Men need to reclaim the narrative from leftists who think that women are better and that men are nuisances and unnecessary.

In the first year of his second term, the president has set a dizzying pace of action that aims to upend the status quo at home and abroad.

Sharing what happened behind closed doors. Billy Ray Cyrus and his ex-wife, Firerose, had a short marriage, divorcing only seven months after tying the knot. After finalizing their divorce in August of 2024, it did not take long for Billy Ray Cyrus to move on, hard launching his relationship with the Gossip Girl and Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery actress Elizabeth Hurley in April of last year. View this post on Instagram Good for him… It appears that Hurley and Cyrus are happy as can be, frequently sharing images of each other on social media. The two apparently rekindled a friendship when Cyrus was going through his divorce with Firerose, and he reached out to his old friend, Liz Hurley. The two became friends again and later turned that friendship into a romantic relationship. Once Billy Ray moved on, a representative close to Firerose told  PEOPLE Magazine that she’s focused on herself and has moved on since her divorce. However, the singer has continued to share glimpses of their relationship online in an exposé-style. This is not the first time Firerose has shared her concerns regarding Cyrus, as she spoke out after his trainwreck of a performance at the Liberty Ball at the start of 2025. Her statement suggested that some of the odd behavior we saw on stage was a common theme in their relationship and that he has some deep issues he needs to work on. “What’s being seen in public now reflects much of what I experienced in private during our relationship. It’s very sad to see those same struggles continue for him, but I’m glad the truth is coming to light — for his potential good because healing is only possible when you confront the truth and accept there’s a problem.” As the new year has gotten underway, Firerose has shared quite a bit about her past relationship with Cyrus online, reflecting on how much she has grown and how she has regained her peace since leaving that relationship. In a post at the start of the year, Firerose claimed that she was living a very isolated life because Billy Ray Cyrus would not let her leave the farm, and that she was not allowed to have friends. Of course, if this is true, we all sympathize with her greatly, as being separated from friends and loved ones can be detrimental to one’s mental and physical health. View this post on Instagram But it appears that might have just been one part of the suffering she endured during her relationship with Cyrus. In her most recent social media post, Firerose shared a video she filmed with Cyrus. You can’t see anything in the video, but you can hear her crying and pleading with a man who sounds like Billy Ray as she is being yelled at and berated. The man is yelling obscenities at her and is saying that if she wants to salvage any part of their relationship, she needs to stop talking, crying, and begin listening to him. In all honesty, the audio is a hard watch and listen. You can hear the terror in the woman’s voice, and the raspiness of the man, who is alleged to be Billy Ray Cyrus, is angry and threatening. Firerose accompanied the harrowing footage with a caption noting that she lived in fear during this relationship, and she became a shell of a human during this point in her life. “I spent years being terrified. I was trained to be afraid of what would happen if I even dared to think about sharing a glimpse of the truth I was living behind closed doors. Over the years, my spirit was systematically worn down so that I became a shell of the person I was. That is always what happens with narcissistic abuse. It’s not an accident. It’s very much calculated so that the fear of sharing what’s really happening, overrides the agony of surviving it alone. I remember so clearly, genuinely believing that it would be the end of me if I ever spoke up, even to my closest loved ones that I’d been forced to distance myself from, because I’d be raged at if I called them. For every survivor who’s reaching out to me, I’m sharing this for you. You are not alone. I promise, you can survive no matter