(soft tense music)

- [John] Tonight, religious refusal.

- It's not an anti-vaccine thing.

It's a pro-freedom thing.

- [John] Even after evangelical leaders

encourage their followersto get vaccinated.

- Hi, welcome to Pastors and the Vaccine.

- [John] President Biden'spush to mandate the shot

against COVID-19 hassome in the pews opposed.

Plus, the president'splummeting approval rating.

And, staying on.

- The president remains committed

to putting in place a humaneand orderly immigration system.

- [John] Many migrants staying in the US

even amid mass deportation flights.

All this and more tonighton "Faith Nation."

(rhythmic music)

- A third shot or not.

Boosters taking center stagein the COVID conversation.

Good evening. I'm Jenna Browder.

- Welcome to "Faith Nation."

I'm John Jessup.

Now that the FDA has approved a third dose

of the Pfizer vaccine for people over 65

and at greater risk of the coronavirus,

the question is: Will the CDC follow suit?

- Some advising thepublic health agency say

it should hold off on adecision for a few months

allowing time for more research.

- While the debate overthird shots rages on,

some Americans still question

even getting the firstone, mounting a challenge

against PresidentBiden's vaccine mandates,

claiming exemption basedon religious convictions.

As Senior National Affairs Correspondent

Heather Sells explains tonight,

it's a claim that could very well end up

before the Supreme Court.

- [Heather] For months,evangelical leaders

have encouraged followersto get the vaccine.

- Hi, welcome to Pastors and the Vaccine.

- With all kinds of campaignsto encourage the faithful,

now, the president's newpush to mandate the shot

has some in the pews opposed.

Although many denominations

and high profile evangelicalleaders support the vaccine,

a number of people of faith also oppose it

for spiritual reasons andthey're seeking guidance

on how to claim a religious exemption.

- People are entitled toreligious accommodations

under Title VII of employmentdiscrimination law.

- [Heather] There's basic protection

for faith in the workplacethanks to federal law

and the Constitution.

When it comes to thevaccine mandate, however,

many aren't sure how toclaim a religious exemption,

and thousands have been calling places

like the Religious FreedomInstitute for help.

- RFI, the Religious Freedom Institute,

doesn't provide legal services,but we still receive calls

with people asking whatare they able to do

in light of their objections.

- [Heather] Legal scholars say the key

is not a church's doctrinebut an individual's

sincerely held belief.

- The Supreme Court has made it very clear

that religious convictionsthat merit protection

are individual.

I don't have to have a church behind me.

- What we want to avoid is employers,

and worst all, the federal government,

becoming some sort of StarChamber inquisitorial board

probing into people's religious beliefs.

If a person says, "These are my reasons.

I disagree with abortion,sanctity of human life.

I know that aborted fetal cellswere part of the testing,"

that should be it.

That should be the case closed

on whether or not theyhave a sincere belief.

You don't need a letter from your pastor.

- [Heather] But Oklahoma pastor

and Senate candidate JacksonLahmeyer is doing just that,

telling people that ifthey join his church,

he'll sign their exemption.

- It's not an anti-vaccine thing.

It's a pro-freedom thing.

- [Heather] Berkeley cautions people

to sort out their reasons andavoid pursuing this exemption

if motivated by politics.

- Religious exemptionsare meant to be a remedy

to a particular kind of issue,

and just objecting to bad policy

is not what religious exemptions are for.

- [Heather] Still, in the months ahead,

untold numbers could claim them.

In a telling sign, 3,000LAPD employees plan to file,

and the lawsuits have already started.

The White House may have ahard time telling the courts

that OSHA has the right to mandate a shot.

- Think about what OSHA's about.

It's about chemicalexposures in the workplace,

hardhat regulations on construction sites.

This is conduct outside of the workplace

that they say must bepart of the workplace.

This is a real stretch.

- [Heather] It's unclear

how the Supreme Courtmight eventually rule,

especially with weakenedreligious protection

after the 1990 Smith ruling.

- The government can win ifit has a compelling interest,

really, really important interest,

and there's no way to accomplish that

without infringing on liberty.

And, you know,

when you're looking at apandemic and people dying,

the government is certainlygonna try very hard.

Even if they're under the tough standard,

they're gonna argue thatwe meet that standard.

- [Heather] It's a high stakes fight

that could severely weakenor empower religious liberty

in the months and years ahead.

Heather Sells, CBN News.

- And joining us now, Dr. Ben Carson,

former secretary of Housingand Urban Development

and author of the new kidsbook, "Why America Matters."

