(tense music)

- [John] Tonight.

- [Man] Clash of civilizations.

- [John] How practicing your religion

puts some people in danger.

- If they decide theydon't like who you are

or what your faith is.

- [John] The fight forinternational religious freedom.

And.

- We're gonna get this done.

- We are gettin' it done.

- [John] PresidentBiden on infrastructure.

- The mission has been always bipartisan

for the longest time.

- [John] So why are Democratspreparing to go it alone?

Plus,

(static hisses)

the new warning from the surgeon general

in the fight against the pandemic.

All this and more tonighton "Faith Nation."

(rhythmic music)

- Religious persecution on the rise.

Good evening. I'm Jenna Browder.

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

Well, it is a fact of life.

Many people around the world are targeted

for their faith daily,from violent attacks

to so-called polite persecution,

putting limits on howpeople express their faith.

Oppression knows no geographic bounds.

- Yeah, but as ourJennifer Wishon reports,

a growing number ofpeople are joining forces

to put an end to it.

- Most people in the world, 80%,

live in countries wheretheir religious activity

is restricted by their government.

And increasingly, thatpersecution is severe.

This week, people from across the globe

representing 30 different faith traditions

are gathering here in Washington

to promote religious freedom.

- Please keep praying for my brother.

Thank you so much.

- [Jennifer] Some came toadvocate for loved ones.

Survivors told their stories.

- Persecution is very hard.

- [Jennifer] Mariam Ibrahim made headlines

when she refused torecant her Christian faith

despite a death sentence in Sudan.

- It's choice that, you know,

because we are the Christian.

We know our freedom is in Jesus.

- [Jennifer] TursunayZiawudun is a Uyghur Muslim

who managed to escape from aconcentration camp in China.

(Tursunay speaking in foreign language)

Her pain is palpable.

She and other women were regularly raped,

subjected to electricshock, and humiliated

for the crime of their faith.

Now she can't escape thoughts

of her people continuing to suffer.

- [Interpreter] SometimesI think it would be better

if I were back in the homeland with them

even if it meant death.

(Tursunay speaking in foreign language)

I'm so shocked that theworld is just sitting by

and watching.

The Chinese government hasabsolutely no shame about this.

- [Jennifer] Despite growing awareness

of global persecution,sometimes not even genocide

garners enough aid or attention.

Seven years after ISIS

nearly wiped out Iraq's Yazidi community,

much of their homelandremains uninhabitable.

- There's people dyingof hunger and thirst

and it's like...

People, like I said, offer sympathy,

but it's like, at the end ofthe day, I was just exhausted

and my family and peoplewere still suffering

and dying of lack of medicalaid and thirst and hunger.

- [Jennifer] For the Hungarian government,

helping persecuted Christiansis a moral obligation.

- Christians are the most persecuted

religious group in the world.

- [Jennifer] Tristan Azbejserves as state secretary

for Christian aid.

In four years, Hungary has supported

a quarter million persecuted Christians,

helped reconstruct 67 churches in Lebanon,

and rebuilt the Christiantown of Telskuf, Iraq

after it was decimated by ISIS.

- 900 buildings were damaged.

The church there wasused for target practice

by the jailers.

- [Jennifer] No matter their motivation,

religious freedom advocates agree,

they receive much more than they give.

- They have a messageto keep our identity,

to keep our faith in Christ.

- There's no downsideto religious freedom.

Countries that practice tolerance

enjoy greater stability and prosperity.

Jennifer Wishon, CBN News, Washington.

- Internationalcorrespondent George Thomas

and International News Director Gary Lane.

Gentlemen, both, great to see you.

First off, Gary,

how does a summit likethis advance the cause

of international religiousfreedom, and particularly,

for the millions who arepersecuted, brutalized,

or languishing in prison,how does this help them?

- Well, John, it bringspeople from around the world

gathered in WashingtonDC in the Omni Shoreham.

I think they have about850, 900 people there.

And they expose what ishappening around the world.

