Newsmakers

Who is actor Kevin Sorbo? The "Hercules" and "God's Not Dead" star joins Billy Hallowell to reveal his path into Hollywood, why he stands up for faith and family-friendly content — and what it was like to meet Billy Graham as a child. Listen to this powerful episode of "Newsmakers."

Willie Robertson and his family are known for sparking laughs, but the "Duck Dynasty" star, his parents, and siblings have also spent a great deal of time sharing their faith and inspiring the masses. Robertson, who is set to release a new book titled "Gospeler: Turning Darkness into Light One Conversation at a Time," is on a mission to encourage people to share their faith in Jesus.

"[I] felt like God had a message right now ... and that's always been on my heart," Robertson told CBN News. "And, obviously, that was impacted by my father [Phil Robertson] sharing his faith a lot." The Robertsons' story has been told in books and, most recently, through the powerful feature film "The Blind," a drama telling Phil Robertson's story from alcohol and chaos to Christ. Robertson said his father's conversion to Christianity decades ago forever changed the trajectory of his family and posited what would have happened had it never unfolded.

"Had that not happened — had mom and dad not found their faith — I would have grown up a completely different person," he said. "I don't even know that I would have faith." Robertson continued, "There would have been no company Duck Commander, there would have been no 'Duck Dynasty.'" But because one man shared his Christian beliefs with Phil Robertson, a chain reaction was started — one in which the entire Robertson family found Jesus and then, in turn, has spent more than a decade sharing God through entertainment, books, movies, and more.

"One couple in Arkansas ... found their faith, kept their family together, ended up 50 years later, in some way, spreading the Gospel message, whether through the prayer at the end of the show, the movie, the podcast," Robertson said, noting the legacy carries on to the next generation through his daughter, Sadie, and others who are working through additional channels to share their faith. "It's pretty amazing, if you think about it. It just lets me know ... you never know what God has in store."

Robertson said he can't imagine what life would look like had someone not stepped out in boldness to share faith with his father. It's something that's inspiring his journey now as he looks to invigorate Christians to do the same with those they encounter. Listen for the full explanation of why evangelism is so key.

"FOX & Friends" co-host Lawrence Jones has a deep-rooted faith, a passion for the Gospel, and a growing media career that has landed him on millions of TV sets each week. "I come from generations of pastors," Jones recently told CBN News. "My mom's a preacher, grandparents are, so, the Gospel at large — knowing who Christ is and accepting [Him] to my heart ... that's all I know."

The 31-year-old TV host said he grew up learning biblical truth, but it wasn't until he left home and moved to Washington, D.C., and then New York City that the things he was taught growing up about God and the Bible were fully put into practice.

"You start getting tested," Jones said. "For me, the faith walk became real when life became real, and when you're alone and you don't have that support system being with you every single day." Jones, who recently released the book, "American Man: Speaking the Truth about the War on Masculinity," said he's not the type of person who will pretend he's a "perfect Christian," refusing to project a lie or mistruth. With that in mind, he said he's striving to be more like Jesus each and every day.

"Part of the Gospel itself is understanding that Christ paid it all because I'm imperfect," Jones said. "And anytime that we try to project ourselves as these perfect beings, I think we take His glory away, because ... if we have it all together, then He wouldn't need to pay it all on the cross for our sins." Jones, who sees life through a biblical lens, is in a truly unique position with a prime spot on TV, delivering news and information to the masses. He called his work on "FOX & Friends" and Fox News more broadly an "exciting experience."

"I've had the opportunity to grow in different ways," Jones said. "Obviously, starting off as a contributor and then, from there, becoming Sean Hannity's correspondent, to doing my own show on Saturday to now this incredible opportunity." Despite all the attention and success, Jones said he hasn't found it tough to cling to his faith. "I don't find it a struggle to hold on to who God has called me to be and be that person," he said, noting he's "proud to be a believer."

Filmmaker Tim Mahoney has long been on a mission to help viewers look at the Bible in new and innovative ways, exploring proof for the Exodus among other topics.

His latest two-part project, "Seven Churches of Revelation," is a project he believes to be "really important for Christians today."

"Many people are wondering — they're feeling uneasy about the future, and they're wondering, 'Are we living in the last days?'" he said. Listen to Mahoney explain.

Filmmakers Alex and Stephen Kendrick join "Newsmakers" to share the significance of their new film "The Forge."

Ashlee Bond has been on a truly captivating journey. The U.S.-born show-jumping rider is the first Christian athlete to represent Israel at the Olympics. Bond participated in the Tokyo Games in 2021 and was in Paris this summer to once again compete in the Olympic games. "I am part Jewish, so ... I feel right at home," Bond told CBN News of her experience competing on team Israel. Her journey to contending on behalf of the Jewish state started when she was 33 years old, which she considers significant considering her Christian heritage.

