Skip to content 8/5/2025 Amid Several Domestic and International Concerns, Good News Reveals a Drop in U.S. Divorce Rates Aug 5 · 54 min ...more
8/5/2025 Amid Several Domestic and International Concerns, Good News Reveals a Drop in U.S. Divorce Rates
August 5, 2025 · 54 min
Today: House Speaker Johnson’s historic Israel trip; The Russia collusion hoax; Texas redistricting drama; declining divorce rates; California parental rights’ threat; rising global anti-Semitism.
Series Washington Watch with Tony Perkins - Audio August 5, 2025 · 54 min · Washington Watch with Tony Perkins - Audio
Today: House Speaker Johnson’s historic Israel trip; The Russia collusion hoax; Texas redistricting drama; declining divorce rates; California parental rights’ threat; rising global anti-Semitism. ...more Show the full description Show less Today: House Speaker Johnson’s historic Israel trip; The Russia collusion hoax; Texas redistricting drama; declining divorce rates; California parental rights’ threat; rising global anti-Semitism.
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In this video 0:00 Current Events and Biblical Perspectives2:50 Political Tensions and Family Values16:56 Marriage Trends and Parental Rights33:59 Antisemitism and Christian Responsibility
Current Events and Biblical Perspectives 0:00 From the heart of our nation's capital in Washington, DC, bringing compelling interviews, insightful analysis, taking you beyond the headlines and soundbites into conversations with our nation's leaders and newsmakers,0:13 all from a biblical worldview. Sitting in for Tony is today's host, Jody Heise.0:20 Well, good afternoon, and welcome to this Tuesday edition of Washington Watts. So So glad to have you on board with us today. I am Jody Heiss, your August host. As we get going through0:31 this month, I'm senior fellow here at FRC, and so glad to have you with us. Alright. We've got a lot to bring your way today. We're going to begin, in just a moment by having representative Jim Baird. He will be with us0:43 to discuss the latest as to what's happening in Israel. And there is a lot taking place there, not the least of which the speaker of the house, Mike Johnson, is there visiting Samaria and Judea. So0:55 we've got a lot to cover with congressman Baird here in just a few moments. And then a little bit later in the program, we're gonna be looking at Texas again. It's unbelievable what's happening there. A host of Democrats1:07 have fled the state. The legislators Democratic legislators have fled the state as the, legislators, they are trying to redo make some redistricting decisions.1:18 Well, the governor's response is to issue a warrant for their arrest. So we'll be speaking with representative David Spiller, state representative of Texas, as to the latest of
1:30 what's going on there as the program unfolds. And then we've got some good news as it relates to marriage. Divorce rates are down. In fact, down at 50 year lows.
1:43 How amazing is that? And what is the cause behind of all of that? Well, Carter's skill will be joining me. He's the executive director at the Institute for Family Studies, and we'll try to break down some of those
1:55 great news. And then we're gonna shift gears and look over to California. 1 of the most dangerous bills as it relates to parental rights ever in the history of our nation appears to be unfolding there,
2:07 and we want to bring you the latest. Gina Gleason, with, real impact will bring us the latest there. And friends, I tell you, this is something that will make the hair stand up on the back of your neck. So you
2:19 wanna be aware of what's happening there. And then we will conclude the program today with Joel Richardson. He's a biblical researcher and teacher and a best selling author. And we're gonna be talking
2:30 with him about how Christians should be responding to the antisemitism that's taking place across the country and literally around the world. So we've got a lot to bring your way today, a lot to cover. You don't wanna
2:42 miss any of it. But if by chance you do, as always, our website is tony perkins dot com. You wanna be sure to keep that website handy. It's not only this, but many other programs as well as a
Political Tensions and Family Values
2:54 wealth of information is available there for you. Alright. Let's jump into our first topic. Yesterday, house speaker Mike Johnson arrived in the region of Judea and Samaria as part of an official
3:06 visit that he's making. And what makes this so special is the first time that a sitting US speaker of the house has visited that area. The area that many people have
3:18 been referring to is the West Bank. And so after a week of the legacy media trying to suggest that there's a growing wedge between the United States and Israel.
