CBN NewsWatch AM: November 6, 2018

[UltraVid id=41 ]this is CBN Newswatch and thank you so much for joining us for this first half-hour of CBN Newswatch I’m Efrem Graham voters head to the polls today in one of the most intensely fought midterm elections our Mark Martin joins us now with more on this story he’ll be following it for us throughout the day mark yeah Efrem today of course is the midterm elections and the voters will head to the polls to determine if Republicans or Democrats retain or take control of Congress in our nation’s capitol and state houses around the country more than 105 million Americans are expected to cast their ballots around 36 million have already done that taking part in early voting so what’s on the ballot on the national level all 435 seats in the house are being voted on as well as 35 seats in the Senate Democrats need to win 23 seats to take control of the house and they need two seats to do that in the Senate major issues in this election cycle include immigration and health care President Donald Trump will spend election day at the White House he held 44 rallies leading up to the midterm elections in support of the GOP former President Barack Obama also held rallies stumping for Democrats Democrats are inviting caravan after caravan is that nice of illegal aliens unlike some people I don’t just make stuff up when I’m talking a BC News reported that the midterms are being called an election about everything the author of the popular book the Trump prophecy says they’re the most important midterm elections in American history and also at stake voters in 36 states will choose a governor and to give you an idea of how important Americans are viewing this election we mentioned at least 36 million Americans have already voted casting their ballots and early voting in the last midterms at this point that number was twenty million Ephrem well how does the midterm turnouts compared to the turnout for presidential elections well turnouts in the midterms are traditionally quite a bit lower than presidential elections for example in the midterms it’s around 40% of eligible voters whereas in presidential it can hit as high as 60% but one estimate had this year’s midterm elections at 45% of eligible voters casting their ballots and that’s a figure that hasn’t been seen in nearly half a century a big day indeed that report on this election day Vice President Mike Pence tells CBN News he believes Republicans will expand their majority in the Senate and keep the house CBN’s David Brody traveled with him on Air Force two for the final push to get out the vote here’s David’s report with his wife Karen by his side we spent the final hours of these midterms on Air Force two with an optimistic vice president from Montana to South Dakota the crowds were enthusiastic as was the VP blue wave we’re just on Air Force One any other day president says the blue waves dead what’s what’s the answer on the blue wave we’re here well we think the blue waves gonna hit a red wall all across this country I think we’re gonna expand our majority in the United States Senate I really believe we’re gonna hold the House of Representatives first stop Montana where the goal is to defeat a Senate Democrat living in Big Sky Trump country how much is Jon Tester in trouble here in Montana we think Matt Rosendale is in a great position to win this race Jon Tester has been voting with the liberal agenda in the United States Senate every step of the way voted more than 90% of the time with President Obama’s agenda that’s not Montana hence his final pitch to voters is pretty simple and to the point I think about 4.5 million new jobs created unemployment at a 50-year low we’re rebuilding our military constitutional conservatives being appointed to our courts and that’s exactly what the president and I told the American people that we would do in the democrats by contrast it’s been an agenda of obstruction but Democrats are fired up and turned off by this administration’s policies immigration is close to the top of the list what do you make of some of the rhetoric coming what they say is from this administration on immigration we have a crisis of illegal immigration and our southern border but this Caravan that’s moving north is deeply concerning to people all across this country I hear about it every day it’s the reason why the president has made it clear that the caravan will not be allowed to enter our country illegally and we’re taking decisive steps to to administrative ly close the loopholes that human traffickers used to exploit vulnerable families and entice them to take the long and dangerous journey north motivating the faithful base is Pence’s main chore so if you’re taking notes I need you to vote if Republicans do well Tuesday night Pence is pretty clear that the nonstop effort from President Trump will be a main reason even though he’s not on the ballot he’s campaigned as though we were and I think that’s the reason why we’ve seen such energy around the country to be honest with you David as I’ve traveled around the country I haven’t seen this level of enthusiasm since the days just before the 2016 campaign whatever happens Tuesday night Mike Pence sees a larger hand at work in the country there seems to have been a cultural slide obviously for decades in this country and along comes Donald Trump God using imperfect people to accomplish his perfect will what do you make of what’s happened in this country since he’s become president and and how you see this divinely providentially playing out well I believe as every president from George Washington forward I believed in the role of Providence and the life of this nation and I really do believe that that the prayers of the