They receive testimony from people

who have been persecuted for their faith,

and exposure in shininglight is what is needed.

But what does it mean for people

that are in prison or persecuted?

Many have told me that I'veinterviewed over the years

that, look, prayer isthe most important thing.

When they get Christians,especially, praying for them,

they feel those prayers.

And then of course, many other Christians,

once they do pray, theHoly Spirit leads them

to write letters and sendcards to the prisoners.

And when the jail receivesthese cards and these letters,

they go, "Uh-oh, thismust be someone important.

Someone knows about this.

We better not mistreat them."

So it could lead to better treatment

of the prisoners as well.

So a lot can be accomplishedthrough these summits.

- A boon to their spirits as well.

George, as Gary just said,

it shines the light on these issues.

The focus a lot in the pastfew days has been on China,

highlighting the plight of Muslim Uyghurs,

but also the Communist Party's dismantling

of Christian churches.

George, is China the worst offender

when it comes to religious freedom?

- Well, according to Opendoors, John, that label

is to North Korea.

They have, for the last 20years, taken the top spot

as the world's worst place for Christians.

But let me make this point also.

I'm concerned that,

you know, you have the plightof about three million Uyghurs

in these detention camps, and really,

the outrage from the Muslim communities

has been a deafening silence

and the Chinese are notturning a page at all.

My concern is that wecould potentially see

the re-education of Christians in China,

the potential that we couldhave Chinese Christians

being put in these so-calledre-education camps.

I'm very, very concerned about that.

- And George, Some of thoseUyghurs are Christians,

and you've met some of them, so have I.

- Yeah.- There aren't a lot of them,

but some of them we're sureare also in prison right now.

- [George] Yep.

- Gary, what other placesshould we be paying attention to

that aren't getting the spotlightlike China or North Korea?

- Well, of course, India.

India has really gottenbad under the BJP Party.

We thought, well, the BJPwill behave themselves

because they're in power andthey want to remain in power,

but they aren't.

And George can tell you more about this

'cause he's been reportingabout it as well,

but I think this year alone,

there've been over 140, 150 cases

where churches have beeninterrupted, their services,

pastors beaten, evangelists beaten,

and some have even been killed.

And that is happening in India.

But I'd also say someof the smaller countries

that you don't hear about,Eritrea, Somalia of course,

number three on Open Doors'list because of Al Shabaab

and other radical Muslims there.

But there are many.

We don't have enough timeto go over all of them,

but I'd say some of the smaller countries,

wouldn't you, George?

- Yeah, John, I was just gonna say

that also, you know, keep in mind,

a lot of focus and forus has been the focus

in the plight of Christiansaround the world.

But let's not forget,

Muslims are also, by and large,

bearing the brunt of the persecution

from fellow cult religionists.

And I think of, for example,in Afghanistan today,

you know, with the US troops pulling out

and the Taliban basicallysweeping across the country

20 years after we went in toout Al-Qaeda and their proxies,

like the Taliban, out.

Today, women and people of faith,

minority faiths, are very, very concerned

about what's going to happen to them.

So, you know, in thesekinds of situations,

these kinds of summits,it's important to highlight

other faith groups, theBaha'i, the Buddhists.

I think of, you know, other faith groups

that are continuing tosuffer for their faith,

and maybe not as much as Christians,

but I'm glad that we have been,

at least the US governmentas well as other NGOs,

have put the spotlighton the Uyghurs of China.

Very, very important.

- An important point thatyou raised there, George.

Real quickly here also.

Any indication of whetherthe Biden administration

will make this a priority likethe Trump administration did?

What signs are we seeing right now?

- Well, Secretary of StateAntony Blinken has just announced

that the president will beappointing an ambassador

for religious freedom withinthe next couple of weeks,

but it's like, what has taken so long?

We're six months intothe Biden presidency.

And in April he appointedan ambassador to Lesotho,

another one to Senegal, but noreligious freedom ambassador?

We've been waiting for six months.

