Midwest
Hawley calls to 'take the trans flag down' from federal buildings, have Christian CEOs put ‘America first'
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., called for restoring Christianity to the center of American life and the removal of the “trans flag” from federal buildings in a speech on Friday.
In the past week, American politicians and commentators have been sharply divided over a new Louisiana law requiring the biblical Ten Commandments to be displayed in classrooms. At The Faith & Freedom Coalition’s Road to Majority Policy Conference, Hawley argued that the Christian religion should be a core part of American life, including its classrooms, rather than LGBTQ identity politics.
Hawley made a spirited argument that religion is not what divides American society, but unites America, and that instead, “what is dividing America is their attempt to erase our heritage, to erase the foundation that this country has in, yes, the Bible.”
“Who is dividing America is the radical Left,” he told the conservative conference. “And that’s why I say to you, we don’t need less Christian influence in our society, we don’t need less Christian witness in our society, we need more, in every part of government, in every part of society. You know what we ought to do? We ought to take the pride flag out of schools and put the Bible back in. You know what? We ought to take the trans flag down from all of our federal buildings and over every federal building in America write the words, ‘In God we trust!’ ‘In God we trust!’ Amen!”
Sen. Josh Hawley gave a spirited speech about restoring Christianity to the center of American society, rather than a far-left cultural agenda.
THE LEFT’S PROBLEM WITH MEN, AND THE BIBLE
Hawley noted that the phrase “In God we trust” has been America’s national motto since the 1950s under the Eisenhower administration.
“He said that this motto that we have will express that we are a unique nation called by God for a unique purpose. It’s time that we reclaim that,” he said.
Hawley also asked his audience to imagine what American life could be like if there were more Christian leaders running major companies and putting “America first.”
“I tell you what else, we need more Christians in business, and in the C-suite, we need more Christian CEOs,” he said. “You see all of these corporate CEOs, what are they doing? They’re hiring DEI agents, while at the same time they’re sending our jobs overseas and hollowing out this country, destroying our jobs, destroying our families.”
Sen. Josh Hawley speaks during a Judiciary Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., on March 2, 2021. (Graeme Jennings/Washington Examiner/Bloomberg)
CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF MEDIA AND CULTURE
“What would it be like if we had some Christian CEOs who would actually put America first, who would pay their American workers good wages that they could support a family on, raise a family? Wouldn’t that be incredible?” he asked. “Wouldn’t it be amazing if we had good Christian policy across the board, economic policy? What’s the Bible say? The Bible says you shall not charge your brother usury. We’ve got credit card companies that are charging 40% and 50% interest on their credit cards. They are, that’s outrageous.”
“If we had a little more Christian influence in our government, what we might say is, ‘We’re not gonna let you do that anymore!’” he said.
“What they are doing is coming to us and saying, ‘Give me the inheritance of your fathers, give over the Christian foundations of this country, surrender the soul of this country,’ and our answer to them is, ‘The Lord forbid that we would give you the inheritance of our fathers,’” Hawley said.
Hawley is running for re-election to his Missouri U.S. Senate seat in November. He was first elected in 2018, defeating Democrat Claire McCaskill.
Read the full article from Here
Illinois is receiving $148.8 million from Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family as part of a nationwide $7.4 billion settlement agreement that took effect Friday, marking the state’s latest payout from companies that systematically addicted generations of Americans to opioids.
The money will be doled out over the next 15 years, mostly in the next three, under the deal reached last spring by a coalition of state attorneys general including Illinois’ Kwame Raoul.
“No amount of money will ever put right the devastating effects of Purdue’s and the Sacklers’ prioritization of profits over people’s lives and the welfare of our communities,” Raoul said in a statement. “I will continue to ensure settlement funding is distributed equitably throughout the state to help support programs that are trying to mitigate the opioid addiction crisis.”
A nationwide investigation of Purdue Pharma was launched in 2016 over the company’s role in fueling the opioid epidemic through the over-prescription of painkillers like Oxycontin, and the downplaying of risk for addiction.
Illinois sued Purdue and its owners in the Sackler family in 2019, when Purdue filed for bankruptcy.
The overarching settlement agreement, which permanently bars the Sacklers from selling opioids in the U.S., calls for the family to pay $1.5 billion and Purdue to pay $900 million in the first payment. They’ll also pay $500 million in a year, the same amount in two years and $500 million in three years.
Opioid settlements with other companies linked to the nationwide crisis have totaled more than $58 billion, with Illinois so far earmarked for $1.6 billion.
More than $531 million of that has already been paid out to the state from various distributors and pharmaceutical companies.
About 725,000 people died of opioid overdoses across the country from 1999-2022, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Overdoses spiked in Cook County during the COVID-19 pandemic, to a staggering high of 2,001 deaths in 2022, with 91% of those cases tied to fentanyl. Fatal opioid overdoses have declined since then, with 1,822 deaths countywide in 2023, 1,169 in ‘24 and 687 last year, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Settlement funds are dedicated to addiction treatment, prevention and recovery programs. For more information on treatment for opioid addiction, visit helplineil.org or call 833-2FINDHELP.
INDIANAPOLIS — Police are investigating at two central Indiana schools on Friday after reported threats of violence.
Avon High School
According to an alert from Avon High School, the school was placed on a lockdown around 2:14 p.m.
Officials said the lockdown was lifted and the school campus is currently under a ‘secure the building’ status after an anonymous call.
Provided
The alert said the call referenced threats outside of the building, and the interior of the school was not threatened.
A sweep of both the interior and exterior of the school found no threats.
All students are safe, and they will remain in classrooms until early dismissal, officials said.
Traffic is currently being blocked from entering the campus until an investigation is completed.
The Avon School Police Department said the incident will now be investigated by Federal authorities.
Zionsville High School
There were also reports of a police presence at Zionsville High School on Friday.
According to Superintendent Dr. Rebecca Coffman, a call indicating a bomb threat was received around 2 p.m.
Law enforcement immediately responded to assess the threat and found it to be non-credible.
All students were reported to be safe. Students will be released following normal protocols this afternoon.
An investigation is ongoing, Zionsville PD told WRTV.
WRTV has a crew at both scenes.
This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
IOWA CITY, Iowa (KCRG) – A house fire displaced one Iowa City resident Thursday afternoon.
The Iowa City Fire Department responded to the 1600 block of Crosby Lane at 4:06 p.m. after a caller reported flames and smoke coming from the front door of the house.
Upon arrival, crews found smoke coming from the roof and doors. Firefighters entered the home and extinguished a fire in the basement, containing it within 10 minutes of arrival.
One resident was displaced. No injuries were reported. Damage is estimated at $50,000.
The cause of the fire has not been determined.
Copyright 2026 KCRG. All rights reserved.
-
Colorado2 minutes ago‘The idea of selling them is insane:’ Colorado senator offers new bill to prevent public land sales
-
Connecticut8 minutes agoTelework at DCF under fire following Child Advocate letter
-
Delaware14 minutes agoMan indicted in grandmother’s death after January Lewes hotel assault
-
Florida20 minutes agoDeSantis reappoints three trustees to TSC board. Here’s who they are
-
Georgia26 minutes agoGeorgia county’s HR policy council goes digital, boosting attendance, reducing grievances
-
Hawaii32 minutes agoHawaii House and Senate approve budget agreement, sending bill to final votes
-
Idaho38 minutes agoShop geared towards neurodivergent community opens in Idaho Falls – East Idaho News
-
Illinois44 minutes ago
Illinois in line for $148.8M opioid settlement payout from Purdue Pharma