(upbeat music)

- Welcome to the show andthanks so much for joining us.

Today we're gonna leadwith a story about COVID

and we have soaring casesof the Delta variant,

rising hospitalizationsand many have died.

The healthcare sector is back on edge.

- That's right and that's actually leading

to mandatory vaccinations andrenewed indoor mask mandates

in some places.

So how are Americansresponding to the Delta danger?

CBN medical reporter, LorieJohnson, has the latest.

- Monday, the Departmentof Veterans Affairs

became the latest federalagency to require vaccination

specifically for its115,000 healthcare workers.

And the American Medical Association

and 56 other leading medical organizations

now calling for mandatory vaccinations

for workers at all healthcare settings,

including nursing homes, nationwide.

- Now that is the healthcare industry,

where they are verymuch on the front lines.

- [Lorie] California soonrequiring vaccination

or negative weekly COVID tests for state

and healthcare workers.

New York City also mandatingvaccination or tests

for municipal workers, including teachers

and healthcare workers, andurging private employers

to require shots.

- It's quite clear the Deltavariant has changed the game.

We need to move to stronger measures.

- [Lorie] In the meantime,Florida's governor

says ordinary people shouldnot be forced or mocked

into taking the vaccine.

- They have different reasonsfor why they don't take it

and I think that the more they're hectored

by government officialsor some of these folks,

that is not gonna, gonna get them to yes,

I can tell you that right now.

- [Lorie] The Deltavariant, which makes up 83%

of COVID cases in America,is much more contagious

than other strains, largelybecause people infected with it

carry up to 1,000 times more virus.

That means people who have noimmunity are most vulnerable.

In fact, health officials say99% of U.S. hospitalizations

and deaths are unvaccinated.

- I'm worried it's gonnaget much, much worse.

Right now we're generatingabout 50,000 Americans

getting infected.

That number could easily double or triple.

- Many Americans respondingto the Delta danger.

Nearly 800,000 got theirshot over the weekend,

a big jump over previous ones.

Right now about half ofthe total U.S. population

and nearly 70% of alladults have been vaccinated.

Health experts say in additionto getting the vaccine,

a person can also achieve natural immunity

if they already had the virus.

Gordon.

- Well, let's talk aboutthis Delta variant.

Yesterday the CDC issuedan update on indoor masks,

saying the fully vaccinatednow need to mask again.

So, tell us about that.

- Well, it's becausethis new Delta variant

is breaking through theprotection of the vaccine,

so that means the vaccinesare no longer as effective

as they were from the get-goat the very beginning.

So, what we're seeing arepeople who are fully vaccinated

getting COVID-19.

The good news is they'renot going to the hospital

or dying from it, but a lot of them

are getting really sick,in bed, staying home,

missing work, having a really tough time,

and more importantly, Gordon,

people who are fully vaccinated

who get COVID-19 are just as contagious

as unvaccinated peopleare who get COVID-19

and that's 1,000 times more viral load

than we initially saw with theoriginal strain of COVID-19.

So, folks who are fully vaccinated

who contract COVID-19 are very contagious.

That's the reason forthe mask mandate indoors

in public areas forpeople who are vaccinated.

- Wow, well, Lorie, do youthink that we're going to need,

those who are vaccinated,do you think that

they're gonna need booster shots?

Well, you know, some people are already

getting booster shots in Israel.

People there are gettinga third shot of Pfizer.

Now, these are peoplewho are at high risk,

elderly people, peoplewho have had transplants

or had recently, have recentlygone through chemotherapy,

but also, we know that the vaccines,

their effectiveness, the antibodies,

it wears off, it wanes a little bit

after about seven months,so Pfizer has asked the FDA

to require, or not require,but allow to authorize

people here in the United Statesto get a third booster shot

and that might be mostapplicable to people

who were vaccinatedabout seven months ago.

Remember, Ashley, these are people

who are frontline healthcare workers

and people in the nursinghomes who are most at risk.

- Well, Pfizer's making aclaim that third booster

will actually increase the effectiveness

on the Delta variants, sowhat is the effectiveness

of the various vaccinesand how effective are they

on the Delta variant?

- Well, that's a great question

and, you know, I know,personally, I have two friends

who were fully vaccinatedwith the Pfizer vaccine

and both of them recentlycontracted COVID-19.

One of them still has it, is at home sick,

he happens to be adoctor and very healthy,

so it makes me think,"Wow, if it could happen

to these people, it can happen to me."