Now, I think a lot of people

that work this issue inWashington are saying,

"Hey, this is great.

We're going to have one."

But I don't...

Look, I've been workingthis issue for many years,

and as you know, I worked full time

for the Voice of the Martyrsfor about three years,

and I have never seen thiskind of lackadaisical response.

I mean, it was tremendous

of the Trump administration,what they did.

Of course, the firstsummit was the brainchild

of Mike Pompeo, Mike Pence,and also Sam Brownback

and they urged President Trump to do that.

But I don't think we'regoing to see the emphasis

on religious freedom like we did before.

- Finally, George, real quickly here

in our last few moments.

What do you think it'lltake to see real change

and make real progress whenit comes to religious freedom

throughout the world?

- Well I think, well,it really comes down to

are you going to levy crippling sanctions

just like we do whether it'sagainst Iran or other countries

that, you know, carry out various kinds

of economic disparities and so forth.

But when it comes to religious freedom,

if we are able to go to these countries,

be it an Iran, a SaudiArabia, a North Korea,

you know, a China especially,

and put crippling sanctions on them.

You know, there was a lot of outcry

against the Uyghurs of Xinjiang province

and calls for theboycotting of the Olympics.

Well guess what?

You know, you have a high delegation

on their way to China torepresent the United States.

I mean, if you really want to make a dent

on the issue of religious freedom,

you've got to throw somecrippling sanctions,

economic sanctionsagainst these countries.

- John it's basically,- Gary-

- it's basically money talks.

And when you start squeezingmoney from an economy,

then they may listen, but Idon't see it being a priority.

When has it really been apriority where we've stepped in?

The 1998 InternationalReligious Freedom Act

allows and calls for sanctions.

That's the extreme sanctions,

everything from maybe just a vocal,

you know, saying something abouta country, condemning them,

but sanctions as well.

and we have yet to see that happen

for religious freedom violations.

- Well, and that is whyit is important for us

to have conversations like these.

Gary, George, thank youso much for your time

and helping to shed lighton this important topic.

- You're welcome.

- Thank you, guys.

Well to Capitol Hill and thebattle over infrastructure.

The $1 trillion physicalinfrastructure plan

could be voted on in theSenate as early as next week.

And while there's supporton both sides of the aisle

to move it forward, it is not a done deal.

CBN News Capitol Hill Correspondent

Abigail Robertson reports.

- As the Senate prepares tovote on the infrastructure plan,

the bipartisan negotiators have high hopes

the bill will soon become law.

- If we're successful, chances are

we're gonna get closer to70 votes than 60 votes.

- [Abigail] Senator Mark Warner says

no one can deny the need for updates

to things like bridges,roads, and airports,

but acknowledges there arestill a few bumps ahead,

like agreeing on how to pay for it.

- We're looking atrecapturing some of the money

that may not have been spentin certain COVID bills.

We are looking at, forexample, those states

that returned unemploymentdollars, using those.

So we're looking at every nook and cranny.

- [Abigail] Democrats hope to pass

the bipartisan infrastructure bill

and a separate budget reconciliation bill

that includes other prioritieslike universal pre-K,

expanding Medicare and Medicaid,

and dealing with climate issues.

They need unanimous partyunity to make that happen.

- These legislatives arekind of going in parallel.

They're not connected to each other,

but there will be thingsin the second bill

that will simply be Democrats only

that some of my Republicanfriends won't like.

- [Abigail] House Speaker Nancy Pelosi

claims she won't bring theinfrastructure bill up for a vote

unless the budgetreconciliation passes too.

Republican Senator Rob Portman

hopes their fates won't be tied together.

- One is bipartisan,responsible, no tax increases.

The other is, you know, ahuge new spending spree.

- [Abigail] Democrats only need 50 votes

to pass the reconciliation bill.

But Senator Joe Manchin hasconcerns about the price tag

and provisions that wouldeliminate fossil fuels.

- I'm just looking ateverything in a holistic way.

