Current Events – Family Council

Educational Excellence, Courtroom Controversies — and Other Top Stories from This Week

May 15, 2026Jerry CoxCurrent EventsUpdate, Weekly Rewind

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is weekly-rewind-banner-corrected-1024x165.png

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

From Family Council

🎓 Arkansas Department of Education Data Shows Homeschoolers Excelling Under EFA Program: Homeschoolers participating in the Educational Freedom Account (EFA) program under the LEARNS Act outperformed students in private schools on state-mandated tests, according to data that Family Council obtained from the Arkansas Department of Education under the Freedom of Information Act. Keep Reading.

📖 Arkansas State Library Board Advances Rules to Protect Children from Explicit Material: Arkansas is home to many public libraries all across the state, but in recent years, parents and policymakers alike have expressed serious concerns about obscene and explicit children’s books that some librarians have placed on the shelves of their local libraries. Last week, the Arkansas State Library Board advanced a proposal to help protect children from sexually explicit material in public libraries. Keep Reading.

💊 Family Council Joins Brief Asking SCOTUS to Block Mail-Order Abortion Drugs: Last week, Family Council joined 49 other pro-life organizations in a legal brief challenging mail-order abortion drugs before the U.S. Supreme Court. Keep Reading.

🏛️ Case Closed. Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Challenging Arkansas’ Pro-Life Laws: A Pulaski County Circuit Judge has dismissed a lawsuit seeking to undo Arkansas’ pro-life laws. Keep Reading.

🏀 Mid Vermont Christian School Back in Court: Attorneys representing a Christian school in Vermont were back in court on Friday after state officials refused to include the school in state programs. Keep Reading.

💸 Attorneys Say Online Sports Betting Is Bankrupting Families: As states have legalized sports betting, most men ages 18 – 49 now have an active sportsbook account online. Arkansans wagered a record $86.5 million in March alone this year. But this type of gambling is taking a terrible toll on individuals and their families. Bankruptcy attorneys across the country say online sports betting is driving a surge in personal bankruptcies — especially among young men in their 20s and 30s. Keep Reading.

🍼 Guest Column: “There Is No Mama”. A recent video exposed the injustice at the heart of same-sex marriage and commercial surrogacy. In it, a man bouncing a baby on his lap asks, “Who do you want? Dada or Pop?” The baby answered, “Mama!” To which, both the man and his unseen partner behind the camera laughed and said, “There is no Mama.” They continue to badger the child, who then begins to cry. Keep Reading.

From Our Friends

EXCLUSIVE: Acting FDA Commissioner says he’s pro-life, regrets past entanglement with Planned Parenthood. From LiveAction.

Sports Betting Harms Kids and Communities — What Parents Need to Know. From Daily Citizen.

Faithfulness, not Pride. From Breakpoint.

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

From Mail-Order Abortion to Shady Bets, Here are the Week’s Top Stories

May 8, 2026Jerry CoxCurrent EventsUpdate, Weekly Rewind

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

From Family Council

💊 Federal Court Finally Blocks Mail-Order Abortion Drugs Nationwide: On May 1, a three-judge panel from the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals blocked mail-order abortion drugs nationwide, but on Monday the U.S. Supreme Court issued an administrative stay letting mail-order abortion drugs resume at least until 5:00 P.M. on Monday, May 11. Keep Reading.

💵 Arkansas Legislature Approves $3.5M in Grant Funding for Mothers with Unplanned Pregnancies: The Arkansas Legislature continues to put its money where its mouth is by approving millions of dollars in grant funding to support women with unplanned pregnancies. Keep Reading.

🎉 Pro-Life Centers Win Unanimous Supreme Court Victory: Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously agreed New Jersey pregnancy centers can defend themselves from government overreach. Keep Reading.

🌡️ Forecast Calls for 100% Chance of Shady Bets: Last week, media outlets reported that French authorities are investigating unexplained temperature spikes at a Paris weather station following suspicious bets placed on the platform Polymarket. Keep Reading.

