Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch is sounding the alarm on the steep decline in civic literacy in classrooms across the United States — a trend Gorsuch said ultimately prompted him to co-author a new children’s book with the aim of educating the next generation about America’s founding principles.

Speaking to Fox News Digital in a recent interview, Gorsuch said his new book, “Heroes of 1776: The Story of the Declaration,” was created to address the steep decline in civic education and history in the U.S. among both school-aged children and adults.

“Only about 13% of kids today in eighth grade are proficient in American history — [and just] 22% in civics,” Gorsuch told Fox News Digital. “Six out of 10 adults would fail our citizenship test.

Those numbers, he said, reflect a “deeply” concerning reality and were ultimately what inspired the book’s creation.

AMERICAN STUDENTS’ LACK OF BASIC CIVICS KNOWLEDGE ALARMS EDUCATION ADVOCATES

Supreme Court justices pose for their official portrait in the East Conference Room of the Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 7, 2022. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

“That’s how [my co-author] hooked me,” Gorsuch said, referring to Janie Nitze, his former clerk and co-author.

“She says, ‘You have been complaining about the state of civic education in this country for a long time,'” Gorsuch said. “She’s right. … So, it’s time to do something about it, I figured.”

Gorsuch has long sought to improve the state of civic education programs for young people in the U.S. — a goal that predates his nomination as a Supreme Court justice.

He recently told Fox News Sunday that the new book took “a lot of inspiration” from former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, who famously founded a civics education nonprofit after stepping down from the bench.

“As she was leaving the court, she reflected that civic education in this country is a problem,” Gorsuch said of O’Connor’s work. “And for a lot of reasons, it’s simply not being taught anymore.” 

“So I do think we have a big problem, because we are a creedal nation, again, not based on race or religion, but based on an idea, three great ideas, I think,” he said. “And if you don’t know what they are, the history and the people that made them possible, how can you possibly carry them on?”

JUSTICE GORSUCH HIGHLIGHTS HUMANITY, HISTORY IN CHILDREN’S BOOK CELEBRATING AMERICA’S 250TH ANNIVERSARY

Members of the Supreme Court attend President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address before a joint session of Congress in 2024. (Shawn Thew-Pool/Getty Images)

Gorsuch noted in 2019 that just one-third of Americans could name all three branches of government — a concerning decline, he said, given that the three branches interact and crucially “check” one another against unmitigated overreach.

Without this separation of powers, Gorsuch said at the time, promises of freedom “are just words on a page.”

“What Madison knew is that people are not angels,” he told Fox & Friends. “And that we need to separate powers that keep us free.”

Now, he’s hoping to bring that message to a younger audience.

Gorsuch said their goal in writing the book — which features striking, hand-painted illustrations alongside stories of well-known revolutionaries and young people during the Revolutionary War — was to inspire children by highlighting the role they played in shaping the nation, 250 years ago.

JUSTICE BARRETT OPENS UP ABOUT ‘AWKWARD’ START ON SCOTUS, SHADOW DOCKET AND MORE IN FORTHCOMING MEMOIR

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch speaks at the Reagan Library on May 5, 2026, in Simi Valley, Calif. (Getty Images)

“Young people have been remarkable contributors to our country throughout history,” Gorsuch said, listing teenagers named in the book, who participated in the war directly, or as spies.

 “We wanted to inspire young people. That was a huge part of it,” Gorsuch said.

He stressed that civic education is not a partisan issue on the high court — adding that in fact, the issue is one that unifies all nine Supreme Court justices, regardless of their ideology.

“If you polled the nine of us in our conference room,” Gorsuch said of the justices, “one thing we could all agree on is the importance of learning American history.”

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“Because how else are you going to carry this thing forward? Somebody has to run the zoo,” he said.

On Wednesday, the FBI raided the office of a Democratic state lawmaker with a history of financial and ethical controversies.

During her more than four decades in politics, Virginia state Sen. L. Louise Lucas has faced controversies ranging from her handling of campaign funds to the way she runs her marijuana dispensary. Federal authorities have been investigating Lucas on suspicion of corruption and illegal marijuana sales for years, beginning under the Biden administration, sources familiar told Fox News Digital.

Lucas’ office did not respond to a request for comment sent by Fox News Digital on Wednesday.

The raid comes after years of scrutiny over Lucas’ political conduct, business dealings and public behavior.

