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Published on Oct 26, 2018

 A Florida couple says they'll never set foot on another Carnival Cruise ship after they say they found a hidden recording device in their stateroom. In an exclusive interview that will air on Inside Edition Monday, Chris and Dana White say they were aboard the Carnival Fantasy for a three-day Caribbean cruise last October when they noticed the device, which they say was hidden among TV wires and pointing at their bed. ||||| A couple from Florida have spoken of their shock after they found a hidden camera pointed at their bed on a cruise ship operated by Carnival Cruise Line.

 In an exclusive interview set to air on Monday’s episode of Inside Edition, the couple say they’ll never set foot on another Carnival Cruise ship again.

 Chris and Dana White from Pensacola were staying aboard the Carnival Fantasy for a three-day Caribbean cruise from Mobile, Alabama to Mexico last October when they noticed a recording device among TV wires in their room.

 "I said, 'Is that what I think it is?'" Chris told Inside Edition. "And [Dana] looked at it and she became concerned. And we were just really flabbergasted that there's a camera in the room and it's plugged up and it's working."

 The couple immediately called security and Chris took a video of an employee on the ship inspecting the device and taking it apart. "I was thinking, 'I can't believe this is actually happening to us,'" he said.

 The couple say they are speaking out now because they feel Carnival did not handle the situation in an acceptable manner. Initially, a representative for the company said the device was not a camera, according to the pair.

 "It was a camera," Chris said. Dana added, “It was wired up. It was working. It was warm to the touch. I just immediately felt like we had been invaded; our privacy had been invaded."

 Carnival provided a statement to Inside Edition saying that they conducted a full investigation and acknowledged a “video transmitter” was found. However, the company say that it was “not connected to an electrical source and not capable of recording. The safety and security of our guests and crew is of paramount importance and we have taken measures so that this sort of situation does not happen again," the statement read.

 After the incident, the device was given to the FBI for further inspection.

 RHONA WISE/AFP/Getty Images

 The hidden camera debacle is not the only bizarre incident to have occurred on a cruise ship recently.

 Earlier this month, reports emerged of a cruise operated by Royal Caribbean International—which left from Sydney, Australia—being overrun with around 1,300 men from a tobacco company who held wild parties featuring women dressed as Playboy bunnies.

 “It was almost like a huge bucks [bachelor] party,” passenger Cassandra Riini told the Australian Nine Network's A Current Affair.

 “Their doors would be open and you would walk past and be like what am I going to be looking at when I walk past this door? It is hard to forget after seeing all the flashbacks of these men around all the time, 24 hours a day, like we could not escape,” she said. ||||| CLOSE Chris and Dana White told "Inside Edition" that they discovered a recording device hidden in their stateroom on a Carnival Cruise. USA TODAY

 Chris and Dana White say they discovered a recording device hidden in their bedroom last fall on the Carnival Fantasy, a three-day Caribbean cruise departing from Mobile, Alabama. (Photo: Carnival Cruise Line)

 A Florida couple is recalling a distressing experience on a Carnival Cruise after finding a hidden camera pointing at their bed.

 In an interview set to air Monday, Chris and Dana White told Inside Edition that they discovered a recording device hidden among TV wires in their stateroom last October on the Carnival Fantasy, a three-day Caribbean cruise departing from Mobile, Alabama.

 "I said, 'Is that what I think it is?' " Chris White said. "And she looked at it and she became concerned. And we were just really flabbergasted that there's a camera in the room and it's plugged up and it's working."

 The couple called Carnival security and used their cellphone to film an employee who inspected and disassembled the device. "I was thinking, 'I can't believe this is actually happening to us,' " he said.

 CLOSE So what's Carnival's key to success? 10Best takes a look inside this Readers' Choice winning cruise company 10Best Editors, USA TODAY 10Best

 In a statement to USA TODAY, Carnival acknowledged a "video transmitter" was found during a full investigation by the shipboard team, but notes it "was not connected to an electrical source and not capable of recording."

 "This is certainly a unique and unusual occurrence and it is unclear who or why this transmitter was placed in the guest’s stateroom," the statement said. "The safety and security of our guests and crew is of paramount importance and we have taken measures so that this sort of situation does not happen again."

 Chris White disagreed, making it clear that the device "was a camera. It was wired up. It was working. It was warm to the touch."

 Carnival said the transmitter was turned over to the FBI for further inspection, and the Whites were "advised of the involvement with law enforcement." Following standard procedures, the cruise line also notified the U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

 Still, Dana White told Inside Edition that her peace of mind was robbed. "I just immediately felt like we had been invaded; our privacy had been invaded," she said.

 Related: USA TODAY's guide to drink and beverage packages on cruise ships

 Read or Share this story: https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/news/2018/10/28/travelers-found-hidden-camera-their-carnival-cruise-bedroom/1800150002/ ||||| A dream cruise turned into a nightmare for passengers after their ship was overrun with more than a thousand men from a tobacco company who held wild parties featuring women dressed as Playboy bunnies.

 The cruise on the Voyager of the Seas, operated by Royal Caribbean International, was inundated with 1,300 workers from the Indian gutka company Kamla Pasand, who came onboard for a conference just before the boat left its Sydney dock last month.

 Passengers described how the men proceeded to run amok, taking over the pool decks, bars and buffets.

 They were also said to have brought burlesque dancers onboard, who starred in parties on deck. The men would also harass other passengers and film young girls on their mobile phones, passengers said.

 REUTERS/David Gray

 “It was almost like a huge bucks [bachelor] party, a bucks night for 1,200 people,” Sydney passenger Cassandra Riini told the Australian Nine Network's A Current Affair.

 “Their doors would be open and you would walk past and be like what am I going to be looking at when I walk past this door? It is hard to forget after seeing all the flashbacks of these men around all the time, 24 hours a day, like we could not escape,” she added.

 Families were forced to take refuge inside as the scantily clad women danced on the decks. The workers brought “crates and crates” of their own food onto the ship, which underwent extensive refurbishments in 2014. Even bingo, a popular pasttime on cruises, was canceled due to a lack of interest from the passengers, who were more interested in the cabaret.

 Riini's husband, Daniel, was similarly dismayed by his experience.

 “Even on the trivia nights they didn't have enough numbers there so we just ended up with the staff member making our own game,” he told the network. “If ignorance and arrogance was part of the ticket to get on board the ship then I think they did a good job, Royal Caribbean International, by getting these people on.”

 Christine Weyling, from the state of New South Wales, said Royal Caribbean should have told passengers such a large group would be onboard.

 “It was crazy…little Playboy bunny outfits, you know this is a family boat. I think that they should have notified us that there was a big group that had been booked and had booked the pool deck out…everyone on that ship should have been notified.”

 Royal Caribbean International issued full refunds to passengers, news.com.au reported.

 Royal Caribbean Australia did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In a statement to A Current Affair, the cruise company said an investigation was under way.

 Royal Caribbean said: “We operate with the safety of our guests and crew as our highest priority, and are currently looking into all guest feedback regarding this incident to ensure it does not happen again.”

 This article was updated to include a quote from another passenger aboard the ship. An image caption was updated to further clarify the identity of the ship in question. ||||| A Florida couple says they'll never set foot on another Carnival Cruise ship after they say they found a hidden recording device in their stateroom.

 In an exclusive interview that will air on Inside Edition Monday, Chris and Dana White say they were aboard the Carnival Fantasy for a three-day Caribbean cruise last October when they noticed the device, which they say was hidden among TV wires and pointing at their bed.

 "I said, 'Is that what I think it is?'" Chris said. "And she looked at it and she became concerned. And we were just really flabbergasted that there's a camera in the room and it's plugged up and it's working."

 Chris filmed with his cell phone as a Carnival employee dismantled the video transmitter.

 "I was thinking, 'I can't believe this is actually happening to us,'" Chris said.

 The couple is speaking now because they believe Carnival did not handle the situation properly. At first, they say a company representative said the device was not a camera.

 In a statement, Carnival told Inside Edition they conducted a full investigation and acknowledged a "video transmitter" was found. However, they say it "was not connected to an electrical source and not capable of recording."

 "The safety and security of our guests and crew is of paramount importance and we have taken measures so that this sort of situation does not happen again," the statement said. The device was turned over to the FBI for further inspection.

 "It was a camera," Chris insisted. “It was wired up. It was working. It was warm to the touch."

 "I just immediately felt like we had been invaded; our privacy had been invaded," said Dana.

 Tune in to Inside Edition Monday to hear the Whites' story and to see what happened when our team sent the footage they shot to a surveillance expert.

 Check here for local listings.

