- [Announcer] This is "CBN Newswatch."

- I'm Efrem Graham.

It is Tuesday, ElectionDay, November 3, 2020.

Thank you so much for turning to CBN News.

America reaches the finish line

in the long, bitter presidential campaign.

Voters are now casting ballots

in the only poll that matters,and nearly 100 million

have actually already exercisedtheir right in early voting.

With record breaking early turnout,

all eyes are looking to see

how many people voteacross the country today.

But the big question is:

How long will the country have to wait

to learn the official results?

Heather Sells begins ourElection Day coverage.

- [Heather] Across the country,

voters are making their voices heard

in the 2020 presidential election.

But as voting ends today,

the winner may not be known for days.

In the final hours of the campaign,

a confident President Trumpmade his case for re-election,

blitzing North Carolina,Michigan, Wisconsin,

and Pennsylvania, withhuge, enthusiastic crowds.

- [Audience] Four moreyears! Four more years!

- This does not look likea second place finish.

(audience cheers)

- [Heather] The Bidencampaign spreading out

across Ohio and Pennsylvaniain the final hours.

- We're gonna win Pennsylvania

(audience claps and cheers)

and we're gonna show theworld what America stands for.

- [Heather] Former President Obama

campaigning for his formervice president in Georgia

in hopes of turning it blue.

With more than 100 millionballots cast before Election Day,

Dr. Michael McDonald ofthe University of Florida

says record-breaking turnout is expected.

- We're over twice the number of people

who voted early than in 2016.

I'm thinking that we're gonna have

about 160 million peoplevote in the election.

That'd be a turnout rate of 67%,

a turnout rate that wehaven't seen since 1900.

- [Heather] McDonald told CBN News

that while early votes may favor Biden,

Trump could still win.

- That early vote islooking very good for Biden.

So when we get those first numbers in,

just take a big, deep breath

because that does notmean that Biden's won.

We're gonna have to seethat Election Day vote.

That could shift it back towards Trump.

- [Heather] Evangelicals,

who overwhelminglysupport President Trump,

have also been sought by the Biden camp.

Dr. Ed Stetzer of the BillyGraham Center at Wheaton College

says Biden's appeal to evangelicals

is a huge shift from 2016.

- Hillary Clinton seemed to work hard

to alienate evangelicalsrather than try to engage them,

where the Biden campaign, JoshDixon is their faith leader,

advisor, has really triedto engage evangelicals.

White evangelicals havea very strong affinity

with this president,but they have engaged.

- [Heather] Pointing outissues driving evangelicals

in this election.

- The economic issues, our foreign policy.

And then when you get to other issues

like the Supreme Court, certainlyplays into that as well.

Concerns about religious liberty issues,

the concern about the unborn.

- [Heather] As one of themost contentious elections

comes to a close, PresidentTrump insists the winner

should be declared on Election Night,

but McDonald says it could takedays to determine a winner.

- We may know somethingabout what's happened

and who the next president-elect will be

with those fast-countingstates like a Florida

if it's decisive enough.

It comes down to some other states

like a Pennsylvania, aMichigan, a Wisconsin,

election officials there are saying

it could take three to four days

for them to process them all

and we wouldn't get the election results

from those states untilmaybe Friday of this week.

- [Heather] Both campaigns arereadying for a legal fight,

with teams of lawyersready to file challenges

in crucial states.

Meanwhile, in anticipation ofprotests after the election,

barriers have been putup around the perimeter

of the White House, allreasons why Stetzer says that,

after the election, thechurch should take the lead

in healing a divided America.

- I hope we'll remember thatJesus is not coming back

riding a donkey or an elephant,

and we need to unite thechurch, build these bridges,

get back on mission, showand share the love of Jesus

to a broken and a hurting world.

- [Heather] Heather Sells, CBN News.

- And our Senior EditorJohn Waage's here right now

to talk more about this election.

So, those of us watching in the evening,

trying to get some idea ofhow things are unfolding,

what states' election resultsshould we be looking at?

- Well, Efrem, the early states to watch

are probably North Carolinaand, to some extent, Florida

because the panhandledoesn't close till 8:00.