FORMER CONGRESSWOMAN TURNED VA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE ABIGAIL SPANBERGER ACCUSED OF ETHICS VIOLATION

FBI agents conducted a raid at the office of Virginia Sen. L. Louise Lucas in Portsmouth, Va., according to federal law enforcement sources. (Fox News)

‘Hoes Mad’

Lucas has been a central figure in the commonwealth’s redistricting fight and is widely considered the driving force behind Virginia’s new map, which voters narrowly approved but is currently held up in court.

When Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, lambasted Virginia Democrats over what he and others have largely characterized as a push to gerrymander the commonwealth for political ends, Lucas issued a profane response that she “f—ing finished” what Republicans started on a federal level.

She also has dropped several memes and GIFs on social media condemning former Gov. Glenn Youngkin and Virginia Republicans like Rep. Jennifer Kiggans of Virginia Beach — and has enlisted background tracks such as Famous Dex’s “Hoes Mad.”

VIRGINIA DEMOCRAT GIVES PROFANITY-LACED RESPONSE TO CRUZ’S CRITICISM OF THE STATE’S REDISTRICTING PUSH

Virginia Senate President Pro Tempore L. Louise Lucas responded to Sen. Ted Cruz’s criticism of Virginia’s redistricting efforts, saying, “You all started it and we f–king finished it.” (Minh Connors/The Washington Post/Nathan Posner/Anadolu/Getty Images)

One such post includes an artificially generated image of Kiggans and Reps. Ben Cline, Rob Wittman and John McGuire, wearing McDonald’s uniforms, while a dig at Kiggans had the caption “you want fries with that.”

Wittman was shown being pulled away from the House Armed Services Committee gavel, the panel for which he is considered the chair-in-waiting.

Another meme showed a red-eyed Lucas split next to a U-Haul truck at the governor’s mansion while Youngkin was in office.

“She completely controls what’s happening in Virginia right now,” a Republican strategist, commenting on her fervent ambassadorship of the redistricting referendum, told CNN.

Rolling the dice

During her tenure as the top Democrat on the Virginia Senate’s Finance and Appropriations Committee, Lucas has pushed for the expansion of casinos in the commonwealth. Due to her position on the committee, the senator has considerable sway over whether or not casino projects advance.

While trusted to help regulate gambling, Lucas has pocketed hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations from major players in the gaming industry.

Lucas, for instance, reportedly played a pivotal role in advancing an $11 billion casino project being developed by Comstock Holdings in northern Virginia. Comstock Holdings and its top executive are some of Lucas’ largest donors.

In November 2023, Comstock CEO Christopher Clemente cut a $100,000 campaign check to Lucas, per campaign finance records. Comstock itself donated an additional $100,000 to Lucas between August 2024 and December 2025.

VIRGINIA DEMOCRATS TALK AFFORDABILITY — AND VOTE TO NEARLY TRIPLE THEIR OWN PAY

Virginia state Sen. Louise L. Lucas works in the statehouse in Richmond, Va., on Feb. 20, 2019. (Bill O’Leary/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Rivers Casino Portsmouth, which Lucas has repeatedly bragged about helping to establish, has funneled tens of thousands of dollars into her campaign account since opening in 2023. Lucas also accepted $165,000 from the company Pace-O-Matic and its executives as she pushed to legalize gambling machines made by the company.

Text messages obtained by the Virginia Mercury in June 2024 indicate that local officials viewed Lucas as a key powerbroker when it came to approving gambling projects.

‘Did I mention my store is on High Street?’

Lucas’ pot shop was also subject to a journalistic investigation, given that Virginia still outlaws cannabis in most forms.

According to the commonwealth’s cannabis regulatory agency, medical marijuana is legal, as well as possession in a private residence and public possession of up to 1 oz.

Sales of “adult-use” cannabis and pop-up shops are illegal, as is driving under the influence of the drug or transporting it in a rideshare.

State Sen. Louise Lucas celebrates her win for the 18th District state Senate Democratic nomination at Bide-A-Wee golf course in Portsmouth, Va. (Kendall Warner/The Virginian-Pilot/Tribune News Service/Getty Images)

LEGAL GROUP ACCUSES VIRGINIA PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT OF FELONY AFTER HOSTING DEM POLITICAL RALLY FOR FREE

With that, the cannabis shop co-owned by Lucas and located next to her senatorial office in Portsmouth has long received scrutiny.