how unimaginably dark it gets. When the power imbalance is also so extreme, it just amplifies the abuse in a way that’s hard to imagine unless you’ve lived it. Only by the grace of God did I survive and have I found my voice again. The Bible tells us ‘do not be afraid’ 365 times, one for every day of the year. Thank Christ I’m not afraid anymore.” While there are two sides to every story, and we don’t know what led to this interaction, I think it’s pretty safe to say that nobody should ever be spoken to in this manner, and especially not towards your own wife. It’s rather heartbreaking to hear, but both parties seem to be doing much better now that they’re no longer together. Here’s the full post: View this post on Instagram The post “I Spent Years Being Terrified”: Firerose Leaks Disturbing Audio Of Alleged Verbal Abuse From Ex Husband, Billy Ray Cyrus first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

Ella Langley is teasing that something is coming on the horizon and it might be sooner than you think. Ella Langley has shared that fans can expect new music from his this year—an album to be exact—and it appears that new music might be coming soon. A recent countdown has appeared on Ella Langley’s website, after you fill out the informational, and the countdown is set to end on Tuesday, January 27. Needless to say, it’s sent fans into a frenzy: The “Choosin’ Texas” singer has been on a hot streak since the release of the Miranda Lambert co-written song (along with Joybeth Taylor and Luke Dick). “Choosin’ Texas” has blown Langley’s fame to a new level with the single’s success. Since its release, the song has been nothing short of a smash for Langley. Debuting at #37 on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100, it also launched all the way to #7 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart, both of which were career-highs for the “hungover” singer. In the weeks following, it caught even more fire. On December 2, 2025, it became Langley’s first career #1 hit on the aforementioned Hot Country Songs chart and also became the fastest solo female song to reach the top 10 at US Country Radio this decade, taking just eight weeks to crack the Top 10. In case that wasn’t enough, “Choosin’ Texas” reached #5 on the all-genre Hot 100, skyrocketing all the way up from #48 last week. With this entry, “Choosin’ Texas” has become Langley’s first-career Top 5 entry on the chart as well as her first Top 10 entry. “Choosin’ Texas” allowed Langley to become just the 12th woman THIS CENTURY to chart a country song inside the Top 10 on the Hot 100 since 2000. Even Langley has been surprised by how well the song is doing, sharing a note with her fans on January 20, thanking them for their continued support. “Every. Single. Day. Y’all are blowing me away with your love for this song. We knew it was special the day we wrote it, but wow, I coulda never even imagined what’s happening right now.” View this post on Instagram So could Langley be capitalizing on the momentum that “Choosin’ Texas” has given her, and she’s ready to release another single from her forthcoming record? I sure hope so. The Alabama native is crushing it right now, and I don’t see that slowing down anytime soon. Taking Her Time On Next Album While fans would have loved to have gotten a new record from Langley in 2025, Langley shared that she has a particular vision for this next record and wanted to take her time to see it come to life exactly how she dreamed. During an interview last year with Katie & Company, Ella said she is taking her time and wants to make sure Hungover has all the time it deserves to be loved before the next project, and that she is in no rush to put out her next LP. “I think there might be a little bit of both. I worked so hard on that record, and my team worked so hard on that record and songs. There’s so many special songs on that one. My next record’s not going to be out until 2026, so I really feel like people move on from a record so fast. They’re like, here’s a whole record of 20-something songs, and then we’re gonna give you one single off of it and then move on to the next record. I think there’s something to be said in taking your time in making the record and taking the time to put all those pieces into place where it can last a