American people have made a difference and even in these divided times I really do believe those prayers are a pathway to heal our country and continue to move our nation forward the nation will soon find out what direction that means for the next two years David Brody CBN News on Air Force two with the vice president most pundits consider this year’s midterm elections one of the most important in decades and that will have a profound impact on the US and chris mitchell is reporting from jerusalem now israelis are also considering how the midterms will affect the Jewish state for the past two years many Israelis agree with president Trump’s policies he moved the US Embassy behind me to Jerusalem he pulled out of the Iranian nuclear deal and he drew closer to Israel’s neighbors like Saudi Arabia Egypt and Jordan head out to Jerusalem’s open-air market mahane yehuda and you can find that reflected among israelis talking about the midterms I’m sure as Raley’s as a whole probably if a poll were to be done Israelis as a whole would probably be more in favor the GOP doing well in these elections I think the Democrats are terrible for Israel why they’ve taken a very hard left turn and their policies are not pro-israel you can safely say and I’ve been polling this since the elections the presidential elections Israelis love Trump and that it’s only gained in he’s only gained in popularity here and there a number of reasons both his personality he’s very blunt and the way that he has defended Israel in the United Nations and really shaken up the United Nations with ambassador Haley and with the policies that’s music to Israeli ears pollster Mitchell Barack says Israelis favor certain candidates they seem to want candidates that are more pro-israel that tends to be Republicans that tends to be the candidates from the evangelical community from the south the question is will Congress beginning January 2019 will Congress provide tailwind or headwind to the president’s national security policy ambassador Iram Ettinger served as Israel’s liaison to the US Congress and knows the importance of these elections for the House Senate and Israel we should never underestimate the power of the legislature the legislature can provide very very intense headwind to American presidents which would transform an American president into a very weak personality in global politics I trust that reflecting the majority of the American population the coming Congress beginning January 2019 will be as supportive of enhanced us-israel relations whatever the outcome of the elections the results will have an effect beyond the borders of the u.s. to Israel the Middle East and beyond Chris Mitchell CBN News Jerusalem and you can watch election coverage on our CBN News Channel this evening to find the channel in your area simply go to CBN News website our election coverage will also air live on the freeform Channel at 11:00 p.m. Eastern Time here now is a look at some of the other major stories were following for you today inside the CBN newsroom severe weather across the country could keep people from the polls today rain win and strong thunderstorms are expected to sweep across the East Coast The Weather Channel reports the north-central us will see heavy snowfall and wet rain as well as a snow mix recent studies found that Republican candidates tend to have a slight advantage when it rains the US Supreme Court announced Monday it will make a decision on the potential destruction of a World War one veteran’s memorial shaped in the form of a cross in 2015 a lower court ruled the memorial was not constitutional declaring the shape of the memorial violating the First Amendment the American Humanist Association wants the cross to be destroyed or changed the Supreme Court will hear the appeal on whether to reverse that decision armed separatists have kidnapped at least 79 students and their principal were Presbyterians school in Cameroon the kidnapping took place late Sunday by men who call themselves samba boys as a reference to the state of Amazonia that armed separatists are trying to establish the men say they will only release the children when they achieve what they want and after the children struggle you can find these and other stories on our website CBN News throughout the day coming up the leaders of Iran make plans to ignore newly issued US sanctions we’re going to break down what it means for the country stay with us [Music] and welcome back to CBN Newswatch this week the Trump administration raised economic sanctions against Iran the new sanctions are aimed at isolating the country’s banking sector and slashing its oil exports our George Thomas reports more than 24 hours after the United States slapped Iran with some of the toughest sanctions ever to hit the Islamic regime residents of the capital city already facing economic dire straits are bracing for even more pain the sanctions have greatly affected our lives a hundred percent everything from food transportation housing and medical costs have risen dramatically high prices negatively impact every individual and every family Mina Soleil who is visiting Tehran fears this second round of sanctions will lead to more unemployment and hyperinflation prices for shoes and clothes have gone up very high and a lot of people are not able to buy these things anymore some hope the economic pain will bring Iranians to the streets to protest the Islamic regime and calls for its end as they did last year and in 2009 the White House says the aim of the economic penalties is simple our objective is to starve the Iranian regime of the revenue it uses to fund violent and disabling activities throughout the Middle East and indeed around the world in all the US government