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– They set sail aboard the Carnival Fantasy, but a Florida couple's experience aboard the cruise ship was less fantasy, more creepy nightmare. While some couples find towels adorably folded into the shapes of animals in their cabins, Chris and Dana White say they instead stumbled upon a hidden camera pointed at their bed, ensconced in TV wires in their room on Carnival's Fantasy, which was sailing out of Mobile, Ala., last October. The couple tell Inside Edition in an interview that aired Monday that they were "flabbergasted" to spot the camera, and that their "privacy had been invaded." "I was thinking, 'I can't believe this is actually happening to us,'" Chris White says. They're talking to the media now because they don't think the cruise line properly dealt with the issue when they reported it, saying a rep for Carnival initially told them the device wasn't a camera. In a statement to USA Today, Carnival calls the incident with the Whites a "unique and unusual one" and says that while a "video transmitter" was indeed found after a full probe, the transmitter "was not connected to an electrical source and not capable of recording." Chris White shakes his head at that, saying the device was "wired up … working … [and] warm to the touch." Newsweek notes one other "bizarre" cruise ship incident that took place in September, this time involving a Royal Caribbean ship out of Australia. In that case, about 1,300 employees from an Indian tobacco company booked a vacation on the Voyager of the Seas and basically ran "amok" with women they brought aboard dressed as Playboy Bunnies. (Passengers say there was a "bloodbath" on a Carnival ship earlier this year.)


Here is a news article: Advertisement

 The mother of a 6-year-old girl whose photo appeared on an anti-abortion billboard targeting African Americans is suing the ad company that created the campaign, claiming it violated the terms her contract.

 The controversial ad, which initially caused a stir in February, featured Anissa Fraser, 4 at the time, in a sun dress and the warning, “The most dangerous place for an African American is in the womb.”

 The ad triggered a tsunami of outrage, culminating in the Reverend Al Sharpton threatening to picket its location near the mouth of the Holland Tunnel in Manhattan.

 The target of the suit, Heroic Media, which developed the ad for anti-abortion group Life Always, stood by its work at first, saying that it was designed to “provoke a visceral reaction.” Life Always Pastor Stephen Broden told the press at the time that Anissa was selected for the billboard “because of her innocence.”

 But the Christian group eventually bowed to public pressure and took the ad down.

 Tricia Fraser, the mother of Anissa, says in the suit that she never agreed to have her daughter’s image associated with “an offensive, defamatory, and racist statement.” She said that she only signed a release allowing her daughter to be photographed for stock "family photos."

 The photo was purchased by Heroic Media from the photo agency Getty Images with the agreement that it would not be used "in connection with a subject that would be unflattering or unduly controversial to a reasonable person," a condition that she charges Heroic violated.

 Fraser said that as a result of the controversial ad she was forced into the awkward position of having to explain to her daughter about the birds and the bees—and what it had to do with her picture appearing in the national media.

 "While Life Always and Heroic Media certainly have the right to engage in such offensive speech, they do not have the right to exploit the likeness of an innocent child to do so," she says in the complaint.

 Fraser also claims her daughter’s budding modeling career, which had been taking off since the 2009 photo shoot, is now in a tailspin. “Anissa has also suffered from emotional distress resulting from the use of her image in the New York billboard, as well as damage it has caused her career,” the New Jersey mother said in court papers.

 Heroic Media, Life Always, and Pastor Broden did not immediately respond to calls for comment.

  ||||| Mom Says Anti-Abortion Groups Used Girl's Photo in 'Racist' Ads MANHATTAN (CN) - A little girl's mother sued an anti-abortion group, claiming it used her daughter's picture in "a racist, controversial advertising campaign" that is "defamatory, unauthorized, and offensive," posting the 4-year-old girl's photo on a giant billboard by the Holland Tunnel, with the message: "the most dangerous place for an African American is in the womb."

 Tricia Fraser sued Life Always and Majella Cares dba Heroic Media, in New York County Court.

 Fraser says neither she nor her daughter, Anissa, "had any forewarning of these controversial advertisements - nor of the websites on which defendants posted Anissa's image as part of their propaganda campaign. While Life Always and Heroic Media certainly have the right to engage in such offensive speech, they do not have the right to exploit the likeness of an innocent child to do so. Defendants' conduct is illegal; it violates the express terms of a contract and New York statute."

 Fraser says the defendants used her daughter's picture in "massive billboards on a busy street in Manhattan outside the entrance to the Holland Tunnel, and in Jacksonville, Florida". The photo was taken when Anissa was 4 years old.

 The defendants operate out of Texas, and work "to discourage women from exercising their constitutional rights to reproductive freedom via messages in billboard advertising" and on the Internet, Fraser says.

 She says she responded to an ad on the NYCastings.com website, "seeking models for 'family photos,'" and that neither she nor her daughters were paid a dime for it - though they did get copies of the photos.

 "Ms. Fraser was led to believe that the photos would be used by the photographer to publicize his own work. At no point was she told that they might be used to illustrate a controversial message or as political propaganda," she says.

 She says the defendants bought a license to use the photo of Anissa from Getty Images, "as part of a campaign designed to shame African-American women from exercising their constitutional rights to reproductive freedom."

 The defendants erected the New York billboard in February. Its message directed viewers to Thatsabortion.com, which is registered to Majella Cares.

 Fraser said a Life Always representative, Stephen Broder, told her "that Anissa was used as a 'prop' and selected for the advertising campaign 'because of her innocence.'"

 She adds: "the New York billboard was defamatory of Anissa and/or her mother in that it gave the false suggestion, impression, and implication that they approved of the racist and offensive message contained therein."

 She says the billboard "caused substantial controversy, reported throughout international media and on the Internet and addressed by numerous public officials and figures. Through this media coverage, which defendants anticipated, intended, and sought, Anissa's image was widely disseminated throughout the world in connection with an offensive, defamatory, and racist statement."

 She claims the release she signed in the photo studio specifically excluded defamatory uses of the photos. She says both she and her daughter, now 6, have suffered emotional distress from seeing Anissa's photo used that way. And she says the ads will hurt her daughter's career.

 Fraser demands punitive damages for violation of New York civil rights law and breach of contract, disgorgement of any money the defendants raised from Anissa's image, and an injunction prohibiting them from using her image "in any way."

 The Frasers are represented by Andrew Celli Jr., with Emery Celli Brinckerhoff & Abady. |||||
A summary of this is?

– A New Jersey mom is suing after her daughter ended up on an anti-abortion billboard in New York City, reports Adweek. Tricia Frasier called the use of her daughter's image by Life Always and its ad company "defamatory, unauthorized, and offensive," notes Courthouse News Service. The billboard drew controversy with its photo of a black child—then 4-year-old Anissa Frasier—and the accompanying slogan, “The most dangerous place for an African American is in the womb.” Life Always quickly took down the billboard amid loud protests. The group's ad company, Heroic Media, bought the stock photo of Anissa from Getty Images with a standard clause forbidding its use "in connection with a subject that would be unflattering or unduly controversial to a reasonable person." Tricia Fraser says those terms were violated. She maintains her daughter's modeling career could be harmed—plus she had to give a talk about the birds and the bees way ahead of schedule.


Here is a news article: If you have siblings, you are likely to have had the ongoing debate about who is mom's favorite. But according to a new study, winning that title is not necessarily a good thing; it may increase the risk for depression.

 Adult children who felt they were emotionally closer to their mother than their siblings were more likely to show signs of depression. Adult children who felt they were emotionally closer to their mother than their siblings were more likely to show signs of depression.

 Study coauthor Jill Suitor, a professor of sociology at Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN, and colleagues publish their findings in the Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences.

 The study involved 725 adult children from 309 families who were a part of the Within-Family Differences Study - a longitudinal project that aims to gain a better understanding of the relationship between parents and their adult children.

 Mothers in each family were aged between 65-75 in 2001 when the study began, and data on children's perceptions of favoritism and disfavoritism from mothers were assessed 7 years apart.

 Specifically, the researchers looked at data on four measures of favoritism and disfavoritism: children's perception of emotional closeness with their mother, their perception of conflict, their perception of pride from their mother, and their perception of disappointment. The team also assessed depressive symptoms among the children.

 Sibling rivalry due to favoritism may induce depressive symptoms

 The team found the highest reports of depressive symptoms came from children who believed they were emotionally closer to their mother than their siblings and those who believed they were the sibling their mother was most disappointed in.

 The team also analyzed their findings by race; they explain that previous studies have demonstrated higher levels of closeness between older mothers and adult children in black families. Around a quarter of the families in the study were black.

 "What we found suggests that the black offspring were particularly distressed when they, as opposed to their siblings, were the children in whom mothers were most disappointed," says Suitor.

 Commenting on the take-home message from their results, the authors say:

 "These patterns suggest that the association between psychological well-being and both favoritism and disfavoritism can be accounted for by processes involving social comparison rather than equity for both black and white adult children in midlife."

 Next, the team plans to investigate whether similar results arise from studying adult children's perceptions of favoritism and disfavoritsm from fathers. They also want to study whether they can predict favoritism between mothers and adult children.

 In September, Medical News Today reported on a study that suggests young children of parents who are warmer and less controlling are more likely to have greater life satisfaction and mental well-being in adulthood.

 And more recently, a controversial study reported by MNT suggests children of religious parents are less likely to be generous than those of non-religious parents. ||||| Starting in 1996, Alexa Internet has been donating their crawl data to the Internet Archive. Flowing in every day, these data are added to the Wayback Machine after an embargo period. ||||| Are you your mother’s favorite? While that may seem like an advantage, think again, say Purdue University researchers. Their new study indicates you are not guaranteed psychological resilience as a result of protective love.

 “Adult children who reported that they were most emotionally close to their mothers also reported higher depressive symptoms,” wrote the authors of the new study.

