Newsmakers

A Texas doctor who has spent years researching the effects of marijuana is sounding the alarm about culture’s mainstreaming of the drug, warning its effects are anything but benign. Dr. Raymond Wiggins, an oral surgeon and author of “Weeding Out the Lies About Marijuana,” told CBN Digital marijuana is a drug that can have profound psychological and physical effects on the body.

Michael Iskander landed the role of a lifetime when he was cast to play David in Prime's soon-to-release series "House of David." And while he was gearing up for the show's Feb. 27 premiere, Iskander reflected on the "life-changing" ability to join the cast in such a pivotal role. "I think David is one of the most interesting people because ... there's so much duality in him," he said. "He's the epitome of what it means to be human, to make mistakes, but to truly have a heart for God — and a heart that seeks after God's own heart." Iskander, who said he feels "blessed" to be able to tell this story, explained how his experience portraying David transformed how he sees Scripture and those presented within it.

"Now, I view it from a point of view as just human beings," he said. "And so I put the context of that time and of these people into the story ... it just puts a whole different perspective on the Bible, and I think it makes it that much more interesting to read and to discover." Iskander said it's exciting to be able to have such a fascinating lens into Scripture. He spoke about the importance of trusting God and allowing the Lord to guide His path, citing Proverbs 3:5-6. In the end, he knows "House of David" is entertainment for many, but believes the project is really all about the Lord. "You're making a TV show, and it's really fun, and your makeup and hair — it's all fun and cool, but the reason is to glorify Him, and to honor Him, and to put Him first," he said. "I think that's one way it's changed me; it's allowed me to put perspective to all of this, and to life, and to realize why we are living life."

On today's Newsmakers: campus revival, overcoming the odds, and the battle against marijuana.

Patricia Heaton and Zachary Levi join Billy Hallowell from the red carpet premiere of "The Unbreakable Boy" to discuss God, Hollywood, and Following truth.

A former congressional candidate and campaign manager has shown that compassion, empathy, and truth should be the gold standard — even in the oft-times cutthroat world of politics. Bunni Pounds, founder and president of Christians Engaged, told CBN News Christians must always remember Jesus' call — even when it comes to navigating politics. "The first commandment is to love Jesus with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love our neighbors as ourselves," she said. "We do not cease to be Christ followers if we get involved in politics and government."

While Pounds said some might scoff at or worry about entering into the political realm — a place she has personally worked for quite some time — she noted that a consistent prayer walk and relationship with Jesus can help Christians "see great impact" in such arenas. Pounds isn't just talking the talk, either. She has consistently walked this walk. When she ran for Texas' 5th Congressional District in 2018, she found herself in a precarious place. "I lost a race by 2,700 votes out of 43,000 votes," she said. "It was really close. But my opponent, during the Republican runoff, his consultants had floated all of his invoices. So, if you could imagine — his TV, his mail, his radio ads, his consulting fees, all had been not billed."

Pounds said she was out-raising him despite her loss to Rep. Lance Gooden. And her inability to win amid her well-managed campaign left her frustrated. "When I finished the campaign, I paid off all my bills — and I couldn't win," Pounds said. "So, the injustice of that was digging at my heart. Well, a year later, I heard the Lord say, 'You're not going to get through this if you don't do something drastic to impact your heart.'"

She knew she had to listen to God's promptings.

"I called [my former opponent], had lunch with him, and asked him if I could help pay off the rest of his 50,000 of the debt that he had from our runoff — and he graciously accepted," Pounds said. "And we did a huge party, and I fundraised towards that, and we all paid for it. All of our campaign staff, consultants — we all laid our offenses, bitterness and unforgiveness down at the feet of Jesus and walked out of there completely free." Now, Gooden and Pounds are friends and she said he became the first member of Congress to support her latest book, "Jesus and Politics: One Woman's Walk with God in a Mudslinging Profession." "I think is a testimony of God's grace," she said.

Katelyn Pavey is a real-life inspiration. Born with one arm, she persevered, overcame the odds — and, against all odds, played college softball. Pavey's incredible journey is told in "I Can," a film that shows God's grace throughout life's many trials. 