has sanctioned more than 900 Iran related targets in the last two years Secretary Pompeo says the Islamic regime has a clear choice it can either do a 180-degree turn from its outlaw course of action and that collecting normal country or can see its economy crumble thousands of Iranians responded to the new sanctions by chanting death to America death to Israel and burning US and Israeli flags they even squeezed in military drills in the northern part of the country in defiance as a government vowed to circumvent US sanctions and keep selling its oil Iran’s supreme leader speaking on the eve of the anniversary of the November 4th 1979 takeover of the US Embassy in Tehran used the occasion to accuse war of waging military economic and propaganda Wars ayatollah ali Himani told the crowd that America’s influence wasn’t declared America’s power and hegemony in the world is declining and moving toward destruction it’s waning year by year but it is America that’s putting the squeeze on the regime at the moment and the White House says that pressure will be relentless until Iran changes its revolutionary course George Thomas CBN News still ahead Eric Metaxas introduces us to the cast of characters in his new children’s book Donald drains the swamp [Music] the work of best-selling author Eric Metaxas include both funny and serious angles for children as well as adults now his latest book about president Trump’s embodies all of those qualities actually I Jennifer Wishon met up with him in New York City we caught up with Eric Metaxas while he was hosting his radio show it’s kind of scary to me the power that Facebook has with his new book Donald drains the swamp proudly displayed beside his microphone it’s a tale about a character called Donald the caveman based on a true story so Eric yes Dietrich Bonhoeffer Martin Luther yeah Donald the caveman yes it’s quite a progression thank you it’s not a progression it’s either a regression or oh nothing at all I people it’s kind of a funny thing I’m very eclectic I’ve always been that way he’s not kidding the conservative Christian is written critically acclaimed biographies more than 30 children’s books even scripts for the popular cartoon VeggieTales and his latest book is a mash-up of political humor serious lessons about liberty and the good things Metaxas sees happening in america under this president this presidency there’s something about it he has a folk hero quality it’s like an American folk hero who is this guy do you see this as a children’s book or do you see it as a you know it’s good for everybody to read when I wrote this book originally I was really thinking of a humor book for adults a humor book about Donald the caveman he drains the swamp and there’s a lot of political humor in here that specifically for adults kids aren’t gonna get it but if you do it just right you do it in a way that doesn’t exclude kids you do it in a way that’s sweet and innocent this book is not nasty it’s not mean it’s meant to be light-hearted and fun well speaking of some of the adult humor in the book there’s a Giorgio Soros the George Oh Soros that’s just a joke we had no idea that there’s a Hungarian billionaire Satan worshiper named George Soros so make of it what you will there’s also a blue bird that Flitz through the book and as you know birds like to tweet so you know make of it what you will why is it following Donald around well you know that you can figure that out and I mean to be fair there’s also a turtle in here who looks a lot like the Senate Majority Leader well you know to be really fair and this is not a knock on Turtles but all turtles somehow end up looking like the Senate Majority Leader it’s not their fault it’s not his fault it’s just a quirk of nature so why did he portray the president as a caveman sometimes we think he’s a little bit of a caveman this president but he’s our caveman he’s working for us that’s the key he’s working for us well I think the power of the Trump presidency is in its simplicity the fact that he’s driven so much by his gut his boldness right I that that’s portrayed here but that’s exactly right that’s part of the issue of the caveman right the caveman is not self-conscious he just does what he has to do you know he clubs the animal he eats it there’s something funny about that that this president is so motivated by his gut his instincts that it is almost funny you don’t think of him being he’s the antithesis of Obama Obama was paralyzed by overthinking things it was kind of a hamlet like paralysis he was unable to do anything and he thought is he even in the White House his daddy home what is going on do we have a president this president you sort of feel just the opposite metaxas is on a mission to make Americans think along with his best-selling books here in New York City he hosts a lecture series called Socrates in the city where he and his guests tackle big issues like God science and culture he understands why some voters particularly Christians may have to hold their noses when it comes to some of trumps tactics oh listen you have to understand voting for Trump is not necessarily a vote for Trump it’s a vote for the people he’s going to affect God holds us accountable he doesn’t say well well if you don’t like this you don’t like the way he combs his hair don’t vote for him if you don’t vote for the person you think is gonna do the best job they may not be perfect but the other person’s gonna get in and I think that Christians sometimes we feel like well I’m gonna be really holy and I’m not going to get my hands dirty I think calls us to get our hands dirty or living in such divided times we need to laugh we need to be able to celebrate the good things that are happening so that’s