We saw the people, the lawmakersfrom Texas on the plane,

fully vaccinated, six of them got it,

we've seen Olympic athletesfully vaccinated get it,

people in the WhiteHouse may or may not be,

Jen Psaki's being verycagey when asked how many

fully vaccinated people at the White House

have tested positive for COVID-19.

As far as the studies go, weknow that there's an NYU study

that says the J&J vaccineis only 39% effective

against the Delta variant, but that study

has not been peer reviewed yet,

so there may be some issues with it.

There's an Israeli study thatshows that the Pfizer vaccine

is only about 41% effectiveagainst the Delta variant.

Again, not peer reviewed.

In Israel two weeksago, a study showed that

the Pfizer vaccine is only 68% effective

and in the U.K., theyhave a study that says

the Pfizer vaccine is 88% effective

against the Delta variant, sowe really need better studies.

One thing we know for sureis all three of the vaccines

are less effectiveagainst the Delta variant

than from the original strain,

maybe considerably less effective,

we need more research.

- Well, there was an ominous warning

that we're one mutation awayfrom a version of the virus

that none of the vaccineswill be effective against.

How likely do you see that happening?

- Absolutely, Gordon.

And this reminds me of hurricane season.

We live on the East coast here

and so we've got a hurricanebearing down on us,

but then also, there area couple disturbances

out on the Atlantic thatmay also be even worse

and that's what we're seeingwith this Delta variant,

where there's the lambdaand the gamma variant

out there, too, that may be even worse

and this is something that you

brought to our attentionmonths ago, Gordon,

as you accurately pointedout that viruses mutate.

This is the nature of viruses.

When viruses are passed along,

when viruses are continuingto spread, they mutate

and so, this is what we see happening

and the more this virus spreads,

the more it will mutate,which is one reason

why people should get vaccinated.

A lot of folks say, "I don'treally need the vaccine,

I'm sure if I get thevirus, I'll be fine,"

but remember, you'recontributing to the possibility

that it may mutate to a point

where none of the vaccinesprotect against it.

- Well, Lorie, thanks for the insight,

thanks for joining us andjust, it's another warning

for you at home.

Please observe the mandates,

please observe social distancing.

If you want, don't want to get vaccinated,

okay, I understand why you wouldn't,

but that then means thatyou need to socially isolate

and do whatever you can notto get this horrible virus.

And the downside is, it's aproblem with novel viruses,

we don't know the ultimate effects,

but they're now saying it could lead to

a diminished IQ, even if you recover.

So, obviously if youdie, you're not concerned

about the after effects,but if you recover,

what are the after effects onyour lungs and on your brain?

So, we're obviously monitoring this story,

I'm not trying to be unduly alarmist,

but I am trying to say ifwe can stop these mutations

and stop the viral blooms,we'll be a whole lot better

as a planet.

You can always get thelatest news and more

when you download theCBN News Channel app.

Ashley.

- All right, well, coming up,

a football hero with serial hookups.

He craved the attention of women and men,

so how did a soap operaspark his insatiable lust?

Well, he'll tell youhimself right after this.

(upbeat music)

Sex parties, gay chatrooms and multiple hookups,

Victor Bell was a self-confessedplayer with women and men.

So, what happened when a pastorcalled him out in church?

You're about to find out.

- The love I got for my family,

it was communal love, it was nurturing.

But then the secret love was just better

and I wanted to go afterthat more than I wanted

the family love.

- [Reporter] For most of his life,

Victor Bell appeared to have it all.

He was a football star inhigh school and college

and grew up in a closeknit, churchgoing family.

Yet, from the time he was a small boy,

Victor longed to experiencewhat he thought was true love,

a fascination thatstarted when he was five,

watching a soap opera love scene.

- She's loved, she's gettingaffection, she's getting care,

she's being treated withgentleness, with kindness.

I want to feel what she feels,

I want to be loved like she's loved.

- [Reporter] To Victor,the love of his family

paled in comparison,especially that of his father,

a go for veteran whodisciplined him harshly.

- I felt that girlsreceived more affection,

they received more consideration.

I don't get the hugs thatmy female cousins get

or the hugs that my sister gets

or the kisses on the forehead.

And with boys, I feltwe were treated rough,

particularly me.

- [Reporter] Another placeVictor didn't feel loved

was church.

- I knew who God was,I knew about the cross

and Jesus dying and I knewabout hell, I knew about heaven,

I didn't care.