"I was 33 when I got my citizenship — on my 33rd birthday," she said. "Jesus was crucified when he was 33. I have always considered myself an American-Israeli or Israeli-American, either way. My dad was born in Haifa ... I still have some family that lives in Israel." Bond said her Israeli heritage was always "very prominent" in her life, with the culture integrated into her daily life. Ultimately, she developed a "strong Israeli character," which helped lead her to seek Israeli citizenship in 2018. "I just felt this calling with my faith being a Christian, being that Jesus — that's where he was born, and where he died, and where he rose again," Bond said. 

There were some significant considerations for Bond when competing in the 2024 Olympic Games, though, especially after Hamas' Oct. 7 terror attack and the ongoing tensions in the Middle East — events that led to increased security concerns for Israeli Olympians. "It was definitely nerve-wracking, to say the least," she said. "I pride myself on being a pretty tough person — someone who isn't shaken too easily." But Bond said she and others received a threatening email before the 2024 Olympics that left her stunned.

"[It] singled me out personally, along with ... I believe 16 other Israeli athletes from a terrorist organization threatening our lives and saying ... 'If you fly over, you drive over, we run the airports, we run the streets, we will have blood run in the streets like Munich in '72,'" she said, referencing the 1972 terror attack that claimed the lives of 11 Israeli Olympians. "That was a little concerning." Bond said she coped with associated fears by leaning into Jesus, focusing on her calling and not any of the worries that the email sparked in her heart. The threats were especially concerning because the emails were delivered and addressed to each individual's personal email — and that's not all. "There were a couple Israeli athletes that got their obituaries sent to them," she said.

Bond also reacted to the controversial opening ceremony.

With the 2024 election cycle continuing to take many twists and turns, President Joe Biden's sweeping proposals to alter the U.S. Supreme Court are certain to reignite headlines as the campaign intensifies.

Jeremy Dys, senior counsel for First Liberty, a conservative legal firm, opposes Biden's recommendations and said he believes the Supreme Court has long been used to drive a wedge between voters.

"That the Supreme Court would be used by the left as a political tool or a political weapon, I think is just simply shameful," he said. "Our republican-democracy here requires judicial independence."

And Dys wasn't done there. He also lamented the Biden administration's improper use of court-packing threats and other related tactics "to try to get their way."

The attorney said the proposal for term limits would immediately impact Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, who are largely seen as more conservative justices. Terms would be limited to 18 years, and presidents would nominate judges to the court every two years.

"It all comes clear into view what the real target here is," Dys said. "They can't get their way at the Supreme Court, and, so, now, in their view, they have to punish."

He continued, "I think it's just simply shocking and should shock the conscience of every American. What this would do immediately would be to drive off the two conservatives on the bench that the left hates the most."

Dys believes this is the "very point" of the effort and said this "type of political vindictiveness should never be rewarded."

Looking back at historical precedent, the attorney said he believes the lifetime appointments for judges were set in motion to provide the "maximum amount of judicial independence" and to insulate the justices as much as possible from the political pressures of the day.

Others like Michael Waldman, president and CEO of the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law, take a different view from Dys. In fact, Waldman said Biden's Supreme Court reform efforts are "in many ways...conservative ideas."

"Term limits rest on a foundational premise of accountability: nobody should hold too much public power for too long," Waldman wrote. "George Washington taught us that when he stepped down after two terms."

He also cited what he said is bi-partisan support for term limits, noting past polling. Read more about his position here.

Others like Amanda Hollis-Brusky, a politics professor at Pomona College in Claremont, California, agree with Waldman and echo the idea that the term limit proposal has bi-partisan appeal.

"As conservative scholar Steven Calabresi and his co-author wrote in 2006, moving to a system of 18-year terms 'would restore the norms in this country that prevailed on the Court between 1789 and 1970, when vacancies occurred about once every two years, and Justices served an average of 14.9 years on the Court,'" Hollis-Brusky recently wrote.

She continued, "Supreme Court justices are serving longer and longer, but this is a relatively recent trend. Justices who have left the bench since 1990 served an average of 26.3 years, based on 2021 research, almost double what Calabresi reports from the first two centuries of Supreme Court practice."

The justices themselves have been relatively quiet about the issue, though Justice Neil Gorsuch did warn Biden and others seeking to reform the court. He cited the need for an independent judiciary that protects people even when they're not in line with "popular" opinion.

"There for the moments when, when the spotlight’s on you, when the government’s coming after you, and don’t you want a ferociously independent judge and a jury of your peers to make those decisions?” Gorsuch told Fox News' Shannon Bream. "And so I just say, be careful."

The owner of an embattled Christian coffee shop in Colorado said his business and ministry are continuing to persist despite facing a barrage of protests from communists and LGBTQ protesters over the past year. Jamie Sanchez, founder of Recycle God's Love, once again joined CBN News to offer a powerful update about the Drip Cafe, a coffee shop he launched as part of his affiliated ministry Project Revive.

