- [Narrator] Tonight, crowd control.
Frantic evacuationscontinue in Afghanistan
as strangers help new arrivalsin America and beyond.
- So, I think the people were there
ready to do whatever was needed.
- [Narrator] Plus, full approval.
- [Janet] Today isreally an important day,
as the FDA has approvedthe first COVID-19 vaccine.
- [Narrator] Could thePfizer vaccine's new status
boost public confidenceand will it open the door
for more mandates?
Stormy weather.
- Houses are washed away,knocked off foundations,
just totally gone.
- [Narrator] Thecross-country cleanup begins.
And precious cargo.
- I've helped deliver lots of babies,
so hopefully this onewouldn't be any different.
- [Narrator] The story of anewborn's unlikely arrival.
All this and more tonight on Faith Nation.
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- A possible game changer inthe fight against COVID-19.
Good evening, I'm Jenna Browder.
- Good evening, I'm JohnJessup, welcome to Faith Nation.
Well, Pfizer's COVID vaccinehas won full approval
from the Food and Drug Administration
for anyone 16 and over.
The FDA's acting commissionercalling it a pivotal moment
for the country.
- Now, President Biden alsohailing it as a major milestone,
as CBN's senior internationalcorrespondent, George Thomas,
joins us with tonight's top story.
George.
- Well, Pfizer CEO, Albert Bourla,
calling today's full approvalconfirmation of the safety
and efficacy of his company's vaccine.
Since Pfizer's two doseshot was authorized
for emergency use back in December,
more than 188 million havebeen administered so far
in the U.S.
Biden moved quickly touse the FDA's action
as an opportunity to once again encourage
unvaccinated Americans to get the shot.
- If you're one of themillions of Americans
who said that they will not get the shot
when it's, until it has fulland final approval of the FDA,
it has now happened.
The moment you've beenwaiting for is here.
It's time for you togo get your vaccination
and get it today.
- [George] The current FDA head
calling the agency's decision a milestone.
- [Janet] This is a pivotalmoment for our country
in the fight against the pandemic.
The public can beconfident that this vaccine
meets the FDA's gold standards for safety,
effectiveness and manufacturing quality.
- [George] So far, 60%of adults 18 and over
have been fully vaccinated.
That leaves more than 80million folks out there
eligible to get the shot.
New York City's mayor wantsto see those numbers shrink,
announcing today vaccine mandates
for the nation's largest school system.
- This will require thatall staff of every kind,
principals, teachers,custodians, food service,
you name it, needs to have at least
one dose by September 27th.
- [George] With Pfizer'sapproval, the U.S. surgeon general
says he expects more mandatesfrom private businesses,
colleges and even localand state governments.
A survey back in Junefound that three in 10
unvaccinated adults would bemore likely to get the shots
if a vaccine were fully approved.
- For businesses and universities
that have been thinking about
putting vaccine requirements in place
in order to create safer spaces
for people to work and learn,
I think that this move fromthe FDA, when it comes,
will actually help them to move forward.
- [George] The virus continuesto rage around the country,
accelerated by the Delta variant.
Dr. Joseph Varon of HoustonUnited Memorial Medical Center
saying the health systemin his city has collapsed.
- It's a never-ending storyand their biggest question is,
"When is this going to stop?"
- [George] He says right now33 of the city's 35 hospitals
have stopped taking new patients.
- People talk about thecollapse of the medical system
and I believe that in this,the largest medical city
in the world, we havegotten to that collapse
because if you have a heart attack
or if you have a stroke,you are out of luck
because most of the beds allocated
for those kinds ofpatients are being occupied
by, for patients that have COVID.
- Pretty dire statistics there.
Daily COVID cases, by the way,now average around 137,000,
that is up 237% in the last month.
One note, by the way, the FDA approval
also means the militarywill now up the timeline
for mandating vaccinations.
We're expected to hear moreguidance on that within days.
John and Jenna, back to you guys.
- All right, George, thank you.
Well, noticeably not mentioned
at the president's newsconference today, Afghanistan.
It's been just over a weeksince Kabul fell to the Taliban.
Right now there are 5,800U.S. troops on the ground
helping Americans and our allies evacuate.
