Newsmakers

Free speech expert Jonathan Turley believes America is in the midst of its "most dangerous" anti-free speech era, calling President Joe Biden the "most anti-free speech president since John Adams." Turley, a George Washington University law professor and the author of "The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage," told CBN News the assaults on free expression today are uniquely troubling, citing a triangular dominance in media and other spheres.

"We've had these periods of anti-free speech movements before, but this is the most dangerous," he said. "And the reason is because we've never seen an alliance like this, where the government, corporations, academia, and the media joined together in this attack on free speech." Turley lamented newspaper columns framing the First Amendment as being "out of control," and highlighted what he said is a movement among some academics to "rewrite the First Amendment."

"What we're seeing is, perhaps, I think, arguably the most dangerous anti-free speech movement in our history," he reiterated. "We cannot assume that, even though we've gotten through all of the periods discussed in [my book "The Indispensable Right"], that we will get through this one." 

When asked to weigh in on long-held perspectives from many conservatives and Christians that Hollywood, media, and universities hold a bias against their views, Turley offered a candid response. "I think it is most certainly true," he said. "I have a long chapter on higher education and it details how much we've lost. I would never have imagined when I started teaching three decades ago that higher education would be this intolerant."

Turley charged that "universities have largely purged conservatives, Republicans, libertarians," and that many faculties fail to employ many — if any — people who subscribe to these views. Watch to see what else he has to say on the matter.

Eighty years after diabolical German leader Adolf Hitler went on a reign of terror, killing millions of Jewish men, women, and children, the stories of pain, horror, loss, and tragedy continue to reverberate. Victims like Jochen "Jack" Wurfl continue educate today's generations about what unfolded, with his new book, "My Two Lives" releasing just weeks before Hamas' deadly Oct. 7 terror attack on Israel.

Wurfl opened up in an interview with CBN News about the traumatic events he experienced during World War II as his mother, who was Jewish, and father, a Catholic, both lost their lives during the Holocaust. Wurfl and his brother, Peter, were sent away in an effort to keep them safe. Another factor allowing the children to blend in and escape Hitler's wrath was their mixed background. 

"My parents decided very wisely to have us baptized Catholic, and that helped us all along because every time someone asked us, or we had to complete some papers or something, instead of saying 'Jewish,' we could say, 'Catholic,'" he said. "So, that was a big help at that time." Wurfl started school in Berlin when he was just 6 years old, recalling how he and the other students had to go into the backyard of the school and learn how to march and sing Hitler's praises — something they wanted no part of but were forced to do.

"We had to learn how to march and how to say, 'Hail, Hitler!'" he said, "When we were a couple years older than that, we were actually beginning to be taught by the Hitler Youth ... to use certain weapons such as bazookas and grenades and that type of thing. We were just kids." Wurfl said he and his brother were young but knew they were hiding out under the guise of their Catholic identity. They also knew the costs were quite high.

Wurfl and his family soon faced the unthinkable, as his father was arrested and sent to a concentration camp. Eventually, his mother, too, faced the same fate; both died. The story is particularly pertinent as the Israel-Hamas war continues to rage and anti-Semitism grows. "It's very disturbing," he said of Hamas' violence and rising anti-Jewish sentiment. "It was very, very surprising how they went about it in such cruelty." Listen to his story.

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Welcome to "The Newsmakers Podcast," a show where we go behind the headlines each day to bring you interviews with pastors, entertainers, politicians, and other notable figures. Based on the "Newsmakers" show on the CBN News Channel, this daily podcast featuring CBN's Billy Hallowell provides full interviews with one newsworthy person every weekday.

Actor and Comedian Rob Schneider recently offered a powerful -- and public -- message of forgiveness. He explains why he's now embracing faith, God, and forgiveness. Plus: hear about some of his new projects on this episode of the "Newsmakers Podcast" with Billy Hallowell.

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Welcome to "The Newsmakers Podcast," a show where we go behind the headlines each day to bring you interviews with pastors, entertainers, politicians, and other notable figures. Based on the "Newsmakers" show on the CBN News Channel, this daily podcast featuring CBN's Billy Hallowell provides full interviews with one newsworthy person every weekday.