Dr. Carson, welcome.

Congratulations on your new book.

We do want to talk to you about that.

But first, let's talk about mandates.

You're on the record sayingthat vaccines are good,

mandates are not, addingthat mandates open the door

to dangerous precedence.

Explain what you mean by that.

- Came to America from all over the world

is because this was aplace that had freedom,

and had liberty, and thoseliberties are given to us

not by the government but by God,

the right to lead our lives as we should

without interfering with anyone else.

Now when we start opening ourselves

to government officialssaying, "You must do this.

You can't do this.

You must say this.

You can't say that,"

we really are startingto fundamentally change

the foundation of our nation.

And we have to be very much aware

that that is a big issue.

You couple that with the fact that

you're trying to mandate something

that hasn't been fully proven.

We don't know what the long-termimpact of this vaccine is,

particularly when you'redealing with children.

We do know that when you'redealing with children,

you don't have a high riskfrom the virus itself.

But we don't know what the long-term risk

of the vaccines are, so we need to be

a little more careful, I think.

- Dr. Carson, there is debate,

as we just heard in Heather's reporting,

about the potential harm ofclaiming a religious exemption

from masks or vaccines wateringdown other religious claims,

and that debate evenhappening among pastors.

As we just heard the experts say,

religious exemptions aremeant to be a remedy,

not for objecting just to bad policy.

Dr. Carson, do you see a casefor religious exemptions,

particularly for masks?

And if so, how would you defendthat from that standpoint?

- Well, you know, as faras vaccine is concerned,

some of the laboratory workis done with fetal cells,

and that's a legitimateconcern for some people,

so I understand that.

As far as the masks areconcerned, I'm not exactly sure

what the religious implications are there,

but there are some gooddevelopmental arguments there.

Children, for instance, needto learn how to correlate

the facial expressionwith what's being said.

That's a very important partof sociological development.

And if we deprive them of that,

we don't know what thelong-term effects of that are,

but they can't possibly be good.

- Yeah.

So your book, "Why AmericaMatters," for kids,

it's also connected to yourprogram called Little Patriots.

Dr. Carson, why did you write this book?

- Well, we were concerned thatmaybe a lot of our children

were being indoctrinated in a way

that made them not proud to be Americans

and not really knowingwhat our true history is,

and looking at some ofthe foundational pillars

that made America into a great nation:

our faith, our liberty, our community,

and our respect for life.

And bringing that to our young people

in a way that is interactive,

a way that they can understand very well,

a way that's fun for them.

And helping them to understand

that we, the American people,

are not each other's enemies

and we need to be very wary

of those who are tryingto make us into enemies,

and that's something that evenour very youngest citizens

should be able to understand.

- Important lessons toteach even at a young age.

Dr. Ben Carson, thank you so much

for joining us on "FaithNation" this evening.

- Always a pleasure.

Thank you, John.

- Well to COVID-19's continuingimpact on the economy.

New unemployment applications are up

for a second straight week.

Today's report from the Labor Department

showing 351,000 newjobless claims last week.

That's up from 16,000,about 16,000 rather,

from the week before.

Although unemployment has vastly improved

since this time last year, itis still historically high.

Prior to the pandemic,applications averaged

around 220,000 a week.

- Here with us now is MarkHamrick, senior economic analyst

and Washington bureau chief at Bankrate.

Mark, welcome back.

You know, three weeks ago,

we saw the lowest unemployment claims

since COVID shut down the economy.

Mark, how disappointing is itto have two weeks back to back

of rising jobless applications?

- It might be disappointing,

but not too surprising, John and Jenna,

because we know thatfor, among other reasons,

the economy's recovery has been restrained

by the surge in the Delta variant.

Now it does appear, based onwhat the medical experts say,

that we may be puttingthat surge behind us.

We may be seeing a peak, orputting that peak behind us.

And I do think there's reason to believe

that economic activity issimply being pushed out

rather than being destroyed.

And that was essentially whatthe Federal Reserve told us

with its summary of economicprojections just this week,

where we still have a very strong outlook

for growth this year, butwhere it's being downgraded

ever so slightly.

Essentially, that same level of activity

is being, let's say, put in the bank

and showing up in terms of ahigher estimate for next year.

- Well, speaking of the Federal Reserve,

it's getting ready to shift away

from the economic help it's been offering

during the pandemic.

Mark, when will they make the move

to begin raising interest rates,

and what could that mean for Americans?

- Jenna, I think it'simportant to view this

in the context of not takingaway all that assistance

that you're referring to there,

but rather dialing back on it.