3:30 Here we have just the opposite seems to be taking place. We're here to discuss this and more with me as congressman Jim Baird who serves on 3 house committees, including the foreign affairs committee. He
3:42 represents the fourth congressional district of the great state of Indiana. Congressman Baird, welcome to Washington Watch. Great to see you, my friend.
3:51 Thanks. Good to see you as well. How are you doing, Johnny?
3:55 I am doing great. Thank you. Alright. Listen. Let's, first of all, is it clear that, the US and I'm gonna put it this way, and maybe this isn't the best way to phrase
4:07 this, but with the relationship between the US and Israel, is it better than ever, or, do you think there's some, tension between the countries? What what is this right now, from your
4:19 perspective?
4:20 From my perspective, it's, better than it's ever been. I think the fact that Hamas attacked, Israel, really strengthened that relationship from my perspective,
4:32 and it is important, to recognize that I feel, and I think a lot of others the same way, that Israel had a right to defend itself and has a right to continue to
4:44 clean up what Hamas did to them on October the seventh.
4:49 Yeah. You know, I I I posed that question, congressman, because I hear we have more antisemitism perhaps than we've, that I can remember, probably in my lifetime at least. And, and, yeah,
5:01 you've got the it seems to be a a faction in the country, but at the same time, there seems to be great relationship between the Israeli prime minister and the White House. House. And right now, the speaker of the house
5:12 is visiting there. So, I I my I I would tend to agree with you, at least from the perspective politically from the party that's in charge right now here in the United States. But
5:24 there is some shaky ground at the same time. Wouldn't you agree?
5:29 Well, I I think you have to you have to really, analyze what is taking place. And I am very comfortable with the president Trump, and I'm very comfortable with the
5:41 speaker Mike Johnson. I think both of those really care about other people and even other other, societies. And so they're gonna work to try to
5:52 bring peace. And And yet there are those that are making it difficult to accomplish that, and yet yet they're advocating
6:04 for other means of of government that and I'm talking about communism that we know doesn't work. And so I'm very comfortable and appreciate
6:17 all the things that the president has done and the speaker of the house has done. And I've been to Israel a time or 2, and I really enjoy and have been, excited to see what
6:29 prime minister Netanyahu has done.
6:32 Yeah. Absolutely. And you mentioned the speaker of the house. I I was not aware until, seeing this today that, as the speaker is there right now in Judea and Samaria, some call the
6:44 West Bank. It's the first time that the sitting speaker of their house has done so. But speaking of that, there's a seems to be a growing, reference to that that
6:56 particular region being called for what it is historically, Judea and Samaria rather than the West Bank. What's your thoughts on that?
7:05 Well, I think that's a that's probably a valid, a valid, perspective. And then it removes the the West Bank concept, and maybe that's a good thing under the
7:16 current circumstances because it gets away from from what's in happening by using the West Bank name.
7:26 Absolutely. And there's been some outrage this week, and I'm sure you, like many of us, have seen some of the images that have been released, of the way that has the Hamas has
7:38 been, caring for, not caring for. Some of the hostages just emaciated captives. It's just horrible. What do you think of of of Hamas and the
7:49 reactions to all of this as these images continue to come forth?
7:55 Well, you know, I think I think their actions are barbaric, and that's 1 of the reasons I think Israel has a right to clean it up. And, you know, when when people will, attack young people at a
8:07 music festival, and and start killing those people in a that are innocent, and then starving to death. No. They took 251 hostages, and they
8:19 think there may be, somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 of those still still alive. And they think there's 50 hostages with the other 30 that passed away. But
8:31 but president Trump wants to bring everyone home, including those that have passed away. But I think that's I think that's really, I
8:43 think the the treatment of the hostages illustrates what Hamas is capable of as well as the attack in October the seventh. And when you got people like that are,
8:56 promoting the instability in that region and the instability in the way they've treated other people is just terrific. And so
9:07 They really is.
9:10 Just amazing.
9:11 So it it it is. And, you know, it appears to me and there's some reports out there that Hamas is under pressure right now. Does it appear to you from what you're seeing, what you're hearing,
9:23 and talking in conversation with your colleagues and others that perhaps new talks, negotiations could be happening soon. Do you think that's a possibility?
