(soft tense music)

- [Jenna] Tonight, packing the court.

- Democracy is in jeopardy.

- [Jenna] Democrats unveil their plan

to overhaul the marble palace,

adding four more judges tothe nine on the Supreme Court.

- But a clear majority of Americans oppose

packing the Supreme Court.

- [Jenna] Plus, endingthe nation's longest war.

- They're licking their chops.

They would be dancing.

They just don't believe in dancing.

- [Jenna] Why some Republican senators

say the Taliban is thebiggest winner in Afghanistan.

And...

- There's a dirty littlesecret in this town.

- Skyrocketing nationaldebt and wasteful spending

laid out in the annual Pig Book.

All this and more tonighton "Faith Nation."

(rhythmic music)

The Democrats' push toexpand the US Supreme Court.

Thank you for joining us andwelcome to "Faith Nation."

I'm Jenna Browder.

A group of House and Senate Democrats

have introduced legislationto expand the Supreme Court

from 9 to 13 members.

If successful, thiswould be the first change

in the makeup of the court in 150 years.

Senior WashingtonCorrespondent Tara Mergener

is here with the latest.

Tara.

- Jenna, Republicans are pushing back hard

against adding fourmore seats to the court,

and some top Democratsaren't behind it either.

Less than a week afterPresident Biden unveiled plans

for a commission to studychanges at the Supreme Court,

congressional Democratsintroduced legislation

to expand the bench.

- The Republicans stole twoseats on the Supreme Court,

and now it is up to usto repair that damage.

Our democracy is in jeopardy.

- [Tara] Conservatives held the majority

after President Trump's appointment

of Justice Amy Coney Barrettto replace late liberal icon,

Ruth Bader Ginsburg, likely cementing

the conservative tilt ofthe court for decades.

Sponsors of the bill insistthe move is justified and fair.

- But nowhere in theConstitution is it written

just how many justices shouldsit on the Supreme Court.

- [Tara] But the billfaces an uphill battle

in the evenly divided Senate,even among fellow Democrats.

- They'd have to changethe filibuster rule,

and I don't think Democrats,

there are a handful ofDemocrats who wouldn't do it.

- [Tara] That includes top Democrats

like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi,

who said, while shesupports the commission,

she will not bring the billto the floor for a vote.

- It's a big step.

It's not out of the question.

It has been done before inthe history of our country

a long time ago.

- Now, without Pelosi's support,

it's unclear what happens now.

Meanwhile, Democrats have been considering

a barrage of other optionsto offset Trump appointees

like term limits on thebench, a code of ethics,

and expanding the lower courts.

In Washington, I'm TaraMergener, CBN News.

- All right, thank you, Tara.

And joining us now, Carrie Severino,

president of the Judicial Crisis Network.

Carrie, it's great to haveyou with us this evening.

So Speaker Pelosi says

she won't bring this bill to the floor,

but it doesn't end there becauseshe wants to wait and see

what the commission brings forward.

Carrie, where does this go from here?

- Yeah, well, the commissionthat Biden has proposed

is really just a fig leaf, effectively,

to cover what seems to bethe direction he wants to go,

even though Biden himselfacknowledged decades ago

that the idea of packing thecourt was a boneheaded idea,

as he put it.

It showed that when FDR tried to do it,

it was because he was corrupted by power.

Now, because there's such amajor pressure campaign and push

from the deepest pocketson the dark money left,

they're moving in that direction.

The commission is really just designed

to give cover, to give an academic veneer

to this project that really is conceived

out of the most extremegroups on the left.

And out of the several dozenmembers of the committee,

it's overwhelmingly liberal.

There's just a handfulof moderate Republicans

for kind of window dressing.

But I think we know what thecommission's going to say.

It's gonna say, "We needto go as fast forward

toward getting more Democrat appointees

on the courts as possible."

- You said, before shedied, Justice Ginsburg said

that she was against court-packing.

Just a few weeks ago,

we also heard JusticeBreyer warn against it.

Carrie, you talk about thecommission and its makeup,

but do you think thereis actually any chance

it would recommend expanding the court?

What do you foresee?

- Oh, I think it's a foregone conclusion,

given the membership of the commission.

