- Welcome to "The 700 Club."
I'd like to make alittle personal comment.
You've been watching me do things
and I had eye surgery.
I had cataracts.
I was driving and I had glasses,
I couldn't even see thestreet sign across the block.
And so suddenly I said,"Something's gotta be done."
They found out I had cataracts.
So I had the one on theleft side taken out.
Then two days beforeThanksgiving, I had the right eye,
and my vision is so incredible.
I can see things that Icouldn't see 20 years ago.
- [Terry] Isn't that wonderful?
- It's just incredible.
- Both near and far.
- Dr. Scoper at Virginia EyeConsultants is an absolute
genius and I want to givehim my congratulations.
And if you want, it's so easy.
When we had the flying hospital,
we did a lot of eye surgeries.
And we did interocular lensesand we took the lens out
but it was a rather elaborate procedure.
And we took the old lensand put the new one.
But the way they do at thisVirginia Eye Consultants,
they sort of emulsify theone lens, take it out,
put a flexible lens in.
And my vision is better thanit has been about 25 years.
I cannot believe it.
- And it was restored almost immediately.
- Immediately, oh yeah,immediately, just boom, there it is.
- [Terry] Good for you.
- Send a good doctor some business.
Virginia Eye Consultants, Dr.Scoper and I am so thrilled.
Speaking of eyes, all eyes are on Georgia
where the stakes are high.
Twoo runoff elections onJanuary the fifth will decide
which party controls theUnited States Senate.
So why are some Republicans threatening
to boycott the election?
And why is that the worstthing they could do?
Our reporter Eric Philipsis in Atlanta right now.
- President Trump will be here in Georgia
Saturday urging Republicans
to elect David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler.
Some Trump supporters, however,
are threatening to boycott the polls
because they don't trust the process
based largely on thepresident's own claims
of fraud during his bid for reelection.
- There are those who areexploiting the emotions
of many Trump supporterswith fantastic claims,
half-truths, misinformation, and frankly,
they're misleading thepresident as well, apparently.
- [Eric] Despite criticism and threats,
Georgia Secretary ofState Brad Raffensperger,
a staunch Republican anda Trump supporter stood
by the state's general election results.
He is now sounding the alarm about what
he says is happening priorto next month's Senate runoff
between two Republican incumbents
and two democratic challengers.
- That is why I'mannouncing an investigation
into third-party groupsworking to register people
in other states to vote here in Georgia.
- [Eric] Raffensperger sayssome groups are sending
absentee ballot applications to people
who haven't lived in Georgia in 25 years.
Others encouraging collegestudents to register
in Georgia then change their residency
after the election is over.
That, combined with lingering theories
of compromised electionsecurity and voter fraud
in the general electionhas led some Republicans
to call for an election boycott.
Ralph Reed, chairman of the Atlanta-based
Faith and Freedom Coalition says
that is the exact oppositeof what needs to happen.
- That would be givingthe other side control
of the country by default.
And that's checking out of the process
and that's not consistent with my
understanding of Christian citizenship.
- [Eric] His organizationis helping to recruit
about 300 poll watchersand workers for the runoff.
- The way to make sure thatthis election isn't stolen,
the way to ensureelection integrity is not
to walk away from the election.
It's to volunteer andapply to be a poll worker
so that you're the onechecking the signatures
on the absentee ballots.
- [Eric] He and others realize
voter turnout is the key to success.
Still the issue of voterconfidence will have to be tackled.
And according to Suzi Voyleswho has been an election
manager for 20 years, that's a challenge.
- I'd say it's rather a mixed bag,
but I'd say it's on the low side.
And because I've donethis for such a long time,
so many people are saying,"Is it worth my voting?"
And I don't know and I'venever experienced that.
- And RNC chairpersonRonna McDaniel was here
at Marietta, Georgia lastweekend urging a rowdy crowd
to not lose faith in the election process.
She said they need to get out and vote
in this upcoming runoff election
and encourage their friendsand family to do the same.
Pat.
- Thanks, Eric.
What can you tell us about the atmosphere
right now in Atlanta?
- Well, Pat, there's avery charged atmosphere
right here and I shouldsay it's on both sides.
Both Democrats and Republicansunderstand the gravity
of this upcoming runoff election.
So millions of dollars are being spent
on both sides to get out the vote.
Because as Ralph Reedsaid to me the other day
when I emailed him, orinterviewed him rather,
this is not an electionwhere you're trying
to persuade people.
This is not an election of persuasion.
Rather, it's an election of getting people
to come out and vote.
It's an election of participation.
And whoever can get the most people
to come out andparticipate is likely going
to be victorious in this race.
I can tell you, as someonewho has been following
political races andelections for a long time,
I'm used to seeing political ads
on television during election season.
That's a normal situation to have happen.
So imagine my surprisewhen even I was shocked
to see the number of ads on television
here in the Georgia area, political ads,
nothing but political ads and commercials
between whatever may be ontelevision at that time.
This is a charged atmosphere.
Everyone realizes how high the stakes are
and we'll find out what happenscoming up on January 5th.
- Eric, are they doing anything different
to avoid some of the problemswith the general election?
- Well, of course, you knowGeorgia has been under a lot
of scrutiny, Pat, eversince the general election
on November 3rd.
And we know that there aresome safeguards in place
such as tabulating theDominion voting machines
in front of a bi-partisan witness group.
