Congratulations are in order for the Merrifields from Seeking Sister Wife as Dannielle and Garrick’s new sister wife Lorrana recently gave birth to a baby girl! The Merrifield adults shared the news in a video clip posted by TLC earlier today, which included baby Sarah. “Hi everyone! We’re the Merrifields from TLC’s Seeking Sister Wife,” the video begins. “And we have some really big news a new addition to the family, baby Sarah!” @tlctv The Merrifields have a surprise. world, meet baby Sarah! 🥹 Don’t miss the story behind their journey on #SeekingSisterWife ♬ original sound tlc “Baby Sarah is such a blessing to the family,” Dannielle says. “And she is very similar to Lorrana I can already tell. She has the gift of laughter and brings joy to the family.” Lorrana also talks about baby Sarah, but in Portuguese. Thankfully, TLC provided a translation. “She sleeps really well, thank goodness,” Lorrana says. “And she loves the whole family. Whoever she sees, she gets super happy. And thank God, she’s growing healthy every day.” “I think we’re all feeling, you know, very happy, very thankful, for baby Sarah,” Garrick says. “A little tired,” he adds. “Pregnancy, and the journey of that, has its ups and downs emotionally, physically, everything.” “We’re all excited as a family,” Garrick continues. “Family’s growing with babies, and, you know, looking forward to more wives and more babies. Lorrana, another baby.” Garrick and Lorrana laugh. Dannielle thanks viewers for their support and encourages everyone to keep tuning in for new episodes of Seeking Sister Wife airing Monday nights at 9/8c on TLC. HOW OLD IS THE MERRIFIELDS’ BABY SARAH? The Merrifields didn’t share any specific details about Sarah in regards to when she was born or how old she is. (Although it’s not too hard to guess a range simply by looking at her.) As Starcasm reported back in June, a fan of the show spotted Garrick and Lorrana in Salida, Colorado and Lorrana appeared to be very far along in her pregnancy. Below is a photo shared by the fan on Reddit and Imgur: The photo was taken in late June. I assume Sarah was born in August or early September? Either way, the oldest Sarah could be is four months. Congratulations again to the Merrifields! I’m sure I can’t be the only one who assumed Lorrana was going to be yet another unhappy ending. I still have no idea how she was able to get a visa and remain in the United States when Garrick and Dannielle are so open about practicing polygamy. Perhaps it will all be explained on the show this season. Asa Hawks is a writer and editor for Starcasm. com.
https://starcasm.net/garrick-merrifield-lorrana-baby-sarah/
Tag: congratulations
Colorado high school football playoffs: Chalk, toss-ups and upset alerts in the second weekend of postseason play
CHSAA State Football Playoffs: Round of 16 Preview
The CHSAA state football playoffs have been whittled down to 16 teams in the top three classifications. Here’s a breakdown of this weekend’s matchups, with coveted quarterfinal spots on the line.
Class 5A
The Chalk
No. 17 Fountain-Fort Carson (8-3) at No. 1 Cherry Creek (10-0), 7 p.m. Friday: The Trojans were the only road team to win in the first round, but now face a tough trip to Stutler Bowl. Cherry Creek hasn’t lost at home in three years and has allowed just 27 total points over their last six games.
No. 14 Eaglecrest (7-4) at No. 3 Mountain Vista (10-0), 7 p.m. Friday: Mountain Vista’s junior QB Marquise Reese is on fire, averaging 310.4 yards and 4.4 touchdowns on 67.7% passing over the last five games. Eaglecrest’s defense showed promise limiting Legacy to 10 points, but this game will be a major test.
No. 12 Erie (7-4) at No. 5 Valor Christian (8-2), 7 p.m. Friday: Valor’s sophomore quarterback Titus Huard has been almost flawless since taking over as starter. Their defense has allowed just 20 points in the last four games. Erie has proven it can compete with top 5A teams but faces another stern challenge.
