Stephen R. Lawhead’s retelling of the classic King Arthur story isn’t afraid to present the rise of Christianity in Britain, and the first two episodes of The Daily Wire’s new series, “Pendragon: Rise of the Merlin,” brings that story to life—and will leave audiences wanting more. From majestic views of Britain, to arresting scenes of Merlin’s mother “dancing” with bulls in the mythical city of Atlantis, to spiritual battles surrounding Merlin’s father, the first two episodes present a fantasy world on par with “The Lord of the Rings” or “Game of Thrones,” but more grounded in history. Merlin’s father Taliesin, played brilliantly by James Arden, emerges as a spiritual warrior, rejecting Britain’s pagan past and accepting the gospel of Jesus. Merlin’s mother Charis, brought to life by Rose Reid, unites an English clan with the survivors of a lost Atlantis. The Daily Wire brings out some of the best elements of Lawhead’s first book in “The Pendragon Cycle,” “Taliesin.” The first two episodes left me wanting more, but not always in a good way. World-Building The singular key to fantasy as a genre is world-building, and presenting a fictional world to an audience is a delicate and daunting task. A good storyteller has to trigger the audience’s emotion while slowly introducing new aspects of the mystical world. You can’t just give an “info dump” with ten minutes of boring exposition, but you also can’t present a battle or key defining struggle without sufficient context to explain why this matters. Lawhead’s book introduces mystical events with enough backstory to fill them out. When the book begins with the “unlucky” Elfin (played by Duran Fulton Brown in the show) becoming lucky by discovering a frozen baby Taliesin on the river, the book explains why this matters, and it resonates with readers. The Daily Wire begins the story with the same discovery, but the characters’ dialogue about Elfin’s luck falls flat because the series doesn’t take the time to show what it means. Similarly, the arresting scenes in Atlantis where Charis faces angry bulls in the arena lack the same emotional core that they have in the books, not because The Daily Wire failed to deliver a spectacle but because the show doesn’t give the audience a reason to get emotionally invested in the action. Pacing Struggles The show forces a lengthy book into two episodes, and the pacing suffers as a result. I loved seeing this story brought to life, because I remember enough of the book to appreciate these moments. But The Daily Wire can’t count on audiences reading the book first—the show needs to connect the fantastic spectacle it delivers with the audience’s emotions. The first two episodes come at a rapid-fire pace, and fail to give the great world of Stephen R. Lawhead time to breathe. The show tells us that Charis is the savior of her people without explaining why: her willingness to heed visions of impending doom led Atlantis to prepare for escape before their world sank. The show features a spiritual battle inside Taliesin between the powers of paganism and Christianity, but it doesn’t take the time to build up his pagan backstory, which makes the battle feel hollow. Lawhead’s rich presentation of paganism—with good and bad elements but ultimately fulfilled by Christianity—doesn’t emerge from the brief scenes we get in the first two episodes. While the actors gave solid performances and the cinematography rises to the challenge of high fantasy, the pacing undercut much of this excellent work. The first two episodes about Taliesin needed time to breathe, and would be far better as four episodes. I would love to see The Daily Wire re-release this part of the story, with new scenes revealing Taliesin’s past with paganism, showing what bull dancing means in Atlantis, and giving our characters a bit more time to resonate with audiences. One Other Quibble While the Daily Wire presents the show as family-friendly, some of the bull dancing scenes focus a bit pointedly on Rose Reid’s barely-covered posterior. Reasons for Optimism All that said, I remain excited and optimistic about the show. When The Daily Wire chose to adapt “The Pendragon Cycle,” writers focused on the character of Merlin, rather than Taliesin, for a good reason. Americans are familiar with King Arthur and his sorcerer, Merlin, and most of us couldn’t name Merlin’s father or his mother. The focus on Merlin (played by Tom Sharp) gives me reason to suspect that the show’s pacing will slow down in future episodes, and give the story of King Arthur’s future advisor more time to breathe. The Stephen R. Lawhead version of Arthurian legend deserves to be told on screen, and I remain optimistic that The Daily Wire’s final product will rise to the challenge. The post Daily Wire’s ‘Pendragon’ Series Brings Early Christian Britain to Life; Will Leave Audiences Wanting More appeared first on The Daily Signal.

FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—New polling from North Carolina reveals that while President Donald Trump scores his highest marks on border security and immigration enforcement, economic anxiety is threatening to undermine the GOP’s efforts to retain a U.S. Senate seat in the battleground state. The survey of 1,512 registered voters, conducted Jan. 12-15 by the League of American Workers, shows Trump underwater on nearly every economic metric. Trump’s approval rating on inflation sits at just 30%, with 59% disapproving. Overall economic performance fares only slightly better at 35% approval, while his handling of the budget and federal spending draws 34% approval against 53% disapproval. For the first time in state history, there are more voters registered as Republicans (30.24%) compared to Democrats (30.21%). Most of North Carolina’s 7.7 million registered voters are unaffiliated (38.89%). That might be an encouraging sign for Republican Michael Whatley, who is attempting to retain Sen. Thom Tillis’ seat for the GOP. But the polling tells a different story. Cooper’s Commanding Lead Democrat Roy Cooper, the state’s former governor, has a commanding 48% to 24% lead, with 27% still undecided. Cooper remains popular with voters: 54% view him favorably compared to 31% unfavorably. A plurality has no opinion of Whatley: 43% said they weren’t sure, with 25% viewing him favorably and 32% unfavorably. Voters ranked health care as the highest priority for North Carolina’s next senator. It topped the list at 50%, followed by inflation at 43%, and economic growth at 31%. After serving two terms as North Carolina’s governor, Cooper entered the Senate race in July. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer considers him as a top-tier recruit as he attempts to win control of the upper chamber from Republicans in November. Whatley, the former Republican National Committee chairman, received Trump’s endorsement. He previously led the state Republican Party. Now, as he makes a statewide run, Whatley is facing an electorate deeply concerned about the economy. The gap between Republican strength on immigration and weakness on the economy couldn’t be starker. Trump’s Strongest Marks Trump received 50% approval on border control and 44% on immigration enforcement—his only policy areas in positive or near-positive territory. But those numbers are overshadowed by voters’ economic concerns, with 76% citing grocery prices as a top inflation worry. The political environment remains challenging for both parties. Nearly six in 10 voters say the country is headed in the wrong direction, and independents are particularly pessimistic—just 32% believe things are on the right track. Trump’s overall approval in North Carolina stands at 39%, with 53% disapproving. In 2024, Trump won North Carolina by a margin of 51% to 47.8% for Democrat Kamala Harris. Today, Democrats fare even worse at 30% approval and 54% disapproval. Complex Terrain for GOP Despite the high disapproval for his party, Democrat Gov. Josh Stein enjoys 48% approval against 22% disapproval, a 26-point net positive. The poll also reveals a sharp generational split on national security. Half of voters support U.S. disengagement from Ukraine if no peace deal is reached, and the divide by age is striking: Gen Z supports withdrawal by a 42-point margin, while seniors oppose it by 11 points. The survey, conducted with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.7 percentage points, underscores the complex political terrain facing Republicans. The post EXCLUSIVE: Economy Remains GOP’s Biggest Vulnerability in North Carolina, New Poll Shows appeared first on The Daily Signal.

A new report has revealed that the persecution of Christians continues to expand worldwide, with countries like Syria, North Korea, and Nigeria driving the surge in oppression. Still, some bright spots of receding persecution have also emerged in south Asia. This week, the religious freedom monitoring organization Open Doors released its annual World Watch List, which catalogues the countries in the world that commit the highest levels of oppression against Christians. The report noted that over 388 million Christians currently “suffer high levels of persecution and discrimination for their faith.” It found that the total number of believers killed for their faith increased from 4,476 in 2025 to 4,849 in the 2026 reporting period, with 93% of the deaths occurring in sub-Saharan Africa. The majority of the killings are happening in Nigeria, which totaled 3,490 killings, up from 3,100 the previous year. “There are now 14 sub-Saharan African countries on the World Watch List,” the report stated. “The combined population of these countries is more than 721 million people, nearly half of whom identify as Christian. Over the past decade, violence scores have more than doubled, with four of these countries now in the top 10.” The report further found that 224,129 Christians were forced from their homes, up from 209,771 last year. The concentration of forced evacuations occurred in Nigeria, Syria, and Myanmar. The Open Doors list also tallied 4,712 Christians who are currently detained for their faith, as well as 3,632 churches and other Christian properties that have been attacked. In countries like Syria, the upheaval resulting from rapid regime change has created a dangerous environment for Christians, as Open Doors CEO Ryan Brown explained during “Washington Watch with Tony Perkins” Wednesday. “Syria [has] actually become our biggest one-year mover in recent history,” he noted. “[L]ast year, [Syria] was number 18 on the list. This year that moved up to number six. … [After] the fall of the previous Assad regime … there were a lot of questions. … [T]he new rulers were giving indications that they wanted to allow religious freedoms and religious liberties. What we have seen over the course of the last year is, well, the rise in persecution has not necessarily been at the direct hand of the