- That's right, Jenna, the situation there
remains precarious as the United States
inches closer to its August 31st deadline
and with the Taliban drawing a red line.
CBN national security correspondent,
Caitlin Burke, has more.
- According to the Pentagon,coordination with the Taliban
has allowed to the U.S.to widen the perimeter
around Kabul Airport,providing additional security
to those trying to evacuate.
This comes as President Biden has said
that U.S. forces willremain in Afghanistan
until every American whowants to leave has gotten out.
- There's discussions going on among us
and the military about extending.
Our hope is we will not have to extend,
but there are gonna bediscussions, I suspect,
on how far along we are in the process.
- [Caitlin] A Taliban spokesmansays it would be a mistake
for U.S. forces to remainbeyond the agreed upon deadline.
- President Biden announced this agreement
that the 31st of August,they would withdraw
all their military forces,so if they extend it,
that means they are extending occupation.
If they are intent oncontinuing the occupation,
so it will provoke a reaction.
- [Caitlin] The Pentagonmaintains that the focus
is still to be out bythe end of the month.
- The goal is to get as manypeople out as fast as possible.
- [Caitlin] The U.S. hasevacuated and facilitated
the evacuation ofapproximately 37,000 people
since August 14th, withnearly 11,000 people
getting out Sunday.
Biden bolstered resources by activating
the Civil Reserve AirFleet over the weekend.
The little used program,created after World War II,
increases our airlift capacity
by enlisting commercial airlines for help.
- These civil reserve flightswill be helping facilitate
the safe movement of peoplefrom staging locations
and transit centers,like Qatar and Germany,
to the United Statesor to a third country.
None of them will be landing in Kabul.
- [Caitlin] The situationin Kabul remains dangerous.
Biden warning of possibleattacks on the U.S. operation.
- But everyday we havetroops on the ground,
these troops and innocentcivilians at the airport
face the risk of attackfrom ISIS-K from a distance,
even though we're moving backthe perimeter significantly.
- As a defense, air craftare releasing flares
to distract any heat seeking missiles
that may be targetingplanes carrying evacuees.
National security advisory, Jake Sullivan,
says the U.S. isconsulting with the Taliban
on every aspect of what'shappening in Kabul right now.
He says they've developed a way
to get Americans who want toleave safely to the airport
and as far as our Afghan allies go,
he says the U.S. will continue to work
to get them out of Afghanistan,
even after our forces have left.
Caitlin Burke, CBN News.
- Meanwhile, Vice President Kamala Harris
is in Southeast Asia tonight,
though not escaping theissue of Afghanistan.
Today she weighed in forthe first time publicly
on the messy U.S troop withdrawal.
Harris says the U.S.must maintain its focus
on evacuating Americansand vulnerable Afghans
and that there will be a time later
to analyze the context of the withdrawal.
Those comments coming at anews conference in Singapore.
The vice president's tripis focused on strengthening
U.S. ties with Southeast Asia.
- House lawmakers areback in Washington D.C.
See why some expect the weeks ahead
to be a political game of chicken.
- [Narrator] On October1, 1961, history was made
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- Well, welcome back.
Lawmakers are returning to Washington,
briefly interrupting their August recess
to forge ahead with thepresident's economic agenda,
including a massive bipartisaninfrastructure bill.
- And the next two daysexpected to be what some call
a political game ofchicken between moderate
and progressive democrats in the House.
CBN's Tara Mergener has the latest.
- A house procedural vote is the next test
for President Biden'ssprawling economic agenda.
The Senate has already passed both bills,
a 1.2 trillion dollarinfrastructure agreement
and a three and a halftrillion dollar budget
that would expand the social safety net,
while hiking taxes on upper earners.
Coaxing her caucus in a letter,
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi insists
delays will put the party's policy goals
for President Biden'stransformative vision
and historic progress in jeopardy.
- The vision is to build back better.
- The Rules Committee will come to order.
- [Tara] House lawmakers are back in D.C.
after a shorter than usual August recess.
The White House endorsing Pelosi's plans
for a procedural vote that wouldadvance the infrastructure,
social spending and voting rights plan
to be followed by a budget resolution.
