'One of the most shrewd operatives in politics'

'Foreign-maligned influence operation'

For seven plus years (1986–93), ABC entertained the American audience with the unique duo of distant cousins Larry Appleton (Mark Linn-Baker) and Balki Bartokomous (Bronson Pinchot) as protagonists of the sitcom Prefect Strangers. Viewers got The post Perfect Strangers – When Jennifer and Marry Anne Lost It appeared first on The Retro Network.

FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—From no-fault divorce to same-sex marriage to assisted reproductive technologies, America is increasingly privileging the desires of adults over children’s rights, according to a nonprofit with a concrete plan to reverse this trend. The group Them Before Us released a new scorecard Tuesday, first obtained by the Daily Signal, that judges state family policies on how well they prioritize children’s rights. “Most people can see something is deeply broken as families collapse, birth rates plummet, and kids suffer while society keeps acting shocked by the consequences,” Katy Faust, founder and president of Them Before Us, told the Daily Signal. “But very few people are offering actual solutions,” she lamented. “This scorecard is groundbreaking because it finally puts real reforms on the table, from confronting the Wild West of assisted reproductive technologies to pushing back on divorce policies that make family instability worse to so-called ‘intent-based’ parentage that places children in vulnerable situations.” “The real question is: Are we willing to build laws and policies around what is best for children, or around what adults want?” Faust concluded. Children’s Rights Issues Them Before Us centers children’s rights in policy, arguing that kids thrive best when raised by their two biological parents. While parents may not always be able to avoid situations like single parenthood or divorce, these tragedies deprive children of the best environment for success, the group argues. Assisted reproductive technologies, such as surrogacy and in vitro fertilization, separate children from their biological parents. Surrogacy refers to the process by which a woman carries a child on behalf of other people with an arrangement to give them the child. In genetic surrogacy, the woman’s own egg has been fertilized, while in gestational surrogacy, the woman bears a child with no genetic connection to her. The group cites studies suggesting that separation from the mother increases an infant’s stress and harms sleep quality, and that brief separation from a mother may impact long-term development. The report warns that surrogacy enables registered sex offenders to gain access to children, and notes that California removed 21 children from a couple who had commissioned them via surrogacy, amid child abuse allegations. Furthermore, anonymous sperm and egg donation makes it possible that children may never learn their biological parentage. While infertility traditionally refers to the inability of one man and one woman to conceive a child within a year of intercourse, some LGBTQ+ campaigners have urged insurance companies to redefine infertility to effectively grant same-sex couples and singles a “right” to assisted reproductive technologies. Them Before Us also cites research suggesting that children fare worse when raised by same-sex partners, rather than opposite-sex married parents. EXCLUSIVE:A broad coalition of pro-family groups is organizing to overturn Obergefell. The campaign declares that children are "Greater Than" so-called "Equality." Marriage and family law should prioritize the needs of children, not the predilections of adults.Here's… pic.twitter.com/yAtp9tDbrf— Tyler O'Neil (@Tyler2ONeil) January 28, 2026 The Children’s Rights Scoring Criteria Them Before Us developed scoring criteria around four major issues: parentage, surrogacy, donor conception, and marriage. The report card considers whether states use gender-neutral language, rather than “mother and father”; it considers whether states allow “intent” as the basis for parenthood, often used in surrogacy; and it asks whether states allow for more than two people to be considered legal “parents.” Seventeen states have erased the terms “mother” and “father,” 28 states allow intent-based parentage, and 10 states allow more than two parents for one child. Them Before Us also asked whether states allow surrogacy; whether they allow paid surrogacy contracts; and whether they grant prebirth parentage orders. Only three states ban commercial surrogacy, while 25 states have legalized gestational surrogacy, and 13 states have explicitly legalized commercial genetic surrogacy. Them Before Us judges states based on whether they ban sperm or egg donor anonymity; whether they limit the frequency by which a man or woman can donate gametes; and whether they redefine infertility and make in vitro fertilization a “right.” Finally, the group considers whether states retain language defining marriage as between one man and one woman; whether they allow for no-fault divorce and whether they recognize any fault in divorce; whether they require a six-month waiting period before divorce; and whether they require parents to learn about the negative impact on children before a divorce. These scores amount to a loose policy platform for prioritizing children’s rights. How Do States Measure Up? Nebraska scores the highest rating, with an “A-.” The Cornhusker State recognizes natural marriage, refers to mothers and fathers, does not redefine infertility, and requires parental education before divorce. It does not accept fault-based grounds for divorce, however. Four other states—Indiana, Arizona, Kentucky, and Missouri—earn a “B.” Washington, D.C., has the worst score, followed by Maine, Washington, Hawaii, and California. The District of Columbia legalized commercial surrogacy in 2017, it allows parentage to be established on the basis of intent in surrogacy, and it redefined infertility to include “a person’s inability to reproduce without medical intervention either as a single individual or with their partner.” The Victims While LGBTQ+ activists and others may insist that reproductive technologies, no-fault divorce, and other such policies harm no one, Them Before Us includes testimonials from alleged victims of these policies. “I lived it as an abandonment,” Olivia, a child of surrogacy, said. “I feel as if I was abandoned by my birth mother … as I was sold. There’s nothing worse than for a child to feel that at one moment in my life I was literally sold for a check.” “The divorce has shaped every aspect of my life,” Faye, a child of divorce, said. “I struggled to commit and trust in my relationships, fearing I’d be left.” Childrens Rights Report CardDownload