 Apparently, no one gets off easy, because it wasn’t only the mama’s boys and mommy’s girls who grew up to be sad adults.

 “Depressive symptoms were also higher when respondents identified themselves as being the children with whom their mothers had the greatest conflict, and in whom the mothers were most disappointed,” wrote the authors.

 The One Thing Moms Never Tell

 Though a good mother would never admit it, she really does have a favorite child, according to previous studies conducted by the research team. Dr. Jill Suitor, a professor of sociology at Purdue, and Dr. Karl Pillemer, a professor of gerontology in medicine at the Weill Cornell Medical College, first began their collaboration on the Within-Family Differences Study (WFDS) in 2001. Their goal was to achieve a greater understanding of relations in aging families. The researchers collected data from 725 adult children (average age of 49) within 309 families in which mothers were between the ages of 65 and 75 when the project began. The study occurred in two phases seven years apart.

 The researchers analyzed the adult children and their relationships with their mothers, looking in particular at four dimensions of favoritism/disfavoritism: emotional closeness, conflict, pride, and disappointment. Surprisingly — or possibly not — the siblings continued to compare themselves to each other well into middle age. The constant appraisal and judgments, the researchers discovered, were the root cause of unhappiness.

 Apparently, those adults who were perceived to be closer to the mother experienced more tension from their siblings, while also feeling greater responsibility for taking care of their aging mothers. Meanwhile, those who argued with their mothers or felt they’d disappointed her also suffered. In particular, disappointing Mom affected black adult children more than white adult children. However, this was the single racial difference discovered by the researchers.

 The study results also indicate no differences based on gender. Both sons and daughters felt the weight of their mother’s opinion, whether good or bad, equally.

 Source: Suitor JJ, Gilligan M, Peng S, Jung JH, Pillemer K. Role of Perceived Maternal Favoritism and Disfavoritism in Adult Children's Psychological Well-Being. Journal of Gerontology Social Sciences. 2015. ||||| This article explores whether understanding of the effects of children's problems on older parents' well-being can be advanced by exploring differences in parent-child relationships within families. Using data from a study in which mothers reported on all adult children, we addressed the question: Do patterns of maternal favoritism moderate the impact of children's problems on psychological well-being? Based on the literature on the effects of children's problems and on parental favoritism, we hypothesized that problems in the lives of favored adult children will have a more detrimental impact than when they affect unfavored offspring. Results revealed strong and detrimental effects of any offspring's problems on mothers' well-being; these effects occurred, however, regardless of parental preference for an adult child. The findings suggest that the well-documented effects of parental preference may be limited in domains such as problems and difficult transitions in adult children's lives.

 © The Author(s) 2015. |||||
A summary of this is?

– Always hoped you're mom's favorite? A new study out of Purdue University finds that the favorite child is actually more prone to be depressed as an adult, researchers report in the Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences. Looking at 725 adult children from 309 families in the Within-Family Differences Study—a longitudinal project documenting various aspects of relationships between parents and their adult children—they say that depressive symptoms were most common in the adult children who claimed to be emotionally closer to their mother than their siblings, reports Medical News Today. That also held true for "the children with whom their mothers had the greatest conflict, and in whom the mothers were most disappointed," write the authors. Interestingly, the study found no difference between male and female children, but it did find a racial disparity, notes Medical Daily. Adult black children felt their mother's disappointment more acutely than their white counterparts. Researchers hypothesize that sibling rivalry may be behind the depression, meaning more attention or support from mom doesn't necessarily beat out the negative attention from jealous siblings. Or that the favorites are more often asked to help the aging mother, which is its own source of stress. (The adult children in the study had mothers who were 65 to 75 when interviewed.) And yet a third possibility is posed by Bustle: A mother's attention may naturally drift toward the weakest or most sensitive child, thus her favoritism doesn't necessarily cause depression. Researchers plan to look at whether similar results play out with fathers, and whether it's possible to predict favoritism. (One study finds that young kids in religious households are less willing to share stickers.)


Reuters U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, U.S., February 2, 2017.

 President Donald Trump on Thursday used his address at the National Prayer Breakfast to cover a lot of ground, from joking about praying for the ratings of rival Apprentice host, Arnold Schwarzenegger, to invoking the need to fight terrorism to protect religious freedom.

 But the most topical comments may have come with respect to what Trump said about his phone calls with foreign leaders.

 “The world is in trouble, but we’re going to straighten it out, okay, that’s what I do, I fix things, we’re going to straighten it out, believe me. When you hear about the tough phone calls I’m having, don’t worry about, just don’t worry about it.” President Trump

 The “tough phone calls” were a reference to reports about his conversations with Mexico and Australia. According to reports, Trump told Mexico’s president, Enrique Pena Nieto, that he could be forced to send in troops to deal with the southern neighbor’s “bad hombres.”

 Trump also blasted Australia’s prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, over a deal where the U.S. will take in 1,250 refugees from an Australian detention center. ||||| Campaigners have denounced Donald Trump’s vow to repeal a law that stops religious groups endorsing or campaigning for political candidates – claiming it would damage both America’s democracy and its houses of worship.

 Speaking at a National Prayer Breakfast in Washington DC, the US President said he would “totally destroy” the Johnson Amendment, a piece of legislation dating from 1954. The provision threatens churches and other religious institutions with the loss of their tax-exempt status if they “campaign from the pulpit”.

 “I will get rid of and totally destroy the Johnson Amendment and allow our representatives of faith to speak freely and without fear of retribution,” said Mr Trump.

 Trump pledges to destroy Johnson amendment

 He added: “Jefferson asked, ‘Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are the gift of God’. Among those freedoms is the right to worship according to our own beliefs.”

 But activists fighting to retain America’s separation between church and state, have condemned the remarks, saying the move would open the way to a flood of money entering politics through unregulated, tax free churches. They also claim polls show an overwhelming majority of people – along with members of the clergy – do not want the law repealed.

 “If the law is repealed, it would lead to the funnelling of money into political campaigns with no way to check,” Rob Boston, Director of Communications for the Americans United for Separation of Church and State, told The Independent.

 Mr Boston said polls showed most Americans did not support repealing the law. He cited a surgery carried out last year by LifeWay Research, which found that 79 per cent of people thought pastors should not endorse candidates during a church service.

 He said he believed the move had had been pushed on Mr Trump by members of the religious right, including Jerry Falwell Jr, the president of the largest Christian college in the world and a key supporter of the New York tycoon. He said Mr Falwell’s father, a major religious leader, had fallen foul of the law during the 1980s.

 Mr Boston said he believed the move could also detrimentally affect America’s houses of worship. “There are a number of reasons why people go to a place of worship. But rarely are they looking for guidance on who to vote for,” he said.

 Steve Benen, a political writer and blogger, wrote on MSNBC: “Why does Trump want to change this? Basically because the religious right told him to. But why does the religious right want this? Because some on the right still dream of creating a church-based political machine.”

 Rabbi Jack Moline, President of the Washington-based Interfaith Alliance, said that Mr Trump’s claim that the clergy were too afraid to speak openly, was a “lie that has been advanced for years by the religious right”.

 “President Trump's attack on the Johnson Amendment, if successful, would undermine religious freedom by plunging houses of worship into partisan politics and inviting the rewards and punishments of patronage,” he said.

 “What’s more, houses of worships would become conduits for unregulated “dark money” in elections, with no restrictions or disclosure requirements.”

 At the gathering of religious leaders in the nation’s capital, Mr Trump also joked about the poor ratings of Arnold Schwarzenegger since he took over as host of The Apprentice.

 He also defended his recent executive order on immigration, decrying “generous” immigration policies and arguing that there were people who sought to enter the country “for the purpose of spreading violence or oppressing other people based upon their faith.”

 According to the Associated Press, he said: “In the coming days we will develop a system to help ensure that those admitted into our country fully embrace our values of religious and personal liberty and that they reject any form of oppression and discrimination.” ||||| Ann Voskamp has been a successful Christian author for the past decade, with a largely conservative evangelical audience. On Thursday morning, she stood outside the National Prayer Breakfast to protest President Trump’s order restricting entry into the U.S. by people from seven predominantly Muslim countries.

 “I just think we’re called as the church right now to stand up and to be on the right side of history that says, ‘We will risk, we will open the doors for children who are starving,’” Voskamp said, holding a sign and standing outside the Washington Hilton as Trump spoke to religious leaders inside. “If we as Christians say we are pro-life, that means we have to be pro-refugee.”

 Voskamp and her friend Vickie Reddy co-founded a group called We Welcome Refugees after a trip to Iraq in 2015.

 “I sat in a shipping container with Yazidi women who had fled ISIS up Mount Sinjar. They had two arms and they had to decide which of their little children they could grab and take with them and which of their children they would lose. And sitting there, listening to their stories, stewarding their stories, I realized it could be me,” Voskamp said. “I think once you look into the eyes of people who have fled war, who have left home because home has become the mouth of a monster, you realize that national security can’t ever negate compassion for people who need refuge. Jesus was a refugee. We’re called to love our neighbor without exception.”