why I wrote the book and this isn’t Donald the cave man’s only adventure look for Donald builds the wall even Donald goes to space coming soon he hopes this latest book winds up under lots of Christmas trees this year so more Americans better understand the importance of draining the swamp Jennifer Wishon CBN News New York City and Donald drains the swamp is available right now wherever books are sold stay with us we’ll be right back with much more of CBN News live straight ahead [Music] and welcome back to CBN Newswatch right now it is time for your Tuesday tweetable here’s a message I hope you will find uplifting and certainly hope you’ll be encouraged to post to tag to tweet and to share this message with others this moment in your life is not the end I don’t care how bad or good it may feel in this moment guess what God has so much more so much better in store for you there’s a song that says it all better days are coming and they indeed are remember that God causes all things to work together for your good so long that you love him and you are called according to his purpose with that word I strongly encourage you to make this a terrific Tuesday remember that you can find more of our exclusive coverage of the issues you care most about always at CBN news.com if you’re watching us here on the CBN News Channel there is much more of the CBN Newswatch program coming up right after this short break for all others we want to know what you think about the stories you’ve seen here today you can do that by emailing Newswatch at cbn.com and of course you can always reach out and touch us on Facebook on Twitter as well as Instagram certainly hope you’ll join us again right here next time make this a terrific Tuesday and remember the news continues 24/7 at CBN news.com we’re updating it all day this election day thank you so much for watching goodbye everybody and God bless is cbn news wasps and thank you so much for joining us for the second half hour of CBN Newswatch I’m Efrem Graham more than 105 million Americans are expected to cast ballots today and some 36 million have already done so in early voting all 435 seats in the House are on the ballot and 35 seats in the Senate Democrats need to win 23 cents 23 seats to take control of the house they just need two seats in the Senate to do that major issues in this election include immigration in health care and President Donald Trump will spend this election day at the White House following 44 rallies in support of the GOP during this election cycle former President Barack Obama also held rallies stumping for Democrats Democrats are inviting caravan after Caravan is that nice of illegal aliens unlike some people I don’t just make stuff up when I’m talking a seenu’s reports the midterms are an election about everything CBN News is chief political correspondent David Brody hit the final leg of the campaign trail with Vice President Mike Pence Monday we’re going to have an exclusive report on today’s 700 club from him evangelicals were a key voting bloc in the 2016 presidential race and candidates are seeking their vote in this election as well Edie Stetzer is the executive director of the Billy Graham Center at Wheaton College he spoke with our Heather sells with more insight on where evangelicals stand heading into this election and we have seen the president stoke fears over immigration this week in an effort apparently to get out the vote he’s even tweeted a video that blames Democrats for the crimes of immigrants how do you think those who adhere to evangelical beliefs are responding to all this inflammatory rhetoric around immigration well I think a lot of people it’s actually going to probably work we actually see that immigration on those Angelico’s who voted for President Trump and the recent research we did is actually there there are number two most important issue economy being number one and event helices in general we look at several polls that have really come now they would be the most hard line on immigration you know and again people can debate about numbers and how this all works but but certainly immigration Reza’s concern resonates with the manageable voters it’s really interesting it almost seems that fear is more motivating than than say a positive message well I think if that we’re not the case our airwaves would not be filled with negative ads every single day precise finish goggle end area and it’s quite remarkable the level of fear and negativity that the ads communicate and I do think and you know the reality is people have to decide how they’re going to respond to that fear I think there’s a very good case to be made that you could have a debate about numbers of immigration and you know how many people should come through and how to best secure the border that’s not the debate we’re having right now we’re using words like invasion which really don’t make sense and the current situation we’re using words that are intended to incite feet I think what we’ll find you already finding is is that’s turning off a particularly Republican white women in the suburbs particularly suburbs of major cities that typically Republican so my guess is we’ll see a whole lot of people a whole lot of rich men lose their seats in those kind of districts where it is probably securing the vote in places like Senator of Senator races in Tennessee in Montana and other places like that so certainly it’s it’s not an uncalculated reality I mean this this hoard as some might call a caravan of poor unarmed people others might call is not gonna arrive here until long after the election and I’m not the first person to predict that you probably won’t hear much more about this after next week after the elections over and the survey that