It includes radicals like Larry Tribe,

who is the person who invented the idea

of borking Robert Bork andblocking Supreme Court nominees

through that dishonestcampaign, who invented the idea

of filibustering appellate judges.

So there's no question

that the commission willgive the recommendation

that is that they believeis the most liberal one

possibly politically feasible at the time.

And unfortunately we're seeing people

really pushing the envelope

for what is politically feasible.

So if they think they can get it done,

there's actually gonna be pressure

to get that court packed,

and I think that thathandful of Republican members

is going to be no obstacle tothat kind of extreme proposal.

- So if the commission doesdo what you're saying it does,

does that put more pressureon President Biden then

to actually support this?

In the past, he hasn't, as you mentioned.

- Well, in the past,decades ago, he hasn't,

and frankly, one yearago he didn't support it.

But we've seen a huge seachange over that year.

I think the real secret to the change

isn't pressure from a commission;

it's pressure from the peoplewho helped put him in office.

We know that there were historic levels

of donations to Biden's campaign,

over $145 million fromliberal dark money groups.

And it was these same groups

that, even before Biden was the nominee,

were putting pressure onall Democratic nominees

to support the notion of court-packing.

So this is something that goes,

the pressure that's been goingfor over a year now on him.

And I think he's not, thusfar, what we've seen is

he is not doing a very good job

of standing up to this pressure

when you have the big darkmoney that put him in office

that is asking for paybackfor those kinds of donations

to his campaign.

- So House Democrats,you know, they were out

making their case today, Carrie.

Among other things,

they said the far right hijacked the court

thanks to norm-breakingmoves by Mitch McConnell,

and that expanding the court is necessary

to restore balance and integrity.

Is there any merit to this argument?

- I understand theDemocrats are frustrated

that President Trump had fouryears of him nominating judges

and a GOP-led Senate thatwas confirming nominees.

I understand that they're frustrated

that the American peopleallowed Trump to take office

and to then fill Scalia's seat

rather than having MerrickGarland fill that seat.

However, that is no excuse

for trashing the institution of the court.

This would be such a radical move

and trigger such dangerouspolitical tit for tat

that even people like JusticeRuth Bader Ginsburg herself,

like Justice Breyer, likeBernie Sanders, of all people,

have acknowledgedcourt-packing would trigger

a very dangerous, one-way ratchet

of making the court bigger and bigger

each time power changed in Washington.

So it's a horrible idea.

It's a bonehead idea, as Biden had said,

and always has been.

- All right, well, Carrie Severino

with the Judicial Crisis Network,we have to leave it there,

but we always love having you on.

Thank you, Carrie.

- Thanks.

- Meanwhile, news from Pfizer tonight

about the COVID-19 vaccine.

The company announcing today

a third dose will likely be needed

within 12 months ofbeing fully vaccinated.

And for the Johnson & Johnson vaccine,

today, we learned a seventhwoman experienced blood clots.

The CDC director weighingin on the vaccine setback

in a congressional hearing.

- Vaccine safety is a toppriority and we take all reports

of adverse events followingCOVID-19 vaccinations seriously.

As announced earlier this week,

CDC and FDA recommended a pause

in administering theJohnson & Johnson vaccine.

- US health officials maintain

there are no signs ofunusual clotting side effects

with the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines.

More than 122 million Americans

have received at least one vaccine dose.

And turning overseas tonight.

In the wake of PresidentBiden's announcement

to end America's longest war,

the secretary of state made asurprise visit to Afghanistan.

Secretary Antony Blinken seekingto convince Afghan leaders

that the US remainscommitted to the country

after 20 years of war.

- There is no military solution

to the conflict that remains here.

The only path forwardto a durable, lasting,

and just end to the conflictis through negotiation,

is through a political agreement,

and ultimately, is through compromise

- And Secretary Blinken also paid tribute

to the courage and sacrificeof US and allied troops.

Well, the planned troop withdrawal

has some lawmakers up in arms.

CBN News Chief PoliticalAnalyst David Brody

spoke with Senator LindseyGraham of South Carolina,

who says the Taliban isthe winner in this deal.

- Senator, Afghanistan,let's talk about that.

What's the Talibanthinking right about now

regarding the move bythe Biden administration?

- They're licking their chops.

They would be dancing.