That'll happen the daybefore and the day after
any elections to make sure those voting
machines are tabulating properly.
And also poll workers willbe verifying signatures
on things like absentee ballots
and not Dominion workers orDominion voting machines.
Those are just some of the ideas
that have been implemented to make sure
that people can have voter confidence
when they come and participate.
And not only this upcomingrunoff election on January 5th,
but in elections to come.
But I will tell you,the other side of that
outside of what the state might be doing,
outside of what Dominion voting,
the company itself might be doing,
you've got these groups on both sides
who are keeping a very closeeye on these elections.
In other words, theRepublicans alone have sent
300 poll workers andpoll watchers to training
so that they can themselveseyeball these ballots
as they come in and make surethere are no improprieties
that might compromise this election
as they felt happened in the past, Pat.
- Thank you, Eric.
Thanks for that excellent report.
Now ladies and gentlemen,from everything I can learn,
it's about as tight a deal inGeorgia as they've ever had.
That doesn't mean that people won't vote,
but they got to get out tovote if you live in Georgia.
That vote is important andwe cannot allow anything.
But the Georgia secretary of state
certified the election result after
hand-auditing five million ballots
which showed that the paperballot voting system counted
and reported results accurately.
The small change in thefinal tally was due entirely
to the addition of balancedthat had been uncounted
due to human process errors.
So what do we gather?
It's going to be a cleandeal but that doesn't mean
that there's not a lotof problems in Georgia
and tremendous, tremendousamount of money's being spent
and an enormous amountof partisan enthusiasm.
Well, in other news, PresidentTrump took to social media
yesterday with what hesays may be the quote,
"most important speech I've ever made."
So what did the president have to say?
John Jessup has that.
- That is right, Pat.
In a nearly 50 minute speech,46 minutes to be exact,
it's posted on social media,the president repeated charges
that the election wasstolen claiming fraud
and irregularitiesrelated to mail-in voting.
And he said he'll continueto contest the results
because he's determined
to protect America's election system.
- The constitutional processmust be allowed to continue.
We're going to defendthe honesty of the vote
by ensuring that everylegal ballot is counted
and that no illegal ballot is counted.
This is not just about honoring the votes
of 74 million Americans who voted for me.
It's about ensuring thatAmericans can have faith
in this election and inall future elections.
- So far, the president's legal team
has not been successfulin its court challenges.
Turning to the coronavirussurge that's hitting the nation,
the federal government issuingits most urgent warning
to date while also preparing
for a massive vaccine rolloutto begin in two weeks.
All this amidst new concerns
about frontline healthcareworkers and their mental health.
CBN's Heather Sells has the story.
- [Heather] A grim warning from the head
of the Centers for DiseaseControl Wednesday saying
that in the next three months,the pandemic will get worse.
- December and January
and February are going to be rough times.
I actually believe they'regoing to be the most
difficult time in the publichealth history of this nation.
- The reason, earlierCOVID surges were regional.
This time the rates are risingin all parts of the country.
Right now, the COVID trackingproject reports more than
100,000 Americans arehospitalized with the virus
and 2,700 have died from itin just the past 24 hours.
- We just sit there and hold their hand.
They want you to limit15 minutes in the room
but how do you walk away from somebody
that's saying, "I just want to die?"
- [Heather] Operation WarpSpeed expects emergency
authorization for the firstvaccine by December 15th.
Pfizer plans to release 6.4 million doses
that day with 12 million from Moderna
possibly available a week later.
States across the country are preparing
their vaccine storage facilities.
- This will happen at hospital systems,
our facilities equippedwith ultra-cold storage.
- [Heather] Virginiaexpects just 70,000 doses
from Pfizer in the first wave.
- We have plans in place fordetermining who goes first.
- [Heather] Governors andlocal leaders will ultimately
decide who gets the vaccine.
But the CDC says thatnursing home patients
and healthcare workersshould be first in line.
There is fresh concern about mental health
for these frontline heroes.
In a new survey, eight in 10 say
they're experiencing anxiety,
while three quarters reportexhaustion and burnout.
- Once worry transformsto anxiety or depression,
these things don't go away on their own.
- [Heather] Regent Universityprofessor and therapist
Danny Holland works with these providers
and says many do or will needcounseling to go forward.
For now, self-care and empathy
from family members will help.
- Those things really cando a lot to both kind of
release some of the stressand increase resilience.
- [Heather] That's good news,
not only for healthcare workersbut their patients as well.
Heather Sells, CBN News.
- Thanks, Heather.
Pat, fatigue and burnout,just one of the reasons
people are describing theseason as the long dark winter.
- Well, yes, and ladies and gentlemen,
I want you to know there'sgood news coming up.
It's always too late forthose who suffered and died,
but nevertheless, it's coming.
We're going to have thevaccine very shortly.
And then we will get whatLorie calls herd immunity.
So before long, the wholecountry will be immune,
in a fashion, for this terrible corona.
And it's gotta be brought undercontrol but it will happen.
Unfortunately, a numberof people will be dying.
And all we can say is we'resad and we know the grief
that loved ones are havingand they need counseling,
they need prayer and weneed to help each other
during this terrible time.
But the good news is the herd immunity
and the vaccines are coming.
And we as a nation underGod's help are going
to beat this horrible plague.