Scientists weren’t expecting to find them in the Himalayas.

MRC Watchdogs churn out breaking news on a daily basis. Don't miss Today's Highlights, where you can keep up with the top MRC content, whether it's the latest study on media bias, a glaring omission from the elitist media, or how the Big Tech companies are serving up the same leftist spin as the media.  Top Stories:   TUDY: SNL Jokes About Conservatives Jump To 91 Percent In Season 51 SPECIAL REPORT: Yahoo News. Fake News or Fake Re-Balance? The View Demands Votes for Democrats If Americans Want to Avoid ‘End of Democracy’   STUDY: SNL Jokes About Conservatives Jump To 91 Percent In Season 51 A new NewsBusters study found that 91 percent of Weekend Update political jokes this season targeted conservatives. Donald Trump alone was the target of more than 100 jokes, showing how overwhelmingly one-sided SNL’s political humor has become. The study found conservatives dominated both the cold opens and Weekend Update segments, while liberals received comparatively little scrutiny. SNL’s political comedy no longer reflects broad satire and instead functions as partisan activism aimed almost entirely at the Right.   SPECIAL REPORT: Yahoo News. Fake News or Fake Re-Balance? A new MRC Free Speech America report argues Yahoo News is attempting to rebrand itself as politically balanced while continuing to amplify left-leaning narratives. The report found Yahoo News heavily relied on liberal sources and perspectives during major political coverage despite public claims of neutrality. Critics say Big Tech and legacy media outlets increasingly use “neutrality” branding as cover while still shaping coverage through selective story choice and framing. The study raises broader concerns about whether Americans can trust major digital news platforms to provide fair and balanced political reporting.   The View Demands Votes for Democrats If Americans Want to Avoid ‘End of Democracy’ The hosts of ABC’s The View claimed Americans must vote for Democrats in order to prevent what they described as the “end of democracy.” The rhetoric reflects escalating fear-based messaging from liberal media figures ahead of the 2026 election cycle. The segment framed Republican victories as existential threats while offering little substantive debate over policy differences between the parties. This kind of coverage reinforces concerns that corporate media personalities increasingly function as political activists rather than neutral commentators.      

