(tense music)

- [John] Tonight, Christians in crisis.

It's time for Christians

to do what the apostlePaul called them to do,

which is to pray forthose who are in prison

as if they were there with them.

- [John] The kickoff to this year's Summit

on International Religious Freedom.

And...

(passengers cheer and clap)

Fleeing the state.

Texas Democrats attempt toblock a Republican voting law

now risking arrest.

Plus...

(machinery whirs)

A new blow to the Johnson& Johnson vaccine.

The latest on COVID-19.

And...

(hologram buzzes)

Beam me up, Scotty.

- Holy hologram, Batman.

The global hologram preacher.

All this and more tonighton "Faith Nation."

(rhythmic music)

Welcome to "FaithNation." I'm John Jessup.

- And I'm Jenna Browder.

Tonight, the Summit onInternational Religious Freedom

is putting a spotlight on the persecution

of religious minorities across the globe.

- This year's meeting of faith leaders

here in Washington DC isfocused on guaranteeing people

of all faiths the right to freely worship.

CBN's George Thomas hastonight's top story.

- [George] From Afghanistan to Zanzibar,

millions of people areroutinely harassed, beaten,

arrested, tortured, orkilled for their faith.

- We're really headed, I think,

for this showdown, a clash ofcivilizations, if you will,

if we don't startguaranteeing people's right

to religious freedom.

- Today through Thursday,a diverse group of leaders

from different faiths and morethan a dozen organizations

are meeting in Washington DC for a summit

to highlight the causeof religious freedom

around the globe.

- I'm Sam Brownback, one ofthe co-chairs for this event.

- [George] Brownback, whoserved as the State Department's

ambassador for religious freedomin the Trump administration

says nearly 80% of the world'spopulation lives in countries

where they are routinelypersecuted for their faith.

China at a top of the list,targeting every faith group,

with Christians andMuslims bearing the brunt

of the communist regime's wrath.

This report in April claimingthe Chinese government

was holding Christians insecret brainwashing camps

and forcing them to renounce their faith

using high-tech surveillanceand other monitoring systems.

China is also reportedly holding

some three million UyghurMuslims in concentration camps.

- And they've got a camera everywhere,

social credit system, and ifthey get their money digitized

where there's no physicalcurrency anymore,

they will be able totrack every transaction

that's made with Chinesecurrency and just shut you off

if they decide they don't like who you are

or what your faith is.

- [George] And it's not just China.

In its annual report, the US Commission

on International ReligiousFreedom says 50,000 Christians

are being held in NorthKorean prison camps,

some 3,000 Yazidi girls andwomen are missing in Iraq,

and 130,000 Muslims are languishing

in internment camps in Burma.

The International Religious Freedom Summit

will bring survivors ofsevere persecution together

with lawmakers and advocates.

Their goal is to gain political support

for religious freedom andgrow the grassroots movement.

- Our mantra is: Religious freedom

for everybody, everywhere, all the time.

- [George] George Thomas, CBN News.

- All right, thank you, George,

and here with us now isCongressman Ro Khanna,

a Democrat from California.

Congressman, thank you forbeing with us this evening.

I know that you're speakingat the summit this year.

How important is the issueof religious freedom to you?

- It's deeply important.

It's the foundingprinciple of our country.

It's why so many people came to America,

to be able to worship the godthat each of us believes in.

And I will fight like anythingto preserve religious freedom

in the United States and tofight for it across the world.

- Congressman Khanna, for the past week,

advocates have been on theHill highlighting the plight

of religious prisoners ofconscience around the world.

Was there any particularpeople group that struck you

or anyone that you'd like to highlight?

- Well, I do think, asyour reporter highlighted,

that some of the religiouspersecution in China

is of deep concern, as highlighted both

with Christians and with Muslims.

But I think when youlook at the persecution

of those of Christianfaith across the world,

it's very disturbingand we need to make sure

that we have a place of liberal democracy

that allows for the worship of faith.

That is the most importantthing in a person's identity.

Someone who believes in God

believes that's the mostimportant obligation,

and the state should never trump

a person's religious conviction

or suppress a person'sreligious conviction.

- The Biden administrationhas yet to announce

a US ambassador-at-large

for international religious freedom.

Congressman, do you know why that is?

- I don't. I have urged them to do that.

I think they have to makeit a higher priority.