 Reddy also attended the protest Thursday morning, which drew about 150 members of local churches, many of which have been working to help refugee families find housing and jobs. Both Voskamp and Reddy said they had never taken part in any kind of political protest before.

 “We just wanted this to be a prayerful witness … to give moral courage to people walking in the room,” Reddy said.

 “I think compassion and security don’t have to be mutually exclusive. I know how the refugee resettlement program works. I know how thorough the vetting is,” she said. “There’s always room for security to be relooked at and reconsidered, and absolutely we should be doing that, but I think that the shutting down of the program for any period of time and preventing Syrian refugees from coming here is not necessary. … The reality is that being a refugee is one of the hardest ways to get into this country. It’s not an easy way for terrorists to infiltrate or anything like that, because the vetting is so thorough.”

 Michael Wear, who was a top White House faith issues adviser to President Obama during his first term, and who oversaw faith outreach in Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign, took part in the protest as well.

 “Especially as Donald Trump is receiving a lot of acclaim from some portions of the religious community for his Supreme Court nomination, it was important that the message was sent that we’re not forgetting about this [executive order],” Wear said. “We’re going to affirm when he does good and we’re going to stand up when he does wrong. … I’m glad to be outside the breakfast this year.”

 “The travel ban should be rescinded,” Wear said.

 Voskamp said she expected to be criticized by many evangelicals, but felt it was vital to take a stand.

 “We need to keep talking to each other, we need to keep dialoguing. We need to keep educating each other about what the process already is,” she said.

 Voskamp said that last fall she and her family sponsored a family that relocated to the U.S., and they’re in the process of sponsoring three more.

 “We’re looking at children right now in Aleppo who are starving to death,” she said. Our refugee family, our newcomer family, has told us that they have family in Aleppo eating grass.”

 Read more from Yahoo News: ||||| President Trump, speaking at the National Prayer Breakfast, promised to "get rid of and totally destroy the Johnson Amendment," which prohibits some tax-exempt organizations like churches from supporting political candidates, on Feb. 2. (The Washington Post)

 A version of this story was first posted on Feb. 2, 2017. It has been updated.

 President Trump is expected to sign an executive order on Thursday relaxing rules that bar tax-exempt churches from participating in politics.

 The move, which is part of a broader step on religious liberty, aims to fulfill a promise Trump made repeatedly during his campaign that he would do away with something known as the Johnson Amendment. In his address at the National Prayer Breakfast on Feb. 2, he vowed again, “I will get rid of and totally destroy the Johnson Amendment.”

 What is that? Is it in Trump’s power to destroy it? And who would want him to do that?

 What the Johnson Amendment is: It’s named for Lyndon B. Johnson, who introduced it in the Senate in 1954, nine years before he became president. It bans all tax-exempt nonprofits — which includes churches and other houses of worship, as well as charities — from “directly or indirectly” participating in any political candidate’s campaign.

 President Trump has vowed to repeal the Johnson Amendment, because he says it infringes on the freedom of speech of religious groups. Here is what you need to know about this amendment. (Bastien Inzaurralde/The Washington Post)

 What Trump can do: Trump presented the ban on participating in politicking as a restriction on the freedom of faith groups to put their religion in action, if their religion calls on them to campaign for a candidate. The Johnson Amendment is part of the tax code, so to completely remove it would take an act of Congress.

 “If he ‘totally destroys’ the Johnson Amendment, he will way overreach and open an enormous loophole,” said Douglas Laycock, professor at University of Virginia Law School and an expert on religious freedom who has urged Congress to fix the amendment. What Trump could do, however, is direct law enforcement discretion elsewhere or maybe say it’s unconstitutional.

 The next president could direct the IRS to enforce it, for example, but churches would be free from worry about their political speech or donations during Trump’s term.

 How it actually works: Most of the discussion of the Johnson Amendment, whether coming from Trump or from pastors, focuses on whether clergy put their churches’ tax-exempt status at risk when they endorse their favorite candidates from the pulpit.

 But in reality, the Internal Revenue Service very rarely punishes churches for political statements. For several years, more than 2,000 pastors have joined what they call “Pulpit Freedom Sunday” to test the ban by speaking their political views in their sermons — and the IRS investigated one and did not punish in that case, according to the conservative organization that organizes the annual effort. In the 1990s, a church called Branch Ministries lost its tax-exempt status after taking out a full-page ad against President Bill Clinton in USA Today.

 But the Johnson Amendment has not been at the forefront of the debate about religious liberty, which has in recent years been centered around contraceptive access and LGBT rights.

 “In the universe of religious freedom issues facing our country today, the Johnson Amendment doesn’t come even close to the top,” said John Inazu, professor of religion and law at Washington University in St. Louis. “My hunch is that one or two of Trump’s ‘religious advisers’ mentioned the Johnson Amendment early in the campaign. But how and why they focused on that issue is beyond me.”

 What Trump hasn’t talked about in his speeches about the Johnson Amendment is the implication for how churches can spend their money, not just how clergy can talk about candidates.

 “Most people’s concern is if you allow churches to freely allow political activity — churches, synagogues, temples, whatever the religious organization — now what you’ve done is you’ve turned those into Super PACs,” said David Herzig, a Valparaiso University tax law professor.

 Churches would be freed to use their budgets to support campaigning — and citizens would get a tax deduction for contributing to the church, which would still be a 501(c)3 nonprofit. Also, Herzig pointed out, nonprofits like churches aren’t required to make the same public disclosures as PACs, so political funding could theoretically become much less transparent if campaign funding were funneled through churches.

 Some critics are worried doing away with the amendment could allow a huge flow of money in campaigning between churches and candidates. But, Herzig says, even without the Johnson Amendment, the country’s tax law severely constrains churches’ ability to engage in politics.

 Who wants it gone: Until Trump’s campaign, the Johnson Amendment rarely came up in political discussion. Some pastors, including those 2,000 who publicly oppose the policy on Pulpit Freedom Sunday, objected to the ban, but it wasn’t high on most Christians’ policy wish list.

 LifeWay, a Christian polling firm, found in 2015 that 79 percent of Americans thought clergy should not endorse candidates during worship services. Evangelicals were more likely to say pastors should be able to do so — 25 percent compared to 16 percent — but support for clergy endorsements was low across the board.

 Trump’s attack on the Johnson Amendment has found eager supporters, though, including Jerry Falwell, Jr., president of Liberty University, and other prominent evangelicals who supported his presidential campaign.

 Falwell said on Wednesday that Liberty officials have been “harassed” by organizations that would report the university for violating the Johnson Amendment.

 “I don’t think it was being enforced anyhow, but it had a chilling effect on pastors and conservative universities,” Falwell said.

 On the other hand, many religious groups like their nonpolitical status just fine the way it is.

 Interfaith Alliance president Rabbi Jack Moline said on Wednesday that the Johnson Amendment has prevented houses of worship from being turned into partisan political tools.

 “To hear the Religious Right say it, clergy in America are being muzzled. But that’s a lie,” he said in a statement. “Repealing the Johnson Amendment is nothing more than President Trump carrying water for the Religious Right.”

 According a 2016 survey the Pew Research Center, about 10 percent of parishioners say they have heard direct support for or opposition to a specific candidate. Among those who heard religious leaders speak out for a candidate, Hillary Clinton was the name mentioned most often, with 6 percent of recent churchgoers saying their clergy had spoken out in support of her. Black Protestants were much more likely to say they had heard their clergy speak out directly about specific political candidates, according to Pew. ||||| Trump is championing an agenda of religious nationalism. Along with key White House staffers like Stephen Bannon, he believes America represents a set of values, rooted in the country’s religious identity. While there’s little evidence that Trump himself is religiously devout, he has benefited from affiliations with largely white evangelical leaders such as Jerry Falwell Jr.

 During his speech, Trump argued that America’s religiously grounded values are being attacked—not just through acts of violence, but through ideological erosion. “We will not allow a beachhead of intolerance to spread in our nation,” Trump said on Thursday, seeming to refer to the “radical Islamic extremism” he has emphasized in past speeches. “You look all over the world and see what’s happening.” He will defend these values, he said, because “that’s what people want: one beautiful nation under God.”

 America was not always “one nation under God”—at least, not officially. The words “under God” weren’t added to the pledge of allegiance until 1954, during the presidency of Dwight Eisenhower—not coincidentally, the first president to convene the National Prayer Breakfast. Over time, this relatively new tradition has become a mandatory exercise for commanders in chief; and during the breakfast this year, Trump specifically praised Eisenhower for kicking it off.

 In many ways, Trump’s vision of religious nationalism is a continuation of Republican presidents before him. In an interview in August, the Princeton University professor Kevin Kruse pointed out that Trump’s religious rhetoric more closely resembles Nixon’s than Eisenhower’s: “He used it to justify the extent of the Vietnam War and Cambodia; he used it to advance all sorts of Silent Majority proposals before Congress,” Kruse told me. “That’s what you see in Trump today: It’s much more of a defensive pushback against people who are seen as outside one nation under God.”

 This echoes recent findings of the Pew Research Center on Americans’ sense of their own national identity. While only a third of Americans believe being Christian is a very important part of being American, the numbers are split neatly along party and denominational lines: 43 percent of Republicans were likely to say that’s the case, compared to 29 percent of Democrats, and 57 percent of white evangelical Protestants said the same. Trump’s message seems to be directed toward these groups: He is affirming their sense of the tie between national and religious identity, and pushing back against those who would diminish either of those identities.