you did of the 2016 voters also paints a picture of many evangelicals voting for Trump two years ago because they could they cared about more long term conservative goals as opposed to being enthusiastic for him personally as a candidate and this week the president told CBN News that nobody’s done more for Christians or evangelicals than I have do you think evangelicals see him as really advancing their cause I think so yeah I think that phrase they see him as advancing their cost yes for many they’re uneasy that he’s the person who’s it seeing their cause I mean this is a you know if Bryce married adulterer who uses language that Evangelic holes are shocked and stunned by who who died I could list 50 other things no reason to go through all that we’ve already had those discussions but but I do think that it makes many uneasy what we found is though of intellicus did overwhelmingly support pregnant pick a white evangelist overwhelmingly supported President Trump and candidate Trump part of it was is they felt that this was the best choice that they had people often forget now we’re two years in there was another candidate and her name was Hillary Clinton and even slate magazine wrote an article talking about how badly she sought to or didn’t seek to engage of Angela polls how poorly she engaged of Angelica so when we won’t be found in the research is there are some people who are all in there some people are all in for present Trump evangelist those are all in there’s a whole lotta kinda like you know this was the choice that I had to make and I wish he wouldn’t tweet and I wish you wouldn’t say these things so you know people vote for complex reasons and there’s not like a there’s not an evangelist although there’s a whole lot of people come to a whole lot of different choices and so we saw that in the data and we’ll probably see that in the exit polls that come out during the midterm elections next week as well because if you live in Chicagoland president Trump’s not on the ballot but every commercial I’ve seen he’s on the ballot I’m guessing that’s true around the whole country right it really is interesting how he is the face right now well Ed Stetzer thanks so much for your time and we look forward to delving into this more after the election in the battle for control of the Senate one of the hottest races is now in West Virginia where Democratic Senator Joe Manchin faces a serious challenge from the state’s Republican Attorney General as Jennifer Wishon reports if the incumbent was any other Democrat than Manchin the Republican would likely win over the past 20 years the Mountaineer state has done a political somersault flipping from deep blue to reliably read its entire congressional delegation is Republican except for its senior senator Democrat joe Manchin who’s facing a challenge from State Attorney General Patrick Morrissey he’s West Virginia’s first Republican AG in nearly 80 years as a Senate candidate he’s taking full advantage of for president Trump who won the state with nearly 70 percent of the vote pro-life pro-gun Pro cold Pro truck Patrick Morrissey and I’m your conservative fighter and in this new red state he’s painting his opponent as out of touch liberal Joe’s got to go a metros mansion is playing a trunk card to reminding voters that he chooses West Virginia over party like his well timed vote to confirm justice Cavanaugh I’m Joe Manchin and I approve this message because for me all roads lead to West Virginia and he’s not letting the laws that the NRA is endorsement to Morrissey stop him from showing off his gun rights bona fides now the threat is Patrick morsi’s lawsuit to take away health care from people with pre-existing conditions he is just dead wrong pro-life groups are taking aim at mansion for his lukewarm support for life the Senate race coincides with a constitutional amendment that clarifies West Virginia neither secures nor protects the right to abortion here at the Romney diner voters are quick to share who they’re supporting I’m already proven thousand more say hi for Gary Seville it’s simple he’s happy with President Trump and wants to send him a solid soldier that’s why I want to see some al support him quite frankly Jose the guy that needs to be in Washington Nicholson appreciates mansions willingness to cross the aisle and vote with Republicans but with your heart not with the party we got to go on your own belief and your research to make a decision and yes more people need to go across now there’s no doubt about Bill MacDonald supported mansion in the past but he’s voting for Morsi look no farther than President Obama’s energy policies he says to understand why so many West Virginians have switched parties we’re proud and we will not allow people to take closer communities and to instigate us with opioids okay and take away our livelihood and then there do one continue doing that and they don’t have one stop don’t give up clean energy Morrissey took Obama’s clean energy plan to the Supreme Court and won Donna Huck voted early and for her the answer was easy Manchin but she says the real solution to the problems here and the nation don’t require an election we need to get back to God they took God out of schools kids went haywire you know and it’s we need that spiritual based and spiritual base is the only thing that can fight the evil this if mansion wins he’ll remain a sought-after swing vote if Morrissey pulls off a victory it will be huge for West Virginia Republicans and president Trump reporting from the Windy mountains of West Virginia Jennifer Wishon CBN News we’re following close races in the Senate the house as well as governor’s mansions across the country and voter turnout will be the key to which party takes