- Welcome, folks, to thisedition of The 700 Club.
It's massive, massive.
The coronavirus is on a rampage in China.
Yesterday, a drastic spike of15,000 new cases was reported
along with more than254 additional deaths.
Why the sudden jump?
And how is the Chinesegovernment responding?
Our Jenna Browder has moreon this escalating crisis.
- The increase in cases is due
to expanded diagnosis criteria,
allowing doctors to more quickly diagnose
and begin treatment immediately.
That brings the totalnumber of people infected
by the virus, now labeledCOVID-19, to about 60,000
and total deaths to more than 1,300.
The shift raises questionsabout China's testing methods
and numbers, resulting in the firing
of two-party officials in Hubei.
And with the number of cases on the rise,
health officials are warning it could soon
start spreading incommunities here at home.
- A virus can have morepowerful consequences
than any terrorist action.
- [Jenna] The newest caseconfirmed in the U.S.
among evacuees quarantined ona military base in San Diego.
Of the new cases confirmed outside China,
nearly 50 were on boardthis Diamond Princess
cruise ship quarantinedoff the coast of Japan.
- As each day progresses,
we are having additionalpeople tested positive.
- [Jenna] And this HollandAmerica cruise ship was turned
away from five different ports in Asia.
Even though there are no knowncases of COVID-19 on board.
- We're all a bunch ofhuman beings on this ship
that have lives outside ofthis cruise ship that need us.
- [Jenna] Passengers celebrating, though,
after learning they'll finallyget to dock in Cambodia.
Now, help from Israel in the form
of new technology couldhelp curb the virus.
This revolutionary facemask has the ability
to kill 99% of viruses like COVID-19.
- It kills all viruses,all bacteria, all fungus
and it will do it 100% of the time,
all day, all night, seven days a week.
You can wash it, you can bleach it,
you can dye it, you canhit it with a baseball bat.
It's gonna do its job.
- Israeli scientists useinvisible sound waves
to inject copper particles,
with antiviral properties, into cotton.
These engineers then combinethe ancient tradition
of spinning cotton withtoday's technology.
The result: masks thatare far more effective
than the standard N-95 masks.
The company is shipping
these life-saving masks to Hong Kong.
And we've also learned about
another victim of the coronavirus.
The Chinese Grand Prixwhich was supposed to happen
in April in Shanghai has been postponed.
Jenna Browder, CBN News.
- Isn't it marvelous thatGod has given the Israelis
the concept that will changethe life of millions of people.
Injecting copper into thesemasks, it's marvelous.
Well, in other news, excuse me,
frigid temperatures areinvading the Northeast
while a snowstorm shutsdown parts of the West.
John Jessup has more.
- That is right, Pat.
A major winter storm sweepingthrough the country today.
Life-threatening conditionsshutting down Interstate 29
in North Dakota from the Canadian border
to the South Dakota state line.
In Kansas, 17 people weretaken to the hospital
with minor injuries aftera school bus carrying
fifth graders slid off the road.
The storm moving into Chicago last night.
This morning, snowheading into the Northeast
along with heavy rainsfrom D.C. to Boston.
Frigid air will bringbelow average temperatures
to the region this evening.
Fiscal 2020 is just getting started
but the government isalready setting records
for taxing and spending.
The Treasury Departmentreports it collected
over one trillion $178 billion
in total taxes fromOctober through January.
That tops last year's high-water mark.
While the government wascollecting all that money,
it also spent a record amount.
Expenses totaling more thanone trillion, $567 billion.
That's a deficit over $389 billion.
The Equal Rights Amendment has been dead
for nearly four years.
Now, House Democrats, though,
are trying to bring it back to life.
Even though the deadline passed in 1982,
Speaker Nancy Pelosi is trying
to change the rules to get it in.
Even over the objectionof one notable liberal.
Senior Washington CorrespondentJennifer Wishon explains.
- Today, the House votes on abill that removes the deadline
for ratifying the Equal Rights Amendment.
It's a last-ditch effort by Democrats
to get the controversial amendment added
to the Constitution.
- With this resolution, we takea giant step toward equality
for women, progress forfamilies, and a stronger America.
- [Jennifer] The EqualRights Amendment, which says,
"Equality of rights underthe law shall not be denied
"or abridged by the UnitedStates or by any state
"on account of sex,"passed Congress in 1972.
But it failed to get theapproval needed from 38 states,
the 3/4 required toamend the Constitution,
before its 1979 and thenextended 1982 deadlines passed.
Plus, a number of statesthat did ratify the ERA
later rescinded their approval.
- It is time to guaranteetrue gender equality
under the United States Constitution.
- [Jennifer] Despite thedeadline expiring decades ago,
Virginia revived the debate in January
when it became the 38th state to ratify.
The commonwealth's firstfemale Speaker of the House
ensured the ERA was the first bill
to pass out of her chamber.
- For the women of Virginiaand the women of America,
the resolution has finally passed.
(crowd cheering)
- We will no longer suffer in silence
as we are discriminated against.
We will not stand bywhile being paid less.
We won't keep quiet aboutviolence perpetrated
against women with impunity.
- [Jennifer] But criticssay the ERA is the opposite
of what it claims.
They say it actually harms women
and mandates abortion on demand.
- This is about breakingdown any prohibitions
in any state against abortion.
This is really aboutcreating the inevitability
on a federal level forabortion to be legal,
any reason, any number, allpaid for by the taxpayer.
- [Jennifer] In addition, Nance says
there are 800gender-specific laws designed
to protect women, like thePregnancy Discrimination Act,
that would disappear under the ERA.
- Do we deserve specialprotection in certain areas
because biologically we needthem or should those all end?
- While Democrats workto revive the amendment,
liberal icon, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg
says the ERA is dead.
She encourages supportersto start over in Congress.
It's unlikely a new ERA aswritten would pass the Senate.
Getting 3/4 of states to ratifyit would also be a challenge
but this fight is far from over.
Jennifer Wishon, CBN News, Washington.
- Far from over, indeed, thanks, Jennifer.
Pat, back to you.
- Imagine, they sayit's going to help women
but it's written so poorly.
And I remember my good friendPhyllis Schlafly worked
so hard and it was in Illinoisthat they didn't ratify
that steamroller to get this thing passed.
Why?
Among other things, it'snot a question of gender.
It doesn't say gender, it's sex.
But it just means how you do sex.
This would, of course, put inthe Constitution a protection
for homosexuality and all of the things
that the LGBTQ group have been asking for.
This will enshrine in the Constitution.
And then it would mean that abortion
on demand would be requiredby the Constitution.
And that all the protectionsfor women would be taken
away that are in existing law.
This isn't something to protect women.
It's a protection for these other people,
would put them into the Constitution.
And it's a tragic thingand so Ruth Bader Ginsberg
who was one of the attorneysfor the ACLU has said it right.
If you want to do it,start all over again.
This thing is dead, youcannot revive something
that has been voted down.
And a number of states havewithdrawn their approval
so they'd have to go backand pick that up again.
It would be a tragedy, inmy opinion, in this nation,
to put this kind of thingin the Constitution.
People are moving aheadas if, I certainly think
we should have equal rights for women
all the way across the board.
And there are many, many,many laws on the books
right now mandatingequal pay for equal work
and all the rest of thething that women want.
Protection for women.
All those protections would be taken
away with this amendment.
Anyhow, let's hope itfails, in my opinion,
it's dead, it shouldn'trevived, it's unconstitutional.
I don't think this new effort will survive
a Supreme Court challengeif it's given to them.
Wendy.