new government. It has been … the new government’s lack of control, the lack of presence throughout the country [that] has given rise to extremist ideologies around the country. There have been all sorts of vacuums of power that have been created in these extremist Islamic ideologies have been more than happy to take advantage of that opportunity and step into those vacuums.” Brown went on to highlight why North Korea has remained at the top of the World Watch List for the last several years as the country with the highest level of persecution against Christians in the world. “Just to contextualize what life looks like for believers in North Korea, this is a country where individuals — simply for being found in possession of the Bible, being found in possession of the word of God — you and your entire family can be arrested and sent to hard work camps for the rest of your life,” he explained. “It’s the equivalent of a death sentence. Christianity is seen as … inherently seditious and is seen as a threat to power for the state there.” At the same time, Brown further pointed out that some positive developments have occurred since Open Doors published its list last year, particularly in south Asia. “Bangladesh would certainly be one,” he observed. “That is one where there was a transition … in power. [T]here were overtures that were made [by the government to expand] religious freedoms. By and large, there was a corresponding drop in violence and extremist activity that occurred. [T]hey have elections coming up, about a month from now in February. So we will see if those overtures that they have made and some of the progress that’s been made, whether that continues or whether others start to drive agendas to court political favor in different camps.” In addition, Vietnam was ranked number 44 on last year’s list but was removed entirely from the top 50 in 2026. Open Doors stated that this is “due to a decrease in reported acts of violence, with no killings or church attacks reported.” Still, the communist government “continues to control all registered churches and religious activities through its Committee on Religious Affairs.” Brown concluded by urging the public to use the World Watch List as a prayer guide for persecuted Christians around the globe. “It’s an informational resource, but more than that, it’s a prayer resource because there are specific prayer points for each country there that have been provided by the believers in those countries.” Originally published by The Washington Stand We publish a variety of perspectives. Nothing written here is to be construed as representing the views of The Daily Signal. The post Persecution of Christians Has Expanded Across the Globe, Report Reveals appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Global warming has gone cold as an issue. Despite decades of panicked predictions of doom, it’s never been a high priority for voters, and Preident Donald Trump’s bold expressions of “climate denial” went unpunished by voters. The media still sound allied with the Green New Deal pushers, but the thrill is gone. Last November, leftists blasted ABC, CBS and NBC for barely touching the COP30 global climate summit in Brazil. (PBS gave it nearly 16 minutes, and 10 of it was a John Kerry softball interview.) Now Axios.com posted an analysis by Amy Harder on this trend, titled “The world’s great climate collapse.” Greenpeace gang, beware: “The last year has seen an epic reversal that spread quickly from governments to boardrooms to pop culture.” Not only has Trump dismissed climate panic, but Harder noted Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney, “once one of the world’s most vocal climate advocates,” is now repealing some of his country’s climate policies. Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair also issued a memo questioning the wisdom of pursuing “net zero” emissions policies. Then there’s billionaire Bill Gates, an unelected global leader. He circulated a memo criticizing the climate movement while shifting much of his money and focus back to public health—just four years after publishing the book “How to Avoid a Climate Disaster,” a bestseller that drew gushy reviews from AP, CNN, USA Today and Oprah Daily magazine. With Trump in office, Ford pulled back sharply from its electric-vehicle plans, shifting focus to more popular and profitable hybrids and gas vehicles due to slowing EV demand. Europe scaled back its plan to ban gasoline-powered cars in the next decade and softened climate disclosure rules, which The New York Times captured with a dejected headline: “Europe Begins to Tiptoe Away From Key Climate Policies.” The Axios analysis claimed even Hollywood is tiptoeing away, “swapping climate angst … for oil swagger, as seen in the current hit TV show ‘Landman.'” That’s not entirely true. In December, the CBS drama “Fire Country” featured a firefighter lecturing like Al Gore: “We all know damn well there is no fire season anymore. Thanks to climate change, it’s all year round. Just keeps getting worse,” and concluding, “We’re at war.” Also in December, “Daily Show” star Jon Stewart brought on New Yorker writer Elizabeth Kolbert to uncork the usual panic. Manhattan used to be an ice sheet like Greenland, she said. Stewart then quipped, “See, what I hear from that story is, if we keep this up, we could turn Greenland into Manhattan.” Kolbert jumped on the panic button: “That is absolutely true. Keep it up, but there’s 20 feet of sea level rising. So Manhattan will not be here.” This is not a new shtick. In 2008, ABC News showed a picture of New York City vanishing underwater in its prediction of what will happen by 2015. Ooooops. Never forget that in 1989, leftist scientist Paul Ehrlich narrated a segment on NBC’s “Today” show predicting that global warming would trigger a flood to completely cover Washington, D.C., which obviously never happened. After eco-leftists predicted certain climate-change doom by 1995, or by 2000, or by 2015, and now we’re still