The Toss-Ups
No. 10 Mullen (7-4) at No. 7 Pine Creek (7-3), 7 p.m. Friday: Mullen is riding a six-game winning streak — their longest since 2016, the last time they reached the quarterfinals. Pine Creek leans heavily on 195-pound junior running back Xavier Lukes (231 carries, 1,429 yards). Expect a hard-fought, physical game.
No. 9 Arapahoe (7-4) at No. 8 Fairview (9-1), 7 p.m. Friday: Fairview’s only loss was by a single point to No. 6 Arvada West. The Knights average 51.5 points per game and stunned No. 2 Mountain Vista last year. Arapahoe has won six of seven games recently and features senior Jayden Tackitt, who gained 330 yards last week. This should be a high-scoring affair.
Upset Watch
Since 2021, only three double-digit seeds have reached the 5A quarterfinals, making these lower-seed matchups potential long shots.
No. 15 Columbine (6-5) at No. 2 Ralston Valley (10-0), 7:30 p.m. Friday: Ralston Valley has dominated all season and welcomes back senior QB Zeke Andrews after injury. But Columbine coach Andy Lowry is known for making every game a battle.
No. 13 Fort Collins (9-2) at No. 4 Legend (9-1), 7 p.m. Friday: Fort Collins faces Legend’s powerful senior running back Jack McKeon, who rushed for 370 yards and four touchdowns against ThunderRidge recently.
No. 11 Grandview (6-5) at No. 6 Arvada West (9-1), 4 p.m. Friday: Grandview is battle-tested, having faced three of the top four teams. They crushed Chatfield 32-13 in Round 1 — a team Arvada West barely edged on Oct. 24. This promises to be a gritty matchup.
Class 4A
The Chalk
The top three seeds appear dominant in 4A, and they face comparatively weaker opponents this weekend.
No. 16 Golden (8-3) at No. 1 Dakota Ridge (10-0), 7 p.m. Friday: The teams met on Oct. 24, with Dakota Ridge dominating 49-10. Golden faces a steep challenge trying to turn things around in just two weeks.
No. 15 Frederick (8-3) at No. 2 Montrose (10-0), 1 p.m. Saturday: Montrose has a history of playoff success, reaching quarterfinals seven straight years and posting multiple double-digit-win seasons recently. A Western Slope trip will not be easy for Frederick.
No. 14 Mesa Ridge (6-5) at No. 3 Palmer Ridge (10-0), 7 p.m. Friday: Palmer Ridge, a contender since moving to 4A in 2020, already defeated Mesa Ridge 35-7 earlier this season. But Mesa Ridge has improved since and aims to make this competitive.
The Toss-Ups
No. 9 Northfield (9-2) at No. 8 Pueblo West (7-3), 6 p.m. Friday: Northfield is on an eight-game winning streak but faces a Pueblo West defense allowing just 11.6 points per game. This clash of hot offenses and stingy defenses should be exciting.
No. 10 Riverdale Ridge (11-0) at No. 7 Monarch (8-2), 6 p.m. Friday: Despite an undefeated record, Riverdale Ridge’s low seed is likely due to strength of schedule. Their defense allows just 7.1 points per game but faces a Monarch offense averaging 40.9 points, setting up an intriguing battle.
Upset Watch
No. 13 Ponderosa (7-4) at No. 4 Durango (8-2), Noon Saturday: Durango’s only losses came against top seeds, and they’ve dominated other opponents. Ponderosa has won four of five recently and could challenge Durango in this regional showdown.
No. 12 Grand Junction (9-2) at No. 5 Heritage (7-3), 6 p.m. Friday: Grand Junction boasts a high-powered offense on a six-game winning streak, topping 40 points five times recently. Heritage is strong against lower classifications, so expect a fast-paced, high-scoring game.
No. 11 Vista Ridge (8-3) at No. 6 Broomfield (8-2), 7 p.m. Friday: Broomfield freshman Kashus Clarvoe is one of the state’s best running backs with 1,566 yards and 16 touchdowns. After a strong start, Vista Ridge faces a tough test against a solid Broomfield squad.