But I would say North Carolina.

I'm gonna be watching Virginia as well,

not because anybody's pickingTrump to win Virginia,

but I'll be watching itto see if it's close,

maybe watching some ofthose early House races

where it could flip.

But I would say Ohio will be,I believe, 7:30 Eastern time,

so Ohio is another one.

And the other states willfollow shortly after that,

almost by a half-hour basis.

And of course we knowthe top of the ticket

is the president, but what aresome of the other key races

we should be paying attention to?

- Well, I think,

you know, President Trumpdoesn't go very far if he wins.

And Joe Biden would have a lot more thrust

if he were to take the Senateback and keep the House.

So the House races and the Senate races

are obviously very important this time.

Polls showing that Republicans

have so many more seats to defend

that the Democrats might befavored over to win the Senate.

I think Republicans are gonna hold on

because of the Trump factor,

and the House, most pundits are saying

that Democrats will keep the House

- Right.- Or even gain some seats,

and I think Republicans may take it over.

But it's all gonna be, you know,

the counting into thewee hours beyond the time

that we even we'll be up probably.

- Yes, indeed.

Speaking of that, howlong do you think it'll be

before we actually knowwho the president is?

- My gut feeling iswe'll have a good feeling

by the end of the evening tonight,

but that doesn't mean thatall the Is will be dotted

and the Ts will be crossed.

And there, no matter what, Efrem,

there's gonna be a huge legal battle.

There's one report out that,

you know, if the exit pollsshow favorable for Joe Biden,

he might try and call it early.

Who knows?

A lot of rumor floating around now,

but the legal teams are in place

and they're ready to do battle.

- Before we let you go,

I know that you've traveled the country

on the road to be here.

What are your predictions interms of the presidential race?

Do you think Trump will keep the office?

What's gonna happen?

- I believe President Trump'sgonna win re-election.

And it may not even be as close

as the polls have been saying.

Right now, a lot of the polls

still show Joe Bidenwinning enough of those

upper Midwest states to get to 270.

I think President Trump's gonna do it

and I think that thisevidence is the huge crowds

in the closing days andI think that's evocative

of the support he has ofpeople getting to the polls

and stand there for five hours today.

You know, they have to.- All right.

- All right, thank you,John Waage. All the best.

Long day and night

for you, for sure.- Long day.

- Thank you so much.- Thanks, Efrem.

- Well with a divided nationand a polarized election,

many are concerned aboutthe possible unrest

that could happen on this day.

But as CBN National Security Correspondent

Eric Philips tells us,there are a few actions

that could derail any violence.

- [Protesters] I can'tbreathe! I can't breathe!

- [Eric] It doesn't take much to recognize

that there is extreme unrestin our country right now.

COVID-19, racial unrest,government opposition.

The nation is dividedalong so many fault lines,

and inserted in the middle of it

is a major contentiouspresidential election.

- Anyone who's responsiblefor that many deaths

should not remain as president

of the United States of America.

- Proud Boys, stand back and stand by.

- [Eric] Authorities say

even when there's no obvious activity,

factions are simmeringbeneath the surface.

- Within the racially

and ethically motivatedviolent extremists,

I would say the biggest chunk of those,

I can't give you a percentage,but the biggest chunk of that

are individuals who are motivated

by some form of whitesupremacist ideology.

- [Eric] The Armed ConflictLocation & Event Data Project

tracks conflicts all over the world,

including white supremacistgroups in the US.

Their research follows nine major ones,

ranking them in violencepotential from low to very high.

- You know, any person of faith or decency

should be able to say there'sno place for white supremacy

in the United States period.

And when the presidentof the United States

has trouble sayingthat, we have a problem.

- [Eric] On the left,the group Shutdown DC

has posted a plan entitledStopping the Coup:

The Disruption Guide for 2020.

It details shutting down the country

and forcing President Trump from power

if the presidential electionis too close to call.

So how will this dangerouscocktail play out

after Election Day?

Already, crews in Washingtonhave been boarding up buildings

in anticipation of potential disruption.

On Friday, a group of Trump supporters

surrounded a Biden campaign bus in Texas,

leading nervous Bidenstaffers to cancel an event.