9:34 I do think that's a possibility. And, you know, some of the scenes that, that have just recently been released on on the news really shows that Rafa is just
9:46 destroyed or demolished. And so I've been to that that border, and I've seen the trucks set in their way to go in. And then when when they do get in, sometimes, those,
9:58 Hamas, takes the food, and food is fungible because it's just like money. And if you've got it, and it and it it's illustrated by those people trying to get enough food, and
10:10 you see the the activity that takes place when they meet these distribution centers. And, you know, while we're talking about that,
10:21 this this group, the the Gaza humanitarian effort that's run by a lot of, former, special forces individuals from the United States, and they've
10:33 been they've been able to give out a million meals a day. And they've been able to keep control of that situation, and they got 4 distribution points. But but back to your,
10:46 issue about, if you think there's a possibility, I think I think Hamas is being, under a lot of pressure, and I think Israel has been doing that. And
10:58 the fact that Israel is considering moving forward, at least they're having, you know, Netanyahu is having his cabinet get together sometime this week to decide what the next steps are. And I think
11:09 they're concerned about what those might be.
11:13 If I can switch gears for you real quickly, we've only got a couple of minutes left. But yesterday, attorney general Pam Bondi directed the Department of Justice officials to open a grand jury investigation into
11:25 how the Obama administration officials handled intelligence about the Russian interference in the 20 16 elections. What's your take on what's been folding there? Seems like that is just taking
11:37 a lot of attention from the news.
11:40 Well, I really think I'm really, glad that, attorney general Bondi is gonna do that. I'm I'm glad that they, director, Kanish
11:52 Patel and the DNI, Tulsi Gabbard are all gonna take a look at and get to the bottom of this. And I think the American people deserve that, and they need justice because this has been going on for
12:04 years, and it's all been against president Trump. And I don't think that's fair. I think we need answers, and I think, this investigation and subpoenas will help get to
12:15 the bottom of this.
12:18 The subpoenas that came out today, I saw from James Comer and the oversight committee, released a list of people that they are going to subpoena from Hillary and Bill Clinton all
12:30 the way down to a host of others. I mean, we'll see what will happen there. Probably some of them will just simply plead the fifth and carry on. But, this is an issue that we need to get to the bottom
12:42 of. Potentially, some are saying, potentially 1 of, if not the greatest scandal in the US history. Do you agree with that?
12:50 I agree with that. And you know that that how do how do you ever build trust in our government, under these kind of circumstances when it's been advocated for years now,
13:02 this Steele dossier and and Russian hoax. And yet now I find out we're finding out that it wasn't true and it was a hoax. So how how is the American people gonna ever develop trust
13:14 in in our government if we don't get to the bottom of it and find out what we need to do to correct it?
13:23 Good. Good question. Thank you so much, congressman Jim Baird. Indiana, always great to see you. Thank you for taking time to join us today on Washington Watch. We appreciate it.
13:34 You too.
13:36 Alright, friends. Coming up, we've got a lot more to cover. Democrat lawmakers in Texas have fled the state for the sole purpose of blocking a vote that, legislators are trying to do deal with
13:48 in redrawing congressional districts. And now arrest warrants have been issued for them. What in the world is going on? Well, we'll discuss it right after the break, so stay tuned.
14:05 The family is the oldest, most tested, and most reliable unit of society. It is divinely created and sustained. And yet, there are those who are always tampering with its values and structure.
14:17 That's why we need organizations like the Family Research Council that can effectively defend and strengthen the family.
14:25 Family Research Council began over 40 years ago, like all great movements of God, with prayer. Today, rooted in the heart of the nation's capital, FRC continues to
14:36 champion faith, family, and freedom in public policy and the culture from a biblical worldview.
14:43 FRC is 1 of those bright lights that helps us focus on true north, and I shudder to think had they not been here that it could have been worse, worse, worse.
14:53 The Family Research Council is key. It's 1 of a handful of groups that I think will determine whether our children live in a country
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15:11 It's just a wonderful para church organization that doesn't seek to take the place of the church, but it seeks to assist the family and the church as we try to move forward
15:23 successfully, not in a defensive mode, but in an offensive mode as we seek to live our lives according to the holy scriptures.
