the latest round of investigations

as Democrats allegecorruption, obstruction,

and abuse of power against the president.

But President Trump insiststhere's nothing to see.

Charlene Aaron has the story.

- The president is fightingback blasting Democrats

and their sweeping new investigations.

- It's a disgrace.

It's a disgrace to our country.

- [Charlene] The House Judiciary Committee

sent 81 letters topeople and organizations

seeking information in investigations

into everything fromobstruction of justice

to corruption and abuse of power.

- Congress has anindependent responsibility,

a very solemn one, to do oversight.

- [Charlene] While promising cooperation,

the administration isin a combative stance.

The White House counsel's office

rejected the committee's request

for documents regarding WhiteHouse security clearances,

including for the president'sson-in-law Jared Kushner.

- The president had noinvolvement pertaining

to my clearance or myhusband's clearance, zero.

- [Charlene] In aninterview on Fox News Radio,

the president's son EricTrump had this to say:

"We'll fight where we need

"and we'll cooperate where we'll need."

The White House isbeefing up its legal team

with a dozen lawyersand a special attorney

to handle the media.

On the CBN News show Faith Nation,

Capitol Hill ReporterAbigail Robertson talked

about why Congress is launching

new investigations in addition

to Special Counsel RobertMueller's Russia probe.

- One of the key distinctionsthe Democrats are making

between what the Mueller investigation

and the House investigationsthey're pursuing is that

they're not guaranteed that the Mueller

investigation will be made public

and so they want to pursue investigations

that they know mainly will be made public.

- Meanwhile, former Trump attorney Ty Cobb

says the Mueller probe is not likely

to do political damagebecause it does not prove

collusion between Russiaand the Trump campaign.

Cobb also said he respects Mueller

and does not consider theinvestigation a witch hunt.

As Democrats pursue theirinvestigations into the president,

his former lawyer MichaelCohen is returning

to Congress today for a fourth day

of testimony behind closed doors.

Charlene Aaron, CBN News.

- Thanks, Charlene.

And Pat, with all these investigations,

the important thing to rememberis it's only the beginning.

(Pat laughs)

- It's not the end,it's just the beginning.

It's horrible to think about.

This is a great country and again,

I want to say, what do the Democrats

in Congress thinkthey're going to achieve?

They cannot impeach the president.

They can bring a motion ofimpeachment to the House.

There's no way they willget 2/3 vote in the Senate

to convict the president.

It's not going to happen,it's impossible to happen.

So all they're trying to dois to stall the president,

to bind up the president likeGulliver and the Lilliputians,

to keep him from doinganything to help our country.

And what about our economy?

What about our foreign policy?

What about the possibilityof war someplace?

Are we gonna have apresident who is nullified

because of a few selfishpeople in Congress?

That's what it amounts to.

It's nothing but a publicity stunt.

And I may add and I wannasay it very clearly,

Congress has no constitutional authority.

That Blumenthal fromConnecticut makes me sick

in my stomach when I hear him talk.

But that business, well we'vegot to take this oversight.

No way.

There's nothing in theConstitution that allows Congress

to just begin to have a witch hunt to talk

to a president about what hedid before he became president.

That was for the voters to decide.

They put him in office, he's their man.

Then the question aboutimpeachment is something

that he is high crimes andmisdemeanors while in office.

But it has to be pursuant tosome legislative objective.

What is the law that they plan to pass?

Are they telling anybody?

The answer is no because theyhave no law they want to pass.

They merely want to impeachor embarrass the president.

And that's wrong.

What I said yesterday, I'll say it again,

it's time for the legalteam of the president

to begin fighting in the courts

to ask for declaratory judgment

in court after court after court.

Every time they get arequest for something

that they figure is legal take it say

this is constitutionally impermissible

and we want a declaratory judgment.

Then let the congressmen notjust be throwing subpoenas

at the White House, 81 of 'em,

but let them be answeringin the court of law.

And I think that would be the answer

and I'm sure that's what'sgoing to be done very soon.

John.

- Pat, another victory for Jack Phillips,

the Colorado cake baker who refused

to bake a cake for a gay wedding

and who's case went all theway to the Supreme Court.

The high court ruled inPhillips' favor in that case

but the state of Coloradowent after him a second time

for not baking a transgendertransformation cake.

Tuesday the Colorado CivilRights Commission announced

its decision to drop thatcase after comments made

by members of the commission revealed

clear hostility toward religious freedom.

The decision puts and endto six and a half years

of Phillips' legal battles.

More rough winter weatherexpected to hit California.

Meteorologists are calling for heavy rain,

flooding, and snow in parts of the state.

The rains come as floodingis already a problem

due to melting snow.

The forecast includessoaking rains and snowfall

in the Sierra Nevadaregion through Thursday.

Parts of southwestern andnorthern California will get up

to three inches of rainand as much as four feet

of snow in the higherelevations of the Sierra.

The snow is expected tostretch as far as the Rockies.

Passengers on a Norwegian cruise

ship had a terrifying experience.

High winds up to 115 milesan hour hit the ship pulling

out of New York City witha strong storm hitting.

Furniture skidded acrossthe floor and glasses fell

to the deck as passengersstruggled to hang on.

- All I was thinkingof the boat going down.

At that point I said this is it.

It felt like the boat was turning over.

- Several passengersand crew were injured.

Eight people taken to the hospital

but all have been released.

There was no damage to theship and it's scheduled

to continue its voyage to the Bahamas.

Pat, some nightmarishmoments for those passengers.

- I can't imagine what they experienced.

I've been on a ship in the high seas

and it's not fun at all when the hurricane

force winds begin to come up on you.

But it's coming out of theharbor, that's unbelievable.