- [Announcer] Tonight, is there

a national emergencyat the southern border?

Senators prepare to weigh inon the President's declaration.

Plus, college admissions cheating scandal,

why some say this is just another case

of American elites usingtheir wealth to get ahead.

And we sit down with thestar of a new pro-life movie

making headlines across the country.

All this and more, comingup on Faith Nation.

(upbeat music)

- Backlash for Boeing, as the President

grounds a popular groupof planes in its fleet.

Welcome to Faith Nation, I'm John Jessup.

- And I'm Jenna Browder.

President Trump todayjoining with more than

40 other countries in no longer allowing

the Boeing 737 Max 8 and 9 planes to fly.

- The decision comes aftertwo deadly plane crashes

within the span of four to five months.

White House correspondent Ben Kennedy

joins us from the North Lawn.

Ben, what's the latest?

- Well John and Jenna,President Trump says

he's trying to keep theAmerican people safe,

and until they know whatcaused the deadly crashes,

all Boeing 737 Max 8and 9 jets are grounded.

The groundings affects domestic flights

like Southwest and American,

which include the 737 Max

as a pretty big part of their fleets.

- Any plane currently in theair will go to its destination

and thereafter be groundeduntil further notice.

So planes that are inthe air will be grounded,

if they are the 737 Max,

will be grounded uponlanding at the destination.

Pilots have been notified.

- [Ben] Now here is videoof one of those flights

landing in LAX.

Right now, airlines are working

to rebook passengers on other planes,

but no doubt this mightchange some travel plans.

Now this move comesafter the deadly crashes

in Ethiopia and Indonesia.

The latest, flight 302 tookoff Sunday in Ethiopia,

carrying 157 people, andjust six minutes later

the plane slammed into a field.

- The safety of the American people

and all people is our paramount concern.

Our hearts go out to all ofthose who lost loved ones,

to their friends, to their families

in both the Ethiopian andthe Lion Airlines crashes

that involved the 737 Max aircraft.

- Now right now, crews areclearing the debris field

and will examine the black boxto find out what went wrong.

John, Jenna?

- Ben, other countries havebeen banning these planes

over the last couple days.

Why did it take so longfor the administration

to make this decision?

- Yeah John, you're right.

Aviation experts warnedagainst drawing conclusions

until more info emerged.

Now on Tuesday, the FAAreleased a statement

saying they did not find anysystematic performance issues,

and saw no basis to ordergrounding the aircraft.

- It's really the gold standard

for international aviation safety,

and they're not going to go out there

and let a plane keep flyingthat is gonna be unsafe.

However, they're alsonot gonna jump the gun

without any proof and ground a plane,

especially considering Boeingis the largest exporter

of any American goods,not just in aviation.

- Now President Trump called Boeing

an incredible company that isworking very hard right now,

but at this point it's not clear

what is causing these jets to crash,

and until investigators have that answer,

no one here in the US willbe boarding those planes.

That is the latest hereat the White House.

Ben Kennedy, CBN News.

- Thanks, Ben.

- Well to Capitol Hill,

senators will votetomorrow on the President's

national emergency declarationto fund the border wall.

The vote comes as a move tochange Presidential powers

on such matters to gainsteam among Republicans.

- CBN News Capitol Hillcorrespondent Abigail Robertson

joins us tonight ahead of the vote.

Abigail, this is the measure

that already passed in the House.

- That's right, John.

Now the House quicklyshot down the President's

emergency declaration last month,

and tomorrow the Senate majority leader

says it is all coming to a head.

The President, meanwhile,says Republican senators

are overthinking it.

- National emergency.

- [Abigail] A roadblock awaitsthe President's declaration,

with Republicans expectedto join Democrats

in rebuking President Trump's plan.

- I assume that it will pass,

and then the President will veto it,

and the veto will be upheld in the House.

- [Abigail] That would be the first veto

of Trump's presidency.

- It is no secret that the useof the national emergency law

has generated a good deal of discussion.

- [Abigail] At issue, Republican worry

of setting a precedent forfuture administrations.

- We're looking at someways to revisit the law.

There's a lot of discomfort with the law.

- [Abigail] The solution?

A compromise.

- I think our discussion should focus

on the structure of emergencypowers laws moving forward.

- [Abigail] Texas Senator John Cornyne

is co-sponsoring a bill tocurtail presidential power.