- When you take this bill together
with the American Rescue Planand the reconciliation bill
that's getting underway,we are implementing
once in a generation policies
that will change people'slives for the better.
Housing, clean energy,dealing with climate,
the climate crisis.
- [Tara] If her partymembers stick together,
it would allow those measures to pass
without a republican vote.
- This is the first hearing it's had
in the House of Representatives
and it's going straight to the floor
with no amendments by anydemocrats or republicans?
I think that that's a broken process.
- [Tara] That party unity,however, could be loosening.
Fearing the budget plancould be scaled back,
Pelosi and progressiveswant that bill passed first.
Nine moderate democrats concerned over
the 3.5 trillion dollar price tag
are threatening to vote against it
unless the bipartisan infrastructurebill is first in line.
Two weeks ago, the Senate passed
that 1.2 trillion dollarinfrastructure plan
with help from 19 republican votes.
- It's been a long and winding road,
but we have persistedand now we have arrived.
- But the massive budget spendingplan has zero GOP support,
meaning it could be killed by democrats.
To win over bothprogressives and centrists,
Pelosi has outlined a strategyto vote on the two bills
only after the senate hasapproved both of them.
To pull it off, she couldonly lose three house votes
in the process.
In Washington, Tara Mergener, CBN News.
- And joining us now is Nathan Gonzales,
editor and publisher of Inside Elections
and an elections analyst at Roll Call.
Nathan, welcome.
So, let's start there with infrastructure.
What are the chances those nine
more moderate democrats stand firm?
Especially with the backingof Senators Joe Manchin
and Kyrsten Sinema.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi, she's kind of known
for being masterful atreally tightening the grips
when she needs to.
- Yeah, Jenna, you're right,she's good at her job,
she has been good at her job as speaker
and getting the votes that she needs,
but this is a goodexample that just because
you're in the majority and in control
doesn't mean that anyand everything is easy.
I think that these moderate democrats
who tend to be, who most of them
are some of the most vulnerabledemocrats in the house,
realize that they're going to get attacked
for voting for the budgetand a lot of the spending
that comes along with that,
so they want the infrastructure bill.
It has some things that they can take back
to their constituents and say,
"This is what we got done, this is what
we got accomplished," and so, in the end,
I want to be optimisticand say that, you know,
democrats are gonna get things,
Congress is gonna get things done
that will help Americans,but until it's done,
you know, there's alwaysa chance it won't pass.
- Nathan, we are getting a little bit
ahead of ourselves here, thisis an if and a very big if,
Speaker Pelosi's plan fails,
what does that mean forthe Biden Administration?
Does it effectively mean that it's the end
of the president's agenda?
- Well, this was supposed to,
infrastructure was supposedto be the easy part.
I mean, even going backto when President Trump
was in office and republicanshad more of a say,
infrastructure was supposed to be easy.
And so, the fact that thisis so hard to get done,
I think is telling thatgetting other pieces
that might be more controversialor more polarizing,
getting them done is goingto be more difficult.
So, this is, the window,the window is closing
to get things done because republicans
are very confident about 2022
and regaining some control in Washington.
- Yeah, and when youlook at the new census,
you know, think about redistricting,
is it the republicans whostand to benefit the most?
- Republicans are incontrol of more states
and redrawing more districts.
The process has been delayedand it's just getting started
now that the Census Bureau released data
about a week, about a week and a half ago,
so they're, the states are just starting
to draw those lines.
So, republicans have thatadvantage in redistricting,
but they also could have the advantage
based on the history ofmidterm elections or a voter
and an electorate that mightbe souring on President Biden
or souring on democraticcontrol of Congress.
And so, all of these things together
could work to helprepublicans regain the House
and possibly even the Senate.
- Yeah.
Well, one thing that couldreally complicate democrats
and this administration'sagenda, of course, Afghanistan.
Nathan, you have anarticle out on rollcall.com
that talks about Afghanistanand what it could mean
for the 2022 midterms,you don't actually think
it'll be one of the topissues, explain that.
- Well, I don't thinkAfghanistan, specifically,
in part because we, as Americans,
have very short attention spans.