- [Reporter] Victor startedto crave the attention of boys

and started experimenting with them.

- From the ages of five to eight,

I had several sexualencounters with boys my age.

I jumped at the chances tobe the girl playing house

or the woman playingdoctor or the girl nurse

because it was a opportunity for me

to reenact the soap opera scene.

I have an imagination thatcreates these atmospheres

of what it would be liketo be loved like her.

They were excitingadventures of discovery.

- [Reporter] Then, when Victorwas just nine years old,

a friend showed him an X rated movie.

- It made me feel likethis is what you have to be

to produce that kindof reaction from a man

and you'll get more love oryou'll get more affection.

- [Reporter] Throughoutmiddle school, high school

and into college, Victor put his energy

into pursuing his growing addiction

to sex with women and men.

- This is the life now.

I'm having sex with a lot of girls,

a muscular guy, football player.

I'm having sex with men, too.

I drink, I smoke, Iindulge in these activities

to feel good all the time.

The space of emptiness was growing,

so I felt like I keptneeding to fill it more

with the activities I was indulging in.

- [Reporter] In 2008, Victorgraduated from college

and got a job as a longtermsubstitute teacher.

He moved back in with his parents,

presenting a clean cut image at home,

while on weekends he waspursuing gay sex parties

and frequenting gay chatrooms for temporary hookups.

- I just remember feeling empty a lot.

I remember feeling empty after the acts.

But I felt like I couldlive in the emptiness

if I just keep having sex because I'll get

to my goal of love.

- [Reporter] For almost three years,

he chased that illusion of love.

Then in January 2011,after he came home drunk

from a New Year's Eveparty, his mom made him

go to church with them.

When the service was over, thebishop called Victor by name

up to the front and toldhim four simple words

that stuck with him the rest of the day.

- "Go sin no more."

And I keep hearing, "Go sin no more."

So then I'm mad, like, "No, that mean

I can't be gay no more."

And I had it out with God.

I was arguing with him,like, "Leave me alone."

"I don't want your salvation."

I said, "I'm ugly, I'minsecure, I'm not confident,

I'm afraid, I'm angry, you don't know

what it's like to be me."

He said, "I love you."

"I was beaten, I was torturedand then I was murdered

because I love you."

I was shocked, I couldn't speak.

He said, "Give me everythingand I'll give you my love

and you see how it feels."

I said, "Yes."

He exchanged his love for every dead thing

and it is the greatest experienceI have ever experienced

and I would never turn back.

- [Reporter] Victor stoppedsleeping around and partying

and started attending church.

He began studying hisBible and learning about

the love of God.

- His love has snatched me out of a life

of lust and perversion,snatched me out of being

a secret homosexual and Iwas excited about the word

and I was excited about salvation.

- [Reporter] Thatexcitement has never faded

and today Victor is marriedwith two beautiful children.

He's never shy to share his story

and point people to thepure, unconditional love

he found in Jesus.

- It's more exhilarating,it's more fulfilling,

it's more satisfying than anything

that I've ever felt andhave ever experienced.

The weight of his love issomething I can't describe

and it is what anchors meand it is what keeps me,

it is what brings me joy,it is what fulfills me.

- Yeah, hear that truth today.

It is only the love of Jesusthat truly fulfills us.

And I don't know who's watching today,

but I just believe thatthere are many, many watching

who feel like Victor did.

You guys are running,you're running from the lord

because you think thatGod doesn't love you.

Often times, the root of our rebellion,

often times we hear the Gospel,

but we think it's notfor us because we believe

in our hearts and in our mindsthat God doesn't love us,

so that's not for me, soI'm gonna do my thing,

I'm gonna live life theway I want to live it,

I'm want to pursue aftermy, the desires of my flesh,

which could be the love of money,

the love of fame andfortune or the love of lust.

But I'm here to tellyou that God loves you

and it is out of that lovethat he asks us to sin no more.

It is not because he's angry with you

and he's disappointed, no, hesees you right where you are.

He sees the darkness that you're in

and he wants you to comeinto the light of his love

because it is only therewhere we are truly fulfilled,

it is only in the love ofChrist that we experience hope,

that we experience true joyand true healing, redemption.

Whatever you think God is against you,

no, that's a lie from the pit of hell.

God is not against you, heis for you, he is so for you.

Just like the lord toldVictor, "I love you

and to give it all to me, tosurrender your life to me,"

I believe the lord is asking the same.