 And he’s doing this through fear. In his comments at the prayer breakfast, Trump gave a graphic description of Christians being murdered overseas: “They cut off the heads, they drown people in steel cages,” he said. He also spoke “peace-loving Muslims brutalized, victimized, murdered and oppressed by ISIS killers,” and the threats against the Jewish people. He was inclusive in his description of those who are under threat, for the sake of emphasizing the need for fear: “We have seen unimaginable violence carried out in the name of religion,” he said, “acts of wanton abuse of minorities, horrors on a scale that defy description.” The fundamental threat to religious freedom, he said, is terrorism.

 While Trump has often spoken about the need for safety and security, his comments at the prayer-breakfast offer a look at the ideological framework beneath that call. Like his Republican predecessors, he has aligned himself with a vision of America that is strong and powerful because of its piety. Against the threat of foreigners, terrorists, and corrupting ideologies, the United States will be one, beautiful nation—and in Trump’s view, that’s only possible under God.

 We want to hear what you think about this article. Submit a letter to the editor or write to letters@theatlantic.com. ||||| Every year during Barack Obama’s presidency, the Democrat would make an appearance at the National Prayer Breakfast, where he’d deliver pensive, thought-provoking remarks about the depths of his Christian faith. And nearly every year, conservatives would express their outrage over the ideas the president challenged them to consider.Donald Trump is clearly a very different kind of president, and his remarks at the National Prayer Breakfast captured an almost unrecognizable perspective.For example, the Republican thought it’d be wise to reflect on his NBC reality show. “[W]e had tremendous success on ‘The Apprentice,’” Trump said, adding, “And they hired a big, big movie star, Arnold Schwarzenegger, to take my place. And we know how that turned out. The ratings went down the tubes. It’s been a total disaster and Mark will never, ever bet against Trump again. And I want to just pray for Arnold if we can, for those ratings, OK?”Yes, the president used the National Prayer Breakfast to talk about television ratings for a reality show – which he remains the executive producer of – because everything at all times is about him and his career.Trump went on to use inspirational rhetoric such as, “The world is in trouble, but we’re going to straighten it out. OK? That’s what I do. I fix things. We’re going to straighten it out. Believe me. When you hear about the tough phone calls I’m having, don’t worry about it. Just don’t worry about it.”But there was a substantive element of the speech that probably mattered more than Trump’s embarrassing boasts:

 “It was the great Thomas Jefferson who said, ‘The God who gave us life, gave us liberty.’ Jefferson asked, ‘Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are the gift of God?’ “Among those freedoms is the right to worship according to our own beliefs. That is why I will get rid of and totally destroy the Johnson Amendment and allow our representatives of faith to speak freely and without fear of retribution. I will do that, remember.”

 For now, let’s put aside the complexities of Jefferson’s approach to religion and focus instead on Trump’s intentions to “totally destroy the Johnson Amendment.”Circling back to our previous coverage , those who followed Trump’s campaign closely may recall his frequent references to the Johnson Amendment – a policy of great concern to the religious right movement and evangelical Christians, but something most of the country has probably never heard of.So, what is it? Under current federal tax law, tax-exempt houses of worship are not allowed to intervene in partisan political campaigns. Ministries can obviously speak out on moral and spiritual issues of the day, and can even get involved in ballot referenda related to various policies, but churches and other houses of worship can’t take steps to help (or hurt) candidates or political parties.

 This law was created in 1954 , thanks to the efforts of then-Sen. Lyndon Johnson, and for the most part, it hasn’t been especially controversial.

 But as the religious right movement became a more prominent fixture in Republican politics, the Johnson Amendment became problematic. Efforts to create a political machine involving pastors and congregations were stunted by the law – because if a religious leader can’t tell his or her congregation who to vote for without risking the ministry’s tax-exempt status, the movement’s potency has limits.

 And so the religious right decided the Johnson Amendment has to go. It even came up with an argument that seems vaguely compelling at first blush: those who lead houses of worship should be able to say whatever they wish to their congregants, and it’s not the government’s job to intervene. The First Amendment’s free-speech protections, the argument goes, should be applied to ministers in the pulpit.

 What’s wrong with that argument? Quite a bit, actually.

 As we discussed a couple of years ago, when it comes to electioneering and tax law, houses of worship have effectively made a deal with the government: the pastors will enjoy the benefits of a tax-exemption, and in exchange, their ministry will be non-partisan.

 Trump is saying he wants to scrap the deal: the churches should get the benefit of a tax exemption from the government, without any of the conditions.

 As for the First Amendment, note that tax-exempt entities, including churches, have the option of getting engaged in partisan politics, endorsing candidates, and intervening in campaigns to their hearts’ content – but they can’t do this while keeping their tax exemption.

 Why does Trump want to change this? Basically because the religious right told him to. But why does the religious right want this? Because some on the right still dream of creating a church-based political machine.

 The consequences could be dramatic. Imagine the campaign-finance mess that would exist if parties, candidates, and PACs could funnel campaign donations through tax-exempt churches, free of oversight.

 That’s the system the Republican is vowing to create, and it matters more than the latest unfortunate joke about “The Apprentice.”

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What is a one-paragraph summary of the above article?

– Yes, President Trump took the opportunity of the National Prayer Breakfast to drag Arnold Schwarzenegger and his weak Celebrity Apprentice ratings. But he also brought up something arguably just as important: the Johnson Amendment, which he vowed to "totally destroy." Here's what you need to know: The Washington Post has a great explanation of the Johnson Amendment, which basically bans churches and charities from participating in political campaigns unless they give up tax-exempt status. Getting rid of the Johnson Amendment is part of Trump's emerging "agenda of religious nationalism," in which the president is linking being American with being Christian, the Atlantic reports. MSNBC weighs in on why promising to "totally destroy" the Johnson Amendment is important. One such reason is that it would allow political parties and candidates to "funnel campaign donations through tax-exempt churches" with no oversight. While the Johnson Amendment is wildly unpopular with the religious right, that's not necessarily the case elsewhere, the Independent reports. A survey last year found 79% of people didn't think pastors should endorse candidates. And some religious leaders believe churches would be hurt by entering the partisan world of politics. In addition to the Johnson Amendment and Celebrity Apprentice, Trump also discussed foreign relations, telling those in attendance, "just don't worry about" the "tough phone calls I'm having," apparently in reference to threatening to invade Mexico and picking a fight with Australia, MarketWatch reports. Outside the National Prayer Breakfast, around 150 members of local churches were protesting Trump's Muslim travel ban. One Christian author at the protest tells Yahoo News it's important for the church to "stand up and be on the right side of history."


– One of South Carolina's most notorious serial killers claims to have buried two more bodies near an interstate—but a full day of searching Wednesday failed to find any remains. Police using cadaver dogs searched an area near Interstate 26 in southern Spartanburg County without success after receiving information from a production company making a documentary on Todd Kohlhepp, who is already serving life for seven murders, CBS News reports. Sheriff Chuck Wright said there would be no more searching without new information. "At present, there aren't any plans to go back to the site tomorrow, and that lead will be suspended until Kohlhepp decides to share more detailed information that can be verified," he told WYFF4, adding that while he doesn't want to give Kohlhepp more attention, it is his duty to families of potential victims to investigate. "This will be the last time this happens until he gives me some specifics that I can corroborate, because I don't want it to be one of those things—he wants to stay relevant," he said. (Kohlhepp has previously said he won't disclose how many people he killed.)

Expand this summary.

SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- A South Carolina serial killer already serving life in prison for seven slayings told authorities he has two additional victims buried near an interstate, a sheriff said Tuesday. Spartanburg County Sheriff Chuck Wright said investigators are bringing Todd Kohlhepp to the county to lead them to the supposed location of the bodies, the Greenville News reported.

 "We're trying to get a game plan together to find out exactly where and what to do. Investigators have been talking to him," Wright said. "We're not going to try to keep that quiet. We're going to go search."

 Kohlhepp told investigators that two people are buried near Interstate 26 in Spartanburg County in the northwest part of the state. Wright is unsure who the supposed additional victims are or exactly where they are, he said.

 "We haven't been able to confirm anything he's claimed yet," Wright said. "It's not to say that the details are not sketchy because it's been so long, but we're obligated to go check."

 Kohlhepp is serving seven consecutive life sentences without parole at Broad River Correctional Facility in Columbia after pleading guilty to multiple charges in May 2017. "48 Hours" investigated the case in the episode, "Buried Truth."

 His string of crimes was uncovered in 2016 after police rescued Kala Brown from a storage container where she was chained at the neck and investigators found a body buried in a shallow grave. Brown told investigators she saw Kohlhepp shoot and kill her boyfriend, 32-year-old Charles Carter, who went with her for a cleaning job on Kohlhepp's property in rural Spartanburg County.

 Kohlhepp raped Brown while holding her against her will, and told her he had also killed a husband and wife in December 2015, burying their bodies on his land. Johnny Joe Coxie, 29, had been killed immediately, and Kohlhepp kept 26-year-old Meagan Leigh McCraw-Coxie alive for six days before shooting her in the back of the head on Christmas, Solicitor Barry Barnette said.