doom-less in 2026, the public should be skeptical that they’re the most credible experts on predicting what the future holds. If the perpetual climate panic machine has collapsed, it’s because the facts never lined up to prove any reason to panic. Their authoritarian “solutions”—banning everything from gas-powered cars to gas stoves and grills—needed the fuel of panic to be forced on the public. The bloom is off their poisoned rose. COPYRIGHT 2026 CREATORS.COM We publish a variety of perspectives. Nothing written here is to be construed as representing the views of The Daily Signal. The post The Perpetual Climate Panic Machine ‘Collapses’ appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Republicans have a problem. With just two weeks before a deadline to avert a partial government shutdown, how do they get Democrats to fund deportation efforts? In the wake of Renee Good’s death in a shooting involving ICE officers in Minnesota, Democrats are slamming deportation efforts, possibly putting the annual homeland security bill in jeopardy. How to Fund Homeland? Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., who chairs the House Democratic Caucus, likened ICE agents to a “gestapo rounding up individuals,” in reference to Nazi Germany’s secret police force, on Jan. 13. Aguilar explained Democrats are seeking policy riders on the homeland security bill in order to rein in ICE, which is part of the Department of Homeland Security. “We like passing appropriations bills, but the appropriations bills have to be fair,” he said of the DHS funding bill. There are four bills left for the House of Representatives to pass: one funding labor, health and education; a second funding transportation, housing, and urban development; a third funding defense, and a fourth funding homeland security. The homeland security bill was originally meant to be attached to a package funding national security and the state department, as well as financial regulatory institutions. The House subsequently excluded homeland from the package, which passed on Jan. 14. “Democrats put additional language forward to our colleagues on the other side of the aisle. It’s not language that [Republicans] could support. And so ultimately, the homeland bill fell out of the package… House Democrats want accountability and oversight,” Aguilar said of the homeland security bill’s exclusion. Aguilar added that DHS “should have to continue to testify to Congress as to what they are doing to look out for the American people.” “It’s a politically very sensitive topic,” top House Republican Tom Cole, R-Okla., said of the DHS bill on Jan. 13. “That’s why we decided not to push ahead with a Homeland bill this week.”  The exclusion of the homeland bill allowed the state department funding bill—legislation funding foreign aid and humanitarian projects, which are generally supported by Democrats—to pass without having to be attached to funding for deportation efforts. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., Democrats’ leading appropriator in the House, praised the package, saying it “continues Democrats’ rejection of cuts proposed by the Trump White House and Republicans in Congress.” Republicans could still bundle the homeland security bill together with the remaining bills in the House, although that carries the risk of jeopardizing other funding areas. To be sure, House leadership has so far been successful at settling disagreements. Just last week, Republicans were able to use a “bifurcated rule” to cobble together various House coalitions and pass a three-bill package, despite some conservatives’ opposition to the Commerce-Justice-Science bill. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., projected optimism on Tuesday about passing all the bills, telling reporters leadership is “very optimistic” about passing the final four appropriations bills. The Senate In the Senate, the partisan chasm is widening on homeland security. On Monday, Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., an appropriator, called for “no more money for DHS [Department of Homeland Security] without accountability.” Fellow appropriator Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., similarly said, “I think it is reasonable for Democrats speaking on behalf of the majority of the American public who don’t approve of what ICE is doing to say, ‘If you want to fund the Department of Homeland Security, I want to fund a Department of Homeland Security that is operating in a safe and legal manner.’” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., acknowledged the awkwardness of the situation at a Jan. 13 press conference, and floated the unorthodox idea of a clean continuing resolution to extend current funding levels for DHS. Thune says the Homeland Security spending bill is the “obviously the hardest” to wrap up and that if the two chambers can’t reach a final agreement they could pass a stopgap spending bill for that department. pic.twitter.com/xYwrmdDzzy— Jennifer Shutt (@JenniferShutt) January 13, 2026 “Homeland is obviously the hardest [bill to pass] and it’s possible that if we can’t get an agreement that there could be some sort of a CR that funds some of these bills into the next year,” said Thune, who added that he hoped there could be some deal to pass all the bills. There is an unusual element of this year’s funding talks, however.  The July budget reconciliation bill which Republicans passed without needing any Democrat votes provided $170 billion for immigration and border enforcement, relieving some of the stress for Republican appropriators. Democrats “have never been supportive of” funding homeland security, Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., told reporters Monday. “We understood that very clearly, which is why we did so much being proactive with the ‘One Big, Beautiful Bill,’ with allowing the bill to have the funding to go enforce our laws.”  The post Will Congress Find a Way to Fund ICE? appeared first on The Daily Signal.