long time. Last in a way where fans can keep digging into it and digging into it and finding new songs that they love and finding new little pieces about the record that’s different. I would love to try for another single off of ‘Hungover,’ but there is new music coming out because I’m not gonna go a year and a half without putting anything out. But it’s gonna be kind of a separate little thing. I’m really just trying to do what feels right to me, not really paying attention to what other artists have done. Also doing that, but still keeping my blinders on in a way where it’s like, this is my art, this is how I want to put it out, this is the way that I think would be best for my artistry. That’s what’s so cool about the team that I have is, everyone really sees the vision with me, and they believe in it and execute it.” Ella added that she will still be releasing new music in terms of songs that didn’t exactly fit for the record, so it’s not like fans will have to go a full year or more without new music from her. She added that it’s already been a labor of love, and she feels confident it’s going to feel almost like having a child by the time it finally comes out, given how much has gone into it. She says it’s “all I’ve thought about every day, all day”: “I know what I want to say all the time, is the problem. It’s a good problem to have. But this next record, I’ve known the title for it, I actually go the title for it, it was like 100% concrete this is the title for the next record the day we shot the music video for “You Look Like You Love Me”. I can’t tell you the title yet, sorry, but it’s definitely taking shape and I know exactly what I want in it and how it sounds and I just have such a clear vision on this record. ‘Hungover’ felt like a little bit of me figuring it out, picking my favorite songs, and then creating a concept around it. This time, I have a concept and I’m writing towards that concept. Kind of still letting songs that need to be written come out, and I’m just kind of picking the best ones out of that. This record, I understand when people are like, I had a child, because that’s how I will feel after this record comes out because it’s all I’ve thought about every day, all day and I can’t wait. But there are some other songs that I’ve written along the way that don’t fit on this record because I do have such a clear concept musically or conceptually, so there’s a couple of them that are gonna come out. They are definitely a different taste than what the record is, but a side of me that fans know and I have dabbled in before, and it’s exciting.” During the fall in Houston, Texas, Langley also told the packed crowd that she wanted to live her life before releasing her next record. It sounds like she wanted to get some content for writing, ensuring the songs highlight raw emotion. “You know, I put some space between my records, just ’cause I had to live some life. What the hell do y’all want me to write songs about? Nothing? You know. I had to love somebody in between these last two records to make a record. What do you think I am, Wonder Woman?” I love that she referenced writing songs as a superpower like Wonder Woman, as if it takes a superhero to create purely fictional lyrics. While I am sure not all the songs on this upcoming project will be based on her personal experiences, they do add to the lyrical depth when they strike a chord close to home. @notthatkayleigh Because she had to love somebody so she had something to write about, duh!! I love that @Ella Langley isn’t rushing the creative process. I’m sure there’s so much pressure from the industry when it comes to that! #ellalangley #countrymusic #houstontx #713musichall #choosintexas ♬ Choosin’ Texas – Ella Langley I can’t wait to hear what Langley has been cooking up for this next album, and I sure hope we get a taste of it come January 27. The countdown is on.The post Ella Langley Sends Fans Into A Frenzy After Countdown Clock Appears On Her Website first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