control so CBN News hit the streets to hear directly from voters about what’s driving them to the polls take a look did you vote the last midterm cycle yes I did yes about every election really know where to go to vote so is there one particular issue driving you to the polls this year i I think it’s looking at jobs in particular but you know how we are finding alternative ways to find to drive employment not just manufacturing or industrial but you know all the service industries the technology sector I think that’s a really important focus no particular issue I am big on my education prison reform things like been no honestly haven’t been paying attention to the kind of administration so I’ve no idea do you pray for the elections not pray for their lasers on my hat so at this point I don’t pray myself but I support all of those who do I think it’s really important whatever belief system that you have or you don’t have a police system I pray for our country every night yes severe weather across the country could keep some people away from the polls today high wind and strong thunderstorms are sweeping across the East Coast and the Weather Channel reports the North Central will see heavy snowfall and a wet rain/snow mix recent studies have found Republican candidates tend to have a slight advantage when it does rain CBN News will have continuing coverage of the election from 8 p.m. until 12 a.m. Eastern time be sure to tune in and join us for that still to come here on CBN News we’re gonna sit down with tucker carlson to talk about the meltdown in america that is straight ahead after this short break stay with us and welcome back to CBN Newswatch one of President Trump’s latest taglines is job’s not mobs the point he’s trying to make some on the left are turning Democrats into the party of mob rule Fox News’s Tucker Carlson agrees with the president he sat down with CBN’s Jenna Browder many of you know Tucker Carlson from Fox News and now he’s out with a new book ship of fools how a selfish ruling class is bringing America to the brink of revolution I sat down with them to talk about it then also another topic that’s on a lot of people’s minds right now left-wing violence and protests meltdown in America from Portland and San Francisco to the Supreme Court many on the Left are making their voices heard sometimes in extreme ways so the Democratic Party obviously isn’t in control of its crazy people on the street okay those people are committing acts of violence they don’t want to admit that because they know what scares normal people I mean normal people who might vote Democratic watching television there’s like an angry group of rich kids screaming at somebody or smashing car windows they’re not into that normal people are not into that at all even Democrats aren’t into that so the Democratic Party has to pretend it’s not happening and so immediately the media start telling another their know mobs when you see people like Ted Cruz getting chased out of restaurants by a mob you’re not gonna use the MA word oh it’s totally a mob carlson says the media’s problem is more than just a liberal leaning bias they’re not liberal they’re water carriers for the Democratic Party if you want to know the way the media will present the news look at what the Democratic Party’s political objective is for the day what are the parties talking points and then go watch CNN and they’re identical but what about those who say there’s also violence on the right well that’s not true I mean are there crazy people on the right yeah of course obviously they’re extremists on all sides for sure but what there is and on the right right now and maybe it will change but I’m trying to be as honest as it can be there aren’t groups of conservatives screaming at Democratic lawmakers and restaurants or on airplanes are in airports and they’re not actually smashing Starbucks windows and blocking traffic and that’s antifa and just as a as a matter of fact being as honest as we can right now in 2018 violent demonstrations on the street are overwhelmingly of the left and this is the youth wing of the Democratic Party so maybe that will get maybe that will change but right now why are we lying about this these are progressives doing this not conservatives the political temperature in America right now is no doubt hot and come November the controversy over the mob could be a factor to motivate voters in Washington Jenna Browder CBN News still ahead some painful news for retirees give up 50% of your pension or risk losing it all or taking a look at a plan to save your pension [Music] cities across America face an economic time bomb for decades they’ve been promised hefty retirement packages but in many cases lawmakers haven’t put enough money in those funds now with baby boomers beginning to retire in big numbers it is time for the governments to pay up here’s Caitlin Burke Central Falls is Rhode Island’s smallest city but it’s made some big headlines in 2011 it became one of the first cities in the u.s. to file for municipal bankruptcy after years of economic mismanagement the city of nineteen thousand was broke when something like this happens cities face major cuts and sacrifices to get back on track in the case of Central Falls the state brought in retired state Supreme Court justice Bob Flanders to help write the city’s finances and the sacrifice came from those expecting retirement payouts bankruptcy is is typically called a community of pain where all the creditors share in the in the hardship and the pain caused by this the bankrupt entities inability to pay its bills so here because the state protected the bondholders the entire restructuring had to be borne by the both of attire ease and the active employees