States Defund Planned Parenthood. Republicans control of both houses of Congress and the White House, but Planned Parenthood still got a $500-million appropriation in the spending bill President Trump just signed into law. But things are looking better in the states. Nebraska and Tennessee are the latest states to cut funding to Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers. They join more than a dozen that have already done so. Nebraska cut about $1.9-million. Tennessee’s new law will cut about $1.1-million. These moves face legal challenges. Two states that have previously cut funding – Kansas and Louisiana –face similar challenges that could end up in the Supreme Court.

Gotham Eats Mor’ Chiken. Chick-fil-A opened its fourth store in Manhattan recently. New Yorkers celebrated with long lines. But the “New Yorker” magazine published a screed against the Christian-owned company called “Chick-fil-A’s Creepy Infiltration of New York City.” The article accused the company of all a laundry list of misdeeds, such as posting Bible verses at its Atlanta headquarters. The Horror! But the “New Yorker” article does not mention that Chick-fil-A, normally closed on Sunday, opened on a recent Sunday to give free food to those donating blood following the Pulse gay nightclub shooting in Orlando. Fortunately, an article by our friends at “The Federalist” helps set the record straight. I commend it to you.

Bad Math. House Speaker Paul Ryan’s decision to retire from Congress has focused attention on the difficulties Republicans will have in the fall election. Last week alone, Rep. Blake Farenthold, R-Texas and Rep. Dennis Ross, R-Fla., said they would not be running for re-election. Republicans will now have to defend 39 open House seats in November, compared to the Democrats’19.

Turkey’s Show Trial. “I’ve never done something against Turkey. I love Turkey. I’ve been praying for Turkey for 25 years. I want truth to come out.” These were the words of American Andrew Brunson in court on Monday.  Brunson pastored a church in Turkey for more than 20 years, but 18 months ago he was jailed on trumped up charges of conspiracy. According to WORLD’s Mindy Belz, who has traveled to the region and has reported extensively on Brunson’s situation, said, he is “not a prisoner so much as a hostage used to extort concessions from the United States, faces espionage charges that carry a life sentence based on accusations of ‘secret witnesses.’” Brunson did not have to face his trial alone. Sam Brownback, the newly confirmed U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, and U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis joined Brunson’s wife, Norine, in the courtroom.

Milestones. Barbara Bush, wife of former President George H.W. Bush and mother of former President George W. Bush, is in “grave” condition and reported near death. She is 92. She told the alumni magazine of her alma mater Smith College: “I am…still in love with the man I married 72 years ago.” ….Novelist, poet, and Christian thinker Marion Montgomery was born on April 16, 1925. He was a friend to Flannery O’Connor and a mentor to many “New Agrarians.”