And so for example, as wespeak, the Fed is buying assets

to the tune of $120 billion a month.

A lot of people think thetime has already passed

that they should've stopped doing that,

buying both the mortgage-backedsecurities and treasuries.

And so what the Fed is signaling

and Chairman Powell wasfairly upfront about

is to say that, as earlyas the end of the year,

they'll be dialing back on that,

and as soon as that isessentially finished,

which we could see in themiddle part of next year,

then the time comes to begin, I would say,

probably cautiouslyraising interest rates.

Now, what that means is, ofcourse, higher borrowing costs

for those who are borrowing.

We're still at record lowlevels on interest rates,

but we've also been atmiserable levels on savings,

and so for savers, thiswould be good news.

And I think the economywill still be enjoying

the would-be benefit of accommodation

at the hands of the Federal Reserve,

meaning rates willlikely still remain low,

and that will help theeconomic expansion to continue.

- Mark, as you're well aware,

a battle is brewing in CapitolHill over the debt ceiling.

"The Wall Street Journal"published an opinion piece

by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen

in which she warned aboutan economic catastrophe

if the debt ceiling isn't raised.

She wrote that 50 million seniorswould get Social Security,

America's military would go unpaid,

and families wouldn't gettheir much needed tax credits,

child tax credits.

Mark, what would happenif America defaults.

Are these scare tactics?

- No.

If indeed we were to stoppaying our obligations,

including payments to the military,

military retirement payments,and Social Security payments,

and also remember, the federal government

is one of the biggest customersof business in the country,

it would be catastrophic.

I think the question is: Isa default actually likely?

And I think that evenelected members of Congress,

amid their many differences,

understand that that isan unacceptable option

and I think at the endof the would-be day,

they will avoid that step.

But it's worth mentioning

that we don't want to playthis game of Russian roulette

with the credibility ofour federal government

as a creditor.

- All right, Mark Hamrick of Bankrate.

Thank you so much, Mark.

It's great to see you.- Thanks, Mark.

- Thank you.

(logo whooshes)

- [John] A domestic agenda in peril.

Why poor public approvalratings could spell trouble

for President Biden when we come back.

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- Welcome back.

Just eight months in office,

President Biden faces the worstpolling of his presidency.

According to new numbersfrom Gallup, 53% of Americans

disapprove of Mr. Biden'shandling of his job.

It is the first time a majorityof Americans disapprove.

Only 43% approve of how he'sdoing as commander in chief.

That number representsthe lowest approval rating

since he's been in theWhite House, down 13 points

since June, due in part to his handling

of the Afghanistan withdrawal

and a surge in summer COVID cases.

- And let's bring inChief Political Analyst

David Brody now to discuss.

You know, David, broken down by party,

it's not all that surprising.

90% of Democrats are happywith how the president's doing

while only 6% of Republicansfeel the same way.

The biggest shift thoughhappening with independents.

Only 37% of independents say they approve

of how the president is doing.

At one point, that numberwas actually at 61%.

David, how big of a blowis this to President Biden?

Okay, I think we'rehaving some difficulties

with David's microphone.

We are gonna take a quick break.

Be right back.

The southern border at a breaking point.

Next, a CBN News exclusive

with Texas Congressman Michael Cloud

about immigration and much more.

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- And we are back with David.

David, new polling from Gallup

could spell trouble for the president.

90% of Democrats arehappy with how he's doing.

Only 6% of Republicans feel the same.

Biggest shift with independents.

37% of independents say theyapprove of the president's job.

At one point, that number was at 61%.

David, how troubling isthis for the president?

- It's big time troubling, Jenna.

I'm glad you can hear me now.

I can tell you thatsometimes I do sound better

when I am muted, FYI,

but at least you hear me now.

And I'll tell you this.

It's not only a problem for Biden.

It's a problem for Democrats.

It's a problem for their chances in 2022,

and it all is about those independents.

What a major drop, so why?

That's the follow-up question.

The answer? Immigration.

The border, the border, the border.

It's always been that with independents.

Yes, it's the economy.

Yes, it's COVID.

It's a lot of different things,

but ultimately, people wantto feel safe and secure

and there is a concern at the border,

and then you throw in Afghanistan,

which was absolutely a debacle,

and you can see why those pollnumbers have really shifted.

- So David, what does all thosenew polling numbers suggest

as far as the president'sability to push his agenda?

- Well, you know, let me check, hold on.

I think I have Joe Manchin on the line.

Because that's all that matters,

Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema.