Class 3A
The Chalk
The top seeds in 3A are clear favorites though no guarantees exist in this competitive bracket.
No. 16 Severance (4-6) at No. 1 Windsor (10-0), 1 p.m. Saturday: Windsor faces a surprisingly tough first-round opponent. Severance led Windsor 3-0 at halftime when they met earlier this season and could be a dangerous underdog.
No. 15 Coronado (7-3) at No. 2 Pomona (9-1), Noon Saturday: Pomona has lost just two games to 3A competition since moving down classifications. However, Coronado and QB Thomas Buckmiller, fresh off a 70-point, 317-yard performance, are formidable.
No. 13 Lewis-Palmer (6-4) at No. 4 Mead (8-2), 1 p.m. Saturday: Mead aims for a repeat title appearance after thrashing Lewis-Palmer 50-9 earlier this season. Although Lewis-Palmer has improved, this will be a tough road test.
No. 12 Thompson Valley (7-3) at No. 5 Holy Family (9-1), 7 p.m. Friday: Defending champion Thompson Valley ended the regular season with two losses. They now face a hot Holy Family team that has won six straight and scored 299 points over that stretch.
No. 11 Pueblo County (7-3) at No. 6 Roosevelt (7-3), 7 p.m. Friday: Roosevelt has shown toughness against top teams and opponents from higher classifications, making them a potential dark horse this postseason.
The Toss-Ups
No. 9 Pueblo South (8-2) at No. 8 Conifer (9-1), 7 p.m. Friday: Conifer’s defense has recorded five shutouts, and their offense averages 43.9 points per game. Senior WR Solomon Washer has been a standout. This game is a strong early test for Conifer.
No. 10 Lutheran (7-3) at No. 7 Eagle Valley (9-1), 7 p.m. Friday: After a recent loss and a bye week, Eagle Valley is well-rested but faces the perennial power of Lutheran. If Eagle Valley is to earn its first playoff win in 13 years, the Lions will make them work.
Upset Watch
No. 14 Timnath (6-4) at No. 3 Palisade (8-2), Noon Saturday: Timnath may seem like an underdog but has played at a high level, shutting out the defending champion Thompson Valley and competing against Mead and Windsor. This could be a tough night for Palisade if they aren’t prepared.
Stay tuned this weekend as these thrilling CHSAA playoff games unfold, with quarterfinal berths on the line across Colorado’s top high school football divisions.
https://www.denverpost.com/2025/11/12/colorado-high-school-football-playoffs-second-weekend-2025/
King Trump! At Long Last, a Crown!
We here at The American Spectator have justly lampooned the No Kings crowd. They’re easy to poke fun at, given that their very name and message is, well, obviously incorrect.
Donald Trump has been called numerous things by the Left, most of which are at least subjective and debatable. For instance, one could argue in circles about how to best define the “democracy” that Trump is somehow unilaterally destroying. But a king? That’s pure nonsense from the get-go.
(RELATED: The Ridiculous No Kings Protest)
Donald Trump is, of course, not a monarch. Even if Donald Trump wanted to be king, he couldn’t. Gosh, Trump can’t even abolish the loathsome Department of Education. That’s because in our constitutional system of separation of powers and checks and balances, the legislative branch stops him.
(RELATED: Linda McMahon Body-Slams Woke Classrooms)
And yet, speaking of education, that hasn’t stopped the dimwits at the American Federation of Teachers from pushing the No Kings movement. The AFT’s website, the morning of the recent nationwide No Kings rallies, was filled with silly, incendiary language on “Why fascists fear teachers” and “No crowns, no thrones, no kings.”
Gadzooks, you would think that teachers would know that Trump not only isn’t a king but has neither a crown nor throne! The AFT ought to be educating kids in a proper understanding of what words like “monarch” and “fascist” actually mean.
(RELATED: The Spectacle Ep. 289: No Kings, Just Clowns: The Boomer Rebellion Against Reality)
Apparently, the ignorance that pervades American public education starts at the top. To his immense credit, Donald Trump has seized upon the spectacle to have a little fun. He has trolled the No Kings crowd, posting manipulated photos of himself wearing a crown, which no doubt had them howling even louder: “See! See! We said he wants to be king! There you go!”