To that, the presidenttweeted, "I love Texas!"

Then on Sunday, a car caravandubbed the Trump Train

rolled through Richmond, Virginia,

clashing with the opposing protestors

at the Robert E. Lee monument.

Lawyer and politicalcommentator Van Jones says

quelling post-electionviolence could boil down

to one simple concessionspeech on either side.

- That concession speech

helps the tens of millions of people

who voted for that personto accept the outcome.

- [Eric] Pastor Rick McDanielnotes the potential lag time

between Election Day and official results

could foster unrest.

- We have to pray for God's will,

even if it may be different

than what our will is or what we want.

- Coming up, we're gonna takea look at persecution in Iran

and show you how a pastor isfighting there for his faith.

You're watching "CBN Newswatch."

Stay with us.

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- [Announcer] "On the Homefront."

- Thanks for joining us forCBN's "On the Homefront,"

where we highlight what the men and women

of America's military doto defend our country.

CBN honors the men andwomen in our military

with an initiative calledHelping the Home Front.

It partners with churchesacross the country

to meet the needs oftheir military families,

from repairing homes towiping out medical bills

for wounded veterans.

- [Announcer] Watch "On theHomefront" today at 2:30.

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- [Announcer] Too often, wecarry baggage from our past.

You know what it's like.

It affects everything andeveryone in our lives.

It's always there, weighing us down

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But do you know God never meant for us

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- [Announcer] CBN News presentsan Election Night special

with live coverage starting at 7:00 PM.

Get updates on the campaigns

plus analysis on theshifting balance of power.

Watch on the CBN News Channelor on the CBN News app.

- A 43 year old housechurch pastor in Iran

is behind bars serving asix-year prison sentence.

Iranian authorities areaccusing Youcef Nadarkhani

of propagating house churches

and promoting Zionist Christianity.

CBN News discussed his case

with a member of theUnited States Commission

on International Religious Freedom.

- Nadine Maenza, thank you somuch for coming on the show.

Tell us about the case ofPastor Youcef Nadarkhani.

- Sure, so Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani

is a prisoner of consciousthat I've adopted

as a commissioner on the US Commission

on International Religious Freedom.

Just over two years ago, in July of 2018,

armed men came to IranianPastor Nadarkhani's home

in the middle of the night, beat him,

tasered his 14-year-old son,

and then hauled him off tojail, where he remains today.

He's currently in one ofthe most notorious prisons

in the world, the Evin prison in Tehran,

simply for following his faith.

So he's been arrested and tried on charges

of promoting Zionist Christianity

and acting against national security,

really for being a pastor of a church.

He was convicted,

although he's beenappealing that since 2016.

So he is a pastor of a homechurch of about 400 people.

He was born into anon-religious Muslim family,

but became a Christian at age 19.

As in most countries in the Middle East,

or all really, you're not allowed

to change your religionif you're a Muslim.

But most aren't quite as severe as Iran,

where the punishment is extremely severe.

And he was actually earliersentenced to death in 2010,

and then, because of theoutcry against that sentence,

he ended up being releasedfor time served in 2012.

So he, the Iranian government

has gone after him quite a bitsimply because of his faith.

- Yeah, there is some concernabout his health condition.

Tell us what's the latest.

- Sure, well, in September,he went on a hunger strike

after the governmentdenied both of his sons,

Daniel and Yoel, permissionto advance their education

because they had opted outof a Muslim religion classes,

which you can do accordingto their constitution,

but of course, it came at a cost.

So we knew he was weakened by that.

We're concerned, of course.

There's COVID in the prisonand there's been a lot of news

that a lot of the prisonershave been released

or furloughed because of the pandemic.

Pastor Nadarkhani was not one of those.

So he's still in prison.

He has an additional 10 years to serve.

So we're concerned about his health

and we would ask thegovernment to release him

and hope that the USgovernment would negotiate it

or negotiate, would ask forhis release, I should say.

- Iran, as you know, is oneof the most dangerous places

in the world for Christiansand other religious minorities,

including gays and lesbians.

Tell us, what are thechallenges they face?