Sanchez said the coffee shop, despite facing an ongoing onslaught of chaotic demonstrations, has been training and helping its first homeless worker. It's a recognition of his ministry's effort to help the homeless through employment and connections to much-needed resources. "[Our goal is to hire] homeless individuals, to give them a real W2 job, and to also disciple them while they're working alongside us," Sanzhez said. "And the project encompasses everything from providing housing to financial advising with them, spiritual guidance."

The first hire — named Scott — has reportedly had a wonderful and fruitful experience. Once Sanchez sound out Scott was in need of some help, he realized it was the right time to finally launch the program. "God just put it on my heart," he said. "So, I hired him on and ... it's crazy, because I hired him, he comes in, we're making sure he's staying sober, giving him everything right up front like, 'Hey, like this is serious. We're treating this job like a real job. If you're late, if you don't show up, it's just like a real job. If you don't show up to a shift and you don't call, you're let go.'"

Fortunately, the process has gone very well, with Scott persisting. Even if someone is let go from the job, Sanchez said his ministry will still help him or her with discipleship, finding housing, and other relevant needs. Already, Scott, who excelled at the job, is leaving his shelter and moving into housing through a local partner ministry.

"It just shows ... how God really ... when you put the trust in Him, what He does," Sanchez said, noting that working alongside like-minded people has helped Scott thrive. "It really just proves that the chains that come with being homeless can be broken with the power of Jesus Christ."

Despite this success, Sanchez said the protests against his cafe still unfold one day a month, with the chaos unfolding on what should be the busiest day for business.

Greg Laurie, pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in California, believes the strange events surrounding the Olympics this year have presented "a microcosm of what's not right in the world today." "They start off the Olympic ceremonies with the open mockery of the Last Supper, the painting by Leonardo da Vinci," Laurie told CBN News. "And then they deny that's what it was."

He juxtaposed the massive debacle over what many have taken as a drag-queen-driven mockery of the Last Supper against a report that Brazilian surfer Joao Chianca was reportedly forced to remove an image of Jesus from his surfboard before the Olympics began. "So, we can openly mock Christ here," Laurie said. "But you can't have any representation of Jesus on your surfboard ... everything's upside down."

The preacher said the "whole thing is just ridiculous," but emblematic of a broader problem unfolding in the culture at large. "This is ... really a representation of culture saying, 'We don't want God ... we're gonna openly mock God now, we're gonna make new rules, we're gonna define what a man is, what a woman is, what marriage is, and I'm gonna change everything,'" Laurie said. "And you have chaos as a result and you see it in the world; you see it in America."

The Harvest Crusade founder expressed his belief that the farther society gets from God, the more problems will develop — something he believes we're watching happen in real-time. Despite the troubles before us, Laurie reminded Christians of the "two secret weapons" in their arsenal: prayer and evangelism. "We need to use those weapons more," he said, encouraging people to pray for those who don't know the Lord. "We are in a spiritual battle, and the best thing in this spiritual battle is to gain ground, not just hold ground."

Laurie shared his comments while also discussing the powerful "Jesus Revolution" baptism his church recently held at Pirates Cove in California, a historic beach where baptisms have routinely unfolded in recent decades. Laurie said 2,000 people were baptized in one day—a stunning number that shows, despite culture's moral demise, God is still moving. 

President Joe Biden's sweeping proposals to change the U.S. Supreme Court and presidential immunity are being met with a variety of opinions. Brad Jacob, a Regent University professor and legal expert, detailed Biden's plans for CBN News, explaining his view the president's proposals are rooted in what he believes to be political "discontent." "The primary thing that's going on here is discontent within the political left with recent decisions of the Supreme Court," he said. "And that's nothing new. I mean, throughout our nation's history, if people believe the Supreme Court has messed something up, people try to figure out ways to deal with this."

Constitutional amendments have been aimed at changing Supreme Court rulings in the past, but Jacob said Biden's current push concerns the court's structure. In recent years, some progressives have pushed for court-packing, which is "adding more justices so that the current president could put on a bunch of people who agree with his viewpoint and overrule the other side." But the current proposal from Biden deals, instead, with term limits. "Primarily, what's going on, there [are] folks who believe they're losing in the Supreme Court today [and they] want to change outcomes, which honestly, is not the correct way to approach this," Jacob said. "The Supreme Court is not supposed to be a partisan political animal. The justices are supposed to decide cases correctly under the law."

The problem with trying to change the court's structure, he said, is that the other side will simply try to do the same thing when given the opportunity.

"In reality, it's very hard to remove a justice from the court," Jacob said. "The idea of that was to let the judiciary be independent, to keep it free from partisan politics." Jacob went on to provide the strongest arguments for and against term limits. As for the former, he said some presidents don't appoint any justices while others get to appoint a number of them. The imbalance can sometimes be evident in the court's composition. "I think there's a worthwhile conversation about something like 18-year term limits for justices... you'd have to stagger it starting out, but then every two years, one justice would reach the end of his or her term and have to leave the court," he said. "And every president, unless someone resigns or dies early, every president would nominate exactly two Supreme Court justices in a four-year term."