(RELATED: The ‘No Kings’ Phonies)
But alas, amid our lampooning of the No Kings howlers, it looks like they’re having the last laugh. Well, not the last laugh, because they don’t laugh — they’re too angry. I should say, the No Kings howlers are having the last word. They’ve been suddenly vindicated.
That is because Donald Trump, ladies and gentlemen, has in fact received a crown. Yes, it is true. If you didn’t catch the news, Donald J. Trump received a crown during his current swing through Asia.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Wednesday made Trump the first American president to receive South Korea’s highest honor, the Grand Order of Mugunghwa, replete with a replica of the golden Cheonmachong crown.
No doubt, Trump can’t spell, let alone pronounce, “Mugunghwa” or “Cheonmachong.” But what does that matter? Mugunghwa or cowabunga, Trump at long last got his crown!
Before I extend my congratulations to His Highness, let me add a few words of explication about South Korea, a country that I’ve lectured on for decades and alternately admire and find a little crazy. Not to rain on King Trump’s special parade.
South Korea is quite the political soap opera. The country’s leadership has been mired in scandal for decades, and especially throughout the last year. The current leader who crowned Trump, Lee Jae Myung, who is a member of the Democratic Party of Korea — yes, a Democrat — took power last June after the impeachment, expulsion, and arrest of the previous leader, Yoon Suk Yeol, a right-leaning populist and nationalist who was being dubbed the “South Korean Donald Trump.”
(RELATED: KPop Demon Hunters and South Korea’s Out of Control Lawfare)
The American Left characterizes Jan. 6, 2021, as an attempted coup by Donald Trump, an insurrection that left the nation’s capital teetering on the brink of near-martial law. But in fact, South Korea’s Yoon Suk Yeol was the real McCoy.
Last January (as noted ironically in a January 6 piece for The American Spectator by Doug Bandow), Yoon declared martial law and deployed troops to the legislature, the National Assembly. These were real troops, not a bunch of yahoos banging on the side of a building with sticks. This very unpopular action by Yoon triggered his impeachment and indictment.
(RELATED: South Korea’s President Commits Self-Immolation)
Yoon’s authoritarian tactics harkened back to South Korea’s days under military rule, with leaders like Park Chung-hee, who ruled the country from 1961 to 1979 before being assassinated. There had been several assassination attempts against Park. His wife was killed in one of them.
Their daughter was elected president decades later, but alas, she — Park Geun-hye — was driven out of office in 2017 and likewise put under arrest, given a 24-year prison sentence.
Even South Korea’s new president has faced drama and serious danger. An assassination attempt was made against him as well (in January 2024). And I assure you, this is a mere short list of South Korean high-ranking officials targeted over the past 50-plus years (including Nobel Peace Prize winner and heroic dissident Kim Dae-Jung).
South Korea is a wild place. No, it isn’t as crazy as the lunatic asylum run by the House of Kim up north — a communist-totalitarian monarchy — but at times it seems like an Asian Wild West.
So, South Korea knows an authoritarian when it sees one! This will make sense to the No Kings folks. They will tell you — actually, they will scream from the streets — that Donald Trump is an authoritarian.
South Korea’s leaders apparently know a king when they see one. Thus, they took the step of awarding Trump the crown that our homegrown No Kings movement had seen coming along.
The irony was not lost on the political scientists at the New York Times. America’s newspaper of record confirmed in a headline, “Trump Has Likened Himself to a King. South Korea gave Him a Crown.”
Indeed, New York Times. Spot on. Brilliant analysis.
And so, there you go! The likes of the American Federation of Teachers have shown themselves not to be the dunces we thought they were, but rather astute political prognosticators. I guess they, too, know a monarch when they see one. Impressive, AFT. Who would’ve thunk it?