They should appoint someone.

It is an issue of deepconcern around the world.

And I've always been...

Look, I'm a liberal Democrat,but I've always believed

that we have to have a place for faith

in our own public discoursein the United States,

that we can't have a secular liberalism

that doesn't take seriouslypeople's deep commitments,

religious commitments, andallow them to express those

in the public sphere.

So I think both within theUnited States and overseas,

we need to really take seriously

the persecution, suppression, exclusion

of people of faith in politics.

- Congressman Khanna, alot of people might think

that bipartisanship is dead.

But if you look at this forum,

you see a lot of Democratsand Republicans together.

Can you talk a little bit about

why people are coming together and, again,

the significance for you to speak up?

What are you planning to say?

- Well, I think people are coming together

because it's a foundingprinciple of our country.

I mean, it's, you know,people know that I'm,

my parents came here andthey were of Hindu faith

and we used to, I grewup with Hindu faith.

But you know, we celebrated,we put out Christmas lights

when everyone in our neighborhood did

and people said, "Whyare you doing that, Ro,

when your family is of Hindu faith?"

I said, "Because itdoesn't take away from us

to celebrate and honorChristmas on our streets

and celebrate our neighbors' beliefs."

And I guess I just believethis country was founded

to respect people of faith.

A lot of our Ivy League universities

were actually started outas Bible colleges initially.

There was a large part of faith

in the founding of America.

And that doesn't diminishus to recognize that.

It enhances us.

And I think people onboth sides of the aisle

agree with that and understandthe importance of faith

in America and in theworld and in our own lives

and our children's lives.

- Congressman, in the20 seconds we have left,

real quickly while we have you,

can you update us on thebipartisan negotiations

on infrastructure on Capitol Hill?

- Absolutely.

We're making progress.

I'm hopeful that we're going to be able

to get something doneon roads, on bridges,

on broadband to rural.

Obviously, I want to go even further

than where the bipartisan talks are,

but it'd be good to get something done

and we have gotten somethingdone on Endless Frontiers,

which I led with Senator Schumer

and Republicans ToddYoung, Mike Gallagher.

When it comes toAmerica's competitiveness,

making sure we win over other countries,

it's so important we are bipartisan.

And one final point, it'simportant because our values

are values of religious pluralism.

We want that to be the model of the world,

not communism, not authoritarianism.

- All right.

- All right, CongressmanRo Khanna of California,

thank you for joining us.

It's good to see you, sir.

- Thank you.

- Well, more than 50 Texas legislators

here in the nation's capital

now face the threat ofarrest in their home state.

The Democratic lawmakersfled in an attempt to derail

what they call Republicans'voter suppression bill.

- But the state's governorsays that won't happen.

Our CBN News White HouseCorrespondent Eric Philips.

Eric.

- Well, Jenna and John,it's a numbers game, right?

There are some 150 lawmakersin the Texas State House.

In order to have a quorum,

you need to have at least 100 members.

If 50-plus members have gone,

that means no business can be conducted.

And those who fled the state did so

knowing they could face backlash for it.

♪ We will overcome some day ♪

Dozens of Texas state legislators

converged on the USCapitol Tuesday morning.

- We are not here smiling.

We are not spiking the ball.

We are not saying that we are happy.

In fact, we are sad fordemocracy in the state of Texas.

- [Eric] The Democratlawmakers, far from home,

making an appeal thatthey say, if granted,

would affect theirconstituents back in Texas.

- We need Congress to act now

and pass the For the People Act.

- We need to pass the JohnLewis Voting Rights Act.

- [Eric] The lawmakersboarding planes Monday

to avoid a legislative quorum

needed to pass GOP voting restrictions

that they maintain wouldmake it harder to vote,

especially for youngfolks and people of color,

as well as the disabled.

The Texas bills would ban

24-hour polling placesand ballot drop boxes

while empowering partisan poll watchers.

Similar restrictions havepassed in state houses

across the country followingthe 2020 presidential election.

- I can, and I will continue to call

special session after specialsession after special session

all the way up until election next year.

And so if these peoplewant to be hanging out

wherever they're hanging outon this taxpayer paid junket,

they're gonna have to be prepared to do it

for well over a year.

- I'm not up here to take avacation in Washington DC.

When I look at theAfrican American museum,

I thought about the struggle of my people

who fought in this countryto get the right to vote.

