- [Announcer] This is "CBN Newswatch."

- And thanks for joiningus for "CBN Newswatch."

I'm Heather Sells.

A sobering milestone today.

The US is expected to hit the 500,000 mark

of lives lost to COVID-19by the end of this evening,

and that is nearly the populationof the city of Atlanta.

Tonight, President Joe Bidenwill remember those lives

in a White House ceremony.

And at the same time,

there are some promisingnumbers to report:

new cases dropping by 73%,

hospitalizations down more than 50%,

and deaths are also falling.

Vaccination efforts are ramping up

after the winter stormsdelayed six million vaccines.

Still, there are concernsover the South Africa variant,

which may be more resistant.

- If in fact this becomes more dominant,

we may have to get aversion of the vaccine

that is directed specifically

against the South African isolate.

- Dr. Fauci also predicted

Americans might need towear masks until 2022.

And CBN's Medical ReporterLorie Johnson joins us now.

Lorie, how concerned should people be

about this South Africa variant?

- Really Heather, very concerned

because the South African variant

has been shown to escape,to evade the vaccines.

We know that it also has been resistant

to some of our best treatments.

And people who have recoveredfrom the coronavirus

have been reinfected bythe South African variant.

So we know that it isa very potent strain.

We know that it is herein the United States,

but it is not as dominantas the UK variant.

Still, we need to make surethat the South African variant

doesn't grab a hold andbecome more dominant,

and the best way to do that

is to prevent spread of the coronavirus.

You know, a lot of folks, Heather,

aren't really that concernedabout getting the coronavirus

because, after all, it'svery mild in many people

and deadly really onlyto 1% of the population,

so a lot of folks aren't tooconcerned about getting it.

But knowing that they can getthis South African variant

and pass it along to otherpeople should be a big red flag.

- Right, it's so hard tokeep that mix of, you know,

of being reasonable about all this.

But let me ask you, we knowright now 56 million Americans

have received at leastone dose of the vaccine

and over a million are nowreceiving it every day.

Do you think that perhaps

people are becoming moreinterested in taking the vaccine?

- Well, vaccine hesitancyhas gone way down.

A new Gallup poll shows anaverage of 71% of Americans

say they will likely take the vaccine.

That's up from an average of 50%.

But what's really interesting

about that Gallup poll, Heather,

the new one that just came out

is it's an average of 71% andit's split among party lines.

Get this, only 51% of Republicans

say they'll get the vaccine

and 91% of Democrats say they'll get it.

Also interesting to see thatthe highest income earners

are the most likely to get vaccines.

I'm talking about peoplewith a household income

of $90,000 a year or more.

Also, people with a college degree

and people who live inthe Northeast as well.

- That is really interesting.

And I want to ask you too,

Dr. Fauci was talking aboutmasks, wearing them until 2022.

What is the thinking behind that?

- Well, he said it's a possibilityand it's simply because

he said that in order forthings to go back to normal,

what does that mean,

to the way they were before the pandemic,

there have to be two things in place:

mass vaccinations, in other words,

a lot of people within thecommunity have been vaccinated

and are immune to the coronavirus,

and also that the casenumbers need to be way down,

and neither of those thingsare happening right now.

You mentioned before that thecase numbers are down 73%,

but that's only 73% down since November.

The numbers now are still much higher

than they were this pastsummer and in the fall.

So we still have a long ways to go

before getting more people vaccinated

and the amount of virus that's circulating

in the community downto a tolerable level.

- All right, Lorie Johnson,thanks for the update.

- Sure.

- Well, President Joe Biden's

$1.9 trillion COVID relief bill

is back in the HouseBudget Committee today

and it is expected to go from there

to the House floor for debate.

It could be voted on by the weekend.

It would deliver another$1,400 stimulus check

to most Americans alongwith other relief measures.

Warmer weather has returned to Texas

after last week'sdevastating winter storm,

but an estimated 10 million Texans

are still without safe drinking water.

The good news, full power isexpected to be restored today.

Other bad news, some Texans are receiving

astronomical electric bills,one as high as 17,000,

after a spike in the energy market.

- You know, you're being held hostage

and you can't do anything about it.

How in the world can anyone pay that?

- Burst pipes have ruined many homes.

State Farm is reporting

as many frozen pipe claims from Texas

in a week as it had acrossthe entire US last year.

President Biden has issueda disaster declaration

for 77 Texas counties.

Governor Greg Abbott calledit an important first step,

but is asking the president to expand that

to the entire state.