North Korea remains the worst nation in the world for Christian persecution, with the situation in Nigeria continuing to devolve, according to a new report on global religious discrimination. Overall, Open Doors’ World Watch List 2024 found 4,998 Christians were killed over their faith, a figure the organization said is likely much higher due to underreporting. Meanwhile, 365 million Christians face intense persecution and discrimination for their views. 

One of the most alarming statistics in the latest report is the massive, seven-fold rise in church, Christian school, and hospital attacks, with that total increasing from 2,110 in the 2023 study to 14,766 in 2024. Assaults on Christians' homes also rose from 4,547 to 21,431, with the number of believers pushed out of their houses expanding from 124,310 to 278,716.

One of the most sobering lines from a press release surrounding the World Watch List 2024 reads, "More than 82% of Christians killed across the globe for faith reasons were in Nigeria."

The most recent rankings put Nigeria in the sixth spot for persecution and discrimination. But Nigeria isn't alone, as persecution in sub-Saharan Africa, more broadly, is an area of concern.

"Faith-related killings in sub-Saharan Africa far outstripped those of any other region on the annual list," the release read. "This has been a trend for several years." Watch Ryan Brown, CEO of Open Doors US, describe the report and the full scope of the problem.

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Welcome to "The Newsmakers Podcast," a show where we go behind the headlines each day to bring you interviews with pastors, entertainers, politicians, and other notable figures. Based on the "Newsmakers" show on the CBN News Channel, this daily podcast featuring CBN's Billy Hallowell provides full interviews with one newsworthy person every weekday.

Actress and producer Roma Downey has built a long career in Hollywood, creating TV and film content that inspires and entertains.

The “Touched By An Angel” star has also carried her uplifting, family-friendly messages into literary works, including a new children’s book, “A Message in the Moon.”

Downey said her touching new book is deeply personal, with the concept predicated upon her childhood.

“This story for this book has sat in my heart for a really long time,” she recently told CBN Digital. “My mother died when I was just a little girl; I was only 10.”

As a result of such a monumental loss due to an unexpected heart attack, Downey said she became quite close to her father, whom she described as a “great dad.” The struggles that came along with her mother’s death, though, were profound.

“To say that we were heartbroken would be an understatement, because we didn’t even have the preparation of illness, which I know can be traumatic and painful for a child to see their parents suffer and go through a long illness,” she said. “But … there was no warning, and so it was as if somebody just turned the lights out in our lives.”

Downey continued, “If I was making a movie of my own life, my childhood would be in full technicolor, and then, when my mother died, it’s as if the movie then went into black and white.” Listen to her story.

Country singer Granger Smith stunned fans when he announced he would be retiring from music to pursue ministry, with the musician telling CBN Digital how he plans to serve the Lord. "I'm just so excited about it," he said. "I have so much joy just even thinking about it."

Smith said he's already begun speaking before audiences about his Christian faith. While he once traversed the nation and world sharing his music, he now plans to travel with a very different message. "I'm used to air travel, I'm used to hotels," he said. "But I have a different message to give, and it's a life-giving message. It's one beggar — me — telling another beggar where I found bread."

Smith said he wants to share his journey of faith, explaining how he was once hurting and in a "really bad place," but how he found hope in Jesus. "I don't know what the future looks like five years down the road, ten years down the road," Smith said. "But, right now, immediately, it's writing books, it's taking speaking engagements, Lord-willing, when the right ones come around, it's attending seminary, and it's going to church on Sunday mornings with my family, and sitting under teachings of my pastor."

Smith also discussed his recent memoir, "Like a River: Finding the Faith and Strength to Move Forward after Loss and Heartache," a book chronicling how he handled grief and sorrow and found faith. Smith's family made headlines in 2019 when the singer's 3-year-old son, River, died in a drowning accident. It's a topic at the heart of his book. Watch Smith discuss his plans, his son, and how he found faith.

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Welcome to "The Newsmakers Podcast," a show where we go behind the headlines each day to bring you interviews with pastors, entertainers, politicians, and other notable figures. Based on the "Newsmakers" show on the CBN News Channel, this daily podcast featuring CBN's Billy Hallowell provides full interviews with one newsworthy person every weekday.