These Republicans in this legislature

may have changed the Messiah,Jesus to Trump, but I haven't.

Trump lost the election,

- Yes, he did.- and they need

to tell the people ofthis country the truth.

- And we are not going to buckle

to the big lie in the state of Texas,

the big lie that has resulted,

(group claps)

that has resulted inanti-democratic legislation

throughout the United States.

- [Eric] The governor promisingthere's a price to pay

for this rogue behavior.

- And as soon as they comeback in the state of Texas,

they will be arrestedand they will be cabined

inside the Texas Capitoluntil they get their job done.

- The Texas state legislature,in fact, voted today

to issue arrest warrantsfor those legislators

who fled the country.

And they know they're on a timeframe,

that this can't last forever.

They're simply trying to buy time,

hoping that in doing so in the process,

they'll be able to gainsupport to keep those bills

from becoming law.

Meanwhile, today in Philadelphia,

the president was speakingout about voting rights,

and the 2020 presidentialelection specifically.

- For those who challenged the results

and questioned theintegrity of the election,

no other election has ever been held

under such scrutiny andsuch high standards.

The big lie is just that, a big lie.

Vice President Harris andI have spent our careers

doing this work, andI've asked her to lead,

to bring people together toprotect the right to vote

in our democracy.

And it starts with continuingthe fight to pass H.R.1,

the For the People Act.

- Of course, the For the People Act died

in a Senate filibuster last month.

The president emphasizingtoday that more people voted

in the 2020 presidentialelection than ever before

in American history, and that it happened

even during a pandemic.

John and Jenna.

- All right, Eric, thank you very much.

Well to Cuba.

Tonight, more than 100protesters are either in jail

or missing followingwidespread demonstrations.

(protesters shouting in Spanish)

The people of Cuba taking tothe streets by the thousands

to protest the communist regime.

The backlash comes asthey face severe food

and medicine shortages onlymade worse by the pandemic.

This is the biggestanti-government demonstration

in the communist regime's history.

The White House said in a statement

that the US, quote, "standsfirmly with the people of Cuba

to assert their universal rights."

Dr. Teo Babun, a CubanAmerican entrepreneur

and philanthropist, tellsCBN News he's not surprised.

Dissent has been brewingin the church for months.

- The evangelical communityand the Catholic community

began to see a tremendous amountof publishing taking place

in social media demanding thatthe government pay attention

to the tremendous amount ofhurt that was taking place.

- [John] Drawing dead last.

Coming up, the Trump effect

and why former Vice President Mike Pence

is no longer the darling of conservatives.

(dramatic music)

- If you're tired and exhausted all day,

you can't think clearly,

and you really just need acup or even a pot of coffee

to get through your day,then join me, Dr. Josh Axe,

for this new series,where I'm gonna teach you

how to transform your dietand use essential oils

and supplements to geta better night's sleep.

- [Announcer] Wake up to your best life.

Call 1-800-700-7000 to getyour free DVD or booklet

of "Protect Your Sleep!" today.

- [Shawn] It's about the competition.

- I kind of put that pressure on myself

and I think people had expectations.

- [Shawn] It's about overcoming.

- We use this phrase allthe time, keep chopping.

Keep practicing hard.

- [Shawn] It's about going the distance.

- You know, I think as afather, it's my job to lead.

Just be the best husbandand father I can be.

- [Shawn] Watch "Going theDistance with Shawn Brown"

Saturday night at 7:30on the CBN News Channel.

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- Orphan's Promise iscommitted to loving and serving

at risk children, to helpingkeep families together,

and to creating opportunities for strong

and sustainable communitiesaround the world.

We're working in over 60countries around the world,

and with your help, we can do even more.

There's an old Africanproverb I love that says:

If you want to run fast, run alone,

but if you want to run far, run together.

At Orphan's Promise, we want to run far

so we can touch thelives of as many orphaned

and vulnerable children as possible.

But we don't want to go alone.

We're out to change theworld one child, one family,

one community at a time.

Will you join us?

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- Tonight, a clear sign of a falling star.

A new straw poll showsformer Vice President

Mike Pence's popularity in the gutter.

The Conservative PoliticalAction Conference,

in Dallas this weekend, putthe 2024 GOP presidential race

in the spotlight.