They just don't believe in dancing.

Radical Islam has had a goodcouple months under Biden.

The border is completely broken.

How easy would it be for a terrorist

to intermingle among all theillegal immigrants coming here

and sneak into the border?

We found four or five onthe terrorist watch list.

Afghanistan, the militaryadvised President Biden

we need a residual counter-terrorism force

until the Taliban can be more trusted,

until Afghan military can be more capable.

I know 20 years is a long time,

but these people were devastated.

Here's what I worry about.

What did we learn?

That if you give radicalIslam safe haven and sanctuary

to plan and plot, they will attack you.

What happened after we left Iraq?

ISIS came about.

They took over parts of Iraq and Syria

and they attacked people in France,

the United States, everywhere.

So it's been a good day for the Taliban.

They're not in compliance withthe conditions set by Trump

for us to withdraw, butBiden wants to end the war

before the 20th anniversaryfor political reasons.

I think he's gonna regret this.

He's been wrong about most everything.

But our military is very worried,

and the intelligence community,that Afghanistan will fold

and ISIS and Al Qaedawill come roaring back

and the biggest winners of all this.

- And David also spokeabout the troop withdrawal

with the number twoRepublican in the Senate,

Senator John Thune from South Dakota.

- Well, let me start withthis, first on Afghanistan.

I guess the bottom line iswhat's gonna happen here?

Is this the right move by President Biden

to fully pull out all of our troops?

- It is not the right move.

I think it's a big mistake.

I know there's a lot of pressure

from the left in this countryto get out of Afghanistan,

but we have a lot invested thereover a long period of time,

and the one thing that we don't want to do

is create the conditionsthere that are favorable

for terrorist organizations to train

and prepare and plan attacksagainst the United States.

And the one thing that, thequestion they can't answer

is: What happens with the Taliban

if they're back in charge in Afghanistan?

These decisions need to beconditions-based, David.

They need to be based onwhat's happening on the ground,

not artificial timelines.

We've said that repeatedly.

We don't have a big force there right now,

but we haven't lost lives there of late,

but we need to maintain an adequate force

to ensure that all the gainsthat we've achieved there

these past many years, whichhave come at great sacrifice

both in form of loss of life and injuries

to a lot of Americanservice men and women,

that those are not in vain.

- [Jenna] All right, thank you, David

for those great interviews.

And coming up, havingtrouble keeping track

of all the wasteful spending in Congress?

Look no further.

The annual Pig Book is hot off the press.

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- [Announcer] This is "CBN Newswatch."

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- [Announcer] Watch breaking news,

exclusive stories and programs,

credible news reporting.

- Where we show you what'shappening in the world

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Because truth matters.

Weekdays at 5:00 on the CBN News Channel.

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- The former police officer who shot

and killed 20-year-old DaunteWright at a traffic stop

made her first court appearance today.

26-year police veteran Kim Potter

is charged with seconddegree manslaughter,

and tonight, is out on bail.

Meanwhile, protests continue

in the streets of BrooklynCenter, Minnesota.

This is video from last night.

Hundreds of people taking tothe streets, demanding justice.

After the initially peacefulcrowd turned unruly,

officers used tear gasand made several arrests.

And in nearby Minneapolis,

the jury in the Derek Chauvin murder trial

is heading into a long weekend

ahead of closing arguments Monday.

The defense now joining theprosecution in resting its case,

marking an end to testimony.

This after the formerMinneapolis police officer

charged in the death of GeorgeFloyd chose not to testify

on his own behalf.

- Have you made a decision today

whether you intend totestify or whether you intend

to invoke your 5th Amendment privilege?

- I will invoke my 5thAmendment privilege today.

- And taking the witnessstand would have left Chauvin

open to cross-examinationby the prosecution.

Well, there's good news,finally, in the economy

as retail sales jumpand jobless claims drop.

Jobless claims are atan all-time pandemic low

after seeing an increase amid the recovery

the previous week.

613,000 people last week

filed first-time unemployment claims.

Still high, but a decrease

of 153,000 from the previous week.

All this as retail salessaw a 9.8% jump last month.

The positive signs havesome economists hoping

and predicting an economic boom.

Government spending and waste.

A new report shows how Congress

can misuse your taxpayer dollars.