And Hannah Slusher withOperation Blessing joins us now

with details on therelief efforts in Texas.

Thanks for being here, Hannah.

- Yeah, no problem.Thank you for having me.

- Well, we know the weather isstarting to warm up in Texas

but talk about the workthat is just beginning,

and that is the recovery effort.

What is happening?

- Right now, the mainneed, it really is water

even though it's...

You still have millions of people

that are under boil advisories.

And, you know, with disasters, safe water

is usually one of the firstthings that gets impacted,

and that is still really impacting people,

not only as the boiladvisories begin to lift,

you still have millions ofpeople with those bursting pipes.

Water is gonna be an issue for a while.

So we're doing everythingthat we can right now

to work with our reliefpartners on the ground,

to work with the City of Dallas,

to get much needed waterout to as many as we can.

- Well, and it's so crazy

because, you know, here weare in the United States

and where we're talkingabout safe drinking water,

something that we typicallyhave not had to think about

in this country.

How exactly is Operation Blessing helping

to meet the water needsof people in Texas?

- We're working withthe Hunger Strike Force.

We're working with...

Keurig Dr Pepper actually,over the weekend,

was able to donate palletsand pallets of water

that we were able topush right out the door

to places like LakewoodChurch, Highway Tabernacle.

Pastor Stoker fromHighway Tabernacle Church

in Cleveland, Texas actually said

that they had a distribution lane

that was actually just backed up for miles

with families just in line

ready to receive those cases of water,

and not just for drinking, but for bathing

and washing their hands andthings like that as well.

- All right, any other areas

that Operation Blessingis helping with right now,

or is water the main need?

- Water is the main need,but we're pushing out food.

We were pushing out blankets as well.

That was one of the firstasks from the City of Dallas

that we were able toaccommodate was blankets

and safe drinking water.

We're moving and expanding now.

We're actually lookinginto different areas

of Louisiana as well that arealso under boil advisories

over in Shreveport.

So right now, water is truly a main focus,

but water, non-perishablefood items, things like that.

- All right, Hannah Slusher,

thanks for the updateon Operation Blessing.

- Thank you.

- And you can find moreabout Operation Blessing

and how to help by going to thewebsite, Operation Blessing,

I'm sorry, it's OB.org, to findout ways that you can help.

Well, we are startingto see and hear stories

of God at work amidstthat terrible Texas storm.

One pastor said it was abig Jesus fest at his church

as they helped shelter those in need.

Pastor Troy Brewer ofOpen Doors Church says

his church rented twogenerators for electricity

so he and his members couldprovide food, shelter,

and other basic needs.

A local Jeep club alsohelped transport families

from their home to the shelter.

6,000 pounds of food weregiven away to 1,025 people.

Doctors and nurses helped people

with immediate medical needs.

And there were manysalvations and healings.

Brewer said they saw the powerof God throughout the week.

Well, President Biden has revoked a permit

for the Canadian-backed Keystone Pipeline

as part of a number of executive orders

aimed at curbing climate change.

That is straining the USrelationship with Canada

and it is deeply concerning

to thousands of oil industry workers

who may lose their jobs.

CBN contributor Chuck Holton reports.

- [Chuck] President JoeBiden wasted no time

making good on thecentral campaign promise,

putting a stop to theKeystone XL pipeline,

and Republican lawmakers are fuming.

- It's not just bad forAmerica and Americans.

It's bad for the world.

Our neighbors to the north and the south

depend upon these pipelines.

Part of our contractual agreement

is the completion of the Keystone XL.

- [Chuck] According torepresentative Clay Higgins,

if the opposition caresabout environmental impact,

pipelines are not the right target.

- The safest, most efficient,most ecologically sound means

by which to transport energyproduct is by pipeline.

- The Trump administration fast tracked

dozens of pipelineprojects all across America

and now we see more than9,500 miles of pipelines

currently under constructionin the United States alone.

But the Biden administration'sopen hostility

toward the oil and gas industry

means that companies like these

are going to have to start thinking about

whether or not it's worth it to continue.

But one thing that won'tchange is the customer's demand

for the energy these pipelines carry.

- Pipelines are provento be both the safest

and most environmentally friendly way

to move oil and natural gas.

So by canceling pipelines,

you're just forcing it totravel a different way.

- [Chuck] And moving petroleumproducts by rail or truck

results in as much assix times more pollution

than moving it by pipeline.