In a scenario with former President Trump

vying for the candidacy,Trump is the clear winner,

taking in 70% of the ballots.

Pence comes in at zero.

And in a 2024 primaryscenario without Trump,

Pence still pulls in last place,

garnering only 1% of the vote,

with Ron DeSantis as theonly real contender at 68%.

- Well here with us now

is CBN News Chief PoliticalAnalyst David Brody

David, always great to see you.

So, we just heard it there,

the former media and formerconservative darling.

What accounts for former Vice President

Mike Pence's fall from grace, David.

- Well, a couple of things.

I just want to be clear, I think that 0%

was probably rounded up from negative 1%.

Look, the truth of the matter is

January 6th changed everything.

We have been talking aboutthis on "Faith Nation."

I have been saying for monthsnow that everything did change

and that the word on the street,

or the word on the MAGA street at least,

is that Pence is history.

It's not gonna happen.

And those numbers bear it all out.

You asked why is that?

Well, yeah, January 6th.

The MAGA base believes thathe should have punted it back

to the legislature.

I want to be clear, theydon't think he should've,

well, of course, a lotof them would have loved

to have him say no to someof those electoral votes,

but they at least wanted him

to punt it back to the legislature

and Mike Pence was just not gonna do that.

And that's it. It's game, set, match.

Mike Pence is pretty much history

as it relates to presidential ambitions,

at this point at least.

- Yeah, well, DonaldTrump also weighing in

on all of that, and yeah.

But David, the starkdivide over voting laws

in the country, with TexasDemocrats fleeing the state

to block voting laws.

David, both sides are dug in here.

There is a lot at stake.

- There's a lot at stake here.

You know, it's interestingthat the Democrats don't,

at least in the Congress, the US Congress,

they don't have the votes topass the For the People Act.

We know that.

The test vote, if youwill, was already taken.

So the only way they're gonna change that

is to change the filibusterrule, and of course,

that doesn't look promising either.

So that's kind of dead inthe water, if you will.

But at the same time,

if you look at what's happening in Texas

with these Texas Democrats,

you had 67 Texas Democrats say

they're going to go to DC

to talk about the For the People Act

and kind of rally for it.

But they left the votingrights legislation,

just sitting around in Texas,

which of course will eventuallypass when they get back.

- David, as you mentioned,their lack of unified support

among Democrats forthe For the People Act.

Can you explain why theGOP calls it a power grab?

- Well, because they thinkit's federalizing elections.

It's just that simple.

They think that this shouldbe mandated by the states,

which, oh, by the way,

that's pretty much in the Constitution.

So they believe that, in essence,

the states should control it,not the federal government.

And that's the bottom line.

That's why it's a power grab.

And it's interesting to hear the Democrats

and the media call it voter suppression.

The Republicans callit election integrity.

And that's the big battle,the messaging battle as well.

- All right, David Brody,we'll leave it there.

Thank you so much.

Good to see you.

- Thanks.

- [Jenna] And when we come back,

the latest on the Delta variant

as the government slaps a new warning

on the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

(dramatic music)

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- Daddy?

- Yeah, buddy.

- How many nickels are in a dollar?

- There are 20

nickels in a dollar.- Look!

How do birds fly?

(dad rumbles)

Does milk really make my bones stronger?

- Yeah, yeah.

- Daddy?

When we die, will we go to heaven?

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Call the 700 Club.

We'll help you find answers

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The CBN News Channel, aperspective you can trust.

To watch the CBN News Channel,

download the app orvisit CBNNewsChannel.com.

- Hello, I'm Dr. David Perlmutter,

board-certified neurologist

and number one New YorkTimes best selling author.

Wouldn't it be great to boost your energy,

eliminate brain fog, andeven reverse brain disease?

Well you can and I'm gonna show you how,

along with some of the world's

most well respected brain experts

in this DVD, "Protect Your Brain."

- [Announcer] Get "ProtectYour Brain," a free DVD,

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- If you want to improvethe quality of your life,

get the DVD, "Protect YourBrain," and get it today.

- And welcome back.

New guidance tonight from the FDA,

the agency adding awarning to its fact sheet

on the Johnson & Johnson vaccine,

explaining that it could cause a rare

but serious neurological disorder.

With only around 100 incidents

out of nearly 13 million J&J jabs,

the agency calls the risk extremely low

and says it's far better to get the shot.