Quite the successful debut. It was a long time coming, but on Friday, January 9th, Zach Bryan released his highly-anticipated sixth studio album, With Heaven On Top. After what seemed like a full year of controversy in 2025, ranging from the aftermath of his breakup with Barstool’s Brianna LaPaglia to attempting to fight Gavin Adcock at Born and Raised Fest, it feels like the Oklahoma native is looking to put the past behind him with the release of With Heaven On Top and its subsequent full-length acoustic version. Upon the release of the studio version of the record, I believed it was one of the best projects to date from the “Something in the Orange” singer. For fans of Bryan’s newer sound, which has continued to venture into a more Springsteen-inspired, horn-instrument-heavy sonic style as of late, there’s a lot to love. With that being said, fans of Bryan’s darker, more introspective songs also have a lot to latch onto as well. In what feels like a call back to his early work, “DeAnn’s Denim” is yet another touching tribute to his late mother, which not only serves as a remembrance of her but also as a reflection on his newfound sobriety and his family’s history of addiction. Additionally, songs like “Skin,” which many have speculated is a shot at LaPaglia, and “Cannonball” also became standout lyrical efforts on the project. Thanks to Bryan’s feverish fanbase and the controversy surrounding him as of late, it seemed as if With Heaven On Top was bound to be another successful outing, at least from a pure streaming/sales perspective, and it ultimately was. Upon its release, it immediately shot up to the #1 album in the U.S. on Apple Music, dethroning Taylor Swift’s monster record, The Life of a Showgirl. Additionally, it received a whole lot of love on Spotify, with “Plastic Cigarette” and “Say Why” being the early leaders off the album with a hefty 14 and nine million streams respectively as of today. Thanks to the huge streaming numbers, With Heaven On Top has debuted at #1 on the all-genre Billboard 200 albums chart on Sunday, selling an incredibly impressive 134,000 units in its first week. For Bryan, this is his second album to both debut and subsequently go #1 on the Billboard 200, with his first being his 2023 self-titled record. Along with the debut at #1 on the Billboard 200, Bryan would also chart an impressive 18 out of 25 songs on the all-genre Hot 100 songs chart. Unsurprisingly, “Plastic Cigarettes” is the highest song on the chart, coming in at #13 thanks to its early success on streaming so far. Additionally, “Say Why,” the album’s second top-streamed song makes a Top 25 appearance exactly at #25. Finally, “Bad News,” thanks in part to the incredible controversy surrounding its release, “Appetite” and “Runny Eggs” round out Bryan’s five Top 50 tracks this week. Zach Bryan debuts 18 songs on this week's #Hot100 from his new No. 1 album 'With Heaven On Top': No. 13, Plastic CigaretteNo. 25, Say WhyNo. 35, Bad NewsNo. 38, AppetiteNo. 46, Runny EggsNo. 51, SkinNo. 56, DeAnn's DenimNo. 57, DrowningNo. 58, Dry DesertsNo. 61, Santa… — billboard charts (@billboardcharts) January 21, 2026 #13 “Plastic Cigarettes” #25 “Say Why” #35 “Bad News” #38 “Appetite” #46 “Runny Eggs” #51 “Skin” #56 “DeAnn’s Denim Dress” #57 “Drowning” #58 Dry Deserts” #61 “Santa Fe” #68 “With Heaven On Top” #69 “South and Pine” #71 “Cannon Ball” #72 “Slicked Back” #73 “Anyways” #87 “If They Come Lookin'” #89 “Rivers and Creeks” #95 “You Can Still Come Home” Taking a look, the only songs that failed to debut on the Hot 100 are the album’s opening poem, “Down, Down, Stream,” along with later tracks on the album, “Always Willin’,” “Aeroplane,” “Miles,” “All Good Things Past,” “Camper” and “Sundown Girls.” Though it’s nowhere close to Morgan Wallen’s monstrous, record-breaking 37-song debut on the Hot 100 upon the release of I’m The Problem back in May, it’s undoubtedly still an impressive outing from the Oklahoma native once again. In fact, this marks the most songs debuted on the chart of his career. Before you go, fire up the highest-charting song, “Plastic Cigarettes.” Zach Bryan Tour Dates March 7 – St. Louis, Missouri – The Dome at America’s Super Center – Caamp & J.R. Carroll March 14 – Tampa, Florida – Raymond James Stadium – Caamp & J.R. Carroll March 21 – San Antonio, Texas – The Alamodome – Caamp & J.R. Carroll March 28 – Baton Rouge, Louisiana – Tiger Stadium – Caamp & J.R. Carroll April 3 – Tulsa, Oklahoma – H.A. Chapman Stadium – Trampled By Turtles & J.R. Carroll April 4 – Tulsa, Oklahoma – H.A. Chapman