And some of it will leaveyou shaking your head.

CBN's Paul Strand did some digging

into the newly released Pig Report.

- [Paul] A number of lawmakers

still concerned aboutspending and deficits

joined in a virtual news conference

to highlight out of control spending

they say could eventuallybankrupt America.

- There's a dirty littlesecret in this town,

and there's a consensusthat says spending and debt

just don't matter.

- The 2021 Pig Book highlightssome of Capitol Hill's

latest cases of wasteful spending:

$1.7 billion for 17 F-35 jet fighters

not even requested by the Pentagon,

$663,000 to help wipeout the brown tree snake,

$19.7 million handed over tothe East-West Center in Hawaii

though there was no formalbudget request for it.

Tom Schatz, who overseesthe annual Pig Book,

points out, after a supposed 10-year-ban,

these wasteful earmarkprojects have returned,

but in disguise.

- The new earmarks are calledcommunity project funding,

an absurd designation that covers

almost everything the government does.

- [Paul] Senator Rand Paulpoints out the Pig Book says

these pork barrel projectsare back with a vengeance.

- It highlights 285 earmarkscosting $16.8 million.

- For far too long, earmarkshave been used as a form

of legal bribery, enabling party bosses

to pass irresponsible and bloated spending

that has ballooned government spending

and added to our staggering$28 trillion national debt.

- [Paul] And they warn thatmuch worse is still ahead

thanks to President Biden'smassive infrastructure bill.

- Two trillion plus plus plus.

The number keeps growing.

- [Paul] Only about 6% will go for things

like roads and bridges whilethe rest covers a wide range.

- On silly things like asquirrel sanctuary in Tennessee

or turtle tunnels in Florida

and critter crossings in Vermont.

- [Paul] Paul Strand,CBN News, Washington.

- When I came to Regent University,

it's like the world opened up.

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and go back to school.

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The Regent professors are world-class.

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You become a part of Regent's family.

You carry with you not justthe content and the knowledge,

but the confidence to understand

that we can be significant in the world.

- [Announcer] Regent University.

Follow your path.

- [Wendy] Nigerian Christians

are being slaughtered- Christians in Iran

- every day.- are routinely arrested

because of their faith.- Catholic Christians

continue to suffer.

- [Announcer] In timesof trial and affliction,

you need to know the truth.

- One of the fastest growingChristian populations

in the world.

- [Announcer] Join WendyGriffith and George Thomas

for "Christian World News."

- [Woman] Young people are the ones

who are open to the gospel.

- [Announcer] Powerfulstories of suffering and hope

that affect all Christians.

Saturday night at 6:00on the CBN News Channel.

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and discover how to improvethe quality of your life.

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- And welcome back.

Tonight, Congressman Dan Crenshaw of Texas

is asking for your prayers.

The Republican will be effectively blind

for a month after emergencyeye surgery Friday.

Doctors decided to operate

after his retina was detachingfrom Crenshaw's left eye.

In a statement from Crenshaw:

"This is a terrifying prognosisfor someone with one eye

and the nature of the injuriesI sustained in Afghanistan."

The former Navy SEAL adding,

"I've gotten through worse before,

and I will get through this."

And we certainly wish him the best.

Anti-Semitism continues to be

a serious problem across Europe.

The Anti-Defamation League,

in a partnership with theUnited States Commission

on International ReligiousFreedom, has new research

out this week detailingthe rising tide of hate

against European Jews.

As George Thomas reports,

the coronavirus pandemichas only fueled the problem.

- Joining me to discuss challenges

facing the Jewish communityin Europe is Gary Bauer,

a member of the United States Commission

on International Religious Freedom.

Mr. Bauer, thank youso much for coming on.

The commission has anew report out this week

that takes a closer look atthe levels of anti-Semitism

in 11 European countries.

The central question thatyou wanted to know was:

Are Jews able to liveopenly and freely as Jews

in whatever manner they wish?

What did you find?

- Well, sadly, it's a mixed picture.

The study was done by theAnti-Defamation League

on behalf of USCIRF.

As you said, it looked at 11 countries.

We've all known for a number of years now

that anti-Semitism has beengrowing throughout Europe.

It's on the radical right,on the radical left,

comes from radical Islam, andeven, in some cases, sadly,

it comes out of the Churchin some parts of Europe.