⚖️ Federal Agency Sues States That are Trying to Stop Prediction Market Gambling: The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has filed lawsuits against New York and Wisconsin and filed legal briefs in Massachusetts, all to stop those states from applying their gambling laws to so-called “prediction markets.” Keep Reading.

😞 Sports Betting is Growing in America, But So is the Harm: Reports continue to show that sports betting is growing in America — but financial damage from predatory gambling is growing with it. Keep Reading.

🥼 Marijuana Hurts Teens’ Mental Health: A recent study shows once again that marijuana is harmful for teens and young adults. Keep Reading.

🏛️ Arkansas Attorney General Asks 8th Circuit to Keep Ten Commandments Monument on Capitol Grounds: Attorney General Tim Griffin’s office has appealed to the 8th Circuit to keep a monument of the Ten Commandments on the State Capitol Building grounds. Keep Reading.

🏀 Basketball Team Scores Big with Full Court Press for Religious Liberty: A Christian school in Vermont recently won a major legal victory — and the price tag for violating its constitutional rights was steep. Keep Reading.

📜 Here’s How the State Board of Education Could Fix Its EFA Rules: We have written repeatedly about how lawmakers could vote very soon a flawed set of rules governing the Educational Freedom Account (EFA) program. Keep Reading.

From Our Friends

DOJ Investigates Illinois School Districts for Violating Parental Rights With LGBT Content. From Daily Citizen.

Does Gay Marriage Put Children First? From Greater Than.

Neither Optimism nor Despair: Why Hope is Better. From Breakpoint.

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

From Homeschool Hardships to Gambling Growth: New This Week

May 1, 2026Jerry CoxCurrent EventsUpdate, Weekly Rewind

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

From Family Council

🍎 Department of Education Tells Homeschoolers New EFA Rules Don’t Have to be Fair: The Department of Education disregarded concerns that Arkansas’ homeschoolers repeatedly expressed about new Educational Freedom Account (EFA) rules, according to documents Family Council obtained via the Freedom of Information Act. Keep Reading.

💰 Arkansans Wagered $86.5M+ on Sports Betting in March: Sportsbooks are now legal across most of the country, including Arkansas. Earlier this year the Arkansas Racing Commission approved sports betting license applications by FanDuel and DraftKings. State financial data shows that between the NCAA March Madness tournament and these new online sportsbooks, sports betting spiked by millions of dollars last month. But this type of gambling is taking a terrible toll on families’ finances. Keep Reading.

🌹 Mary Rose Doe Reminds Us of the Horrors of Unrestricted Abortion on Demand: On April 28, 1983, an eight-year-old boy playing by his yard near Little Rock’s Cantrell Road discovered baby Mary Rose Doe lying dead in a drainage ditch. Keep Reading.

🏛️ Pro-Abortion Group Continues Legal Effort Against Arkansas’ Pro-Life Laws: A pro-abortion group has requested a hearing in its lawsuit against Arkansas’ pro-life laws. Keep Reading.

📜 Federal Government Moves to Reschedule Marijuana: Across the U.S., many states have legalized marijuana either for “medical” or “recreational” use, and the Trump Administration has signaled that it wants to change U.S. policy on marijuana. But a growing body of evidence shows marijuana is actually much more dangerous that many people realize and needs to be restricted. Keep Reading.

⚖️ Arkansas Watches as Appeals Court Rules Ten Commandments Can Stay in Texas Classrooms: A federal appeals court ruled last week that Texans can display the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms. Arkansans should pay close attention. Keep Reading.

💵 Federal Grand Jury Charges Southern Poverty Law Center with Fraud, Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering: Last week, a federal Grand Jury in Alabama charged the left-wing Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) with 11 counts of wire fraud, false statements to a federally insured bank, and conspiracy to commit concealment money laundering. Keep Reading.

⚽ Trump Administration Sues Minnesota Department of Education for Violating Fairness in Girls’ Sports: Last month, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the Minnesota Department of Education and the Minnesota State High School League for letting biological males compete in girls’ athletics. Keep Reading.