- Yes, so they're reallytargeted because of their faith.

I mean, we see this withChristians, as you mentioned,

Jews, Baha'i, Sufis, Sunnis.

They're very vulnerablein many different ways.

The government uses alot of different laws

to go after them.

And also, as you'd mentioned,with the LGBT community,

they use religion to go after them

and having a lot of executions,

jailing women, targeting atheists.

So they go after people of faith

and then they use religionlaws to go after other people

as well in order, you know,to really target everyone

who really isn't a Shia Muslim.

And for that reason, the US Commission

on International ReligiousFreedom has recommended

that Iran be a country ofparticular concern since 2002.

It has among the worst

religious freedom conditions in the world,

systematic, ongoing, andegregious violations.

Those are the three wordsthat you really have to meet

to be a country of particular concern,

and they certainly do that.

- A survey came out just earlierthis summer showing that,

in fact, many Iranians areturning their back on religion,

specifically the stateinstitutional religion,

in this case, Islam, right?

- Right, and we're seeing that in places

like Saudi Arabia as well,

where, when people areforced to follow a faith,

you'll see the populationnot embrace it as holistic

when it's not a choice they got to make.

So certainly that's whatwe're seeing in Iran as well.

- Okay, terrific.

Nadine, as always,

thank you so much forcoming on the broadcast.

- Thanks for having me.

- You're welcome.

- A comedian is taking on cancel culture.

We're gonna show you how coming up.

Stay with us.

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- And welcome back to "CBN Newswatch."

On this Election Day, we continueto cover the growing push

to wipe out free speech in America.

In this latest chapter,comedian Adam Carolla

is determined to put anend to that cancel culture.

He is an unlikely partnernow in this crusade,

and they've produced a compelling film.

Want to check in withCBN News' Charlene Aaron

for this story.

- In the film, "No Safe Spaces,"

comedian and top podcasterAdam Carolla shares the screen

with conservative talkradio host, Dennis Prager.

The men explore threatsto the First Amendment

and freedom of thought in America,

something Carolla saysthe mainstream media

refuses to admit.

- [Kid] You have theright to remain silent.

- [Kids] Anything you saywill be used against you.

- First and foremost, we wanted to make it

an entertaining film, and that it is.

But it has a lot of perspectivefrom both sides of the aisle

and some pretty interesting stories

that maybe the news didn'texactly fully cover.

- [Charlene] Carolla admitsthat, while he and Prager

come from different backgrounds,

they share the same passion

about fighting the politicalcorrect culture's aim

to squash speech they don't like.

- I like people's values,

and when I have a valuethat I share with somebody,

then I'm immediately attracted to them,

even though, in DennisPrager's particular case,

we could not be further apart on paper

in terms of how we grew up.

He was an East Coast guyand I was a West Coast guy,

and we just, we justcouldn't be further apart

except for the part where wehave the exact same values.

- [Charlene] "No SafeSpaces," now available

on DVD and streaming became 2019's

top grossing political documentary

after showcasing the erosionof First Amendment rights.

- You are not listening.

I want your job to be taken from you.

(tense percussive beating)

- [Reporter] A protest has turned violent

at California Berkeley.

- This is why we're fightingfor the soul of America.

- [Charlene] Carolla also points out

how this generation has been trained

to hate alternativeoptions, despise debates,

and unleash anger on any opposing views.

- Our free speech used to be,

if you don't like somethingthat your Congressman is doing

or saying or the principal of the school

or the police captain, thenwe're allowed to speak up

and voice our disagreement.

And that was kind of whatfree speech was based on.

That part of free speech hasnot only not been altered

or changed, it's been turbocharged.

- [Charlene] He says thepurpose of free speech

isn't about stifling voices,

including those with whom you disagree.

- The part that we didn'tunderstand about the free speech

is comedians making jokes,

professors sticking to their guns,

parents saying "I don't want this subject

brought up in school."

We didn't know those peoplewere gonna be shut down.

We put it in place so we couldspeak our truth to power,

not so we could get folksfired from their jobs.

- [Charlene] The documentaryalso features backlash

faced by comedians such asTim Allen and Kevin Hart

for comments seen as crossingfree speech boundaries.