The No Kings movement has proved astutely prophetic. Here’s hoping that Trump will start wearing his crown soon. I suggest The Donald don the crown for his next State of the Union address. I think the liberals would love that.
Pop Music Isn’t as Popular
Happy Indigenous Peoples’ Day!
https://spectator.org/king-trump-at-long-last-a-crown/
Asking Eric: Friend drags up addiction-related offenses, 31 years later
**Dear Eric: Reflections on Recovery and Friendship**
I have been in recovery from alcohol addiction for almost 31 years. Needless to say, my life is wonderful and so much better compared to those years when I was active in my addiction. Recently, I was with someone who knew me before recovery. In a room full of people who didn’t know me very well, she told a story about how I was drunk, in a blackout, and stole something from someone.
Now, I don’t know if this even happened. However, I was so embarrassed and hurt by the fact that she would do this to me. She is my dear friend, and we have been friends for more than 50 years. I am really upset enough by this to just want to end the friendship. It’s really not the first time it’s happened. It seems to happen when we are with people who have just met me or don’t know me very well at all.
I would appreciate your thoughts on the matter.
— Not My Past
—
**Dear Not My Past:**
Congratulations on your years of sobriety. Your friend may consciously or subconsciously resent the new life you’ve made for yourself, especially if she felt she got the short end of the friendship stick during your active addiction. But if those feelings exist, they’re on her side of the street.
Before you sever the friendship, consider having a conversation in which you explain how you felt hurt by her story and ask if she sees it the same way. She may not realize what she’s doing. If that’s the case, she should quickly apologize, acknowledge what she did that was hurtful, and seek to make it right going forward.
If she takes the position that it’s no big deal, however, you’re within your right to leave the past in the past — even if that means part of that past is your friendship.
—
**Dear Eric: Sister Jealousy Over a Friend’s Visit**
My sister and I were once best friends. She has a friend from high school who was also her best friend. This friend and I have always gotten along and enjoyed each other’s company. Our friendship has progressed, and now my sister feels jealous and threatened by it.
I live on the West Coast, and they live in the Midwest. The friend has wanted to come visit me and has expressed this desire often. Now, my sister is beside herself, thinking this friend is trying to take her place. I have reassured her many times that this is not possible. Now my sister isn’t talking to me.
What should I do?
— Only One Sister
—
**Dear Only One Sister:**
It sounds like a visit might be in order for you. Your sister’s emotions are hers to manage, but you can help by talking this out in person. Jealousy is natural—we all feel it from time to time. But we have to be responsible for what we do with it.
Is it reasonable for her to think she’s being replaced by her friend? No, but it speaks to some deeper insecurity or question she has about your relationship.
If you want to change things, you may need to show up and say, “I care about you, I feel hurt when you won’t talk to me. Can we get to the bottom of this?”
—
**Dear Eric: Thoughts on Elder Abuse and Family Conflict**
This is the first time I have ever written in your column but the letter from “Not My Daughter” moved me to share. The writer, who described herself as disabled, was concerned about an upcoming visit from her terminally ill husband’s adult daughter. She states the daughter steals from their home and “has told my husband that she wants me to leave when she comes to visit.”
The writer was asking about secretly recording the daughter’s nasty comments and behavior. Eric, you were absolutely spot on to dissuade her from this potentially illegal method.
However, I’d like to add that this behavior strongly hints at elder abuse. I’d suggest she consider inviting another trusted adult friend or family member—maybe two or three—to be present when the daughter arrives. An advocate in the room might help curb the nasty comments and provide an extra set of eyes to prevent stealing. It’s her home, and there’s nothing illegal about having someone else there as a witness.
If hospice is involved, she can also ask a team member to be present to mediate and act on behalf of her husband. Hospice professionals are trained for issues much like this.
— Concerned Reader
—
**Dear Concerned Reader:**
This is excellent advice, and I heartily agree. Moreover, having a friend or two or three in the home will provide more immediate support and more potential remedies than a recording ever would.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/10/21/asking-eric-friend-drags-up-addiction-related-offenses-31-years-later/