it was in this auditorium back in 2011 that Judge Bob Flanders told a roomful of pensioners that they had two options risk losing the entire pension promise to them in retirement or sacrifice 50% of it I had to deliver that very difficult and painful message to people who had retired relying on this and and so you know it was a horrible thing to have to do a pension is a promise city employees like police and firefighters work for a set number of years at relatively low pay in exchange for higher guaranteed benefits once they retire in the case of police and fire in Central Falls they were being allowed to retire after 20 years and so the average age of these retirees was in their late 40s 48 I believe and so they’re typically still have many working years left so they were able to obtain a pension and then go out and get another job someplace else and supplement their their income for the rest of their working lives decades went by in Central Falls with each administration talking about better pensions and benefits meanwhile no money was coming in to pay for those promises pension debt remains almost invisible that is until it’s time for the city to pay retiring workers this is the poorest city in in Rhode Island and it hadn’t seen any significant tax increases for years despite ever Richard pension benefits so that that ended up in a very bad situation where they couldn’t pay their bills any longer both active duty and retired Central Falls workers took an immediate hit didn’t know if you’re gonna get a paycheck every two weeks so that first started and on the same time you’re responding to dangerous calls and so you’re trying to separate your personal and professional opinion about what’s going on but you stopped to do your job well those unactive Duty had time to work out a plan B retired police and firefighters found themselves in a lurch it dramatically affected them two of the members I know they had to go into foreclosure with the houses and that’s you know at 70 years old or in the eighties where you counted on this and you work for this and these are officers that did about 25 to 30 years on on the job it it was hard to say and we couldn’t do anything for them ourselves even from a perspective the Union because we’re all trying to fight for something CBN News reached out to several affected retirees their response after years of fighting to get what they’d been promised they feel worn down defeated and sick of talking about it plus they’re tired of seeing their loss used as a cautionary tale for other cities that probably won’t pay any heed putting your head in the sand about this like an ostrich isn’t going to let the problem go away or get any less severe it’s it’s it’s one that continues to grow with each passing year and so while the overwhelming temptation is to kick this can down the road as long and as hard as you can so you don’t have to deal with it and for somebody else in the hope that you won’t be there when everything explodes that’s obviously not a very good way of solving problems in Central Falls Flanders recognized pension benefits as the biggest part of the problem as painful as it was he faced them defusing the time bomb my judgment it’s a very effective remedy to deal with issues that for whatever reason politically have been unpalatable and unacceptable to the elected officials sort of bring in somebody like me from the outside that you know can have the power to restructure not worrying about getting reelected or pleasing you know groups that helped him get elected or that funded his or her campaign that is enormous ly helpful in order to be get the job done other cities should take note of Central Falls because they’re retiring workers will also expect to collect a pension according to one report however more than half of the states aren’t prepared to pay for the promises made to public employees still someone must pay the price for this extremely broken system when the bill comes due the question is who Caitlin Burke CBN News Central Falls Rhode Island heartbreaking yet another reason why Election Day is so important to elect leaders who are prepared to handle the problem stay with us we’re back CBN international held its very first Superbook pray day in Thailand last weekend more than 350 children and Sunday school teachers from 28 different countries used the Superbook curriculum and attended the event it was filled with icebreaker games worship and creative prayer activities they were centered around three topics serve equip and inspire children drew what God spoke to their hearts and shared their testimonies a teenage Christian rapper also performed and shared his own testimony encouraging the children you can learn more about what cbn is doing around the world by visiting cbn.com slash international time now for your Tuesday tweetable it’s a message I hope will inspire you and move you to post tag tweet and share it with others live with the heart expecting great things from God he father and he promised to do just that his word says that he will do exceedingly abundantly and above all you could ever ask or think so imagine great and watch God do even greater with that word I encourage you to make this a terrific Tuesday that is going to do it for this half-hour of CBN Newswatch remember you can find more of our exclusive coverage of the issues you care most about at cbnnews.com we’d love to know what you think about the stories you’ve seen here today you can do that by emailing Newswatch at cbn.com you can also talk to us on Facebook on Twitter and Instagram hope you’ll join us again right here next time remember the news continues 24/7 on a news channel as well as CBN news.com we’ll see you back here a little bit later god bless