- Kevin Hart has stepped down

from hosting this year's Oscars.

- [Kid] Anything yousay that we don't like

will be used to shut you up.

- [Charlene] Hart's decisioncame after liberal outrage

over old tweets that includedcomments on homosexuality.

Carolla sees his jobas making people laugh,

even if it makes some mad in the process.

- I have one truth, it'sthe truth as I know it,

and that's what I'm gonna say

because, at the end ofthe day, I'm a comedian.

Why would I get into comedy

to figure out what people want to hear?

That sounds like the opposite of comedy.

- Yeah.- How 'bout I say

what I want to say?

- [Charlene] He callsthe film an eye opener

for all Americans.

- I think it's kind of a thing

that's important to watchwith your kids as well.

You know, you got, probably 11 and up

or something like that, butit's a good thing to know.

You can agree with all of it.

You can disagree withsome of it or most of it.

It doesn't really matter.

You should still be exposed to it.

- [Charlene] Meanwhile,Carolla says he is not afraid

of speaking his mind andurges others to not be afraid

about speaking out for what they believe.

- Their power is your fear.

And they don't have any actual power.

Their power is you're scared of them.

Once you speak up and you stay the course,

they leave you alone.

There's nothing they can do.

They have no dominion over you.

The dominion they hold overyou is your own personal fear.

- [Charlene] Charlene Aaron, CBN News.

- There are Christians inboth major political parties

and campaigns and they'resharing their reason

for their choice for president.

They're also speaking out

about the current political environment.

It's all part of aseries of articles posted

by Dr. Ed Stetzer ofthe Billy Graham Center

at Wheaton College.

Those writings havegenerated some thoughtful

and sometimes heateddiscussions among believers.

Stetzer tells CBN's "The Prayer Link"

while Election Day is important,

what is more important are the days ahead

and how the church's actions will be vital

in bringing unity to the country.

- We already know that people

of different races and ethnicity

have a tendency to votein different directions.

Well, we're all in thesame body of Christ.

What's it gonna look like

as we walk together asfollowers of Jesus tomorrow.

You know, there's gonna be a day after

and the church of JesusChrist is more important

and transcends political differences,

transcends even national borders.

And so what does it look like for us

to really deeply be concerned?

I voted.

I'm deeply concerned aboutwhere we're going as a nation.

And after this is all said and done,

we need the church of Jesus Christ

to come together, staytogether, be on mission together

to show and share the love of Jesus.

- And you can see the entire interview

with Dr. Ed Stetzer and more this evening

on "The Prayer Link."

It begins at 6:30 Easternon the CBN News Channel.

And for a final thoughton that, stay with us.

We'll be right back.

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- Heavenly Father, we do thank you

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- Yes.

- Lord, into public schools.

- [Announcer] Watch "The Prayer Link"

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- Welcome back to "CBN Newswatch."

Superbook has launched ahome program in Myanmar.

COVID-19 keeps churchesfrom gathering together

and that prevents Superbook

from distributing itsSunday school curriculum,

so a weekly digital programis on Facebook and YouTube

featuring "Superbook" episodesalong with Bible lessons

that encourage parents togrow and train their children.

Each episode includes a challenge

for the children to complete,

which is then featuredon the Facebook page.

And finally, this halfhour, a Tuesday tweetable

for you to post, tag, andshare on this Election Day.

Be sure to make time tovote, but remember this,

God is not a Democrat or a Republican

and He doesn't ever come to take sides.

He comes to take over.

And at the start and end of every day,

it is the kingdom thatmatters above all countries.

With that word, makethis a terrific Tuesday.

That is going to do it for thisedition of "CBN Newswatch."

Want to remind you, you can always find

more of our programs on theCBN News Channel at any time.

You can also find themonline at CBNNews.com.

We'd love to know what you think

about the stories you'veseen here today or any day.

You can email us at the address

right there at the bottom ofyour screen, newswatch@cbn.com.

And of course, you canalways reach out and touch us

on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Hope you will make today,Election Day, a terrific Tuesday,

and join us right back here come tomorrow.

Goodbye, everybody, and God bless.

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