With the 2024 election heating up, attention is turning to official party positions and platforms. On Tuesday, a coalition of groups announced the launch of the Platform Integrity Project, an effort to ensure the Republican Party Platform maintains its conservative ideals.A press release from Family Research Council Action (FRC Action), a group that seeks to influence politicians on behalf of faith and family issues, notes the new effort aims to protect the “pro-life, pro-family, and pro-Israel” elements of the Republican Party platform.

FRC Action chairman Tony Perkins, an elected member of the Republican National Committee (RNC) Platform Committee, is at the helm of the Platform Integrity Project. He exclusively explained the scope of the effort in a statement shared with CBN News. “This coalition seeks to work with the RNC and the Trump campaign for an open process that will help ensure the preservation of the GOP’s solidly conservative platform that contains longstanding pro-life, pro-family, and pro-Israel planks,” the statement read. “This effort will, for the first time, score individual votes of platform delegates.”

The announcement comes amid concerns moderate Republicans could try to dilute the more conservative planks of the platform. Perkins said party platforms are incredibly important as they highlight a party’s priorities and principles, with past data suggesting lawmakers tend to stick closely to the ideals in their associated platforms. He added that FRC Action is teaming up with other groups like WallBuilders, Faith Wins, Family Policy Alliance, and Palmetto Family Council, among others, to launch the Platform Integrity Project and ensure clear and concise ideals are communicated about “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

“America is an unprecedented place of moral and cultural confusion and is in dire need of leadership and moral clarity,” Perkins said. “Voters need to see a contrast between the two parties on their policy priorities. Voters want and need a choice.” He continued, “The message to Platform Committee delegates is clear: preserve life and family values in the Republican Party platform so that social conservatives can continue to find a home in the GOP.”

The Platform Integrity Project comes amid fears the Republican Party and Trump campaign could end up watering down or removing some of the more conservative ideals in the GOP platform. Hear Perkins explain.

Commentator and author Carrie Sheffield says she was once trapped in a cult and facing abuse -- that is, until she found healing. Sheffield joins the show to discuss her memoir, "Motorhome Prophecies: A Journey of Healing and Forgiveness."

A Texas doctor who researches 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 the book "Weeding Out the Lies About Marijuana," told CBN Digital weed is a drug that can have profound psychological and physical effects on the body. 

"If you want to talk about psychosis, for those who start using marijuana at a young age and who use it on a regular basis, there's a two and a half times risk of psychosis," Wiggins said. "One study ... actually showed a six times risk for those who used it regularly." He said research also shows young people who use the drug before age 18 are also at increased risk of psychosis, though the dangers don't stop there. 

"If you're talking about depression and suicide, depression is greatly increased if you start smoking ... it as a teenager," Wiggins said. "And then if you look at the statistics for depression, up until the age of 30, those who smoked it as a teenager are 37% more likely to be depressed in their young adult years, and even later on in life."  

The doctor also mentioned suicide as yet another factor worthy of exploring, stating research shows young people who use the drug are "50% more likely to think about suicide" and are "three and a half to seven times more likely to attempt suicide." Bipolar disorder is yet another issue Wiggins raised, with the doctor highlighting a recent study he said found a causal relationship between bipolar disorder and marijuana.  

As for Wiggins own motivation for exploring marijuana use and addiction, the doctor pointed to experiences in his own family as well as patterns he's seen among his patients for igniting his passion to further explore the impact weed has on the masses. "I have three close relatives who were all heavy marijuana users and they're all dead today," he said. "I believe that they would be alive if it wasn't for marijuana."

The fallout continues after Robert Morris resigned from Gateway Church over furor following allegations he molested a 12-year-old girl in the 1980s. Morris, 62, who resigned from Gateway last week, offered an initial statement on the allegations against him in which he again used the term “young lady.”

In that statement, he described what he said was “inappropriate sexual behavior with a young lady” in a home he stayed in during his 20s. “It was kissing and petting and not intercourse, but it was wrong,” he said. The preacher went on to state that the behavior happened on “several occasions” over a number of years.

Morris said the situation was “brought to light” in 1987. He said he confessed, repented, sought counseling, and returned to ministry two years later with the support of the victim’s father. For the record, the accuser, Cindy Clemishire — now 54 — has denied the latter claim as well as the notion she was a "young lady" at the time, claiming the abuse started when she was just a child.

Clemishire joins CBN News to detail her allegations, to share her faith journey, and explain the reasons she's speaking out.