- I intend to co-sponsor a bill

introduced by our colleague,Senator Lee from Utah,

to give Congress a strongervoice in the processes

under the National Emergencies Act.

- [Abigail] If the President signs on,

Republicans could agree to help defeat

the Democrats' resolution

against this emergency declaration.

Democrats say that compromisewould let Republicans

have their cake and eat it, too.

In a statement, speaker Pelosi declared

that the House will nottake up this legislation

to give President Trump a pass.

The Senate minority leader piled on.

- To update the National Emergencies Act,

for our Republican friends to say

we'll let Trump declareany emergency he wants,

but a future presidentcan't, that doesn't work.

- Now if SenateRepublicans avoid rejecting

the President's declaration on the border

by reducing presidentialpower in the future,

that will certainly set the stage

for another fight in the House.

- Abigail, is this compromise enough

to convince Republican senators

wary of the Presidential Emergency power

to change their mind on the President's

declaration on the border?

Minority Leader Chuck Schumer,he called it a fig leaf deal.

- Well, we're hearingthat quite a few of those

on the fence Republicansenators are considering it.

Right now, there's about four Republicans

that have confirmed they plan to vote

with Democrats tomorrow.

That number may be as high as 15,

but we're hearing of thatgroup, that many of them

if this compromise was reached,

would consider voting with Republicans

so that this resolutiondoes not pass tomorrow.

But the real question here is,

will President Trump agree to giving up

some executive power?

Now, reportedly from someleadership Republicans

in the Senate, that's no longer

looking like a likely option,

and now while it will beembarrassing for the President

and the White House to have

the Republican-controlled Senate pass

this rebuke of the emergencydeclaration tomorrow,

as of now, there's notenough Republicans saying,

Senators saying thattheir vote, excuse me,

there's not enough Republican senators

that are voting with Democrats

that could override a Presidential veto

of the resolution that would certainly

come if it passed the Senate.

So while the White House has to decide

if they'd rather have the embarrassment

or give up a little executive power now,

or for future presidents after Trump.

- We will see.

Alright, Abigail Robertsonfor us on Capitol Hill.

Thank you.

- The majority of Americans opposed

the President's nationalemergency declaration.

A new poll from Politicoand Morning Consult

finds 52% of voter don'tagree with the decision.

Those opinions on theEmergency Declaration

tend to fall along party lines.

83% of Democrats oppose it,

while 80% of Republicans support it.

And joining us now is SeniorWashington correspondent,

Jennifer Wishon.

Jennifer, critics say the President

is losing his battle for border security.

If tomorrow's Senate voteon his Emergency Declaration

goes against him as expected,

how much does this hurt thePresident, at least optics wise?

- Well, there's no questionthis will be a problem

for the President, John.

At last count, it looks like four,

as many as 15 Republicans in the Senate

are gonna vote to approve this resolution,

and we're also seeing Senate leadership

looking at perhaps amending it to say,

to bind future Presidents

from using the same power in the future.

So even among some of hissupporters in the Senate,

they're kind of sending a scolding message

that this is not the way to do this.

Many members of Congress are worried

about the balance of power here,

so there's no doubtthat this will be a blow

to the President.

- Well Jennifer, the Presidenthas already indicated

if the Senate votes downhis Emergency Declaration,

he'll issue the firstveto since taking office.

Do you think this could be an issue

that potentially divides Republicans?

- You know John, I reallydon't think it will,

because if you think about it,

even though there are Republicans

in both House and Senatewho are crossing the aisle

to vote with Democrats on this,

the vast majority ofRepublicans in both Houses

are supporting the President here.

So I don't think that we'regonna see a big divide.

And I can also tell you thatin conversations I've had

with sources who are veryconservative, they love this.

They want the President touse every tool at his disposal

to push his agenda through.

And so they're thrilled, andI think of it this way, John,

what the New Green Deal isto the most far left liberal,

is what President Trumppushing this border wall,

building that border wall isto his most conservative base.

I don't think that we'regonna see any major divides

once the dust settles here.

- Everything being done right now

is with kind of an eye caston that election cycle,

so do you think this will come up again,

and how much of a factordo you think this will be,

the border battle play outin next year's election?

- I think it's gonna be a huge part

of what we continue to talk about

as we determine who the nextPresident is going to be,

but it's not just about

what President Trump is doing, John.