A Virginia Mercury investigation showed some “Lucky Charms”-labeled bars contained the substance Delta-9 THC, which it said conflicts with Virginia’s ban on sales but allowance of small-scale possessions.

Lucas has advertised her shop on X, writing in a 2022 post that she was a “78-year-old grandma who legalized pot and now has her own cannabis (sic) store. And I’m the last thing standing between The GOP and total control of Virginia. That’s worth an [retweet].”

She followed that up with a message saying, “did I mention my store is on High Street in Portsmouth” with a GIF of former President Barack Obama dropping a microphone.

The Virginia Mercury’s investigation found “rampant mislabeling” among dealers across the commonwealth, and the professor said findings from Lucas’ store were in line with the 66 total samples collected statewide.

‘Y’all can’t arrest them’

Lucas had also been accused of fomenting unrest during a George Floyd protest in her home city of Portsmouth.

Lucas and several protesters were charged with conspiracy to commit a felony and injury to a monument exceeding $1,000, following a June 2020 protest at a Confederate monument.

Protesters tore heads off of some of the monument’s statues, according to the Associated Press, and at one point, a statue was toppled to the ground, seriously wounding a protester.

Lucas’ charges were eventually dropped, but she had also called for Portsmouth Police Chief Angela Greene to resign amid the fallout. Greene later said she had been fired and would be suing over her termination – after she considered the situation a conspiracy in which people drew hundreds of others to the site to commit “felonious acts.”

Virginia Senate leaders Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth, and Scott Surovell, D-Mount Vernon, speak in Richmond. (Minh Connors/Getty Images)

SCANDAL-PLAGUED VIRGINIA AG HOPEFUL’S WIFE REPORTEDLY DONATED TO FUND THAT FREED ACCUSED CRIMINALS, MURDERERS

An account from the AP quoted Lucas as telling police officers responding to the unrest that “they are going to put some paint on this thing and y’all can’t arrest them… [they’re] gonna do it and you can’t stop them. They’ve got a right. Go ahead.”

When police warned Lucas against instructing protesters to vandalize, she denied she did so: “I’m not telling them to do anything, I’m telling you [that] you can’t arrest them.”

Religion, politics and Benjamins

Lucas, who is Black, has regularly used her donors’ money to bankroll historically black churches in and around her Senate district. Those churches, in turn, work to support both Lucas and the broader Virginia Democratic Party. 

Second Calvary Baptist Church, for one, accepted nearly $30,000 in sponsorship payment from Lucas’ campaign between March 2023 and April 2024. In 2025, the church went all out to boost the Democrats during the commonwealth’s elections.

HARRIS CAMPAIGN DISHES OUT SIX-FIGURE DONATIONS TO GROUPS WHO SUPPORT DEFUNDING POLICE, REPARATIONS

A Virginia mom and former public school teacher said she is relieved to have her child in private school after a lawmaker introduced a diversity, equity and inclusion curriculum in the Virginia legislature. (Getty Images)

“You can rest assured that I will be telling our congregation to vote for you,” the church’s head pastor told Democratic Virginia attorney general nominee Jay Jones in a video shot in November 2025. 

The church also held a campaign event for then-Rep. Abigail Spanberger and endorsed her bid for the governor’s mansion.

New Mount Olivet Baptist Church, where Lucas serves as a deaconess, has received close to $15,000 from her campaign account since 2021. The church has assisted the political career of Lucas’ daughter and encouraged its members to support the Democratic Party.

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Third Baptist Church in Portsmouth and New Community Temple, which each received thousands from Lucas through her campaign account, have had their pastors push congregants to vote for Democrats.

77% of adults surveyed by the Pew Research Center in 2022 said that they had negative feelings about churches endorsing political candidates.

Reference #18.f3680117.1778160007.7c728858

https://errors.edgesuite.net/18.f3680117.1778160007.7c728858

Let’s get Thursday Screencaps cranking with the latest DoorDash financial numbers that continue to boggle my mind. Americans, in huge numbers, are showing absolutely no sign of weakness when it comes to having some random person deliver Olive Garden to their apartment doors.