15:32 FRC, is not gonna be whooped. You know, we're we're gonna fight. We're gonna take a stand. And, again, we don't retreat.
15:41 You will never see in front of this building here in Washington, DC, a white flag fly. We will never step back. We will never surrender, and we will never
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15:59 In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God, and the word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory.
16:11 Family Research Council invites you to join our stand on the word bible reading plan as we reflect upon the life of Jesus, the word who dwelt among us. Come with us
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Marriage Trends and Parental Rights
17:02 Thank you for tuning in today to Washington Watch. I'm Jody Heise. An honor to be filling in for Tony this month and deeply honored to have you on board with us as well. Alright. This next
17:14 story is incredible. The Texas House of Representatives convened today. I'll put that, but they had to adjourn for a second day in a row because the state house Democrats
17:26 are AWOL. Well, yesterday, arrest warrants were issued for dozens of them. These are lawmakers who have fled Texas. And and as you probably are seeing on the new
17:38 they've news, they've gone to various blue states. It's all in an effort to try to block the state legislature from voting on legislation to redraw congressional districts there. So,
17:51 I mean, what do you make of this? Lawlessness. More lawlessness from the left and, frankly, a pushback on the will of the people. Well, joining me now to discuss this is Texas state representative David Spiller. He's
18:03 from the 60 eighth district of the great state of Texas. Representative Spiller, welcome back to Washington Watch.
18:10 Thank you, Jody. I appreciate you having me.
18:13 Well, it is an honor to have you, and, boy, all of us have tons of questions and intrigue over what's happening. Let's begin. Why don't you just give us a little background on what's been happening there over the last
18:25 few days?
18:26 Well, we got called in in Texas. We we meet for a hundred and 40 days once every 2 years. We did that. We completed that. But then the governor can call us anytime back into special session anytime he wants
18:38 to, and he puts certain things on the call. And those that special session can last up to 30 days. Well, 1 of the things on the call, there were 18 matters on the call, but on down the list was congressional
18:49 redistricting. And it needed to be addressed because of some legal reasons under a a a fifth circuit case and so forth that came up last year. But in any event, we addressed
19:01 those, and we also, first and foremost, have a special committee, appointed to address the flooding and the flooding victims and disaster, relief and preparedness relative to,
19:13 Kerrville, Kerr County, and the Hill Country. And so, and everyone's aware of the devastation that occurred there. So which which first and foremost is what we're what we're trying to do, but we're also trying to deal
19:24 with this redistricting. I'm on the, select committee on congressional redistricting. I've attended all the hearings, but when it comes time to vote and those matters come through the house floor, well, many
19:36 of my Democrat colleagues decide to flee the state and run off and hide to blue states and, blue states, incidentally, that have already redistricted in a in a very compelling way,
19:49 but they wanna claim that we're, racist and inconsiderate and and how this is wrong and illegal and unconstitutional. So here we are trying to do business, but we have to have a a quorum,
20:01 which out of a hundred and 50 members of the Texas House is 100. So, there are 88 Republicans. We had 88 Republicans show up today and 8, with all due respect, there were 8
20:12 Democrats that showed up, but we were at 96 folks altogether. We were short of a quorum, and so, hopefully, we can get 1 soon.
20:20 So is what your Democratic colleagues doing, part of the, process there? I mean, is this, legitimate, or is this a violation of the law or the
20:32 rules of the house? Or, what is this a legitimate thing they're doing?
20:38 Jody, great question. It is neither. It is both. It is both a violation of civil of our rules. It's a violation of the law. Governor Abbott has, even raised the issue that it may be considered a
20:50 criminal offense of bribery, to the extent that these folks have accepted benefit in return for their nonvote and nonparticipation. So, but when I took an oath to be a state representative,
21:02 I still remember what I swore under oath to do, and that was to faithfully execute the duties of the office of state representative and, to preserve, protect, and defend the constitutional law of the United States and
21:14 this state, so help me god. These folks have completely ignored their oath of office, and have fled the state. It is not permitted under the house rules to do so. When they say, well,
21:26 this is a procedure. This is a rule. I've read the rules in the in the house rules. It ain't in there. So, it's a it's a blatant violation, and it's a slap in the face to not only all Texans, but
21:38 especially, to those folks that we're trying to do important work in the state of Texas for, including the flood victims, of Kirk County.