So in terms of the agenda,right, there's two tracks.

There's the polling, independents, 2022.

Are Democrats gonna losethe House and the Senate?

And then there's JoeManchin and Kyrsten Sinema

and the agenda.

Because let's be honest.

If Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema

were okay with a $3.5trillion and all of that,

it'd be smooth sailing for Democrats

and there would be a victory party,

not just with the Democrats,

but probably in the liberal media as well,

and they'd all say,"Look at the Democrats!

Look at Joe Biden!

Way to go, Uncle Joe!"

But Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema

have thrown a wrench into everything

And then of course,

Nancy Pelosi has problemson the House side

'cause she's got AOC, Rashida Tlaib,

and The Squad to dealwith, who aren't too happy

about the infrastructure issues.

- David, they've gotta be thinking about

the 2022 midterms as wellwith the president's polls.

- Yeah, there's no doubt about it.

And look, here's the problem.

The Republicans have atendency to blow things,

and they could blow it.

So this is the Republicans'midterms to lose.

There's not even a question about it.

Nathan Gonzales has been on the air before

here on "Faith Nation," andhe has it exactly right.

He's the expert, not me.

But he's right in thesense that the actual map

looks good for Republicans.

- David, don't doubtyour expertise as well.

CBN News Chief PoliticalAnalyst David Brody.

Thanks so much, David.

- You bet.

- The Biden administration'sspecial envoy to Haiti is out.

Daniel Foote resigning today

over the treatment of Haitian immigrants

at the southern border.

In a letter to Secretaryof State Antony Blinken,

Foote writing, "I will not be associated

with the United States' inhumane,counterproductive decision

to deport thousands of Haitian refugees

and illegal immigrants to Haiti."

In Del Rio, Texas, thousands from Haiti

are still camping out, hopingto gain entry into America.

That's despite at least

10 administrationinitiated expulsion flights

taking migrants back to Haiti.

- Well the situation at the border

has many Republicans laying blame squarely

on President Biden's immigration policy.

- CBN News Capitol HillCorrespondent Abigail Robertson

spoke with one Texas lawmakerwho says it's time for action

in the face of what he calls lawlessness.

- Texas Congressman MichaelCloud tells CBN News

his state is completely overrun

by what's happening at the border

and says it's time theBiden administration

takes it seriously.

- Five of the 13 counties I represent

have already declared a disaster.

- [Abigail] CBN News joined Cloud

on a tour of the border last June.

(immigrants speaking in foreign language)

- [Abigail] Cloud says since then,

things have only gotten worse.

- The federal government's not cooperating

with local agencies.

So it's our hospitals thatare left to deal with it.

It's our schools thatleft to try to figure out

how to deal with this situation.

There's new diseases thathave been virtually eradicated

from the US for quite some time

that we're now havingto deal with once again.

And so this is a very serious situation.

- [Officer] Go back!

- [Abigail] Cloud claims

it's complete lawlessness at the border.

- You look at what'shappening at the border

and it's just a no holds barred,

virtually open borders.

The effort to intentionallyoverwhelm our system

so that it collapses is really tragic

coming from this Biden administration.

- [Abigail] While the White House says

they have the situation under control.

- People are not coming into the country

through legal methods.

And again, our policyprocess has continued to be

the same with Haiti asit is for anybody coming

through irregular migrationacross our border.

- [Abigail] Key parts ofPresident Biden's agenda

are in jeopardy even after progressive

and moderate Democratsannounced a framework agreement

over what could be a $3.5 trillion

budget reconciliation bill.

- A big part of whatwe're talking about here,

which is not a secret to all of you,

are the size of the package, right.

There are a range ofdifferent viewpoints on that.

That's part of what the discussion is

and that will certainly impact

as we look toward how we'regonna unify moving forward.

- Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen

is also warning Congressthey need to act fast

to address the debt ceiling

before the government runsout of money to pay its bills

or the economic falloutwill be catastrophic.

Despite the looming crisis,

Republicans have no intention

of helping Democratsraise the debt ceiling,

with Congressman Cloudclaiming the solution

is to stop spending money we don't have

and live within our means as a nation.

Reporting from Capitol Hill,

Abigail Robertson, CBN News.

- [John] Thank you, Abby.

Still ahead, a kidneydonor meets her match.

The heartwarming surprisewhen "Faith Nation" returns.

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- What a fantastic gift.

- Oh, that's great to see.

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- Thanks for watching.- Well that does it

for "Faith Nation" tonight.

- See you tomorrow.

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