In January, the New York Times ran a story where they profiled a couple that spends $700 a week to order food delivery. “I am so burned out and tired, I would rather just throw my credit card at the problem and delay that unhappiness until the bill comes,” the guy said. The Times noted that this guy’s son can’t read, but he can “put together an order” on the Chick-fil-A app. “I am impressed, but I am also terrified,” the dad noted.

What the hell are we doing? Are we really this lazy? I have heard from the salesmen who are on the road and just want food delivered to their hotels so they don’t have to go to restaurants. I get it. Maybe you broke both of your legs in a skiing accident and you are craving Texas Roadhouse that’s been sitting in some dope smoker’s car for 25 minutes. I get it. Not really, but I understand you’re in a tough spot.

Folks, we are trending towards 1 BILLION orders being delivered by DoorDash in the next quarter. Look at that incredible jump from Q3 2025 to Q4 2025. No way it could go higher, right? Wrong. When America is put to a challenge, we step up and DOMINATE.

STOP THE INSANITY 2.0: ’90S ICON SUSAN POWTER’S TECH COMEBACK

Never underestimate Americans and their will to sit their asses at home to eat Chinese takeout.

Smokin’ Charley Hull IS BACK, sorta

Our queen made major news on Instagram Wednesday night by announcing a brand partnership with a nicotine pouch company that will have Charley playing in some virtual golf tournament in October. You might remember Hull from her days hammering cigs at golf tournaments back in like 2024.

Charley Hull of England vapes on the 15th tee during the final round of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Sahalee Country Club in Sammamish, Wash., on June 23, 2024. (David Cannon/Getty Images)

Then, she made some bet that she’d never smoke again. From everything I can tell, she hasn’t gone back to cigs, but based on this new brand partnership, our queen might like to stuff a nicotine pouch in her lip. She’s reinventing the game.

NEW YORK MAGAZINE WRITER WANTS TO BRING BACK SMOKING FOR VERY NIHILISTIC REASONS

Lippin’ Charly Hull just doesn’t have the same ring to it. Anyone have new nickname suggestions? joe.kinsey@outkick.com

While we’re talking about nicotine pouches, let’s settle a debate

CONTACT ME!!!!!!

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College graduations: 2026

– Mike N. in Texas shares: Our oldest son just graduated in the 150th class of Texas A&M.  The ceremony opened with the National Anthem and then a prayer. God Bless Texas A&M, God Bless the USA. Here’s to the greatest column in the land!

Mike N. in Texas takes us inside the Texas A&M spring commencement ceremony to show us how they saluted this incredible place we call home. (Screencaps reader Mike N. in Texas)

Readers react to Doug in Mason’s story about caring for a son with cerebral palsy

– Legacy Screencaps reader Sean K. wanted to say: Just wanted to pass along big props to Doug and his wife for the long-term care they’ve given their son Joey. I know a few people who have so dedicated their lives this way to their special needs children and/or other family members and they have told me the same; the light that comes on in their loved one’s eyes is what makes it all worth it. 

His email reminded me of a news clip from years ago where a newly graduated Marine in dress blues visited his sister at their high school gym who had cerebral palsy. She was so excited to see him she nearly fell out of her wheelchair. (Wish I could find that clip). You could just feel the love she had for him and he for her through the TV screen. 

Best to them and keep it up. Still getting used to the new ‘Fox’ format but the content is 100% the same. And I read it every day to keep sane. Thanks as always for what you do.

– Jon in Iowa was stopped in his tracks by Doug’s story: Had to respond after reading this morning’s Screencaps.  Doug’s story choked me up. I did not have to deal with such hard things with my children and I can’t imagine what he and his family went through. I do know that people like Doug and family are what you called the backbone of this country. 

I don’t want to make this about me, but I am just starting to deal with something with my wife. Not going into details, but I know what is ahead.  So far I can still get out to go golfing and she can still get on the plane couple times a year to get to Arizona for the winter.  Doug needs to know he is an inspiration.  I know that we are very fortunate to have had the lives we’ve had. 

Doug’s life made me think about people in this video. Imagine how pathetic your life is that you would act like this with your wife and daughter. Have people like this ever done anything that was hard. Or dealt with any kind of adversity.  Doubt it. 

Thankfully half the country still believes in the values that made us great.  Have to keep believing in that half to prevail. Thanks for your story Doug. 