21:46 So this is, an illegal act. Your bottom line, I suppose the governor is in full, I guess, the rights, I guess, as the governor to
21:58 issue, arrest warrants. Is that correct?
22:02 Interesting. Yes. And I I applaud governor Abbott. He's done a great job. Our our house speaker, speaker Burrows, has done a fantastic job. These people are working with Texas Department of Public Safety to try
22:14 to round up those and execute these civil, arrest warrants. We got 2 processes going on. Let me I'm an attorney, so let me kinda, get into some legal stuff here. But you've got 2 processes going on. 1 is a
22:26 civil warrant where they can actually if they find them within the state of Texas, they can handcuff them, bring them to the house floor, and literally lock them in the building. That process is being done, and some of
22:37 those folks, we believe, are in the state of Texas and, can be found and can be brought, to our house. Interestingly, when you talk about a charge of bribery to the extent
22:49 that if a charge is actually filed, that's a criminal offense. And, I believe the last time I checked, we could extradite from, from, Illinois or New York if there was a felony,
23:02 arrest warrant issued. So, interesting where we're gonna go with this, but I'm a tell you this. I went through this, when I was in the legislature in 2021. They pulled this same stunt. We
23:14 eventually got everything done that we needed to get done, but I'm tired of it. I'm quite frankly, I'm missing a vacation, with my with my wife, my kids, and my grandkids on a Disney cruise, so I'm not very
23:25 happy. I'm down here working, doing the work, the folks of the state of Texas, and I don't appreciate these folks, just sticking a finger in my eye.
23:35 Well, it's gonna be very interesting to watch how this unfolds. I know you you've seen governor, gas Gavin Newsom from California and, Kathy Hochul, New York. They're all indicating now that they may take up, mid decade
23:46 redistricting in their state. But as you referenced a while ago, they've already done this. I mean, it's it's, they've done this kind of thing years ago, and there's not a whole lot of room for their for them
23:58 to do much more gerrymandering. We've only got 30 seconds or so, but you wanna respond to that?
24:05 Yeah. The the pickings off those bones would be pretty slim, I would tell you, because they you can't imagine. When you look at what the top 5 Democrat states in the country have done and how they've done this and
24:16 the advantage that they've created for themselves is outrageous. And the very idea that these people go run to those states, California, New York, Illinois, New Jersey, Maryland,
24:28 all those states, and you look at what they've done and the advantage that they've created for themselves and how disingenuous it is.
24:35 Absolutely. Thank you, Texas State representative David Spiller from the 60 eighth district. I appreciate you joining us, and sorry you're missing your vacation.
24:44 That's alright. Thank you, Joe. Appreciate it.
24:46 Alright, friends. You bet. Coming up next, we got some great news on the marriage front. Divorce rates have been falling at a 50 year low. Stay tuned. We'll bring you all the details right after this.
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27:02 Welcome back to Washington Watch. I'm Jody Hice. Glad to have you joining us today. Alright. You probably have heard, like most of us have, the saying that half of all marriages end with divorce.
27:14 Well, it turns out that may be some outdated information based on an analysis of marriage trends in recent years. In fact, in recent decades, the divorce rate has actually been
27:26 falling. And now, it's at a 50 year low. Amazing. So what should we draw from all of this? Well, I'm glad to have my next guest with me, Carter Steele. He's
27:37 the executive director at the Institute for Family Studies, which released this new research last week. Carter, welcome to Washington Watch. It's great to have you.
27:49 Yeah. Thanks, Jody. It's great to be here, and, thanks for showcasing this exciting and and groundbreaking new research for those of us who care deeply about marriage and family. So, yes, you're right. The the
28:00 idea that divorce is or sorry. The marriage is essentially a coin toss. Right? That your odds of being able to stay in a a stable and secure marriage are, about 50
28:12 50 is no longer correct. It's actually closer to 40 percent, which is, of course, still higher than we'd like it to be, but, is in a much better position, for those who are, thinking
28:24 about or entering into their first marriages.
