Republicans losing faith in election process, poll finds

Republican voters are becoming increasingly cynical about the way the election process works in America, a Gallup Poll released Friday indicates.

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Of the 1,012 people surveyed from any party, only 30 percent said the process was working the way it should, down from 37 percent who said the same thing in January.

The difference was more stark for GOP voters. Gallup found 30 percent of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents thought the process was working, down from 46 percent who believed in the system in January.

The views of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents were only slightly higher, at 32 percent approval, and had not changed significantly in recent months, according to Gallup.

The numbers came from telephone interviews conducted March 16-17 with a random sample of adults living across the nation.

It was not entirely clear what caused the shift in views on the election process. Gallup speculated the shift was likely due to GOP front-runner Donald Trump's polarizing campaign or the establishment GOP's efforts to stop him.

As evidence for the possible cause, Gallup pointed to the 68 percent of voters who believed at least one candidate for their party's presidential nomination would make a good president. The company also pointed to a recent New York Times/CBS News survey which found that 60 percent of Republican voters felt the party's presidential campaign made them feel "mostly embarrassed by the Republican Party rather than mostly proud."

"Republican establishment leaders' attempt to prevent Trump from getting the GOP nomination may be adding to rank-and-file Republicans' views that the process is not working, either because they support or because they oppose these efforts," Gallup said in an analysis of its survey results.

According to the company, which conducted similar polls during the 2000, 2008 and 2012 election cycles, Americans were most optimistic about the process when polled in January 2008. As Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, John McCain and Rudy Giuliani battled for their party's nomination, 67 percent said they believed in the process.

Just three years later, faith in the election process plummeted to what was then its lowest point. As Barack Obama campaigned for re-election and Republicans worked to find their nominee, only 39 percent of Americans said the process was working as it should.

Bernie Sanders Seizes 3 States, Sweeping Democratic Contests

Senator Bernie Sanders routed Hillary Clinton in all three Democratic presidential contests on Saturday, infusing his underdog campaign with critical momentum and bolstering his argument that the race for the nomination is not a foregone conclusion.

Mr. Sanders found a welcome tableau in the largely white and liberal electorates of the Pacific Northwest, where just days after resoundingly beating Mrs. Clinton in Idaho he repeated the feat in the Washington caucuses, winning 73 percent of the vote. He did even better in Alaska, winning 82 percent of the vote, and in Hawaii, he had 71 percent with a few precincts still be counted, according to The Associated Press.

Washington, the largest prize Saturday with 101 delegates in play, was a vital state for Mr. Sanders, whose prospects of capturing the nomination dimmed after double-digit losses to Mrs. Clinton across the South and weak showings in delegate-rich Ohio, Florida and North Carolina this month. As of Saturday evening, Mrs. Clinton had roughly 280 more pledged delegates, who are awarded based on voting, and 440 more superdelegates — party leaders and elected officials — than Mr. Sanders.

At a rally in Madison, Wis., late Saturday afternoon, Mr. Sanders assured supporters that his victories had cleared a viable path to the nomination. “We knew from day one that politically we were going to have a hard time in the Deep South,” Mr. Sanders said. “But we knew things were going to improve when we headed west.”

Noting the “huge” voter turnout — in Washington, party officials estimated more than 200,000 people participated on Saturday, close to the record set in 2008 — he told the crowd, “We are making significant inroads into Secretary Clinton’s lead.”

The victories on Saturday only slightly narrowed the gulf with Mrs. Clinton in the quest for the 2,382 delegates needed to clinch the Democratic nomination.

But the wins are likely to bestow on the Sanders campaign a surge of online donations with which to buy advertising in the expensive media markets of New York and Pennsylvania, which hold primaries next month. The victory will also embolden Mr. Sanders to stay in the race and continue challenging Mrs. Clinton on her ties to Wall Street and her foreign policy record.

Hotel: Exit door was working after woman found dead inside

ATLANTA (AP) — A downtown Atlanta hotel says it found no problems with the exit door of a walk-in freezer where a woman was found dead inside.

The Westin Peachtree Plaza conducted repeated tests of the freezer door and found that the door handle "worked perfectly" after Carolyn Robinson, 61, was found dead inside, the hotel said in a statement.

Investigators believe Robinson, a kitchen worker, spent about 13 hours inside the freezer before her body was found Tuesday morning.

Police weren't certain whether the mechanism worked properly, adding that finding that out would be up to the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Atlanta police Lt. Charles Hampton said shortly after her death. The federal agency is still investigating.

After Robinson was found, more than 30 tests were done on the exit device on the inside of the freezer door, the Westin said, adding that an OSHA representative took part in the testing.

"In every test the exit device and door worked properly and were fully operational," the hotel said in its statement.

Atlanta Equipment Services, which services that type of freezer, also tested the Westin's unit and found that "the door handle on the freezer worked perfectly," adding that "inside the freezer the push button handle allowed access out of the freezer with ease," the hotel said.

"Obviously, we very much want to know what happened and how, but there are no answers yet. We have to wait for the determination by the medical examiner," the hotel said in its statement.

The Fulton County Medical Examiner hasn't determined how Robinson died.

Workers have died in walk-in freezers in the U.S. — some when they became trapped inside and at least two cases where workers were overcome by carbon dioxide vapor — but such deaths are relatively rare, according to records from OSHA and Associated Press archives.

