Newsmakers

A UK woman who has faced at least three run-ins with law enforcement — including two arrests — for silently praying outside abortion clinics said her now-viral legal battles have been "stressful" but that she's not backing down from defending her rights. Isabel Vaughan-Spruce, a pro-life volunteer and co-director of March for Life UK, has made international headlines as her plight has dragged on over the past year.

"On one level, it has been quite stressful in as much as it almost makes you feel quite vulnerable that the people who should be protecting your freedoms are the ones who seem [to be] attempting to deprive you of them," she said.

But Vaughan-Spruce, who just last month was reportedly threatened by police with a fine for praying outside a clinic after previously being cleared of past arrests and charges, said she's also been heartened to see the support she's received. 

"The amount of support I've received from people who have told me that they actually support abortion, but they still support my right and other people's right to be able to pray where they want to pray — people who say that they don't have any religious beliefs, but they still recognize that people's own private thoughts, whether they're directed towards their God or not, are their own business," she said. Vaughan-Spruce continued, "And that's really encouraging to see that people can recognize what's going on here."

She recounted her most recent interaction with police — one that came after she was acquitted again. Once more, she said she was simply silently praying and wasn't holding any posters or leaflets. In fact, she wasn't even engaging another human in any way. "The police came and told me that they were going to issue me with a fixed penalty notice if I didn't move outside the zone," Vaughan-Spruce said. "I told them that I didn't believe I needed to because all I was doing was silently praying, and so they gave me ... the ticket."

That ticket, too, was reportedly dropped, though she said the entire ordeal is "quite intimidating," with mixed messages dominating her interactions. 

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"The Newsmakers Podcast" is a daily podcast based on "Newsmakers," a weekly TV show hosted by Billy Hallowell on The CBN News Channel and the CBN News YouTube Channel. You can watch "Newsmakers" on Thursday evenings to see three actors, pastors, authors, politicians, and other notable figures discussing issues of the day. On the podcast, we focus on one special interview each day. Be sure to subscribe today on your favorite podcast platforms.

A journalist on a mission to expose what he believes is the deceptive underbelly of gender ideology has released a new podcast season aimed at exposing lies.

Brandon Showalter, a journalist with The Christian Post who recently released season three of his "Generation Indoctrination" podcast, believes America is experiencing a potential turning point when it comes to the transgender discussion.

"When you see children being hurt, that really gets people's attention," Showalter said. "And we live in an age when doctors will go to work tomorrow and cut the breasts off of 13-year-old girls. I'm not making that up. We're watching children become sterilized."

Showalter said opposition to some of what's happening on the gender front isn't limited to Christian circles, as concern appears to be spreading in nearly every sector. Hear him speak out.

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"The Newsmakers Podcast" is a daily podcast based on "Newsmakers," a weekly TV show hosted by Billy Hallowell on The CBN News Channel and the CBN News YouTube Channel. You can watch "Newsmakers" on Thursday evenings to see three actors, pastors, authors, politicians, and other notable figures discussing issues of the day. On the podcast, we focus on one special interview each day. Be sure to subscribe today on your favorite podcast platforms.

The owner of a California bakery is heading back to court after scoring repeated religious liberty victories for declining to make a same-sex wedding cake. Cathy Miller, owner of Tastries Bakery in Bakersfield, California, is again facing officials' furor after the state appealed a ruling last year by the California Superior Court of Kern County that was in her favor. 

Miller said her battle began in 2017 after she declined to make a cake for a gay couple and California subsequently opened an investigation into the matter. "About six and a half years ago, we had four people come in, and it was two men and two women," Miller said. "And I thought it was a bride and a groom and their best man and maid of honor. But the baker soon found out she was being asked to make a wedding cake for a same-sex union — something she was unwilling to create due to her Christian faith.

"I politely told them ... 'I'm sorry. I can't hurt my Lord and Savior. I can't participate in the union,'" Miller said, noting she offered to refer them to another bakery that would be happy to make their cake. "And so we thought everything was fine, and everything was not fine." It didn't take long for the denial story to make its way into the media and metastasize into a massive story. Miller said "social media went crazy" and harassment and "horrible emails" followed.