We're finding somecountries do a great job

at confronting this andprosecuting anti-Semitic crimes,

but other countries,including Russia, Ukraine,

France, Poland are still lagging behind

in their efforts to dealwith this sanctioned evil.

- Tell us, what isfueling this rising tide

of anti-Jewish sentiment?

- Well, it's a number of things.

Certainly, in 2020, whichis what we were looking at,

ironically, the pandemic,the COVID pandemic,

was used as an excuse by anti-Semites

to engage in this sortof historic myth-making

about the Jews being behind

every terrible thing that happens.

So literally, we've seenthroughout the world,

and including in Europe,these ancient tropes

that, somehow, thecoronavirus was caused by Jews

or caused by Israel, and similar themes,

which are really disgusting,, sickening,

but nonetheless do gain traction.

- Is there any indication

that this is forcing Jewish Europeans

to leave the continent as a result

of this rising tide of hate?

- Yes, there is evidence of that.

Now some countries, asI said, are doing well.

Norway, for example, whichonly has about 1,200 Jews,

nonetheless, is enforcingtheir laws in a very good way

and the Jewish community there

feels very much assured by that.

But there are other places like France

and some of the EasternEuropean countries,

Germany, where the Jewish community

feels very much under threat.

And there has beenincreasing Jewish migration

out of Europe to othercountries around the world

or to the Jewish homeland of Israel

as those Jews look for a placewhere they can feel safe.

- What's America's role

in helping combat anti-Semitism in Europe?

- Well, American foreignpolicy can play a role

around the world on this issue.

We can encourage our European allies

to take this issue seriously.

We want to encourage thegovernments of those countries,

the elected officials, to speak out

whenever there are examples

of anti-Semitic activity going on.

We can't do the job forthe European governments,

but we can set a standard.

Then of course here in our own country,

we need to not be hypocrites.

We need to speak up,

whether we're on the politicalleft, the political right.

Wherever we happen to identify with,

we need to speak up against anti-Semitism

and the movements that we identify with

to make sure that we'reshowing a good example

to the rest of the world.

- All right, with that, we'llhave to leave it right there.

Commissioner Bauer, as always,

thank you so much for your time.

- Thank you, sir. Good to be with you.

- [Announcer] Christians around the world

are standing with the Israelis, but why?

In CBN's free magazine, "Friendsof Israel," you'll discover

why Christians aresupporting the Jewish state,

how Israel is fulfilling prophecyas a light to the nations,

and ways you can prayfor the people of Israel.

Israel needs the supportof friends like you.

Call now or go to CBN.com

to get your free copyof "Friends of Israel."

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- Heavenly Father, we do thank you

for the work of your Spirit, Lord God,

with this movement of getting the Bible,

- Yes.

Lord, into public schools.

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- [Announcer] Watch "The Prayer Link"

Tuesday morning at 7:30on the CBN News Channel.

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♪ And where there's joy, there's action ♪

♪ It's like a great attraction ♪

♪ That starts a chain reaction ♪

♪ Moving on, more satisfaction ♪

♪ I know the way is joy ♪

♪ Makes me move ♪

♪ I got the joy ♪

♪ I dance around because I know it ♪

♪ Joy ♪

♪ I move around because I got it ♪

♪ Joy ♪

♪ Joy's in the heart ♪

♪ Joy ♪

♪ I dance around because I know it ♪

♪ Joy ♪

♪ I move around because I got it ♪

♪ Joy ♪

♪ Joy's in the heart ♪

♪ Joy ♪

♪ Joy's in the heart ♪

♪ Joy ♪

- Finally tonight,

UFO sightings becoming morecommon during the pandemic,

and now the Pentagon is confirming

a few of them are authentic.

US Navy officials used night vision

to capture video of pyramid-shaped objects

buzzing over Navy warships

off the coast of Southern California.

The bizarre encounter is part of a report

on unidentified aerial phenomenon.

The task force says it pointsto something more mysterious

than just a foreign military drone.

The report will be presentedto Congress this summer

and will educate military officials

about the nature of UFOs.

All right.

Pretty interesting and cool video.

Thank you so much for joiningus this night, everybody.

Have a great evening.