Photos from Decision America Tour with Franklin Graham
Today approximately 5,100 Arkansans gathered with Rev. Franklin Graham on the steps of the Arkansas Capitol Building to pray for America.
Below are a few photos from the prayer meeting.
Federal Court Dismisses ACLU Attempt to Force Hospitals to Perform Abortions
This week a federal court in Michigan dismissed a lawsuit by the ACLU attempting to force a Catholic hospital system to perform abortions.
Alliance Defending Freedom writes,
“A federal court Monday threw out an American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit that sought to force a Catholic hospital system and its staff to commit abortions regardless of their religious and pro-life objections. . . . .
“The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, Southern Division, in its dismissal order in American Civil Liberties Union v. Trinity Health Corporation called the ACLU’s claims of harm from the hospital system’s pro-life position ‘dubious,’ explaining that they haven’t satisfied the legal requirements to demonstrate such harm and therefore bring a lawsuit.”
This is dismissal great news. In general, this case highlights the importance of allowing religious institutions–like faith-based hospitals–to operate according to their deeply-held religious convictions. However, it also shows the lengths to which some groups will go to try to force doctors and healthcare professionals to perform abortions.
Arkansas Lottery Budgets Paltry 14.2% for Scholarships in March
Today the Arkansas Lottery published financial reports for the month of March. The documents show the Arkansas Lottery took in approximately $40.6 million in March, but paid less than $5.8 million to scholarships–in other words, only about 14.2% of the Lottery’s gross revenue actually went to scholarships.
Since Fiscal Year 2016 started in July, the Arkansas Lottery has grossed more than $345 million, but only $60.1 million has gone to scholarships–about 17.4% of its total revenue.
Below is a breakdown of the Arkansas Lottery’s figures for Fiscal Year 2016.
| Month | Gross Lottery Revenue | Paid to Scholarships | % Gross Revenue |
| July | $ 31,665,651.14 | $ 5,784,683.09 | 18.3% |
| August | 31,265,177.55 | 5,490,094.00 | 17.6% |
| September | 36,134,389.63 | 6,624,967.11 | 18.3% |
| October | 35,261,533.80 | 6,020,642.32 | 17.1% |
| November | 32,226,599.28 | 5,725,139.09 | 17.8% |
| December | 38,670,746.09 | 6,425,754.66 | 16.6% |
| January, 2016 | 58,746,249.00 | 13,831,359.75 | 23.5% |
| February | 40,790,144.05 | 4,474,356.06 | 11.0% |
| March | 40,579,421.05 | 5,758,892.84 | 14.2% |
| Total | $ 345,339,911.59 | $ 60,135,888.92 | 17.4% |