 The Associated Press typically doesn't identify victims of sexual assault, but Brown has spoken publicly about her traumatic experience.

 Kohlhepp admitted to her that he had killed four people in the Superbike motorcycle shop in November 2003, the prosecutor said. The owner, Scott Ponder, 30; Beverly Guy, 52; Brian Lucas, 30; and Chris Sherbert, 26 were killed because Kohlhepp thought they were making fun of him. Guy was Ponder's mother and worked as a bookkeeper. Lucas was a service manager, and Sherbert was a mechanic at the shop.

 Kohlhepp's crimes took place over more than a decade as he ran a real estate business.

 According to the plea agreement signed by Kohlhepp, he will serve seven consecutive life terms plus 60 years on kidnapping, sexual assault and other charges. Kohlhepp will not be eligible for parole, and he also agreed not to appeal the sentence.

 Kohlhepp moved to South Carolina in 2001 shortly after 14 years in prison for pleading guilty to kidnapping in Arizona. Authorities there said the then 15-year-old forced a 14-year-old neighbor back to his home at gunpoint, tied her up and raped her.

 Friends and co-workers at Kohlhepp's real estate business said he was a hard worker with some strange habits. He would watch pornographic videos during work and joked on his firm's website that he motivated workers by not feeding them. ||||| The Upstate's most notorious serial killer's claim that there were two more bodies buried in Spartanburg County led to a search Wednesday that failed to turn up anything, officials said.

 Sheriff Chuck Wright said Tuesday that Todd Kohlhepp claimed the bodies were in the Enoree area.

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 "He didn't tell me. He didn't tell our investigators. He told somebody who told us," Wright told WYFF News 4 Tuesday night.

 Lt. Kevin Bobo released the following statement after the search concluded:

 “When Todd Kohlhepp was arrested in November, 2016, he made vague statements to our investigators about committing two homicides prior to the Superbike incident.

 “At that time, we researched his statement and found no evidence to support his claim.

 “Since his incarceration at the S.C. Department of Corrections, he made that same claim to a production company that is filing a documentary about his crimes, but his account to that company differed in some details and also included possible locations of these two alleged victims.

 “Last week, two of our investigators went to the Department of Corrections and interviewed Kohlhepp. Some of the details he shared with our investigators differed from what he had shared with the production company; specifically, that the victims were buried in one location as opposed to two different ones.

 “Those investigators asked Kohlhepp if he would be willing to show us the location of these two alleged victims. Todd Kohlhepp declined that request.

 “Monday and Tuesday, our investigators met with the production company and compared notes to see what was consistent in Kohlhepp’s claims and what wasn’t. That additional research led to numerous deputies and cadaver dogs searching a wooded area at the dead end of a frontage road at Highway 92 and I-26 in Enoree.

 “Again, we didn’t find any evidence to support his claim. At present, there aren’t any plans to go back to the site tomorrow, and that lead will be suspended until Kohlhepp decides to share more detailed information that can be verified.”

 Maria Awes, senior vice president of Committee Films, confirmed in a statement late Wednesday afternoon that her company is working on the Kohlhepp documentary.

 “We are currently on the ground filming an exclusive documentary series about Todd Kohlhepp, airing next year on the true crime and justice channel, Investigation Discovery (ID).

 “As this is an active investigation, we are working closely with law enforcement to be completely transparent with our information and filming only within their specified parameters.”

 Tuesday, Wright had said he felt like he was "between a rock and a hard place" because Kohlhepp killed seven people, so they had to check it out.

 The search for more victims

 Deputies and K-9's began to search about 9 a.m.

 “This will be the last time this happens until he gives me some specifics that I can corroborate, because I don’t want it to be one of those things – he wants to stay relevant,” Wright said. “If he’s got more victims, I promise you, there are no limits to what we won’t do, within the law. I am obligated to see if there are anymore victims here, and if so, we’ll do the best we can to find them, and we’ll work it from there.”

 WYFF News 4

 Wright said he didn't want to give more attention to Kohlhepp, but he owed it to the families of possible victims to follow up.

 Dozens of vehicles lined the road near the heavily area where the search took place. The film makers who are producing a documentary on Kohlhepp's victims were also at the scene. Wright said he allowed them to shoot the search "from a distance."

 He said the nonprofit group Foothills Search and Rescue's dogs were used in the search. Wright said the dogs are capable of finding bodies several feet underground, even if they have been buried for years.

 Wright said if they had found any spots they wanted to investigate further, there was an industrial X-ray machine at the scene that is capable of detecting items buried 5 to 7 feet underground.

 Kohlhepp is an admitted serial killer

 Kohlhepp, 47, is serving seven consecutive life sentences plus an additional 60 years in prison after admitting he killed seven people and sexually assaulted a woman that he held captive in a storage container in November 2016.

 Kohlhepp confessed that he killed Beverly Guy, Scott Ponder, Brian Lucas and Chris Sherbert in November 2003 at Superbike Motorsports.

 He confessed to the Superbike Motorsports killings after investigators found Kala Brown, a woman who had been reported missing, on Nov. 4, 2016, chained inside a storage container on Kohlhepp’s property in rural Woodruff.

 She had been reported missing two months before. In the days that followed, authorities also found the bodies of Brown's boyfriend, Charlie Carver, and Meagan Coxie and Johnny Coxie buried on Kohlhelpp's property.

 AlertMe |||||


Article:
Images via Getty/Flatiron Books.

 Glennon Doyle Melton, Christian blogger and author of bestselling books like the recent Oprah’s Book Club selection Love Warrior, “felt like the world could use all the love it can get” on Sunday night, so she decided to publicly announce a recent development in her romantic life. Three months after divorcing her husband Craig, Melton is dating soccer star Abby Wambach.

 In a Facebook post free of labels like “gay,” “bisexual,” or “lesbian,” Melton calls Wambach “deeply sensitive” and “unwaveringly good,” and adds that her children feel pretty much the same way. “The kids call her an M&M,” she writes, “because she looks tough on the outside but inside she’s really mushy and sweet.”

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 After admitting that falling in love with Wambach, a champion soccer player with two Olympic Gold medals, happened more quickly than she could have ever expected, Melton answers some questions she presumes are on the minds of her readers (namely, “OMFG WHAT ABOUT YOUR POOR HUSBAND?!” and “OMFG WHAT ABOUT YOUR POOR KIDS?!”):

 How is Craig? He’s his beautiful, kind, brave self. He’s dating too — and we are both supportive of each other’s relationships. After I told Craig, the first thing he said was: Holy shit. Is this what all the Indigo Girls has been about? I said, WHOA. I DON’T KNOW...MAYBE? How are the kids? I’ll let them speak for themselves, or not. I can tell you that as usual, we’re walking through this together. They have the love and support of their dad, me, their grandparents, their aunts and uncles, their church, their teachers, their friends’ families —all of whom have fallen as hard for Abby as they have. They’re lucky kids, to be surrounded by so much love.

 She ends with one final all-caps proclamation, writing, “PRECIOUS WORLD: I LOVE ABBY.” And I’ll end with one, too. PRECIOUS WORLD, I BARELY KNOW WHO GLENNON DOYLE MELTON IS, BUT I’M GLAD SHE’S HAPPY. WHY NOT. GOOD FOR HER. ||||| Notice

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 In this file photo, Glennon Doyle Melton, author of the blog, Momastery, sits for a portrait in her Naples, Fla. home on Tuesday, August 30, 2016. (Photo by Scott McIntyre for The Washington Post)

 Christian mom blogger Glennon Doyle Melton has announced her engagement to soccer star Abby Wambach. “Abby and I have decided to hold hands forever. Love Wins,” she wrote on Facebook. “Happy. #iseethemoonnow,” Wambach wrote on Instagram. The two have featured their relationship on social media since announcing it in November.

 And then one day it all makes sense. Every bit of it. And you can finally see your past as one long, blessed road leading you home. And you understand that every bit of it was necessary and that every bit of it was holy. Thank you for being my home @abbywambach . I love us. A post shared by Glennon Doyle (@glennondoyle) on Feb 14, 2017 at 6:43am PST

 This story was first published Nov. 14 after Melton announced they were dating.

 Christian author Glennon Doyle Melton — known as the “ultimate confessional writer” for her honest portrayals of her struggling marriage, addiction and eating disorder — has opened up with another big revelation.

 Her partner is a woman and that woman is celebrity soccer champ Abby Wambach.

 The blonde pair smiled together in a photo posted Sunday night on the Momastery blogger and mom of three’s Facebook page. “Oh my God, she is so good to me. She loves me for all the things I’ve always wanted to be loved for. She’s just my favorite. My person,” wrote Melton, best known for her 2014 New York Times bestseller “Carry On, Warrior: The Power of Embracing Your Messy, Beautiful Life” and 2016 memoir “Love Warrior,” an Oprah Book Club pick.