Stadium – Trampled By Turtles & J.R. Carroll April 11 – Louisville, Kentucky – L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium – Kings of Leon & J.R. Carroll April 18 – Charlotte, North Carolina – Bank of America Stadium – Caamp & J.R. Carroll April 25 – Lincoln, Nebraska – Memorial Stadium – Kings of Leon & J.R. Carroll May 2 – Starkville, Mississippi – Davis Wade Stadium – Dijon & J.R. Carroll May 9 – Cleveland, Ohio – Huntington Bank Field – Dijon & J.R. Carroll May 27 – San Sebastian, Spain – Donostia Arena- Ben Howard & Keenan O’Meara May 31 – Berlin, Germany – Waldbühne – Ben Howard & Keenan O’Meara June 3 – Oslo, Norway – Unity Arena – Ben Howard & Keenan O’Meara June 6 – Copenhagen, Denmark – Parken – Ben Howard & Keenan O’Meara June 9 – Eindhoven, Netherlands – Philips Stadium – Ben Howard & Keenan O’Meara June 12 – Liverpool, United Kingdom – Anfield Stadium – Dijon & Fey Fili June 14 – Edinburgh, United Kingdom – Scottish Gas Murrayfield – Dijon & Fey Fili June 16 – London, United Kingdom – Tottenham Hotspur Stadium – Dijon & Fey Fili June 17 – London, United Kingdom – Tottenham Hotspur Stadium – Dijon & Fey Fili June 20 – Cork, Ireland – Páirc Úi Chaoimh – Dijon & Fey Fili June 21 – Cork, Ireland – Páirc Úi Chaoimh – Dijon & Fey Fili June 23 – Belfast, Northern Ireland – Boucher Playing Fields – Dijon & Fey Fili June 24 – Belfast, Northern Ireland – Boucher Playing Fields – Dijon & Fey Fili July 24 – Eugene, Oregon – Autzen Stadium – MJ Lenderman & Fey Fili  July 31 – San Diego, California – Snapdragon Stadium – MJ Lenderman & Fey Fili August 1 – San Diego, California – Snapdragon Stadium – MJ Lenderman & Fey Fili August 7 – Salt Lake City, Utah – Rice-Eccles Stadium – MJ Lenderman & Fey Fili August 13 – Denver, Colorado – Empower Field at Mile High – MJ Lenderman & Fey Fili August 14 – Denver, Colorado – Empower Field at Mile High – MJ Lenderman & Fey Fili August 22 – Arlington, Texas – AT&T Stadium – MJ Lenderman & Fey Fili September 5 – Glendale, Arizona – State Farm Stadium – MJ Lenderman & Fey Fili September 18 – Dover, Delaware – The Woodlands – Kings of Leon, Fey Fili & Gabriella Rose September 19 – Dover, Delaware – The Woodlands – Alabama Shakes, Fey Fili & Gabriella Rose September 21 – Toronto, Ontario – Rogers Center – Trampled By Turtles & Gabriella Rose September 22 – Toronto, Ontario – Rogers Center – Trampled By Turtles & Gabriella Rose October 2 – Foxborough, Massachusetts – Gillette Stadium – Gregory Alan Isakov & Gabriella Rose October 3 – Foxborough, Massachusetts – Gillette Stadium – Gregory Alan Isakov & Gabriella Rose October 10 – Auburn, Alabama – Jordan-Hare Stadium – Gregory Alan Iskov & Gabriella RoseThe post Zach Bryan Debuts An Impressive 18 Songs On The Billboard Hot 100 As “With Heaven On Top” Goes #1 All-Genre first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

One costly bar tab… Of course everybody knows the Garth Brooks hit “Friends In Low Places,” from his 1990 album No Fences. But one of the biggest legends surrounding the song goes something like this: The songwriter gave away his publishing rights to the song in order to pay for a bar tab, before the song went on to become a massive hit. And when I say a massive hit, that may be an understatement: It was one of the biggest country songs of the ’90s, and it’s still a classic and a staple of concerts, bars, karaoke…pretty much anywhere you hear country music. Written by Earl Bud Lee and Dewayne Blackwell, “Friends in Low Places” spent four weeks at #1 back in 1990, and it’s been a barroom staple ever since. It led to Garth’s album, No Fences, selling over 10 MILLION copies. And since that first release, “Friends in Low Places” has been released on two greatest hits albums, three live albums, and about 100 box sets. That’s a lot of sales – and a nice paycheck for the songwriters. Well, maybe… There’s an legend around Nashville that the songwriter for one of the biggest hits in country music actually gave away his publishing rights to the song – to pay for a bar tab. In one version of the story, Lee even offered a portion of the rights to any patrons at the bar who helped him pay off his bar tab. If that’s true, that would have to be one of the most expensive bar tabs in history. Just imagine how you would feel watching your song climb