Six leaders of the Mexico-based La Luz del Mundo megachurch — including its current "apostle," Naasón Joaquín García, his mother and four associates — are facing federal charges of racketeering, child pornography and sex trafficking, under a recently unsealed indictment. Maximum penalties for some of the offenses include life in prison. (Chappell, NPR)
Read MoreA nationwide study of 2,000 adults has found that 54 per cent admitted to exaggerating, fabricating or playing down their viewing habits. The reasons given were split evenly between trying to appear to be “smarter”, “cooler” or more “in the know” than they actually are. (Farber, The Times)
Read MoreMost Christians, 72 percent, also believe people are “basically good at heart” and “should not be pejoratively characterized as sinners,” Barna said, revealing confusion among Christians regarding the biblical concept of sin. (Chandler, Baptist Press)
Read MoreThroughout the 20th century, the Irish government and Catholic Church ran facilities called mother and baby homes, where single women who got pregnant could go to give birth. Mothers typically stayed about a year, while breastfeeding, but were then forced out — without their babies. (Frayer, NPR)
Read MoreDevout Hindus often pilgrimage to temples seeking divine intervention in matters of health, wealth and love. One holy place is known for aiding in a more earthly endeavor: securing a visa to go overseas. (Li& Hassan, The Wall Street Journal)
Read MoreRival AI companies Anthropic and OpenAI have released dueling studies that paint a picture of how people are using their flagship products, ChatGPT and Claude. Both pieces of research analyzed large datasets of user conversations, examining work and non-work-related conversations. (Nolan, Yahoo!)
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