"I was shocked, and I know they were upset, but I did not think that it would go this far," Miller told CBN News in a 2022 interview. "I did not realize that, within two hours, we would be bombarded by hate mail, death threats, rape threats. The media was storming into our bakery." Plus, a legal battle unfolded, with Miller inevitably going to court to defend her religious liberties.

Miller has received both support and blowback, with the latter coming among those infuriated over her refusal to make the cake. She said she's been impacted, physically, emotionally, and financially. Amid the anger, the baker said there's been some confusion over her intentions and made it clear the issue isn't about declining to serve the LGBTQ community.

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"The Newsmakers Podcast" is a daily podcast based on "Newsmakers," a weekly TV show hosted by Billy Hallowell on The CBN News Channel and the CBN News YouTube Channel. You can watch "Newsmakers" on Thursday evenings to see three actors, pastors, authors, politicians, and other notable figures discussing issues of the day. On the podcast, we focus on one special interview each day. Be sure to subscribe today on your favorite podcast platforms.

Today, Richard Lorenzo Jr. is a Christian pastor — but that wasn't always the case. The ex-warlock was at one time embroiled in the occult, engaging in evil and encouraging others to do the same. All that changed when he accepted Jesus in 2019.

"I definitely was possessed," he recently told CBN Digital. "I was hearing voices — I was literally hearing voices." Lorenzo said he began dabbling in selling drugs, but when a massive drug package went missing, he became obsessed with finding out who took it. That's when he turned to a voodoo priest for answers. Soon, he was so enthralled with evil that he forgot about the package. The subsequent journey led him into the bowels of the occult, diving so deep into the abyss he gave up everything to study such practices.

In the end, Lorenzo started down a dangerous road. "I know I was possessed. ... I used to believe that the things I was doing were right," he said. "I used to believe ... abortion is right. ... I would convince people about abortion, convince people to get drunk, to cheat on their wives." Lorenzo continued, "I was literally working for the devil." But all of that changed when he found Jesus. 

Hear Lorenzo share the incredible journey to faith and the pastorate.

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"The Newsmakers Podcast" is a daily podcast based on "Newsmakers," a weekly TV show hosted by Billy Hallowell on The CBN News Channel and the CBN News YouTube Channel. You can watch "Newsmakers" on Thursday evenings to see three actors, pastors, authors, politicians, and other notable figures discussing issues of the day. On the podcast, we focus on one special interview each day. Be sure to subscribe today on your favorite podcast platforms.

A free speech watchdog is warning about a new proposal in Scotland that could reportedly lead parents to be imprisoned for refusing to comply with gender transitions for their children. "You'd think that it was a joke or a piece of satire, but, unfortunately, it is the reality in my country of Scotland," Lois McLatchie, communications officer at ADF International, said of the suggested provision. "There are proposals that would ban so-called 'conversion therapy.'"

McLatchie said many people think of "terrible treatment" and worst-case scenarios when it comes to these methods of attempting to change people's sexual proclivities. But, while some claim the Scotland proposal deals exclusively with these more troubling abuses and methods, McLatchie said it runs much deeper. "Although it says that it's about conversion therapy, [this bill] actually goes much, much further and intervenes in what a parent can advise a child — a pastor can advise a congregant — or anything like that," she said.

McLatchie continued, "If a parent were to ... more than once tell their child, say their 11-year-old son, that he was not allowed to wear a dress to school, and lipstick, and high heels, and to dress as a girl when he's a boy ... you could potentially be guilty of committing conversion therapy, of being coercive, and therefore face a criminal trial and potential prison sentence of up to seven years."

She said the proposal is being discussed right now during a consultation period lasting until April 2 and that ADF International and other activists hope the Scottish people "raise their voices," weigh in, and help stop the passage and enactment of such measures. Listen for the full story on Scotland's proposal.