I mean, over the next year,before we get to the midterms,
there's going to bemore natural disasters,
more manmade events thatjust envelope the news
and envelope the conversation.
Also, in recent history,we just haven't had
what I would callforeign policy elections,
elections where votershave said foreign policy
is the most important thing to them.
Again, I think as Americans,we tend to be selfish
and focused on what'shappening right in front of us
at our kitchen tables and often times,
that's not foreign policy.
And so, I think whereit could affect Biden
and the democrats is if it causes
his job approval rating to drop,
which it, his job approvalrating has gone done
over the last few days,because midterms tend to be
a referendum on the incumbent president
and the incumbent president's party
and so, if he doesn'trecover, politically,
then that could hurtdemocrats in the House.
- Nathan, we have a littleless than a minute left,
Joe Scarborough, an MSNBC host
and former republican congressman
who left the GOP, laid outwhat his strategy would be
if he were a republican running in 2022.
He says republicans should focus on safety
as democrats seem tostruggle to provide it,
be it in Afghanistan orat the Southern border
or in their own cities.
What are your thoughts about that
being an effective strategy?
- Well, we'll find outin 2022 whether it's
an effective strategy,but I think it's clear
that's the road therepublicans are going down.
They saw in 2020 how going,
using the defund the policemessage helped them overachieve
or exceed expectations in the house
and now they're going to lumpit all together, all right.
A view that President Bidenmakes America less safe
and that is how they're going to win back,
try to win back someof the suburban voters
who went against republicans,against President Trump
and get them back in the fold.
And that's why we have elections,
to figure out whetherthat's effective or not,
but that's, republicans are absolutely
going to use that message.
- All right, Nathan Gonzaleswith Inside Elections,
always good to see you, thankyou so much, great insights.
- Thanks, Nathan.
- Thank you.
- [John] Severe weatherswept through two areas
of the United States this weekend.
When we come back, the aftermath
and recovery efforts underway.
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- [Narrator] Life is betterwith a good night's sleep.
Get your free DVD or bookletof "Protect Your Sleep!".
- [Narrator] As the worldwatches from the outside.
- It's a big diplomatic tug ofwar here in the Middle East.
- [Narrator] Go inside thestory with Jerusalem Dateline.
- Israeli archeologists aretalking about a discovery
that could change the thinkingabout the Temple Mount.
- [Narrator] Join CBNJerusalem bureau chief,
Chris Mitchell, and getthe biblical perspective
on the events shaping the world.
- So, what starts inIsrael then ends up going
to other places.
- [Narrator] Watch JerusalemDateline Friday night
at 8:30 on the CBN News Channel.
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Jesus said it, "I came to give you life,
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- Hi, I'm Terry Meeuwsen.
At CBN, we're here to prayfor you all year long,
but did you know that eachfall, the entire staff of CBN
sets aside a very special timeto pray especially for you.
We've seen tremendous miracles happen
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- Welcome back.
Well, desperation in Haiti.
The island experiencing widespread theft,
as humanitarians hand outfood, water and medicine.
The 7.2 magnitude earthquakewiped out income sources
for the masses there, forcing survivors
to steal food and other essentialsfrom distribution sites.
First responders saysecurity is now needed
to protect humanitarian operations.
The island's biggestneeds are food, sanitation
and clean water technologies.
More than 2,000 peopledied in the earthquake,
roughly 300 people are still missing.
CBN's Operation Blessingis on the ground in Haiti.
For more information on howyou can help, visit ob.org.
- Well, back here in the United States,
crews are working to restore power
to more than 140,000 homesafter Tropical Storm Henri
slammed the New Englandcoast this past weekend.
- Yeah, and in Tennessee,historic flash flooding
has killed at least 22 people,
as CBN's Mark Martin reportson these epic twin storms
and their aftermath.
- [Mark] Henri is nowa tropical depression
lingering over the Northeast.
The storm bringing windgusts up to 70 miles an hour
as it came ashore in thecoast of Rhode Island Sunday,
causing 100,000 poweroutages as it moved inland.
But it's worst damagemight be yet to come.
This tree almost fell on two homes.