For years, she rebuffed attempts to make a movie about her story, believing she didn't really have anything special to share. "I didn't want to be seen as sitting on a pedestal," she said. "And I also thought there was more people in our congregation that needed their story to be told — and it wasn't only me who denied it three times. It was also my dad."

But her pastor, Tyler Sansom — who is also the director of "I Can" — was successfully able to convince Pavey to take part. "Gowing up, I faced a lot of adversity," she said. "I faced a lot of challenges that I had to overcome and adapt to." Sometimes, parents even stopped their children from playing with her because she looked different. Over time, she had to learn to adjust to such moments.

"You continue to adapt to any adversity that you're thrown in life, and you overcome that, you become successful," Pavey said. "You don't go back to your old ways, you don't give up, you keep pushing on to be successful, to show people that you can. And that's just what I did my whole life, especially through the sport of softball."

She forged toward her goals, becoming an all-state player during her high school career and eventually signing college scholarship to play softball — a full-ride to Cincinnati Christian University.

It’s been 500 days since Hamas dragged 251 men, women and children into the tunnels of Gaza. 73 remain. But as these Israeli hostages slowly come back home, folks are asking, "Is this a really bad deal?" CBN's Raj Nair and Billy Hallowell unpack the details. 

On today's newsmakers: surviving a terror attack, Trump's plans for Israel and Gaza, and the battle between good and evil.

A watchdog is sounding the alarm about increasing anti-Christian persecution in India, the world's most populous nation. Joel Veldkamp, head of international communications at Christian Solidarity International, told CBN News that the intensifying situation comes as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi heads to the U.S. this week to meet with President Donald Trump.

The encounter could offer an opportunity for Trump and the West to pressure Modi to stem the tide of persecution, according to Veldkamp. The watchdog said the most "extreme case" of persecution is unfolding in Manipur, a state in India's northeast. "This is a place where, about two years ago, the region exploded into anti-Christian violence," Veldkamp said. "There was a conflict over land rights about who had what right to own what land in the territory, and it turned into a religious conflict."

And that conflict forced 40,000 Christians to flee their homes over the course of a few weeks. With nearly two years passing since that chaos, the situation remains grim for the majority Christian Kuki-Zo community. "Most of them now live in refugee camps where the rates of deaths from cancer, and kidney failure, and other treatable illnesses have really skyrocketed, because they simply have no access to medicine or to basic supplies," he said. "And that violence against this specific group of Christians called the Kuki-Zo people continues until this day."

Just months ago, one of the most horrific examples of violence unfolded. "There was a mother of three, a Christian woman from this Indigenous group ... who was attacked by Hindu militants, raped, and burned alive," Veldkamp said. "And that set off another round of violence between the groups, scores of people were killed, more people were displaced, and the government really seems kind of completely absent from this situation."

The world is celebrating after Marc Fogel's years-long detention in the Russian prison system came to a close this week, with President Donald Trump securing his release. No one is more elated over the freeing of Fogel, 63, than his mother, 95-year-old Malphine Fogel, who has intensely advocated for her son's release. Marc Fogel, an American teacher who taught history in Moscow, was serving a 14-year sentence after being found in possession of prescribed medicinal marijuana — a harsh rebuke that stunned his family.

Malphine Fogel told CBN News Thursday that her faith in God sustained her throughout the horrific ordeal, especially as uncertainty abounded. "Sometimes, there's nowhere to go except on your knees," she said. "We just prayed on regular intervals. We just put our faith in God — we really did. And it worked." Fogel reflected on the "shock" she experienced when her son was initially arrested nearly four years ago. Despite Russia's troubling history, she said she still found the entire ordeal "outlandish" and surprising.

"It seemed that it would just blow over," she said. "I never expected that it would go as far as it did. I just thought they would check all the facts and know that he was not a drug dealer with six or seven grams of marijuana, but they didn't see it that way, I guess."

Fogel said the Biden administration, which presided over most of her son's detention, didn't push hard enough, in her view. "I can't say that I ever felt they were really trying very hard to get him out," she said. "And I could be wrong about that, but that was the feeling I got." One of the most remarkable parts of Fogel's story centers on the now-infamous Butler campaign rally, where President Donald Trump was shot in the ear. Fogel was at that event and met with Trump before gunshots rang out.