• Monk Wins $259 Million Powerball Lottery, Finances 'Glory of World' Play About Christian Spiritualist Thomas Merton

  New York's newest play to debut this month, "The Glory of the World," only happened after a onetime Episcopal monk, Roy Cockrum of Knoxville, Ky., bought a Powerball ticket at his local supermarket in 2014 and won $259 million. Written by Charles Mee, the production takes a silence-and-strife-filled look at the life of Thomas Merton, the 20th-century American Catholic thinker who remains a spiritual inspiration and guide for many people.

  

• Georgia Lawmakers to Champion ‘Religious Liberty’ Anti-LGBT Bills, Providing Protection For People Of All Faiths

  When conservative lawmakers in Indiana and Arkansas last year promoted "Religious Freedom Restoration Act" (RFRA) legislation designed to legalize anti-LGBT discrimination, a similar bill was considered in Georgia. Now that proposed measure is set to return among these Southerners legislators, along with another pro-discrimination bill.

  

• 'Duck Dynasty' Willie and Korie Robertson Adopt Teenage Boy, Growing Family To Eight

  "Duck Dynasty's" reality TV star Korie Robertson this week packed a surprise into her New Year Facebook posts: She and her husband, Willie, are adopting a 13-year-old boy. Willie and Korie already are parents to five, with biological children John Luke, Sadie, and Bella, adopted son Will, and their foster daughter, Rebecca, who first came to the family as an exchange student from Taiwan in 2004.

  

• Country Singer Craig Strickland Found Dead in Oklahoma, Wife Still Praises 'Father In Heaven', Bandmates Ask for Prayer for His Family

  After nearly a week of searching, Oklahoma Highway Patrol officials confirmed Monday (Jan. 4) the body of missing country music singer Craig Strickland was recovered. He was a 29-year-old vocalist in the country rock band Backroad Anthem. His body was found in the original search area of Kaw Lake in Oklahoma. Fans already are sending extra prayers to the family on social media.

  

• Supreme Court Scalia: 'Don't Cram' Government Religious Neutrality 'Down Throats of Americans'

  U.S. government having to be neutral about religion is not supported by the Constitution and is not rooted in American history, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia said Saturday at a speech at a Catholic high school in Louisiana.