28:28 Can you can you tell this? And I don't know if your your study dealt with this at all, but, the 50 50 thing for years always was a was a big question mark to me because oftentimes, we're even told that the
28:39 church is no different from the world, that just as much divorce rate within the church is outside. I can tell you as a pastor for almost 30 years, that was not the situation in any of the churches I pastored.
28:51 Our families for we did have some divorce. I mean, don't get me wrong. But for the most part, those families that had a relationship with the Lord stuck together. It was, it was
29:03 rare. Let me put it that way in our churches to see divorces. Is is that a a real accurate picture within the church?
29:13 Sure. So that was, that particular analysis beyond the scope of of this survey, which is drawn mostly from analysis of national data, but we are looking to study precisely that,
29:26 phenomenon perceived phenomenon that as religious adherence, grows, the likelihood of divorce, goes down. So I do think anecdotally, that's that's true. We're we're looking to back that
29:38 up with with some research and a forthcoming study.
29:41 Well, I look forward to to you coming up with that, but what you've got already is just absolutely fascinating. So the picture that you're seeing now, the trends that you're seeing now, how does this compare to past
29:52 decades?
29:54 Right. So specific to divorce rates as we've discussed it, it's down from 50 percent to 40 percent. We're also seeing positive trends in non marital childbearing, which peaked at
30:06 41 percent, in 2009 and now has leveled off. It's still at at 40 per percent. So so a modest positive, trend there. But if you also look at the share of
30:17 children that are raised in married parent families, that bottomed out at 64 percent, in 2012 and has since risen to 66 percent. So I think it's easy to look at those
30:29 and say, okay. It's a couple percentage points, but, it's also always useful to contextualize this and think of the thousands of families and, tens of thousands of in in in a lot of these cases,
30:41 kids that are now raised in married parent families with a mother and father that love them and are are biologically bonded to them. So we're obviously
30:53 cautiously optimistic about about these trend lines, but even to see, trend lines like these level off and in some cases, modestly reverse is is huge news and and really the impetus
31:05 for, publishing the why marriage survives, account in the Atlantic last week.
31:13 So what what's driving all of this, Carter? That that's, because whatever it is, we need to keep doing it. So what's behind all of this?
31:21 Right. Right. Of course. Yeah. So there is a a selection effect here. So, the idea that marriage, is becoming more selective with the 3 big drivers
31:33 being religious adherence as as we talked about, affluence. So as as you go up the socioeconomic scale, the the rate of marriage increases and then education. So more educated people,
31:46 excuse me, are, more likely to be married. So I I think that's 1 story, that should be told. I also think the idea of the, quote, unquote, family revolution that,
31:58 drove a lot of the negative trend lines starting in the late sixties, seventies, and eighties is seeming to peter out. I mean, there's still on both, the especially the online right, but especially
32:10 on the left, there's still, criticism, about the traditional family and even the idea of having kind of a normative family structure at all. But at the same time, I
32:22 think, there's an element of not practicing what is being or sorry. Yeah. Not practicing what is being preached, there, especially among among the elite who
32:33 themselves are getting married and staying married and having kids, but then preach a very different, gospel to, to to the broader culture.
32:43 That's amazing. I I was really encouraged with all of this too that it appears the, marriage come back as strongest with black families, which is, encouraging to see as well. So based on your research, we've just got,
32:55 about a minute. What advice would you give to churches to keep these trends
33:01 going? Right. I mean, there are positive network effects here of if you, you know, are in a community with high marriage rates, you're more likely to get married. Unfortunately, it's it's also there's some correlation
33:12 with divorce rate. So if you have a friend that, that gets divorced, you are then more likely to get divorced. So I I really think and and this is part of our work at the Institute for Family Studies, disseminating this
33:24 research as if nothing else an encouragement to young people or to parents or to these church congregations and communities that you can get married, that it's not a bad bet,
33:36 for for young men and women to
33:38 make. Absolutely.
33:39 But yeah.
33:42 Carter Steele, executive director of the Institute for Family Studies. Awesome news. Thank you for bringing this information to light. Great, great news. Thanks for joining us on Washington Watch. Alright. Marriage is
33:52 doing better, but, boy, parental rights is suffering in California. Stay tuned. We'll bring that story your way right after the break.Show more
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