the charts, knowing that some bartender is getting rich from it instead of you, all because you couldn’t afford to pay for your night out on the town. So what’s the real story? It’s easy to see why there’s confusion surrounding the song’s history, because the songwriter himself has told a couple of different versions of how “Friends In Low Places” came to be. In one version of the story from co-writer Earl Bud Lee, as recounted in the 1996 book The Stories Behind Country Music’s All-Time Greatest 100 Songs by Ace Collins, the idea for the song came when Lee and fellow co-writer Dewayne Blackwell were out to lunch in Nashville and realized that they didn’t have enough money with them to cover their bill. When asked how he was going to pay their tab, Lee replied: “Don’t worry. I have friends in low places. I know the cook.” Lee and Blackwell realized that the line had potential, but didn’t do anything with it until months later at a party to celebrate a number one song for another songwriter. Looking around the “black-tie” affair, the pair went back to their “friends in low places” idea and scribbled down the words on paper napkins. But in another interview with AXS TV, Lee told a slightly different version of the song’s history – and revealed the truth behind the legend that he sold his rights to the song. In this version, Lee and Blackwell were out to lunch on a Sunday (skipping church, as he admitted), and having themselves a little Sunday Funday, throwing back a few drinks. And after “a couple of bottles of champagne,” the songwriters began jotting down lyrics on a napkin: “I got a bar napkin…and I wrote, ‘Blame it all on my roots, I showed up in boots, and ruined your black tie.” They went back and forth writing lines for the song, but when it came time to pay for their brunch, Blackwell realized he had forgotten his wallet and asked how they were going to pay for it – which is when the song came together with Lee’s response, “Don’t worry, I have friends in low places.” But apparently, those friends in low places weren’t willing to let Lee just walk out without paying his tab, which by that point was $1,200: “They gave me an ultimatum. You’re going to jail because your credit card didn’t work, or you can pay to stay out of jail. So I peddled the song around and three publishers finally came together and each of them gave me $400, and I paid the innkeeper, drove back, signed the contract, gave the song away.” Ouch. According to Lee, it ended up being quite the costly bar tab: “According to how they want to value it, I probably have lost a good $20 million, maybe. I ended up getting the Mona Lisa and then selling the Mona Lisa for $1,200 to pay a bar tab.” Of course all wasn’t lost for Lee. Copyright law is complicated, but there are two sets of rights that belong to the songwriter: Publishing and songwriting. Lee may have signed away his publishing rights, but he kept his songwriting credit, which earned him royalties from the airplay of the song…although not as much as he would have made if he had kept all of his rights to one of the biggest songs in country music. After finishing the song, the writers contacted a singer they had met while he was selling shoes in Nashville, a guy named Garth Brooks, to record a demo. Brooks, who had recently been signed to Capitol Records, liked the song so much that he wanted it for himself – but his debut single and album had already been recorded, and it would be another year and a half before his next album would be released. In the meantime, Mark Chesnutt recorded a version of the song for his 1990 album Too Cold At Home, but Garth still decided to include it on his sophomore album – though before either of them, it was actually first recorded by David Chamberlain in 1989. Of course Garth’s version would go on to become the most well-known recording of the song. And that bar tab apparently ended up costing a lot more than $1,200. The post Was “Friends In Low Places” Really Sold to Settle A Bar Tab? The Wild Story Behind The Hit first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

President Trump made clear in his World Economic Forum speech that he is not happy with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, referencing his comments from yesterday. The context for this is how . . .