I know we have needs in our country

and we have responsibilitiesand we have obligations,

but we have financialresponsibilities also.

- [Abigail] Warner claimsthe budget bill is paid for

and hopes both plans will pass.

- The first step is just kind of agreeing

on a top line number, thenit will literally take months

to kind of work through the policy.

But if we can agree on a top line number,

I hope that will be enough

to go ahead and let theinfrastructure plan through.

- Warner says if and whenthe infrastructure bill

is signed into law, he hopesan expedited review process

will quickly get the projects underway.

Reporting from Capitol Hill,Abigail Robertson, CBN News.

- [John] All right. Thank you, Abby,

Unemployment, inflation, andmore on the American economy.

Stick around for more"Faith Nation" up next.

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- Welcome back.

The nation's top doctor iswarning about the health dangers,

the dangers, excuse me,of health misinformation,

especially surrounding COVID-19.

- Every week I talk to doctorsand nurses across our country

who are burning out as theycare for more and more patients

with COVID-19 who never got vaccinated,

all too often because theywere misled by misinformation.

We must confrontmisinformation as a nation.

- In a 22-page health advisory out today,

Dr. Vivek Murthy calls false claims

about coronavirus vaccines

a serious threat to public health,

saying there's a moraland civic responsibility

to combat misinformation.

The new advisory comes asUS COVID cases have doubled

in the past few weeks due, in part,

to the spread of the Deltavariant and lagging vaccinations.

- Well, some good newson the economic front.

Jobless claims are at the lowest level

since the start of the COVID pandemic.

Today's Labor Department report

shows 360,000 new unemploymentapplications last week,

a decline of 26,000 overthe previous seven days.

Weekly jobless claims have fallen steadily

from the high of 900,000in January of this year.

- And here with us now isour friend, Mark Hamrick,

senior economic analyst

and Washington bureau chief at Bankrate.

Mark, good to see you this evening.

So the unemploymentrate continues to fall.

You know, we're stillnowhere near where we were

before the pandemic when weeklyclaims were around 220,000.

Will we ever get back to where we were?

- Yeah, Jenna and John, good to see you.

And I think the good news/bad news here

is that are making steady progress,

but we're still, as yousay at very elevated levels

where we're seeing, you know,more than 13 million people

continuing to receive someform of unemployment benefit,

three million of those throughthe traditional programs.

And we know that, come September,

those elevated claims programsthat were put into place

because of the pandemic,well, those are going away

and some states are alreadybasically taking those options

off the table.

But I do think that as wecontinue to heal the job market

and the US economy inthe context of a year,

we're expecting the strongestgrowth since the early 1980s,

we should see further improvement.

- The White House today, Mark,

publicizing the fact thatfamilies making under 150,000

and single taxpayers making under 75,000

are about to see childtax credit checks go out

starting today.

Mark, how significant will those be?

- I think they're verysignificant, John, yes.

And of course, we think about checks,

but many of these payments

are being delivered electronically

so they're hitting bank accounts today.

And the White House says that this affects

some 60 million children right away.

So even though the federal government

has not really delivered anyfurther stimulus payments

since those initial rounds,

this does amount to a stimulus payment.

It's a tax cut, as the presidentsaid, for the middle class.

And so this will only add further traction

for the US economy at a timewhen it's already on fire.

- The economic bouncebackhas been so swift

that some experts saythe economy will grow

by some 7% this year,the biggest growth year

since 1984, Mark.

Do you agree with that assessment?

- Well, that's the consensus.

And so, you know, ifthe smart money's right,

then that's what we'll see.

And that will be, by the way, borne out

in the second quarter GDP numbers,

and eventually, the thirdquarter GDP numbers,

basically north of 6% forboth of those quarters

at an annualized pace.

So that's quite remarkable.

The other part of that thoughis, you know, getting back

to the reason why we'redoing this segment,

we still have heightened unemployment.

We've never had this combination before

where we have historically strong growth

and still elevated unemployment.