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"The Newsmakers Podcast" is a daily podcast based on "Newsmakers," a weekly TV show hosted by Billy Hallowell on The CBN News Channel and the CBN News YouTube Channel. You can watch "Newsmakers" on Thursday evenings to see three actors, pastors, authors, politicians, and other notable figures discussing issues of the day. On the podcast, we focus on one special interview each day. Be sure to subscribe today on your favorite podcast platforms.

Famed football coach Tony Dungy is known for his devotion to football as well as his character, compassion, and faith.

Dungy, a former NFL defensive back who went on to coach the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Indianapolis Colts, has also been outspoken about his biblical views and what matters most in life.

In a recent interview with CBN News, Dungy revealed the biggest lesson he believes God has taught him throughout his decades-long career in football.

"Our mother's favorite verse in the Bible that she passed on to us was Matthew 16:26: 'What would it profit a man if you gain the whole world, but forfeit your soul?'" he said. "And, unfortunately, I saw a lot of that in 30 years in the National Football League."

Dungy continued, "I saw young men climb the ladder as high as you could climb, get everything that you could imagine from an earthly standpoint — acclaim, fame, money, notoriety, and look at them on the inside and say, 'Boy, there's something missing, and this is not good.'"

The NFL legend said he didn't want to experience the same lostness. Beyond that, Dungy wanted to prevent any players on his team from feeling such profound disconnectedness. That's why he delivered a powerful message to every rookie who came onto his roster.

"When I got our rookie class coming in every year, I would say the same thing: 'Enjoy the spoils of the National Football League. It's great. Yes, you can provide for your families, your parents, you can do a lot of things, but if that's all you're in it for, you're going to be in shock at the end of the day.'"

Dungy said he wanted the players to know they needed a source from which to get "real satisfaction" and said it's "got to be spiritual." Years later, he said former players still reach out to him to express appreciation for that guidance, explaining they didn't always know what he meant at the time but have come to better understand the true value he encouraged them to place in the Almighty.

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"The Newsmakers Podcast" is a daily podcast based on "Newsmakers," a weekly TV show hosted by Billy Hallowell on The CBN News Channel and the CBN News YouTube Channel. You can watch "Newsmakers" on Thursday evenings to see three actors, pastors, authors, politicians, and other notable figures discussing issues of the day. On the podcast, we focus on one special interview each day. Be sure to subscribe today on your favorite podcast platforms.

Jonathan Roumie sat down with CBN's Tré Goins-Phillips to talk about season four of The Chosen — debuting in theaters Feb. 1 — and opened up about the weight of portraying the Son of God. He also gave a vulnerable reaction to learning his image is one of the first pictures people often associate with Jesus. 

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"The Newsmakers Podcast" is a daily podcast based on "Newsmakers," a weekly TV show hosted by Billy Hallowell on The CBN News Channel and the CBN News YouTube Channel. You can watch "Newsmakers" on Thursday evenings to see three actors, pastors, authors, politicians, and other notable figures discussing issues of the day. On the podcast, we focus on one special interview each day. Be sure to subscribe today on your favorite podcast platforms.

A Christian leader who was born and raised in Iran and who now ministers in the country is warning of what could happen if ties between terror groups like Hamas, Taliban, Hezbollah, and ISIS strengthen. The Rev. Lazarus Yeghnazar, founder and president of Transform Iran, an organization that spreads the Gospel in Iran, said such collaborations are already unfolding — something he sounded the alarm on in a recent video responding to Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on Israel.

"What happens if Hamas, Taliban, Hezbollah and ISIS join forces? What will it force the Western countries, and the democracies and Israel to do?" Yeghnazar asked. "A conflict, which is catastrophic, will engulf the whole region." He also warned the murderous chaos will eventually come for everyone, not only Israel. "This is ... a plague that is not only destined to obliterate Israel [but one] that will not stop until they subjugate all of us," Yeghnazar said.