 Feels like the world could use all the love it can get right now. So today, I'm sharing with you my new love. https://t.co/3KuDQ4e0Su pic.twitter.com/6vvxBqNUj4 — Glennon Doyle Melton (@Momastery) November 14, 2016

 Melton’s news comes three months after she announced her divorce from Craig Melton, her husband of 14 years, and two months after Wambach told the media she was divorcing Sarah Huffman, her wife of three years, in the wake of a DUI arrest that pushed her to confront her addiction to alcohol and drugs.

 Glennon Doyle Melton has reiterated for years her position affirming that same-sex marriage is not sinful and celebrating love in various forms. A few Christian writers who champion LGBT rights in the church congratulated Melton on Twitter on Sunday night. (Another Christian mom and blogger, Jen Hatmaker, came under fire last month for announcing her support of same-sex marriage for the first time.)

 [The high cost of popular evangelical Jen Hatmaker’s gay marriage comments]

 In the Facebook post, Melton admitted to her 645,000 followers that yes, it’s been a quick transition to new love. She said her ex-husband supports her relationship with Wambach and that they make “beautiful, modern family” together:

 “They’re lucky kids, to be surrounded by so much love. We have family dinners together — all six of us — and Abby cooks. (She is an AMAZING chef because Jesus loves me). We go to the kids’ school parties together. We are a modern, beautiful family. Our children are loved. So loved. And because of all of that love, they are brave.”

 A second picture shows the two snuggled on a bench, with Wambach playing a guitar.

 Parenting blogger and author Glennon Doyle Melton gives advice to followers during a Facebook live chat April 16, 2016. (Glennon Doyle Melton/Facebook)

 Melton’s coming out follows fellow inspirational author and friend Elizabeth Gilbert, of “Eat, Pray, Love” fame. Gilbert announced in September she was in a romantic relationship with her female best friend, just two months after divorcing over the summer.

 Both Melton and Gilbert, who had not openly been in lesbian relationships before, first shared their news on Facebook, discussed the importance of living their truth and referred to their new partners as “my person.”

 The similarities reflect what fans immediately notice: Both women value transparency and share an open-life-memoir writing style. Both have undergone spiritual journeys, separations and sexual awakenings.

 Glennon Doyle Melton (Scott McIntyre for The Washington Post)

 The two confessional authors also share a connection in a woman so inspirational that her name has become shorthand for a spirituality of its own: Oprah Winfrey. Melton and Gilbert have appeared on her career-making book list and popular programs. During a personable Oprah Winfrey Network interview in September, Oprah called Melton a “breath of fresh air.” “Love Warrior,” Melton’s new memoir, is about the brokenness and healing around her husband’s infidelity.

 Gilbert and Melton met for the first time last fall, but Melton has long admired and been inspired by Gilbert. “For the past decade she has been a minister to me,” she said. Together with Cheryl Strayed (of “Wild“), vulnerability researcher Brené Brown and progressive evangelical pastor Rob Bell — all among Oprah’s “SuperSoulers” — they launched a multimillion-dollar fundraising effort to help refugees.

 Melton blends her healing and inspiration with her faith, and she’s toured to speak about her books at Christian events, including mainline Protestant and nondenominational churches. On her blog, Melton championed her United Church of Christ (UCC) congregation in Naples, Fla. (The UCC is a mainline denomination that advocated for and affirms same-sex marriage. It numbers about 5,000 congregations and 1 million adherents.)

 Support for same-sex marriage continues to edge up among Christians each year, though white mainline Protestants and Catholics, most of whom are in favor, remain more than twice as likely to endorse the practice as white evangelicals, according to a Pew Research Center report.

 [Her marriage was the jewel in her blog universe. Then she found out her husband was cheating.]

 Although Melton regularly speaks at Christian events and churches, her new partner is less outspoken about her faith. Wambach grew up in a Catholic home but began dating girls in late high school, which put her at odds with the faith she was raised with.

 She mentioned during an NPR interview in September that she had been revisiting her religious convictions. “I kind of turned my back away from the church and did steadily until kind of, not necessarily the church, but just like my faith until recently,” she said.

 Melton described her relationship to Wambach:

 “Abby is deeply sensitive and kind. The kids call her an M&M because she looks tough on the outside but inside she’s really mushy and sweet. Abby’s brave. Not just with her words but with her entire being. She has never been afraid to be herself, even when the world told her not to be. I learn from her everyday about the woman I want to become. She is committed to her friends and family. She has this sense of country and honor and chivalry that feels beautiful to me.”

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 Why Christians should not succumb to the apocalyptic language of the election

 The deep disgust for Hillary Clinton that drives so many evangelicals to support Trump |||||Summary:

– Prominent Christian blogger and author Glennon Doyle Melton is dating soccer star Abby Wambach just three months after divorcing her husband, Jezebel reports. Melton revealed the relationship in a Facebook post Sunday night, in which she declared her love for Wambach and acknowledged their relationship has moved quickly. "How is Craig?" she wrote of her ex-husband. "He’s his beautiful, kind, brave self. He’s dating too—and we are both supportive of each other’s relationships. After I told Craig, the first thing he said was: Holy s---. Is this what all the Indigo Girls has been about? I said, WHOA. I DON’T KNOW...MAYBE?" The Washington Post notes that Melton has long supported same-sex marriage.


News article:

In San Pedro, Postal Annex owner Patrick Meehan sells 4x6 inch ILWU postcards. The cards will be sent out for a lottery drawing by the ILWU for casual jobs in the port. Brad Graverson — Staff Photographer

 For the past few days, customers have been streaming nonstop into Patrick Meehan’s usually quiet postal store in San Pedro for a job opportunity not seen in a generation.

 Nearly everyone who walks through the door wants a shot at one of the most well-paid, blue-collar jobs in California — and they need the post cards he sells to get in the lottery.

 “Everywhere was sold out of these cards,” Meehan said, as the phone rang with yet another customer looking for post cards needed to apply for a union job on the docks.

 The last time the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and their employers opened up a call for potential employees was in 2004, before the recession hit and the gig economy took off. More than a quarter-million people applied from around the world for 3,000 part-time jobs.

 Rumors are swirling that even more people are putting their names in the drawing, but officials for InterOptimis, the Moorpark-based company handling the drawing, wouldn’t confirm.

 “It’s a big deal. It’s a good job, it has good benefits,” said Paul Trani, president of ILWU Local 63, representing about 1,100 marine clerks. “PMA was estimating that with the Internet and Facebook we could get as many as a million cards, but I have no idea how many cards we have gotten so far.”

 Post card deadline looming

 Last week, the ILWU and the Pacific Maritime Association ran ads in local newspapers asking for post card submissions that will be drawn in a lottery for the next wave of part-time hires. The deadline is Thursday for most of the post cards to have been received. But for those who happen to know a dockworker or marine clerk, they could catch a break.

 Members of the ILWU and other industry officials have been sent pre-addressed cards to hand out to family and friends. But many in the union didn’t get theirs until late last week, forcing the PMA to extend their deadline for receiving those cards to Tuesday.

 InterOptimis will draw as many public cards as there are union-issued cards submitted. Once there are two sets of cards, InterOptimis will alternatively draw from each until they hit 3,400 names, according to a time line released by the ILWU. But Trani said only 2,400 names will be pulled and it’s not clear how many of those will actually become casuals.

 Union officials will begin the lottery picks Feb. 6, but they haven’t set a location for the drawing.

 “Just the fact that they are opening up the gates is amazing,” said Monique DiLeva, who was picking up seven post cards for family members. “People have been waiting for a long time.”

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 Attractive compensation

 Full-time dockworkers in Los Angeles and Long Beach on average make $123,278, obtain full free medical coverage and receive a pension, according to a 2015 report by the PMA, the terminal operators that hire dockworkers.

 But the PMA doesn’t take applications. To get a full-time job on the docks, one has to first be a so-called casual. Casuals start about $25 an hour but their base rate adjusts as they gain experience. Also, they have no benefits.

 There are about 14,000 dockworkers in the Los Angeles and Long Beach port complex and thousands more casuals. And the only way to become a casual is through the lottery process.

 DiLeva, who started working part-time on the terminals at 19 years old, said the job, though it can be dangerous, has given her a comfortable life.

 “I am not a nurse or a doctor, but it’s a proud thing to be a longshoreman,” said the 31-year-old mother. Like many working near the shores, the union harks back generations in her family. Her father was a dockworker and her husband is, too.

 But those ties also provoke deep questions about the fairness of a system that dates back decades. She worries that not enough of the current part-timers are moving up the ranks. As of December, there were 7,297 longshore workers, according to the PMA.

 Longtime casuals suspicious

 The system is based on seniority, specifically the most hours worked. DiLeva said she clinched a full-time position in just three years, but she knows folks who have been casuals for more than a decade. Those casuals must call in daily to see if there’s work and the off-season tends to be slow.

 In 2015, a change.org petition signed by 167 people called on the union and terminal operators to hold off on any lotteries.

 “If the plan to hire 2,400 new identified casuals goes through as planned, our chances of becoming registered union members and the amount of work we would receive will be drastically reduced,” the petition said.

 Casuals pick up work through a rotating system that gives every member an equal opportunity to work, but they have to be available. Many hold other jobs and don’t pick up every available working hour. The catch is that once a casual’s number in the system is called, they must physically be at the dispatch hall in Wilmington, said Rich Dines, a Long Beach harbor commissioner and a marine clerk who has worked on the waterfront for more than two decades. There is no guarantee of work, however.