Meanwhile, Pfizer officialsare meeting with the FDA

to discuss the possibilityof adding a booster shot.

Overseas, Israel is preparingto give a third dose

to at-risk adults.

- Here with us now

is CBN News MedicalReporter Lorie Johnson.

Lorie, the FDA warning of theJohnson & Johnson vaccine,

how serious is this?

- It's somewhat serious.

It's not unusual for theFDA to attach warnings

of Guillain-Barre syndrome to vaccines.

We know that it's therewith the shingles vaccine

and the annual flu vaccine.

With this J&J COVID vaccine,it's a little bit different

in that, with the shinglesand the flu vaccine,

the risk is about one in one million,

but with this COVID vaccine,it's really one in 100,000.

So it's a little bit moreprevalent with the COVID vaccine

than with the others.

I would like to point out thatthere are no reported cases

whatsoever with the Pfizeror the Moderna vaccines.

- Good info there.

Lorie, Pfizer's meeting with the FDA

about its desire to move aheadwith a third booster shot

to guard against the more contagious

or more transmissible Delta variant.

We know the FDA and CDCpushed back on that.

Where do you think this is gonna land?

- Well, it's really just great

to have all these tools in our toolbox.

The Pfizer vaccine, they'venow developed a new one

that specifically attacksthe Delta variant.

And there are theoriesthat maybe the other,

the original Pfizervaccine could prove helpful

in providing more antibodies in people.

But frankly, right now,US health officials say

that the current vaccines that we have

and the dosages that we've been using

have been adequate.

They're fighting againstthe Delta variant very well.

And so we're just gonnahave to wait and see

if any other variants come along

and maybe at that time it will be prudent

to recommend a third Pfizer vaccine

or this new one as a booster,

but right now, that's not necessary.

- Lorie, one of theunintended consequences

of COVID protocols is delayed screenings,

particularly related tocancer and other things.

Just a few seconds left here,

but how much does that concern you?

- It's extremely concerning,and I've been hearing

from so many differenttypes of cancer doctors.

Because think aboutit, the longer you wait

before a cancer is detected,the harder it is going to be

to treat and cure.

And so we saw during the pandemic

people putting off their mammograms,

their skin cancer screenings,

their colonoscopies, their PSA tests.

So folks, if you've done that,

you need to get in and getthose screenings right now

because time is of the essencewhen dealing with cancer.

- And real quickly here, Lorie,

a group of funeral directors in Virginia

are urging young African Americans

to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

How stark of a warning is that?

- It's unfortunately a very stark warning

because we know that African Americans

have a disproportionatelyhigh number of cases of COVID,

cases and deaths.

And we know that the vaccinerates are extremely low

in the African American community.

For example, in Virginia, it'sonly around less than 40%.

And so a lot of young peoplethink that they're invincible,

but they are not.

- All right, CBN MedicalReporter Lorie Johnson,

great information.

Thank you for being on with us.

- Thanks, Lorie.- Thanks for having me.

- [John] Coming up, from sciencefiction fantasy to reality.

Find out why one pastor's

now called the globetrottinghologram preacher.

(dramatic music)

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- I am Regent's firstROTC graduate student.

(women laughing)

- [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 with artists

at the forefront of entertainment

and explore 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] Wednesday night at 8:30

on the CBN News Channel.

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I'm Dr. Mike Roizen,

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- Finally tonight, beaming himself in

from one part of the globe to another.

Pastor Sammy Rodriguez ispreaching via hologram.

- That's right, without booking a ticket

or hopping on a plane,

the California-based megachurchpastor appeared on stage

at City Impact Church in New Zealand.

- What if the enemy isattempting to prevent

the greatest spiritual awakening

this world has ever experienced?

- [John] A diehard Trekkie,Pastor Rodriguez said

he's inspired to harnesstechnology, innovation,

and science within, quote,

"the confines of our amazing faith

to change the world withthe gospel of Jesus."

That looks so real, Jenna.- That's so cool.

Have you ever seen a hologram in person?

- [John] Never have Iseen a hologram in person.

- Yeah, I haven't either.

I have a feeling it's gonna be something

that we start to see more and more of.

- I think we might need to try it here

on "Faith Nation."- Yeah.

Sounds good.

- Thank you so much for watching.

- Have a great night.

(upbeat music)