TikTok in the Dock, Trump to Elevate Arkansas Judge, Big Tobacco 2.0 — and More

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Here’s a quick recap of the week’s top stories from Family Council and our friends:

From Family Council

President Trump to Nominate Arkansas Federal Judge Lee Rudofsky for Eighth Circuit. On Wednesday, President Donald J. Trump issued a statement on Truth Social announcing his intention to nominate U.S. District Judge Lee Rudofsky to serve on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. Keep Reading.

Family Council Joins Letter Urging DOJ to Stop Mail-Order Abortion Drugs. On Friday, Family Council joined a coalition of conservative leaders in a letter urging the U.S. Department of Justice to stop abortion drugs from being delivered illegally through the mail. Keep Reading.

HHS Report Exposes Alleged Insurance Fraud Surrounding Sex-Change Procedures Performed on Children. On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a startling report exposing ways medical professionals and facilities allegedly profited from sex-change procedures performed on kids. Keep Reading.

TikTok Seeks Arkansas School Documents. Last week, attorneys for TikTok served subpoenas on public school officials in Northwest Arkansas requesting documents and testimony that may be relevant to a lawsuit over the social media giant’s operations. Keep Reading.

Big Tobacco’s Growing Stake in Marijuana. One of the questions that has come up in recent years is how much Big Tobacco may be behind marijuana in the U.S. and internationally. Keep Reading.

More Americans Now Use Marijuana than Cigarettes. New survey data shows marijuana use has surpassed cigarette use in America, and the number of people who use marijuana daily is growing. Keep Reading.

Sports Gambling Is Still a Bad Bet: Guest Column. A recently released report shows a clear correlation between legalized gambling and gambling addiction. While this should surprise absolutely no one, there is further evidence that the explosion of legalized sports gambling was a bad idea. Keep Reading.

Released Time Continues to Expand in Arkansas Public Schools. Released time makes it possible for students to be excused from school so they can attend Bible studies or other religious classes during normal school hours. Thanks to federal court rulings, released time programs have been in operation for decades — including in Arkansas. Keep Reading.

Here is Why Homeschoolers in the EFA Program Do Not Take the Same Assessments as Public School Students. A candidate for Arkansas Senate recently published a video on Facebook supporting new testing restrictions on homeschoolers and private school students who receive Educational Freedom Account (EFA) funding. What some people do not seem to understand is that every student receiving EFA money must take a nationally recognized norm-referenced test, and Department of Education data shows Arkansas’ EFA students are outperforming their peers nationwide. Keep Reading.

From Our Friends

HHS Ceases Medicaid, CHIP Funding for Sex-Rejecting Procedures for Kids. From Daily Citizen.

Baby Gabriel is Born After His Surrogate Mom Protects Him From Abortion. From LifeNews.

Study Shows LGBT Mental Health Issues Most Commonly Stem from Familial Causes, Not Backlash. From The Washington Stand.

Commercial Surrogacy Turns Women into Machines, Babies into Products. From National Review.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

HHS Report Exposes Alleged Insurance Fraud Surrounding Sex-Change Procedures Performed on Children

On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a startling report exposing ways medical professionals and facilities allegedly profited from sex-change procedures performed on kids.

In a statement, HHS said:

“According to the report, more than 225 hospitals and health systems established pediatric gender programs nationwide. The report also analyzes nationwide claims data from 2015 through 2025 and identifies approximately $50 million in insurance claims for puberty blockers billed using endocrine disorder diagnostic code E34.9 (Endocrine Disorder, Unspecified). It further reports that nearly $11 million in claims for patients ages 13–17 were billed using a diagnosis code for precocious puberty E301 — findings the report says warrant additional review of insurance coding practices.”

In a separate statement issued on X, Vice President Vance said:

“For years now, some hospitals and healthcare providers have been subjecting children to horrific, experimental treatments in service of radical gender ideologies. Today, thanks to the Wolves in White Coats report released by @HHSGov, we know why: profit. It turns out that convincing vulnerable children to reject their gender can create patients for life, earning hospitals tens of thousands of dollars in additional revenue per child.

“The report contains deeply disturbing allegations, and I encourage every American and every parent, to read it. More than just pushing these procedures on kids, hospitals and providers may have been defrauding Medicaid and private insurers by using misleading or fraudulent billing codes to get insurance to cover the costs.”