 “The hiring of casuals to full time has always based on industry demand,” Dines said. “If you had not gone through the Great Recession, who knows, we may have hired a couple of thousand people. The ports have yet to recover to our peak year of 2006 and 2007.”

 Jobs are worth it

 And though casual life can be demanding, Dines said it’s worth it.

 That’s especially true for low-skilled workers who have seen a steady decline in their wages in other areas of employment.

 “It’s fair to describe this as a lottery,” said Chris Tilly, former director of UCLA Institute for Research on Labor and Employment. “They are trying to hit the jackpot. The days of lots of well-paid factory jobs are gone.”

 Fewer factory jobs exist, global competition is fierce and unions have become weaker, he said.

 “These are terrific jobs,” Tilly said. “These are among the more protected jobs in the economy.” ||||| Starting in 1996, Alexa Internet has been donating their crawl data to the Internet Archive. Flowing in every day, these data are added to the Wayback Machine after an embargo period. ||||| Californians compete for a rare prize: a blue-collar union job paying up to $200,000 Part-time casual longshoremen outside the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Casual Longshore Dispatch Hall in Wilmington, where some lucky workers will nab a shift. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

 If Cynthia Byington wins her version of the lottery, she will probably have to wait a decade to claim her prize. But Byington doesn’t mind, because the reward is a shot at one of the rarest lifelines left for working-class Americans: a unionized blue-collar job.

 In February, for the first time in over a decade, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union will raffle off thousands of part-time gigs working at Los Angeles-area ports. The slots don’t come with benefits or steady hours. But eventually, after putting in years at the docks, some of those part-timers may earn the chance to become unionized longshoremen, who can make as much as $200,000 per year.

 “You get full benefits your entire life. Even if it’s not ‘til I turn 90, it’s worth it,” Byington, 53, said.

 You get full benefits your entire life. Even if it’s not ‘til I turn 90, it’s worth it. — Cynthia Byington

 92430124 Casual longshoremen who showed up for shifts earned less than $31,000 on average in 2016. Full-time union members get paid $161,000 on average. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

 The 2,400 names drawn in the raffle will become “casual” longshoremen.

 Although they perform the same work as union members — loading thousands of containers on and off massive cargo ships to keep the ports running on time — they work far fewer hours. And the wait to receive full union benefits can stretch over a decade.

 The average casual worker who showed up for weekly shifts earned nearly $31,000 in 2016, according to data from the Pacific Maritime Assn., which represents the shipping companies and terminal operators that employ the dockworkers. Full-time union members get paid $161,000 on average, but those with seniority can earn tens of thousands more.

 A worker shows a ticket with her assignment for the day. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

 A part-time worker waits near the gate at the dispatch hall. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

 Today, there are part-timers who have been waiting 13 years to get into the union. But the PMA said that for now, there are no firm plans to elevate any of them.

 Hundreds of thousands are expected to have applied for the new casual slots, the PMA said. Scores of Southern Californians rushed to post offices and postal stores across the South Bay in January, buying up the 4x6-inch blank cards required to enter the raffle.

 At the Postal Annex, a tiny storefront about five miles from the ports in San Pedro, owner Patrick Meehan could barely take a breath without getting a phone call about the lottery. He said hundreds of people streamed into his store in the three days before the deadline hit in late January.

 The massive interest in the longshoremen’s lottery is a sign of just how desperate Americans are to gain even the most tenuous ground toward a stable, high-paying career working with their hands.

 “It says a lot about the state of our current labor market,” said Ken Jacobs, chairman of the UC Berkeley Labor Center. “There are a dwindling number of blue-collar union jobs where people with just a high school education can make a good living.”

 Fewer than 14% of workers in manufacturing, construction and trucking belonged to a union in 2015, down from nearly 40% in 1973, according to a database of Census data compiled by economists from Trinity University and Georgia State University.

 That’s what propelled Byington to put her name in the running.

 “It’s once in a lifetime,” said Byington, who lives in a mobile home in Wilmington. She has seen longshoremen and women buy houses and put their kids through college on their union-won paychecks. Another friend recently got a full set of teeth implants, thanks to union-provided dental care.

 Workers line up on the street to find out if they'll get a shift at the ports. This ritual is repeated every morning for casual longshoremen and women. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

 “If you say someone is a longshoreman, it means respect, even if they are a little spoiled,” Byington said.

 Earning that title, and the respect that comes with it, takes longer than ever.

 In the 1990s, longshoremen would spend three to five years freelancing before they got elevated onto the rolls of the ILWU, according to interviews with more than a dozen current and former casual workers. But then the recession hit, trade faltered, and the PMA temporarily stopped hiring union members.

 The ports are using more automated machines, which is part of the reason the union workforce hasn’t grown much. In 2016, the Port of Los Angeles processed 17% more container traffic than in 2005, but the number of full-time union longshoremen had increased by only 3.5% over that period.

 Longshoremen also say employers have been relying more and more on part-timers.

 “The PMA, terminal employers and ILWU work together to maintain a balanced approach on the number of registered workers needed at the ports,” said Wade Gates, a spokesman for the PMA.

 Craig Merrilees, a spokesman for the union, said the union has traditionally pushed to get more full-time positions, but the dockworkers’ bosses are reluctant. The last time the PMA added full-time union members to the payroll was in 2012.

 “Generally speaking, the employers would like to see more casual workers earning a little less pay,” Merrilees said.

 Mario Huerta says he has been working part time for 10 years at the docks, desperately trying to amass enough experience to become a union longshoreman.

 Huerta and other casuals show up around 6 a.m. at a dingy dispatch hall and wait to hear if their number gets called for one of three shifts at the port. If they don’t get called up in the morning, they can return around 4 in the afternoon for the next round of work opportunities.

 On good weeks, a part-timer will manage to nab two to three eight-hour shifts, casuals said.

 Part-timers gather near the dispatch hall early in the morning. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

 After driving 60 miles to Wilmington from his home in Riverside on a recent Friday, Huerta was assigned a shift that would likely involve securing containers to a ship deck.

 “Sometimes I get work two or three days a week. Sometimes it's only one day a week,” Huerta said, standing in the rain just outside the building where casuals go to get dispatched. He has no idea when the unsteady work will turn into something long-term.

 “How close am I to being elevated? Nobody seems to know,” he said. “At least today I have work.”

 Several others who failed to get work that day said they felt as if they’re being kept out of the union for as long as possible so that the shipping companies can avoid hiring more highly paid, full-time longshoremen.

 Sometimes I get work two or three days a week. Sometimes it's only one day a week — Mario Huerta

 The casuals all cobble together odd jobs on days they can’t find work at the docks, including gigs in construction, landscaping and as security guards.

 Chris Grove, 39, has spent 13 years reporting for duty at the casual hall and says the instability of the work “tore up” his marriage. Grove, who comes from a long line of longshoremen, including his mother, says the work at the ports was steady and continuous until the recession of 2008-2009.

 “I was able to put groceries on the table and keep the wife happy,” he says.

 After the financial crisis, though, his name barely ever came up for shifts. So he got a second job, installing security systems, and then another, installing satellite dishes for DirecTV. He put his name on a list to join an elevator construction union and became a bouncer and then a security guard at a cannabis collective. He even got paid to register voters.

 The work was unpredictable, he says, and his paycheck was so much thinner than it once was.

 Grove still shows up for work at the casual hall some weekends, but now he’s more focused on his day job: In 2014, after waiting for eight years, he was admitted into the International Union of Elevator Constructors and makes good money with a full slate of benefits.

 Times staff writer Ronald D. White contributed to this report.

 Lead photo caption: Part-time casual longshoremen outside the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Casual Longshore Dispatch Hall in Wilmington, where some lucky workers will nab a shift. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

 natalie.kitroeff@latimes.com

 @NatalieKitro |||||
What is a shorter version of the above article?

– It's Willy Wonka's golden ticket but for adults desperate for a blue-collar job in America. The International Longshore and Warehouse Union is holding a drawing for 2,400 part-time jobs loading and unloading shipping containers at ports in the Los Angeles area, the Los Angeles Times reports. While these part-time positions don't come with guaranteed hours or benefits, they do come with the possibility of getting promoted to full-time, unionized longshoreman—a position that had an average salary of $161,000 per year in 2016. It's not a sure thing and it can be a long wait—some workers have been stuck as part-timers for 13 years—but one woman who applied for the lottery calls it a "once in a lifetime opportunity." The ILWU hasn't held this kind of drawing since 2004, the Long Beach Press Telegram reports. Back then, more than 250,000 people entered the lottery; up to a million may enter this time around. The Times says it shows "how desperate" Americans are to even get a shot at a "stable, high-paying career working with their hands." That shot doesn't come without risks. The average part-time longshoreman earned just $31,000 in 2016. And while the ILWU says it's holding the drawing to avoid labor shortages at ports, according to the Journal of Commerce, some long-time part-timers warn of days on end without a shift and a tough lifestyle. The deadline for the entry into the drawing was earlier this month; the drawing is scheduled for Feb. 6.