Congress, Presidents for decades

have kicked this issue down the road,

so whether you call it a crisis

or whether you call it something else,

immigration policy inthis country is broken.

There is no question about that.

So this is gonna be a hugeissue as we lead up to 2020.

But also John, remember, we'rewaiting kind of any day now

and certainly in the next few weeks,

we're waiting for Bob Muellerto release his report.

So that's gonna be anotherissue that we're waiting for,

another bombshell if you will,

another shoe to drop that'sgonna divert attention

at least temporarily awayfrom the wall here shortly.

That of course willalso set up the dynamics

heading into 2020 in terms of whether

the wind is at the sails, behindthe sails of the Democrats,

are the Republicans going forward.

- When it comes to targets,a lot of moving issues,

a lot of moving targets

when it comes to theupcoming election cycle.

So Jennifer Wishon, thank youso much for your insights.

- Thank you, John.

- Well Paul Manafort'sprison sentence grew today.

The President's former campaign chairman

is now looking at seven anda half years behind bars.

Manafort was sentenced todayin a Washington, DC court

on conspiracy charges,adding onto a sentence

handed down last week in Virginia.

The federal charges against Manafort

came as a result of SpecialCounsel Robert Mueller's

Russia investigation,

and it looks like thereis yet another battle

on the horizon for Manafort.

After today's sentencing,New York prosecutors

issued new indictments againstthe former Trump insider.

Legal experts say that may be a move

to prevent the Presidentfrom issuing a pardon here.

The President can pardonfederal, but not state crimes.

The man behind thecollege admissions scheme

announced by the FBIyesterday says he hired,

or he helped rather,

more than 750 families gettheir kids into schools.

William Singer has pleadedguilty to a number of charges,

including racketeering, money laundering

and conspiracy for hiswork to secure admissions

into top schools for thosewho could shell out the money.

And while this scandalis stunning to most,

some in higher educationare less than surprised.

- I think for any of us whohave been paying attention

to college admission in the United States,

today isn't surprising.

We have seen an increasedobsession on the part of parents,

particularly parents with means,

in getting their kids to thequote unquote right college,

at whatever cost.

- [Jenna] Investigatorssay parents paid Singer

millions to get their kids into school

like Yale, Stanford and Georgetown.

They are accused of paying people

to take tests for their kids,

bribing test administratorsand bribing college coaches

to pass their kids as athletic recruits.

- And with us now is Matthew Continetti,

Editor in Chief of theWashington Free Beacon,

and a contributing editorat the National Review.

Matthew, thanks for being with us.

- Thank you for having me.

- On this college admissions story,

it's a big major scandal.

What does this highlightabout wealth and privilege

in the United States?

- Well, that it's rampant,

and for decades we'vebeen experiencing kind of

a crisis of authority in the United States

with elites rigging thesystem to benefit themselves.

With this scandal, we seethis type of malfeasance

in a new sphere of American life,

and that is college admissions.

It shows though the importanceof a college degree.

The wage premium on that college degree

is so high that people aredoing everything they can,

including bribery in order toget their kids into school.

- Do you think this justscratches at the surface

of what many peoplesee is a rigged system?

- I'm afraid so, I mean especially

when you look at otherareas in American life,

the financial system and such.

But the truth is, I don't understand,

the wage premium is so high,

and yet what do we get for ourcollege experience, really?

As an employer, I haveto retrain all the people

that I get, because they emergefrom four years of school

with very little in the ways of skills.

So we're paying a lot for apretty substandard product,

and in this case, we're evenbreaking the law to get it.

- Yeah, those practical skillsthat you're talking about.

Matt, will this change theway college admissions are,

will this change the standard?

- Doubtful, what strikes me though

is that these families were so desperate

to have their kids stand outin the applications process.

And you know, when I wasapplying for college,

it was oh, write a goodessay to stand out.

But now of course, you have to pretend

that your child is achampionship water polo player

or has some remarkable skills.

It shows the pressures

that these college admissions officers

are under in order to findthe right mix of students.

And one reason I'm a little bit,

I worry about this scandal,

is it distracts from another scandal,

which is that the unstated quotas

against Asian American students

that are rampant in elite universities

and really prejudicialagainst Asian Americans.

The children of immigrants, in most cases,

who are trying to get an elite education.