A few weeks ago, Alec Deacon asked me to test the ArcShield 3000, and I went into it with the same question most preppers would have: Would this actually help my family during a real blackout? Not a quick power flicker. Not a comfortable camping weekend. I mean a real outage where the fridge is […]

A viral video from Memphis recently drew national attention for good reason. A woman was filmed at a gender-reveal party murdering her preborn baby with abortion pills.In the video, she aired grievances about her “baby daddy” and announced that she would not complete the pregnancy. As friends watched, cheered, and even shouted “kill it,” she opened a packet of abortion pills while whooping and singing, “Thank you, Jesus.” Instead of announcing whether the baby was a boy or a girl, she declared the baby was “no gender” and swallowed the pills.Tennessee Republicans understand perfectly well that Democrats have no real power in the state. They can govern as they please. And they chose not to abolish abortion.The episode horrified pro-lifers. But much of the reaction missed a harder truth: Tennessee Republicans recently had a chance to stop this kind of killing and chose not to.In a later interview, the woman said she had consumed alcohol throughout the pregnancy and that she and the father believed the baby would be born “slow.” That, she said, is why they decided on an abortion. She then celebrated the abortion with the interviewer, who joked that she had managed both a gender reveal and a “funeral” on the same day.The whole episode stands as a brutal commentary on the culture. Some pro-life leaders still describe women as abortion’s “second victims.” But more women now openly and brazenly celebrate the killing of their preborn children. In recent years, a sickening “shout your abortion” culture has taken root among women who do not merely defend abortion, but praise it as liberation.This case drew intense backlash. Yet the Christians expressing horror may not realize that Tennessee lawmakers had a chance only months ago to stop such violence and refused to act.Many state and national pro-life groups insist that the abortion issue is basically settled in Tennessee. Americans United for Life says “abortion is illegal in Tennessee, with limited exceptions” and that “chemical abortion pills are tightly regulated.” Tennessee Right to Life claims “abortion is illegal in Tennessee” and that the state is “a national leader” in protecting preborn babies. Students for Life Action has even described Tennessee as “abortion-free.”The Memphis video exposes those claims as false.RELATED: How a pro-life law in Kentucky lets mothers get away with murder SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty ImagesThe woman and her friends were able to obtain the supposedly “tightly regulated” abortion pills, use them to kill a baby, record the act, and post it online for the entire country to see. They could do that because Tennessee law grants complete immunity to women who procure abortions. In practice, that means no deterrent exists to stop a woman from willfully murdering her preborn child.The statute that supposedly makes Tennessee “abortion-free” states plainly that it “does not subject the pregnant woman upon whom an abortion is performed or attempted to criminal conviction or penalty.”In other words, the woman in the video cannot be held criminally accountable for intentionally killing her baby, no matter how openly murderous her intent was, because Tennessee’s pro-life laws shield her and every other woman from penalty.Lawmakers had a chance to close that loophole this year through House Bill 570, which would have established equal protection for preborn babies. Instead of banning prenatal homicide only for third-party abortionists, the bill would have applied the same murder laws that protect those already born and criminalized abortion as murder for anyone willfully involved.But when the bill appeared, pro-life establishment groups immediately pressured lawmakers to avoid supporting it. None of the Republicans on the Tennessee House Population Health Subcommittee even made a motion to grant House Bill 570 a hearing.That failure matters because Tennessee is not some purple state with divided government. Republicans hold supermajorities in both legislative chambers. They recently pushed through redistricting and punished Democrats who objected. In other words, Tennessee Republicans understand perfectly well that Democrats have no real power in the state. They can govern as they please.RELATED: Fleetwood Mac’s real breakup story: Death before motherhood Kevin Winter/Getty ImagesAnd they chose not to abolish abortion.That means any woman in Tennessee, no matter how brazen or malicious, can commit prenatal homicide without fear of legal consequences.The baby murdered in that video was no outlier. More than 5,000 preborn babies are killed every year in Tennessee through abortion pills obtained through telehealth providers. Thousands more die outside the formal medical system.If Tennessee lawmakers want to stop this legally tolerated bloodshed, they must establish equal protection for preborn babies and treat them as the image-bearers of God they are. That means abolishing abortion and criminalizing it once and for all.

As we closed a decade, LPs from Fleetwood Mac, Michael Jackson, ELO, and Styx were among those that missed the top. The stories of those that made it... The post The 11 Number One Albums of 1979 appeared first on Best Classic Bands.

Hours after the attack, a police officer shot 16-year-old Johnny Robinson in the back. Then, a white teenager mortally injured 13-year-old Virgil Ware as he rode on the handlebars of his brother's bike