The Biden administration's canceling

of oil and gas contracts on federal lands

could mean just movingthe damage elsewhere.

- About 22% of our oil andgas produced domestically

comes from federal lands and water.

And so not only willthis have a huge impact

on American jobs, but it will simply

move production overseas,where it is produced

at less stringent standards.

- [Chuck] And those lost jobswon't be easily replaced.

Neal Crabtree is a thirdgeneration pipeliner.

- Starting over in a different job,

you're not starting off at the top.

You go right to the bottom andyou gotta learn it all over.

We're talking about men andwomen who have mortgages.

They've worked all their life

to get to the point they are now.

Starting over, youstart off at the bottom.

- American oil and gasworkers make at least double

what workers in therenewable industry make.

And even the unions have said

the oil and gas industryprovides higher pay,

better benefits, and moreopportunities for advancement

than the renewable industry.

- A reasonable man would hopethat our oil and gas industry

and the millions ofAmericans that it employs,

we would hope that the industry

could survive the worst of times.

What we would not expect

is that those worst oftimes would be introduced

by a newly inauguratedpresident of the United States.

- [Chuck] For CBN News, I'm Chuck Holton.

- The Supreme Court has cleared the way

for a Manhattan districtattorney to subpoena

eight years of former PresidentDonald Trump's tax returns.

According to the "New YorkTimes," there is an investigation

into potential tax and bank related fraud.

Former President Trump callsit a political witch hunt.

The former president will makehis first public appearance

since leaving the White House.

He is scheduled to speak

at the ConservativePolitical Action Conference

in Orlando this Sunday.

Trump is expected tospeak about the future

of the Republican Party andthe conservative movement.

The head of the UN nuclear watchdog group

says Iran will give lessaccess to its atomic program.

This was Iran's response

after the US refused to lift sanctions.

Iranian officials say thesanctions will need to be lifted

before any negotiations return.

Some believe that if thenegotiations lead to relief,

it would cause a chain reaction

of more funds going to terrorists.

(logo whooshes)

Coming up, how the pandemichas changed the way we gather

for worship and the permanentimpact it could have

on churches and pastors.

(dramatic music)

(paws tap)

(water splashes)

(man yawns)

(woman sighs)

- [Announcer] Life is betterwith a good night's sleep.

Get your free DVD or bookletof "Protect Your Sleep."

- [Announcer] As the worldwatches from the outside.

- It's a big diplomatic tug-of-warhere in the Middle East.

- [Announcer] Go inside thestory with "Jerusalem Dateline."

- Israeli archaeologists aretalking about a discovery

that could change the thinkingabout the Temple Mount.

- [Announcer] Join CBN JerusalemBureau Chief Chris Mitchell

and get the biblical perspective

on the events shaping the world.

- What starts in Israel thenends up going to other places.

- [Announcer] Watch "Jerusalem Dateline"

Friday night at 9:30 onthe CBN News Channel.

(soft piano music)

- [Announcer] Life.

It's meant to be lived fully.

Jesus said it.

I came to give you life,

life to the fullest,

life in your family,

life in your finances,

life in your body, mind, and spirit,

life in your every day.

At CBN.com, we're takingwhat Jesus said seriously.

We're here to help you discover life.

Life.

Live it fully.

CBN.com.

- More about the dramaticimpact of COVID on churches.

A Lifeway survey this month

found that close to 9 in 10 pastors

say someone in their churchhas been diagnosed with it.

The virus is also affecting attendance.

And 2/3 of pastors saytheir attendance is down

by roughly 1/3 or more.

Dr. Thom Rainer is theformer CEO at Lifeway

and currently serves asthe CEO at Church Answers.

He recently wrote "ThePost-Quarantine Church,"

and Dr. Rainer, thank youso much for joining us.

- Thank you. It's good to be here.

- I want to ask you, youbelieve that even post-pandemic,

we will not see church attendance return

to pre-pandemic levels.

Should this be a cause for alarm

or are people merelyshifting how they do church?

- On the one hand, I do thinkit should be a cause for alarm

because, when you lookat the number of churches

that we have across the United States,

about 8,000 typically close in a year.

During 2021, we're estimatingthat 15,000 will be closing.

So on the one hand,

we have all of thesechurches that are closing.

On the other hand, we are anticipating

that, even though attendanceis down about 50% right now,

that is the median number that we have,

there could be as manyas 20% of church members

who never return or will notreturn for the long term.

- So how should churchesview these members

who aren't returning and their facilities

if we continue to see attendance go down?