- He told me that it felldown and I said, "No sah."
I thought he was lying.
So, when I came out here,I couldn't believe it,
that it didn't hit anything.
- [Mark] Waves up to 19 feetslammed the New England coast.
Farther south, residentsof Central New Jersey
saw eight inches of rain and flood waters.
Rescue workers carryingscores of people to safety.
Meanwhile in Tennessee,an historic flood disaster
over the weekend, at least 22 people died
after record setting rainfallcaused flash flooding.
It happened about 75 milessouthwest of Nashville
in the cities of McEwen and Waverly.
- Houses are washed away,knocked off foundations,
just totally gone, still people missing,
lots of cars are smashed up and gone.
- [Mark] Humphreys Countysaw 17 inches of rain
in less than 24 hours.
At least 20 peopleremained missing overnight.
Rescuers believe thedeath toll will climb.
Among the dead, seven month old twins.
Their family says thefloodwater swept them
out of their father's arms.
- I would expect, giventhe number of fatalities
we have seen so far, that we're gonna see
mostly recovery efforts at this point.
- [Mark] The floodingdestroyed entire neighborhoods,
lifting homes off their foundations.
The waters also tookout bridges and roads.
- It started, it was raining all night,
but when I got up at 4:30, itwas starting to really flood
and it just happened so fast.
By 6:30 we were on the roof of our house
and hoping that we were gonna make it.
- [Mark] Mark Martin, CBN News.
- President Biden hasapproved disaster declarations
in Tennessee, Massachusetts, Rhode Island,
Vermont and Connecticut.
The move opens the doorfor federal recovery aid
for those states.
- Well, uncertainties from COVID
are causing the cost ofshipping to skyrocket,
all stemming from adisruption in supply chains
across the world.
Billions of dollars in inventoryare sitting in warehouses
as companies struggle tocover the costs of shipping.
The bottleneck causing delayed deliveries
and economic uncertainty,
while pushing inflation even higher.
- Dollars worth of holidayinventory coming to the stores,
no one's addressing how that product
is getting to the stores.
There aren't enough truck drivers,
there's not enough cargo trains,
so it becomes a logistics issue.
- Economists predict thesituation will worsen
before it gets any better,adding that the holiday season
will put added stress onan already strained system.
- [Jenna] Still ahead, a special arrival.
How an evacuation planeleaving Afghanistan
became a delivery room.
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- [Narrator] Life is betterwith a good night's sleep.
Get your free DVD or bookletof "Protect Your Sleep!" today.
- [Efrem] I'm Efrem Grahamand this is Studio 5.
Cruise with me as I discoverthe good things happening
in the world of music,sports, television and movies.
- The fact that Wayne Cooperwas gonna be directing
the film, I knew that somethingspecial was gonna happen.
- [Efrem] We'll chat with artists
at the forefront of entertainmentand explore the connection
between popular culture and faith.
- I asked my pastor, Isaid, "Well, does that mean
I'm supposed to be a preacher?"
He says, "Well, no, youalready have a pulpit."
- [Narrator] Wednesday night at 8:30
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- [Narrator] Remember fora moment what it was like
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What stories will the world's orphaned
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We believe the Bible tells the only story
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We believe that every childshould have the opportunity
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- Finally, tonight, a bright spot
amid the chaos in Afghanistan.
- A plane evacuating peoplefrom the war-torn country
wound up being used to deliver a newborn.
U.S. medical personneldelivered a baby girl
in the air craft's cargo bay
upon landing in Germany Saturday
after an Afghan refugee went into labor.
- It was a little bit of panic,
it was a little bit of shock,
but I was also trusting in my training
and that I've helpeddeliver lots of babies,
so hopefully this onewouldn't be any different.
- The mother and daughterwere both transported
to a nearby hospital,both are reportedly safe
and in good condition.
Jenna, I don't think youcould've said it any better,
definitely a bright spot inall the news about Afghanistan.
- Yeah, I'm so glad weincluded this story.
You know, it's a lotthat's happening over there
and so, it's nice to seesomething little more positive.
- Absolutely.
Well, thank you so much for watching
tonight's edition of Faith Nation.
- Have a great evening.