He's asking you to surrender your life,

to give him a chance to trulyfill that God sized void

in your heart that only he can fill.

So if that's you today,if you've been running

and you've been thinkingthat God doesn't love you,

give him a chance today,give him a chance.

God is a gentlemanly God, he's not gonna

force himself on you, he'snot gonna force himself

into your life, hewaits for us to say yes.

He's gonna open the door ifyou knock, so knock today.

Ask and receive today thelove of your heavenly father.

Just pray this simpleprayer with me right now.

Jesus, I surrender my life to you.

Father God, I believethat you have been waiting

for me to come home and today I choose

out of my free will tolive my life for you,

to surrender it all toyou, to sin no more,

to turn my face away fromthe wicked ways of this life,

of this world and to turnmy face to you, Jesus.

I believe and declare withmy mouth that you are Lord

and I believe in my heartthat you died on that cross

for my sins and youresurrected three days later.

Thank you for the forgivenessof my sins, Jesus.

I give you my life, Iworship you with my all.

Be my all in all, Lord,from this moment forward.

In Jesus' mighty name, Ipray and I ask all of this.

Amen and amen.

If you just prayed that prayer with me,

your life will begin totransform from the inside out.

Give us a call, 1-800-700-7000.

We always have peopleavailable and willing and able

to pray for you and all of your needs.

Gordon.

- Well, still to come, EframGraham sharing this week's

top five trendingstories, right after this.

(upbeat music)

Well, it's been a thought provoking week

in the entertainment world fromKanye West to Simone Biles.

Many of those in the spotlightare encouraging us all

to focus on the thingsthat matter most in life.

- Plus, we here fromChip and Joanna Gaines

about a brand new series of workshops

they are excited to share with the world.

Here's Efrem Graham sharingthis week's top five stories

from Studio 5.

- [Efrem] At number five.

- We can be trifling, too,because here's the thing,

when I was broke, I used to do this thing

where I would go on dates for food.

- [Efrem] Comedian andthe co-star of Insecure,

Yvonne Orji graces thecover of the summer issue

of Relevant Magazine, sharingher faith and her life story,

which is also the focus of her new book,

"Bamboozled By Jesus".

- The full title is "BamboozledBy Jesus: How God Tricked Me

Into the Life of My Dreams"and I guess I got some flack

like, there's those intimate, like,

those Jesus bamboozlepeople, "He's so loving,

he's a loving god," andI'm like, "Yeah, okay,"

but he will tell you just some stuff

that either you don't want to do

or you are not certain how doing it

is going to get you to a place

that you don't even know you can go to.

- [Efrem] At number four.

- Hey, you ready?

- Let's do this.

- [Director] And action.

- No, that's okay, sorry, do it again.

- I think I'm gonna be sick.

- Let's do this.

- [Efrem] It's been in themaking for nearly three years,

but the wait is over andthe Chip and Joanna Gaines

Magnolia Network is now available.

- [Chip] There's so many stories

just waiting to be told.

- [Joanna] Stories that bring us together.

- [Chip] That encourageus to listen closer.

- [Joanna] And let us see oneanother in a whole new light.

- [Efrem] Initial programming can be seen

on the Magnolia app aheadof the January 2022 arrival

to cable television.

- You ready?

- Let's go.

- I'm so sorry.

- [Efrem] At number three.

- I'm Marc-Andre Leclerc, I'ma climber, generally speaking.

- [Efrem] It's a Studio 5first look at The Alpinist.

It's a thrilling, emotionallycharged climbing documentary

that follows a free spirited23 year old Canadian

as he makes some of the boldestsolo ascents in history.

It's in theaters September 7th.

- What I'm doing is on rockand then I see Marc-Andre

free soloing on the ice and snow.

- The first time I heard about Marc,

he was living in a snow caveon the parkway or something.

He is pushing things thatis pretty much unknown.

- Marc-Andre had hadsome challenges as a kid.

Climbing was like a formof freedom to be himself.

- [Marc-Andre] Whenyou're in the mountains,

it's like all of thesuperficialities of life

just sort of evaporate.

Holy smokes.

- [Efrem] At number two.

♪ They say the the week start on Monday, ♪

♪ But the strong start on Sunday. ♪

Height and headlines flow freely

as fans await Kanye West's latest album.

It's titled "Donda" intribute to his late mother.

- I'm most excited ofKanye continuing to be

overtly outspoken about his faith,

about his faith in Jesus.

Hopefully the record asa whole reflects that,

but we'll see.