- Well, certainly, the digital world

is going to come into play,

and there will be a number of churches

that will have more and more emphasis

on digital or streaming services.

And on the one hand, that is good.

On the other hand, the gathered church

will continue to struggle

and it may struggle for thenext two or three or more years.

What that means in many waysis that we will have facilities

that are really too large and facilities

that are too costly for current churches.

And so churches are gonna haveto look at a number of things

at least over these next fewyears in order to make certain

that they are in theright range of downsizing

to accommodate this lackof growth and decline.

But on the other hand,there is a significant move

that has taken place that Iwould give great optimism to,

and that move is very simply this.

There are churches

that are seeing thistime as a blank slate,

an opportunity for God todo something incredible.

In many ways, they have come from Egypt

and now they're in the wilderness

and they're wondering whatthe promised land is like.

I can see that many churcheswill take this opportunity

to move forward and to do things

like they've never done before.

One of the outcomes thatwe anticipate of this

is that the number of peoplereached with the gospel

will actually increase.

- All right, now I want to ask you,

we just have about 30 seconds,

but from what I've heardyou say in the past,

it sounds like young people in particular

want smaller gatherings.

So is that an opportunity?

- That is an opportunity tohave more services, more venues,

more sites, more opportunitiesto gather more frequently

but in smaller groups,

particularly the youngermillennials and the Gen-Zers.

Those are the two groupsthat will not want to come

to the larger services.

- All right, well reallya fascinating time

and lots of opportunities,as you say, Dr. Rainer.

Thanks for your insights.

- Thank you.

(logo whooshes)

- [Heather] Still ahead,real life drama out of Russia

with the latest strikeagainst the opposition leader.

(dramatic music)

- [Narrator] On October 1st, 1961,

history was made when a tiny station

began transmitting the first signals

of the Christian Broadcasting Network.

- [Announcer] CBN, theChristian Broadcasting Network.

- [Narrator] And now, a new era has begun

with the all new CBN News Channel.

- Just moments ago, theIron Dome intercepted

an incoming rocket righton the Gaza border.

- In ministering in this area,

spiritual warfare is definitely involved.

- [Narrator] A 24/7 news network

bringing you the news you wantfrom a source you can trust.

- In Kenya, 40% of the medical services

are actually provided bythese Christian hospitals.

- Let's talk about the economy.

- Believers here are joining together

to win people to Jesus Christ.

- [Narrator] All your favoriteshows now in one place.

Go to CBNNewsChannel.com

to find out how to getthe CBN News Channel

on your TV all day every day.

CBN News.

(dramatic music)

(dad yawns)

(cereal patters)

(playful music)

(juice splashes)

(dad grunts)

- [Announcer] Life is betterwith a good night's sleep.

Get your free DVD or bookletof "Protect Your Sleep" today.

- [Announcer] Life.

It's meant to be lived fully.

Jesus said it.

I came to give you life,

life to the fullest,

life in your family,

life in your finances,

life in your body, mind, and spirit,

life in your every day.

At CBN.com, we're takingwhat Jesus said seriously.

We're here to help you discover life.

Life.

Live it fully.

CBN.com.

- The European Union willplace new sanctions on Russia

over the jailing of oppositionleader Alexei Navalny.

Foreign ministersmeeting in Brussels today

said they will freeze the assets

and impose travel banson Russian officials

involved in Navalny's case and his arrest.

Over the weekend, a Russiancourt rejected Navalny's appeal

against his prison sentence.

He is accused of violating the terms

of his probation whilehe was healing in Germany

from a near fatal nerve agent attack

that he blames on the Kremlin.

He is a fierce critic ofRussia's President Vladimir Putin

and his arrest has drawnnationwide protests.

CBN's Senior International Correspondent

George Thomas joins me nowfor more on Navalny's case.

George, such a fascinating story.

And he's been known as an atheist,

but he apparently made some remarks

about God during his court appearance.

Do you think perhaps he ismoving in the direction of God?

- Not quite sure.

As you mentioned, rightbefore the verdict,

he, for the first time, declared openly,

according to my sources,he's never said this before,

that he was an atheist and that he has

come to believe in God.

And in addition to makingreferences to "Harry Potter"

and "Rick and Morty," hemade references to the Bible,

specifically to Matthew 5:6 in relation.

That's obviously the versethat says, "Blessed are those

who hunger and thirst for righteousness."