Over the past 20 years, the number of children who identify as transgender has skyrocketed — especially among biological girls.

Many hospitals opened “gender clinics” that prescribed puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to kids or even perform sex-change procedures on children. But public health experts and policymakers in the U.S., the U.K., Sweden, Finland, and other nations have found that science simply does not support these “gender transitions.”

These drugs and procedures carry serious risks — including infertility, sexual dysfunction, impaired bone density, and cardiovascular problems.

Whistleblowers have come forward to testify about how they were rushed through gender transitions as children without understanding the procedures’ risks, consequences, or alternatives.

Today we know pro-LGBT activists and medical organizations spent years citing each other’s work in a circular pattern, manufacturing a fake consensus about performing sex-change surgeries on kids.

Stories like these have prompted investigations and legal action against doctors and facilities that performed these procedures on children.

In 2021, Arkansas’ lawmakers passed the Save Adolescents from Experimentation (SAFE) Act. This good law generally prohibits doctors from performing sex-change procedures on children or giving them puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones.

Arkansas was the first state in America to enact a law like the SAFE Act, but since 2021 lawmakers in more than half the country have passed similar legislation. Federal courts have upheld the SAFE Act and other state laws like it.

This latest HHS report underscores that Arkansas’ lawmakers were right to pass the SAFE Act. Arkansans can be proud that their state has done so much to protect children from these dangerous sex-change procedures.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

Big Tobacco’s Growing Stake in Marijuana

One of the questions that has come up in recent years is how much Big Tobacco may be behind marijuana in the U.S. and internationally.

Nationwide, many states have legalized marijuana to varying degrees, and federal regulators have moved to ease restrictions on the drug. But while policymakers push for more marijuana, pundits continue to raise concerns about the companies backing this multibillion-dollar industry.

In 2019, Altria — the company that owns cigarette manufacturer Philip Morris USA — bought a 45% equity stake in the Canadian marijuana company Cronos Group. In a statement, Altria said:

“This investment positions Altria to participate in the emerging global cannabis sector, which we believe is poised for rapid growth over the next decade. It also creates a new growth opportunity in a category that is adjacent and complementary to our core tobacco businesses.”

In 2019, tobacco giant Imperial Brands announced it was investing in Canadian marijuana, highlighting the similarities between the cannabis industry and tobacco.

In 2021, British American Tobacco (BAT) — which owns brands like Camel and Pall Mall cigarettes — announced plans to invest in Canadian cannabis as part of the tobacco giant’s “beyond nicotine” strategy. The next year, BAT revealed it had also purchased a stake in German cannabis company Sanity Group.

Earlier this year, BAT announced a multimillion-dollar investment in Colorado-based hemp company Charlotte’s Web.

Stories like these are one reason some groups are concerned marijuana could become the next Big Tobacco.

Contrary to popular belief, recent research has linked a number of health problems to products made from marijuana and hemp.

In 2024, lab testing from California found many marijuana products contained “concerning” levels of pesticides. Other research found marijuana often was contaminated with arsenic, lead, or mold, and that marijuana users may suffer from higher levels of heavy metals in their blood.

Last year, the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission tested 51 samples of industrial hemp flowers as part of the commission’s “Operation Clean Leaf” initiative. All 51 samples contained more THC than federal law allowed, and authorities said some were tainted with dangerous pesticides.

THC — the main psychoactive substance in marijuana — has been tied repeatedly to everything from heart disease and cancer to stroke, mental illness, and birth defects.

Modern marijuana can contain 15% to 30% THC — sometimes even 60% THC — compared to just 3% THC in marijuana from the 1960s. The higher the potency, the greater the risk there is to users.

In fact, researchers now say marijuana use doubles a person’s risk of death from heart disease.

And instead of decreasing crime, marijuana’s legalization has actually emboldened drug cartels and increased the flow of illegal drugs across America.

In Arkansas, marijuana businesses have contributed heavily to candidate campaigns and spent millions of dollars working unsuccessfully to legalize recreational marijuana.

All of this underscores what we have said for years: Marijuana may be many things, but “harmless” simply is not one of them.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.