And that again, justspeaks to the unique nature

of what we've experiencedover the last 16 months

as a result of the pandemic.

- All right, Bankrate's Mark Hamrick,

we always appreciate yourinsights and information.

Thank you so much for being with us today.

- Thanks, Mark.

- Thank you.

- [Jenna] And up next,a Middle Eastern country

on the brink of collapse.

We'll show you where when"Faith Nation" returns.

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- [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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A free DVD or booklet

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- If you're not a great sleeper,

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- And welcome back.

Lebanon is a country in crisis.

The Middle Eastern nation faces political

and economic challenges thatcould cause its collapse.

- As Chris Mitchellreports from Jerusalem,

the fall of Lebanon couldhave disastrous consequences

for Israel.

- [Chris] Recently, theseLebanese demonstrators

blocked the main road to Beirut's airport

to protest the abysmalconditions inside their country.

(Ali speaking in foreign language)

- [Interpreter] All the people are hungry

and no one has anything to eat.

No one can do anything.

There's no electricity athome, children need milk,

and no one can afford to buy it.

That's why we're here.

- [Chris] Lebanon'sworst crisis in decades

includes no functioning government,

a national currency free fall,and growing national debt.

(bomb explodes)

The world witnessed the catalyst

for this disaster last August

when this explosion rocked Beirut,

sending shockwaves throughout the country.

Now people must waithours in line for fuel,

and that's when it's available.

Blackouts occur daily to save electricity

and many hospitals don'thave enough medicine.

Lebanon's caretaker primeminister is pleading for help

from Middle East nations, the UN,

and the international community.

(Hassan speaking in foreign language)

- [Interpreter] To helpsave the Lebanese from death

and prevent the demise of Lebanon.

Lebanon is a few days awayfrom social explosion.

The Lebanese are facingthis dark fate alone.

- [Chris] Lebanese expert Orna Mizrahi

blames the situation on the combination

of political turmoil, economic corruption,

Hezbollah, and the COVID pandemic.

She says the main problem, however,

is a dysfunctional political class.

- We have a very rich elite of all sects

that is combined.

There is a combination of money

and political control in Lebanon,

and they are doing nothingto help their own people.

They are deteriorating day by day

till the situation that we have now.

- [Chris] Hezbollah,led by Hassan Nasrallah,

is the strongest power in the country

given its dominant military.

Nasrallah wants Lebanon to shun the West

and turn solely to Iran for help.

Israeli Defense MinisterBenny Gantz recently offered

to send humanitarian aid through the UN,

although it's unlikelyLebanon will accept the offer.

Israel and the region nowface a worst case scenario.

- That Lebanon will notfall in the hands of Iran.

If the internationalcommunity will do nothing,

it will worsen.

- Mizrahi warns withouthelp from the West,

Lebanon could become like Syria,

a state now under the influence of Iran.

If Lebanon does fall tothe Islamic Republic,

it could change thecomplexion of the Middle East.

Chris Mitchell, CBN News, Jerusalem.

- [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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- Yes.

- Lord, into public schools.

- [Announcer] Watch "The Prayer Link"

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

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- Welcome back.

Jenna, you know, it wasn't that long ago

when if someone said, "Hey,did you see that tweet?"

you and I probably would've thought

they were talking about a bird.

- Yeah, tweet?

Well, that was before theworldwide social media giant,

Twitter, which today ismarking its 15-year anniversary

of opening to the public.

In those 15 years, Twitterhas seen unbelievable growth,

boasting some 353 millionmonthly active users this year.

The platform is most popularamong users age 25 to 34.

Of course, Twitter isnot without controversy.

Many claimed censorship

when the company decidedto permanently delete

former President Donald Trump's account

in the wake of the deadlyCapitol Hill attack

on January 6th.

You know, I will say, I think Donald Trump

definitely raised the stockof Twitter, that's for sure.

- Definitely, and I thinkTwitter may be a necessary evil.

- I know.

All right, thank youso much for joining us.

- See you tomorrow.