- Matt, today in court,Judge Amy Berman Jackson

handed down a three anda half year sentence

to former Trump campaignchairman Paul Manafort,

which combined with another

four year sentence he already faces

means that he might serveabout seven years in prison.

What do you make of his punishment?

- Well, considering the crimes

that he was indited and convicted of,

it seems a pretty fair punishment.

What worries me though is what's happening

from the New York DA Cy Vance,

and the charges on a state basis

that come down the same daythat he is being sentenced

for these federal crimes, andit's so clearly political,

because President Trumpcould pardon Manafort

for the federal crimes,but not the state crimes.

And announcing these charges,

Van says that's basicallywhy he's doing it.

That seems to me to be a politicized

use of the judicial system.

Cy Vance needs to worry about prosecuting

the people who are jumpingthe turn styles in the subways

and leading to disorder in New York.

He doesn't need to worry about Manafort.

Manafort's taken care of.

- On the topic of impeachment,

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi

says she is againstimpeaching President Trump.

This came of course as a bigsurprise to a lot of people,

including many in her own party, Matt.

Does she know something thata lot of these other Democrats

don't seem to know?

- She can read the polls.

The polls say the Democrats are very eager

to impeach President Trump.

But guess what, the country is not made up

entirely of Democrats.

There are Independentsand there are Republicans,

and when you expand the pollto include all Americans,

impeachment is unpopular.

It really tops out at about 40, 42%.

So Pelosi understands that ifshe were to impeach Trump now

on the precipice of apresidential election,

she would upend the politics in America,

and it could quickly lead to a backlash

against her own party.

- You think a good move on her part?

- I think it was a smart move.

The problem though is her own base.

We've seen just in the last week

that she is not leading events,

she is being driven by theseradical freshmen congressmen.

You saw it last week withthe anti-Semitism debate

and Congressman Ilhan Omar,

and I worry that Pelosiis not gonna be able

to control her caucus whenit comes to impeachment,

just like she was unable to control them

when it came to anti-Semitism.

- Matthew Continetti, thankyou so much, good to have you.

- Well coming up after the break,

we sit down with the star of a new film

that reveals the inner workingsof the abortion industry.

- It seems we've been left alone.

- The law states that noperson shall convert any person

from one religious faith to another.

- Who is he?

- And yet not onemissionary has been charged.

- Graham Staines, niceto properly meet you.

- You bring me evidenceof illegal conversion

by Graham Staines.

I'll give you a permanent position.

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- Welcome back.

In just a couple ofweeks, the film Unplanned

hits movie theaters across the country.

Surprising many, the pro-lifefilm has an R rating,

taking viewers insidethe abortion industry

by showing the real lifeexperience of Abby Johnson,

a former PlannedParenthood Clinic director

turned pro-life advocate.

- It came back as an R,

we were all I think a little surprised,

but on the other hand, Isee the positives about it.

I mean, the NPA sort of stumbledbackwards into the truth

by admitting that abortionis an act of violence.

- [John] Unplanned opensin theaters March 29th.

For more information on tickets,

you can check out unplannedtickets.com.

- And Ashley Bratcherplays Abby in Unplanned,

and she joins us here for more.

Ashley, thanks for joining us.

- Of course, thanks for having me.

- So tell us about Abby Johnson

and how you prepared for this role.

- Well, as you know,Abby Johnson was a former

Planned Parenthood Clinic director.

In her eighth year of working there,

she assisted on anultrasound guided abortion

for the first time,

and she witnessed that everything

Planned Parenthood had told her was a lie.

She saw humanity in thewomb for the first time

as she witnessed a 13 week oldbaby struggle for its life.

And at that point, she knewthat this was something

she no longer could be a part of,

and a few days later she walked out

and she joined 40 Days for Life,

and is now one of the mostvocal pro-life voices.

- Ashley, I understand youhave a personal connection

to the issue that this film highlights.

What drove you to take on this role?

- Well, I knew immediatelyafter I auditioned

when I heard Abby's testimonythat this was something

that I felt like America needed to hear,

because it really made thescales fall from my eyes

in the sense that I neverknew what an ultrasound,

what an abortion in general entailed,

and learning that andunderstanding where life begins

and researching it,

I knew that so manyother people had no idea.

And it really woke me upto say this is a story

that America needs to hear.

- What's been the reception so far?

Have you all seen any pushback?

this is obviously a prettyhot topic right now.

- No, none at all actually,which is really interesting.