- [Efrem] Donda'srelease is being delayed,

but Kanye gave some fansthe chance to hear it,

hosting a listening partyat this Las Vegas church.

- I think it's a greattestimony to those people

that are far from Godand those people that are

walking with God to see what happens

when someone uses theirtalents, their gifts,

their time, their talent andtheir treasure to honor Jesus.

- [Efrem] At number one.

- [Reporter] Simone Bilesis getting all of the love

from her famous supportersafter pulling out

of the teen finals in women's gymnastics

at the Tokyo Olympics.

- [Efrem] That supportfor Simone included tweets

like this one from Hoda Kotb who said,

"Someone said best."

"She already won."

"She is a class act."

Another tweeted, "Simone Biles is still

the most amazing athlete ever."

Simone shared how she came to the decision

in a news conferencealongside her teammates.

Just that five and halfhour wait or something

I was just, like,shaking, could barely nap.

I just never felt like thisgoing into a competition before

and I tried to go out here and have fun

and warm up in the backwent a little bit better,

but then once I came out here, I was like,

"No, my mental's notthere, so I just need to

let the girls do it and focus on myself."

I say put mental health first

because if you don't, thenyou're not gonna enjoy your sport

and you're not gonna succeedas much as you want to,

so it's okay sometimes to evensit out the big competitions

to focus on yourselfbecause it shows how strong

of a competitor and personthat you really are.

- Well, Efrem's with us for more

and so let's talk about Simone,

she's still the greatest of all time,

- Yes.

- but she shocked theworld when she pulled out

of the Olympics, so what impactdo you think her decision

is going to have?

- You know, I think, weheard from Naomi Osaka

some weeks ago about the tennis player

who also pulled out of competing

because of mental healthissues and concerns,

I think this, once again, goesto Simone Biles's strength

to recognize that you mayhave prepared all year,

all month for this, butyou are not mentally ready.

She could've pushed through.

We're used to seeing hercompete and push through,

but she stood up and said, "No, mentally,

I made want the accolades,I may want the gold,

but I am not completely here,I am not able to do this,

so stepping back."

It says for all of us to check ourselves

and that we need to be mentally healthy

and it is okay to stepback if you need to.

I mean, think about howlong she prepared for this

and said, "No, I'm notready, I can't do it."

For her to step back speaks volumes.

- Yeah, and I saw an interviewwith her other teammates

and they were very sweet and kind

and just super supportive of her

and I think that's awesome and I'm sure

that's helping her get through it, too.

- Yeah, she said that she felt like

the weight of the worldwas on her shoulders

and no one should feel like that

no matter how good you are at anything,

you should not feelthe weight of the world

on your shoulders, but she felt like that

and she said she's neverfelt like this before.

- Wow.

Well let's talk about Kanye.

He is at it again with"Donda", a meaningful tribute

to his late mother, whatcan you tell us about

the new album coming out?

- You know, not very much.

I mean, he's very, very secretive,

but he's a master of keeping us waiting

and keeping eyes on him.

He did first play a listening party

for that church in Las Vegas,

so they got a chance to see it.

And several ministers who leftthat, the listening party,

were impressed with some of the music

and saying how, how beautiful and how bold

his faith was in some of the lyrics.

So, we're waiting.

August 6th is now the possibilityof that album dropping

and get this, he is right now living

- Yes.- at the Mercedes Benz Arena

in Atlanta as he finishes up the album.

- I heard, I heard sincehe's had a listening,

a huge, I mean, it was sold out,

it was a listening event at theMercedes Stadium in Atlanta,

now he's just livingthere, finishing the album.

- Yeah, in a twin bed in a locker room,

he tweeted a picture of it.- Really?

- Yes.- Wow,

that's so, so awesome.

I'm excited, I'm excited for the album.

- I can tell.

Well, we're out of time,I wanted to talk about

Chip and Joanna, butwe'll have to save that.

- Oh.- Oh, that's another one.

- We'll have to savethat for another time.

- Super excited.

- For all the latest inentertainment news and more

on Chip and Joanna, you can check out

Efrem's weekly show, Studio 5.

Watch it online on the CBN News Channel

or cbnnews.com/studio5.

Efrem, we'll see you again next week

- See you next week.- and talk about

Chip and Joanna.

- Yes.- Here's a world from Psalm's,

Be strong and let your heart take courage,

all you who wait on the lord.

God bless you, we'llsee you again tomorrow.

(upbeat music)