Update – Family Council

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

Aug 14, 2026Jerry CoxCurrent EventsUpdate, Weekly Rewind

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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.

President Trump to Nominate Arkansas Federal Judge Lee Rudofsky for Eighth Circuit

Aug 12, 2026Jerry CoxJudicial ConfirmationsJudicial Confirmations, News, Update

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, August 12, 2026

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.

Family Council President Jerry Cox released a statement saying, “We are very pleased with President Trump’s decision to nominate Lee Rudofsky for the Eighth Circuit. Judge Rudofsky has served as a federal judge for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas since 2019. Judge Rudofsky is a graduate of Cornell University and Harvard Law School, and he has experience with constitutional law. As Solicitor General for the State of Arkansas, he tirelessly defended state laws and policies in court—including policies that protected taxpayers from subsidizing abortionists like Planned Parenthood through Medicaid funding. While there were many other qualified candidates for the position, I am confident Judge Rudofsky will do an excellent job serving on the Eighth Circuit, and I urge the United States Senate to confirm him.”

Family Council is a conservative education and research organization based in Little Rock.

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New This Week: Arkansas A.G. Battles Big Tech (and More!)

Aug 7, 2026Jerry CoxCurrent EventsCurrent Events, Update, Weekly Rewind

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

From Family Council

Arkansas Judge Denies Temu’s Motion to Dismiss A.G. Griffin’s Lawsuit. An Arkansas judge recently denied a motion by Temu seeking to dismiss Attorney General Tim Griffin’s lawsuit against the online company. Attorneys representing Temu reportedly have until August 28 to respond to the A.G.’s allegations that Temu violated the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act. Keep Reading.

Arkansas A.G. Leads Coalition Against Dangerous Drugs Made from Hemp. In a letter released Tuesday, Attorney General Tim Griffin and 34 other attorneys general called on federal lawmakers to preserve the hemp reforms enacted in 2025 and reject any effort to reopen the loopholes that allowed intoxicating hemp products to flood the market in states like Arkansas. Keep Reading.

Arkansas State Police Make Major Drug Seizure, Arrest in Pope County. Troopers found 24 pounds of “individually packaged illegal marijuana,” a handgun, and 120 marijuana plants during a traffic stop. The driver reportedly told law enforcement he was traveling from Tulsa to Tennessee. Keep Reading.

Lee County Another Step Closer to Being 100% Pro-Life. In 2021, the Lee County Quorum Court declared itself a Pro-Life County, and since then nearly every incorporated city and town in the county has passed Pro-Life resolutions as well. In June, the City of Rondo became the latest community in Lee County to pass a resolution affirming that it is Pro-Life. Keep Reading.

New Report Confirms What We’ve Been Saying About Sports Betting. A recent report from the Ethics and Public Policy Center (EPPC) examines the explosion of online and app-based sports betting since the U.S. Supreme Court lifted the federal sports betting ban in 2018. The numbers are staggering. Keep Reading.

Federal Government Strengthens Religious Liberty Protections. The U.S. Department of Justice has issued updated guidance directing every federal agency to protect the free exercise of religion. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche announced the updated guidance on July 23. It is the first change to the DOJ’s religious liberty guidelines since 2017, and it reflects nearly a decade of important U.S. Supreme Court decisions that have expanded protections for people of faith. Keep Reading.

Business and the Christian Life: Guest Column. President Calvin Coolidge once said that “the business of America is business.” Too many Christians think of business as either inherently bad, immoral, or perhaps amoral, something set apart from their faith. At best, it pays the bills and support the missionaries, but many fail to see it as also under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Keep Reading.

Return to What Built the West. C.S. Lewis, when writing the final book of his interplanetary science fiction series, decided on a name for his climax book based on a poem by sixteenth century Scottish poet David Lyndsay. In this poem, Lindsey referenced the shade of the biblical Tower of Babel as “the shadow of that hideous strength.” Keep Reading.