– Mark T. in Florida says: Props to Doug in Mason for Doing Hard Things, parenting never stops. Stories like that keep me going and make me appreciative for the good fortune and blessings I have. 

– Tom T. checks in on Doug’s story and then pivots to complimenting me: I thank God all of the time for the blessings in my humble life.   May God bless Joe (Doug’s son) and his whole family.  Adversity brings out our best, and Joe is a GREAT man and father.

Did Marty overreact?

– Marty in Idaho emails: About 7 AM Monday while I’m waiting for Screencaps to publish, an unknown car pulls into my rural Idaho driveway.  My daughter and 7 month old grandson are in the kitchen with me.  I step outside toward the car and the unknown driver gets out of the car and says, “I need help”.  He’s young (30?), doesn’t seem to be in distress and his car seems fine.  He goes on to say that he found a dog wandering on the road so he stopped and put it in his car which I have no way to confirm (so he pulls into a random driveway with a 90ish pound husky in his passenger seat with no collar?). 

None of this seems right to me.  I look at the dog and don’t recognize it so I’m expecting the guy to get back in his car and drive away.  About this time my daughter walks out and suggests I take a photo of the dog and send it to our neighbor text group.  Good idea assuming everything is legit.  The guy says he’s going to be late for work and wants me to take the dog. 

That’s a no go for me (for all I know it’s his dog) but my daughter speaks up and says she’ll take it.  I am not happy with my daughter at this point who insists we take this enormous dog (apparently I was rude to this guy).  She gets the dog out of the car and I immediately take it to animal rescue.  While waiting at animal rescue I text the photo and one of the neighbors thinks the dog might belong to a guy about a mile away from our house.  I take the dog there and it is his; happy ending.I’ve been berated by my daughter and my wife (who was sleeping) for overreacting and being rude for two days now.

I explain that when the situation looks off, your guard should be up.  This time it turned out OK but what if this guy had other intentions (or just wanted to get rid of his dog)?  Did I overreact in this situation?

The end of the track season for Screencaps Jr.

– Gerard puts things into perspective for me: Track meets can be long cold and windy but those 4.5 hours are way less time consuming and expensive compared to any travel sport.  Be grateful he is in track and not travel baseball or basketball!!   You will have every weekend free and will be able to afford real vacations.   He may even be fast enough to get preferred admission into the college of his choice down the road……..

– Brandon from N. Kentucky writes: I could not agree with your mom about the length of these track meets. We encouraged our daughter to do something other than competition dance (that’s another racket). She is doing track because her friends are. I had never been to a track meet before her 1st one in march. We were told to be there by 4pm. She had ONE event and it didn’t go off until 930pm. Thankfully it was a Friday but last week was more of the same. She was in 3 events, got there by 3:45pm, and her first event didn’t go off until 7:20pm on a Wednesday night!!! She was done early I might add. This is to much on a school night.

– Chris A. also adds some life perspective: I hear you about track meets. I ran track (sprints and long jump) for a CYO team from 12-15 years old, and it was all day Saturday meets in April and May. 8 hours minimum. My parents maybe went to one or two meets during that four years, and I couldn’t blame them. So many events, so many age groups. At least the long distance events were one heat, but with four age groups times two genders, that’s an hour right there. Brutal if you aren’t participating.

How about the sub-2 hour marathons run in London a couple of weeks ago? You said your son’s best mile time is 5:40 (so far). My best, and only, timed mile was 5:20 when I was 15. These guys are running 4:35 miles for 26+ miles! 64-second quarter miles, 108 of them in a row! I can’t fathom that. Don’t care if it’s the shoes, someone’s feet still have to be in them. That’s right up there with breaking the 4 minute mile barrier.

Kinsey: I don’t have the numbers in front of me, but Screencaps Jr.’s PR is somewhere in the mid-5:30s right now. I’m thinking 5:36. He’s 13. Google says that’s pretty good at that age. You know what? He’s eating well, running good times, packing on muscle, can handle himself in a room full of people and has been ordering his own meals at restaurants for years. Mrs. Screencaps and I count our blessings. Trust me.

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And with that, we’re ready to go for another day of life. The sun is as bright as it has been this spring. I plan on taking a quick stroll through the yard with Mrs. Screencaps at lunch. We need to build a plan of attack for Mother’s Day weekend. Projects need completed.

But, first, let’s go put in a day of work. Go get after it.

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