The faith leader also made it clear Iran is responsible for creating much of the death and consternation we're seeing right now in the region, explaining the deep roots of the conflict. "Iran has, for the last 43 years, fermented bitterness," he told CBN Digital. "I think you're ... a hairline crack away from the whole region burning in an inferno." Yeghnazar recounted how his former nation was once filled with possibility before descending into a chaotic, militant state that brutally cracks down on its people.

 "If you wanted to practice your Islam, you could go to a mosque," he said. "If you wanted to practice your Christianity, go to a church." But all that changed during the Iranian Revolution in the late 1970s when Ayatollah Khomeini came to power and brought what Yeghnazar called an "Islamic mandate" to Iran, subjugating those not in line with his ideology.

Flash forward a few decades and Iran is at the center of consternation, with the Islamic republic funding and equipping groups like Hezbollah and Hamas, with the latter group responsible for the Oct. 7 terror attack that killed 1,400 Israelis. Hear Yeghnazar explain the chaos and call Christians to prayer.

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"The Newsmakers Podcast" is a daily podcast based on "Newsmakers," a weekly TV show hosted by Billy Hallowell on The CBN News Channel and the CBN News YouTube Channel. You can watch "Newsmakers" on Thursday evenings to see three actors, pastors, authors, politicians, and other notable figures discussing issues of the day. On the podcast, we focus on one special interview each day. Be sure to subscribe today on your favorite podcast platforms.

Michigan parents are suing a public school district over the claim district employees began socially transitioning their daughter without their consent, purportedly concealing details from the parents in the process. Dan and Jennifer Mead have sued the Rockford Public School District in Michigan, with the parents telling CBN News the case shows the troubling ways parental rights are sometimes undermined and upended.

"While we were working with the school closely to address [our daughter's] academic needs in regards to her Autism, it came to our attention that the school was actively deceiving and hiding from us the fact that they were transitioning our daughter from being a girl to a boy, using a boy's name and pronouns," Dan Mead said in a recent interview. The parents said they only became aware of the purportedly covert social transitioning after being given paperwork in which they said a school employee had "inadvertently forgotten to change one of those male names and pronouns."

Jennifer said she initially assumed it was a mistake and that the name and information pertained to someone else's child. Upon emailing the school to ask if it was an error, she said she found it odd no one reportedly responded. "We started to kind of dig a little bit more and say, 'Well, why would they not respond to an email over important information like this?" she said. "So, once we found out what was really happening, clearly I was just in shock [and] disbelief."

Dan said he and his wife started to piece together what was happening and were trying to make a plan for how to handle the situation. "We had a meeting with the school principal," Dan said. "He said to us, 'Look, you have to understand this is the school policy. We're mandated to do this. The desires of the children outweigh those of the parents, and there's not a whole lot we can do in that regard.'"

Kate Anderson, an attorney with Alliance Defending Freedom, the firm representing the Meads, said such policies have become "very pervasive" in some areas across the U.S., with districts choosing not to tell parents about changes in student pronouns. Watch the interview for more of the family's story.

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"The Newsmakers Podcast" is a daily podcast based on "Newsmakers," a weekly TV show hosted by Billy Hallowell on The CBN News Channel and the CBN News YouTube Channel. You can watch "Newsmakers" on Thursday evenings to see three actors, pastors, authors, politicians, and other notable figures discussing issues of the day. On the podcast, we focus on one special interview each day. Be sure to subscribe today on your favorite podcast platforms.

Actress Candace Cameron Bure, star of Great American Family's "My Christmas Hero," has had a long career in Hollywood. The popular performer joins the "Newsmakers Podcast" to break down her latest projects — and her reaction to so many Hollywood actors finding Jesus. Listen to this powerful episode of the show.

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"The Newsmakers Podcast" is a daily podcast based on "Newsmakers," a weekly TV show hosted by Billy Hallowell on The CBN News Channel and the CBN News YouTube Channel. You can watch "Newsmakers" on Thursday evenings to see three actors, pastors, authors, politicians, and other notable figures discussing issues of the day. On the podcast, we focus on one special interview each day. Be sure to subscribe today on your favorite podcast platforms.