Commandments in Court, Sportsbooks Sued, and More from This Week

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

From Family Council

Federal Judge Rules Against Ten Commandments Monument on Capitol Grounds: On Tuesday, Chief U.S. District Judge Kristine Baker ruled against Arkansas’ monument of the Ten Commandments. The decision orders the Secretary of State to remove the monument if the Arkansas Attorney General fails to appeal the ruling to a higher court. Keep Reading.

Arkansas State Police Lead Gulf Coast HIDTA in Highway Drug Seizures: Arkansas State Police (ASP) Troopers seized record amounts of illegal narcotics in 2025, leading all agencies in the Gulf Coast High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) region. Keep Reading.

The Blunt Truth: Marijuana Isn’t Medicine: New research continues to show that marijuana isn’t medicine. Keep Reading.

NFL, Sportsbooks Face Lawsuit Over Micro-Betting Addiction: Two Pennsylvania men have sued NFL, DraftKings, FanDuel, and other sportsbooks over the harm from gambling addiction and in-game micro-bets. Keep Reading.

Federal Reserve Bank Report Shows Sports Betting Hurts Consumer Credit: A new report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York shows consumer credit health is suffering in the wake of sports betting’s legalization. Keep Reading.

Abortion Drugs Are Not About Women’s Health: Our friends at Alliance Defending Freedom recently released a video highlighting how abortion drugs are not about women’s health. Keep Reading.

The Bible Does Not Support Abortion: In February, James Talarico, a U.S. Senate candidate from Texas, claimed that the biblical story of the Annunciation from the Gospel of Luke supports his proabortion position. On the Joe Rogan podcast, Talarico asserted that because the angel sought Mary’s consent, a woman has a right to choose her own procreative destiny. Keep Reading.

Courts Hold Social Media Giant Accountable for Harming Kids: Two juries in two days have found Facebook and Instagram owner, Meta, liable for harming children on its social media platforms. Keep Reading.

Fewer Pastors Considering Quitting Ministry, Research Shows: Pastoral burnout in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic caused many to consider quitting ministry, but recent research shows that may be changing. Keep Reading.

From Our Friends

Planned Parenthood Pays $500,000 Fine After EEOC Investigation for DEI Policies. From Daily Citizen.

Pro-Life Group Files Brief to Stop Mail-Order Abortions. From LifeNews.

Jaden Ivey: ‘All I’m preaching about is Jesus Christ and they waived me.’ From Daily Citizen.

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

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Federal Judge Rules Against Ten Commandments Monument on Capitol Grounds

Current Events

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, April 1, 2026

Little Rock, Ark. – On Tuesday, Chief U.S. District Judge Kristine Baker ruled against Arkansas’ monument of the Ten Commandments. The decision orders the Secretary of State to remove the monument if the Arkansas Attorney General fails to appeal the ruling to a higher court.

In a statement, Family Council President Jerry Cox said, “This is a bad decision that goes against 20 years of U.S. Supreme Court precedent. Arkansas’ monument of the Ten Commandments is identical to a monument the U.S. Supreme Court ruled constitutional at the Texas State Capitol Building in 2005. Arkansas’ General Assembly authorized this monument in 2015 to honor the historical impact the Ten Commandments has had on our nation, and the monument was paid for with private donations. The U.S. Supreme Court uses a ‘longstanding history and tradition’ test to determine if displays like this one are constitutional. We firmly believe that Arkansas’ Ten Commandments monument passes this test.”

Cox said Arkansas should be proud of its elected leaders for recognizing the historical and cultural significance of the Ten Commandments. “Placing the Ten Commandments monument on the Capitol lawn has been a democratic process. Arkansas’ elected legislators voted to authorize the privately funded monument, and the Arkansas Secretary of State allowed its placement alongside other monuments on the State Capitol lawn. Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin’s office has defended the monument in federal court. Arkansans should be proud of their elected leaders for taking this issue so seriously.”

Cox said he believes that Tuesday’s decision will be overturned on appeal. “The lawsuit over Arkansas’ Ten Commandments monument has languished in federal court since 2018. We disagree with Tuesday’s decision in the case, but we appreciate the fact that higher courts will finally have an opportunity to review it. We are confident that our federal courts ultimately will uphold Arkansas’ monument of the Ten Commandments as constitutional.”

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From Courtroom Confusion to Cultural Christianity, Here’s a Look Back at the Week

Current Events,

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

From Family Council

Group Tells Pulaski County Court that the Right to Life Includes a Right to Abortion: An organization suing to overturn Arkansas’ pro-life laws filed a brief on Monday making the bizarre argument that protecting unborn babies from abortion violates the right to life. Keep Reading.

Federal Appeal Process Continues Over Arkansas’ Ten Commandments Law: Last week, U.S. District Judge Timothy Brooks issued a final decision against the Ten Commandments in a group of Arkansas school districts, but higher federal courts are already weighing arguments from the case. Keep Reading.

Arkansas Lawmakers Gearing Up for 2026 Budget Session: The Arkansas Legislature’s 2026 fiscal session will begin at noon on Wednesday, April 8, and lawmakers have already started pre-filing bills. The Arkansas House and Senate probably won’t pass any new laws, but they will set the State’s budget for the coming year. Keep Reading.

Study Links Sports Betting to Binge Drinking Among Young Men: Nationwide, sports betting is now legal in more than 30 states — including Arkansas, where people wagered an average of nearly $1.8 million every day on sports last year. But while sports betting is expanding across the country, the social cost is expanding as well. Keep Reading.

Former Basketball Players Fail to Cooperate with Sports Betting Investigation: Earlier this month, the NCAA reported two former North Carolina A&T men’s basketball players did not cooperate with an investigation into potential sports betting violations — meaning the athletes are now ineligible to play. The NCAA notes that both men are no longer members of the school’s basketball program and are not currently competing in NCAA sports. Keep Reading.

Scottish Parliament Rejects Euthanasia: Last week the Scottish Parliament reportedly rejected a proposal that would have made Scotland the first country in the U.K. to legalize assisted suicide. Keep Reading.

Why “Safe Sex” Messaging Failed: For decades, public health campaigns promoted “safe sex” as the key to preventing sexually transmitted diseases and unplanned pregnancies, and state and federal officials spent millions of dollars teaching comprehensive sex education to students. But evidence shows that despite the massive investment, STD rates and teen pregnancy rates have remained high. Keep Reading.

Why Gen Z “Nones” Are Reconsidering Religion: Gen Z is the least religious cohort in American history. 43% of this generation born roughly between 1996 and 2012 identify as religious “nones.” While there have been many reports since Charlie Kirk’s assassination indicating increased interest in religion and increased church attendance, according to statistician Ryan Burge, there is not yet statistical evidence of religious revival among young people. Keep Reading.

From Our Friends

Louisville to pay $800K after court rules for Christian photographer. From Alliance Defending Freedom.

9 Things to Remember After the Death of Kermit Gosnell, ‘One of the Most Brutal Mass Murderers in American History’. From Pennsylvania Family Institute.

The Bible Does Not Support Abortion. From Breakpoint.

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

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