'FALSE ACCUSATION': Homan has a message for ICE critics

Foreign Affairs The Endangered Christians America Should No Longer Ignore Christian leaders in Israel declare that Christian Zionism is putting the church in danger. On January 17, 2026, the leaders of all the major churches in Jerusalem issued a sobering warning. They released a statement in which they cautioned that “damaging ideologies, such as Christian Zionism, mislead the public, sow confusion, and harm the unity of our flock.” The leaders noted that these efforts have found favor among political actors in Israel and beyond and have led to the advancement of agendas that now threaten the Christian presence in the Holy Land and the wider Middle East. The statement’s significance lies in its timing and rarity. The patriarchs of Jerusalem last addressed Christian Zionism in their 2006 Jerusalem Declaration, so this pastoral statement is their first comment on the issue in nearly two decades. It is a warning that signals an immediate danger to Christian unity and survival.  It closely followed a summit sponsored by Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Jerusalem last December, a gathering of more than 1,000 U.S. pastors that advanced a Christian Zionist narrative while sidelining Jerusalem’s historic churches. Those who signed this statement are the patriarchs and senior bishops of the historic churches of the Holy Land, Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestant alike. Their offices predate modern nation-states, the Crusades, and even Islam. In matters of religious, communal, and pastoral Christian life in the Holy Land, there is no higher ecclesial authority. Faithful American Christians should recognize the gravity of this moment. These leaders are the custodians of Christianity’s oldest continuous communities, and when they warn that a modern ideology is harming the Church and threatening its survival, Christians everywhere have a responsibility to listen. Yet only a few weeks earlier, in a Christmas message from Jerusalem, Benjamin Netanyahu cast Israel as a haven for Christians, claiming it is “the only country in the Middle East where Christians can practice their faith with full rights and in total freedom.” The claim resonates in the West because it trades in a familiar moral binary: safety under Israel, persecution everywhere else. But its power lies less in accuracy than in selectivity. That claim does not withstand scrutiny. Leading Israeli human-rights organizations such as B’Tselem and HaMoked document the severe impact of occupation policies on Palestinian civilian life, including restrictions on movement and the denial of  basic protections. These conditions affect all residents, including the region’s dwindling Christian communities. In Jerusalem, the desecration of a Christian cemetery was described as a clear “hate crime” by Anglican Archbishop Hosam Naoum, while the British Consulate said it was part of a broader pattern of assaults on the Christian community. These concerns are not confined to local testimony. The Associated Press reported that Holy Land church leaders publicly condemned Israeli settler violence during a West Bank visit, prompting U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee to travel to Taybeh and denounce the attacks. In places like Beit Sahour, historic Christian communities face mounting pressure from recent illegal settlement expansion that threatens their very existence. Christian life under Israeli occupation is increasingly constrained. In February, the Jerusalem Post reported that the foreclosure of properties belonging to the Armenian Church of Jerusalem threatens Christian communities rooted in the city for more than 1,700 years. Clergy encounter visa and residency restrictions, and Christian communities are steadily pushed out through land confiscation and economic pressure. The World Council of Churches has repeatedly warned of an existential threat to Christians in the Holy Land, citing unjustified taxation, attacks by settlers, and the killing of Christians in Gaza. The Jerusalem church leaders’ warning does not stand alone. In December, Andrea Zaki, President of the Protestant Churches of Egypt, issued a public statement distancing all Egyptian evangelicals from Christian Zionism, calling it a political movement rather than a theological conviction and warning that Scripture must never be used to justify war, dispossession, or domination. These statements by church leaders in Egypt and Jerusalem are not the first of their type. In August 2024, prominent evangelical pastors and leaders from across the Middle East issued “A Collective Call to the Global Church,” condemning all ideologies that lead to injustice and violence. They rejected all attempts to baptize bloodshed with biblical language and called the church back to unity, compassion, and peace. Taken together, these voices form a coherent and deeply conservative witness. From Jerusalem to Cairo, from patriarchs to evangelical pastors, indigenous Christian leaders are saying the same thing: When Christianity is fused to political movements, military power, or national destiny, it ceases to be faithful and becomes destructive to the very communities it claims to defend. There is also a strategic reality that Americans should not ignore. A Middle East emptied of Christians will not be more stable, more pluralistic, or more aligned with Western interests and values. Christian communities have long served as moral anchors and cultural mediators. Their disappearance strengthens extremism and accelerates civilizational fracture. Supporting Israel’s security does not require ignoring Christian suffering, distorting theology, or silencing Christians whose faith predates modern borders and modern politics. Church leaders in Jerusalem and across the Middle East are not asking Americans to abandon Israel. They are asking them to abandon illusions. They are calling the Church to moral clarity: Faith must not be weaponized, Scripture must not be conscripted, and ancient Christian communities must not be sacrificed on the altar of any political ideology. American Christian communities now face a choice. They can continue aligning themselves with Christian Zionist activist and political movements that emerged far from the land they claim to defend. Or they can listen to the Christians who have carried the faith in the land of its birth, at great cost, for two millennia. The post The Endangered Christians America Should No Longer Ignore appeared first on The American Conservative.

These romantic getaways hosted some of your favorite rom-coms, from ‘The Proposal’ to ‘Catch and Release.’