The overwhelming responsehas been very positive.

Even on the pro-choice side,

because I have a personalstory related to the film

that I've been verytransparent in sharing.

People have said I don't agreewith you, but I respect you.

And it has made them morecurious about Abby's conversion,

and I think that no matterwhere you fall on the fence,

it's a really compelling story.

Because any time someonemakes a complete 180

and they can say I was wrongand they change their mind

and they're courageousenough to admit that,

you have to wonder why.

And I think that it's gonnacompel a lot of people

to go to the theater and find out.

- Ashley, you just alludedto it in Jenna's question.

You said you have a personal story.

Do you mind highlighting some of that?

- Sure, I have a couple of experiences.

The one I want to talk about today

is just recently I went public

and announced that I had anunplanned pregnancy of my own.

It was something that really,

I kind of carried thisburden of shame with,

because I felt like working

especially in the faith-based industry,

being able to share that youhad a child out of wedlock

and you were really young,

it wasn't really something to be proud of.

And then I realized in doing this movie,

this was something I should share,

so that I can empowerother women to say look,

I was young, and my child empowered me

to be a better person.

He empowered me to fight,he gave me purpose.

And it's not like you'regonna lose your career,

you can't have a successful,

happy relationship with other people.

This is a lie that culturehas really perpetuated,

and the reality is you can.

You can, abortion is not the answer.

Giving a child a life

is the most courageousdecision you can make.

- I'm sure you've beencommended for that, right?

- Yeah, now.

My son is the joy of my life.

I have learned more from being a mother

than any other thing I'veever done in my life.

That child is, he reallyis the one who inspires me

and motivates me every day.

- Has he seen this movie,or will he see the movie?

- Well, we've had a talk about abortion.

He's only nine years old,

so my husband and I arestill having a discussion

whether or not he will be ableto see this R rated movie.

Definitely with parental advisory

as to what parts we thinkwill be okay for him,

but he's excited.

Probably the most pro-lifenine year old you'll ever meet.

- Well what an amazingstory that you have to tell.

We just really appreciate you coming,

taking the time to sharenot just about the movie,

but also your personal experience.

- Of course.

- [Jenna] The Born-Alive Protection Act,

why some lawmakers aren'tgiving up the fight,

despite setbacks on Capitol Hill.

(upbeat music)

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- Lawmakers trying toprotect babies born alive

after attempted abortionskeep getting overruled

in the House of Representatives.

Paul Strand explains howDemocrats are using House rules

to essentially censorthose fighting for life.

- Last night on thefloor for the 17th time,

we asked to bring up theBorn-Alive Protection Act.

For the 17th time, the Democrats refused.

- There are babies being born alive

and then ultimately murdered.

- House pro-life caucus leader Chris Smith

described one such murder ina Florida abortion clinic.

- The clinic owner took thebaby who was gasping for air,

cut her umbilical cord, threwher into a biohazard bag,

and put the bag in thetrash like so much garbage.

- [Paul] Not only are pro-life lawmakers

prevented from ending this practice,

they can't even get a vote.

- This is the height of shamefulness.

It is absolutely an abominationthat this is going on

and that we're havingto have this argument

in the United States today.

- [Paul] But Democrats are incharge of the House these days

and won't let theBorn-Alive Protection Act

come to the House floorfor a debate and vote.

Meanwhile in the States,some lawmakers fear

the Supreme Court couldoverturn Roe v. Wade

and legalize abortion nationwide.

So states like New York,Rhode Island and others

are pushing radical abortion legislation

to keep such practices legal.

So is Illinois.

- They have introduced theReproductive Health Act,

which according to one abortion group

could cement Illinois asthe Midwest abortion oasis.

- [Paul] Melissa Cifuenteshas been fighting

a similar law in Rhode Island.

- We are called to use ourvoice to speak the truth

on behalf of innocentlives that are sacred

and are worthy of our protection.

- Halt this blood lust and work to protect

unborn and born babies ratherthan provide a killing oasis.

- These legislators arepleading with Americans

to call on their Congress members

to sign the discharge petition

for the Born-Alive Protection Act.

If that gets 218 signatures,

speaker Nancy Pelosi has tolet the bill come to the floor.

Paul Strand, CBN News, Capitol Hill.

- Thanks, Paul.

Well that'll do it fortonight's Faith Nation.

- See you tomorrow.

(upbeat music)