But he said, while sitting in prison,

he's been getting a lotof letters from people,

and one particular personsaid, "Why do you risk so much?

Why do you resist so much?"

And that's when he gave thereference to Matthew 5:6,

basically saying that those who hunger

and thirst for righteousnesswill be satisfied.

And in fact, he saidthat some of the folks

on his legal team have made fun of him

because of his belief in God

and he said, quote, "Thismakes my life easier

because there is a book thatsays what needs to be done

and I try to follow it."

So it's very interesting comments.

Keep in mind, Russia isoverwhelmingly Orthodox Russian,

and those who believe in Christianity,

specifically the evangelicalstream of Christianity,

are often viewed as cultish,belonging to a cult.

And those that I'vespoken to in Moscow today

in regards to Navalny's comments

say his comments were clearly very much

in the line of those who follow

the evangelical brand of Christianity

as opposed to Russian Orthodoxy.

- Well, fascinating, and we know

he's under so much pressure.

He, of course, has been a fierce critic

of Russia's President Vladimir Putin,

accusing him of suckingthe blood out of Russia.

What is his case againstPutin and how serious

of a threat is he to theKremlin do you think?

- Yeah, the secondquestion I'll answer first.

Not right now.

It doesn't seem like he's aserious threat to the Kremlin.

But what makes Navalny veryinteresting is that he,

he openly criticizes the Kremlin,

the ruling under Putin,

talks about the wealth that he has amassed

over the many, many years being in power,

but then also is very brave.

So these two combinations

does make him a potentthreat to the Kremlin.

But right now, obviously, he,

Putin has everything under control.

- All right, and George, wejust have about 30 seconds,

but the US and other countriesare trying to put pressure

in order to obtain his release.

How important might that be?

- It'll be interesting to see.

Obviously, you know, theEU all 27 block nations

came together this week sayingthat we've got to go after

those who are involved in the arrest.

And in the case of Navalny,

the United States has been very forceful

in its condemnation of Navalny.

It'll be interesting to seeif they will release him.

Probably not, but Ithink the more attention,

you know, Putin talks about Navalny,

the more, obviously,Navalny's stock increases,

not just outside of Russia,but more importantly,

inside the country.

- Fascinating. Thank you, George Thomas.

Appreciate your time, andwe will be right back.

- Sure.

(papers rustle)

(buttons beep)

(copier whirs)

(paper rips)

- [Announcer] Life is betterwith a good night's sleep.

Get your free DVD or bookletof "Protect Your Sleep" today.

- [Efrem] I'm Efrem Grahamand this is "Studio 5."

Cruise with me as I discoverthe good things happening

in the world of music, sports,television, and movies.

- The fact that Ryan Coogler

was gonna be directing the film,

I knew that somethingspecial was gonna happen.

- [Efrem] We'll chat withartists at the forefront

of entertainment andexplore the connection

between popular culture and faith.

- I asked my pastor, I said,

"Well does that mean I'msupposed to be a preacher?"

He says, "Well no, youalready have a pulpit."

- [Announcer] Watch "Studio5" Wednesday night at 9:30.

- [Terry] Remember for a moment

what it was like to be a child.

You believed every story you were told.

You saw a world full ofendless possibilities.

What stories will the world's orphaned

and at risk children believe?

We believe the Bible tells the only story

truly worth believing.

We believe that every child

should have the opportunity to dream,

the chance to take challenges

and turn them into possibilities,

the chance to stand onthe promises of God,

to recognize their place inthe greatest story ever told.

They have their whole lives ahead of them.

Theirs is a world ofendless possibilities.

They are looking for a story to believe.

We will tell them that story.

Will you join us?

(soft music)

(child giggles)

- Worship leader SeanFeucht brought revival

to Alabama this weekendas thousands gathered

to worship the Lord andseek spiritual healing.

Feucht's Let Us Worshiptour stopped in Birmingham,

where people from 10 states

filled Veterans Park on Saturday.

Well, many lifted theirhands and Sean Feucht said

that some fell to theirknees asking for salvation.

Feucht tweeted that moments like these

are the only hope for Americaand that running to the altar

is the answer for a hurting world.

That is it for thisedition of "CBN Newswatch."

Please remember that you canfind more of our news programs

on the CBN News Channel anytimeor online with CBNNews.com.

And also, please do tell us

what you think about thestories that you've seen

by emailing newswatch@cbn.com

or just talk to us on Facebook,Twitter, and Instagram.

We hope that you will join us next time.

Have a great day.

(dramatic music)