In June 2012, a restaurant owner in Nashville, Tennessee, died of accidental suffocation by carbon dioxide inhalation after becoming trapped in a cooler, a medical examiner found. Police said Jay Luther went into the cooler and the door shut, trapping him inside. The interior door release was broken. Authorities said the cooler contained dry ice, which had been used to preserve food due a power outage.

In August 2002, a 55-year-old woman froze to death after she became trapped inside a walk-in freezer at a ranch east of Meeker Colorado, Rio Blanco County Sheriff Phil Stubblefield told the AP at the time. Stubblefield said it appeared a safety lock on the door of the freezer had failed and trapped her inside.

In 1999, OSHA blamed two Boston companies after it said a worker became overcome by carbon dioxide fumes. The fumes came from blocks of dry ice, which were being used to preserve food while the freezer was being repaired.

Pope at Easter Recalls Victims of 'Blind, Brutal Terrorism'

Pope Francis tempered his Easter Sunday message of Christian hope with a denunciation of "blind" terrorism, recalling victims of attacks in Europe, Africa and elsewhere, as well as expressing dismay that people fleeing war or poverty are being denied welcome as European countries squabble over the refugee crisis.

Tens of thousands of people patiently endured long lines, backpack inspections and metal-detecting checks Sunday to enter St. Peter's Square. Under a brilliant sun, they listened to Francis deliver the traditional noon Easter speech from the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica.

To their delight, Francis completed a whirl through the square, made colorful with sprays of tulips and other spring flowers, in his open-topped pope-mobile after celebrating Mass on the steps of the basilica. He leaned over barriers to shake hands, as the vehicle ventured past the Vatican's confines, with his bodyguards jogging alongside on the boulevard.

For years, Islamist extremists in social media have listed the Vatican and Rome as potential targets due to hosting the headquarters of the Roman Catholic church and several basilicas. Despite the threats, Francis has kept to his habit of trying to be in close physical contact with ordinary people.

Francis said, for the faithful, Jesus who rose after death by crucifixion "triumphed over evil and sin." He expressed hope that "will draw us closer to the victims of terrorism, that blind and brutal form of violence."

At the end of Mass, he chatted briefly with the former king and queen of Belgium, Albert II and Paola, who attended the ceremony.

In his speech, Francis cited recent attacks in Belgium, Turkey, Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, Ivory Coast and Iraq.

He called the message of Easter "a message of life for all humanity."

Easter "invites us not to forget those men and women seeking a better future, an ever more numerous throng of migrants and refugees — including many children — fleeing from war, hunger, poverty and social injustice," he said.

As he has done repeatedly, Francis lamented that "all too often, these brothers and sisters of ours meet along the way with death or, in any event, rejection by those who could offer them welcome and assistance."

Some European countries have erected barbed-wire fences and other barriers to keep out those who continue to arrive on Greek and Italian shores after risky sea voyages on smugglers' boats. Another strategy has been for some European countries to express a preference for accepting Christian refugees over Muslim ones — which would effectively rule out the vast majority of Syrian refugees.

Most recently, a host of countries along Europe's main migrant route north of Greece to central Europe have simply closed their borders to refugees, stranding thousands of refugee families at different border points.

Francis also decried the destruction and "contempt for humanitarian law" in Syria, millions of whose people have fled to Europe or to refugee camps closer to their homeland.

67% of voters ‘satisfied’ voting for Clinton or Trump, 21% want third party candidate: Fox Poll

Voters are intensely interested in the presidential election, and it’s also making them nervous according to a new Fox News poll. Many also appear to be at either at ease or resigned to the front-runners from both sides of the aisle: 67 percent overall would be “satisfied” voting for either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump; 63 percent of Republicans, 55 percent of independents and 79 percent of Democrats agree with this.

Some are not so satisfied: 21 percent overall would seriously consider a third party candidate; 24 percent of Republicans, 30 percent of independents and 13 percent of Democrats agree. This might be promising news for Gary Johnson, the likely Libertarian Party nominee; he ran for president in 2012 and won 1.2 million votes.

 Some voters are either disgusted or disinterested: 9 percent don’t plan to cast a vote for president at all; 10 percent of Republicans, 13 percent of independents and 6 percent of Democrats agree.

Regardless of their party affiliation, Americans are jittery - and paying attention: 82 percent of U.S. voters feel “nervous about American politics today”; 84 percent of Republicans, 82 percent of independents and 80 percent of Democrats agree.

74 percent overall are “extremely” or “very” interested in the 2016 presidential election; 80 percent of Republicans, 67 percent of independents and 76 percent of Democrats agree.

The source is A Fox News poll of 1,016 registered U.S. voters conducted March 20-22.

By Jennifer Harper - The Washington Times - Saturday, March 26, 2016

Did Jesus' Crucifixion Actually Involve Nails? Here's the Truth About the Easter Story

When it comes to the life and times of one Jesus Christ, how much do we really know? Although Christian iconography widely depicts Jesus as having been nailed to the cross, historians claim there's actually not much evidence that crucifixions actually involved a hammer and nails. 

As Dr. Meredith J. C. (coincidence?) Warren of the University of Sheffield explains for Discovery News, Romans weren't always keen on piercing the hands and feet of those with a cross to bear; often, they chose to affix them to the wooden posts with ropes tied around their wrists (less messy, you know?). In fact, some scholars have argued the original Biblical texts never actually mention crucifixion, let alone nails, in relation to Jesus' death, according to the Telegraph. 

According to Warren, though, the other components of crucifixion were exactly the nightmare you've always pictured: painful and drawn-out, with victims eventually succumbing to asphyxiation or exhaustion. Usually reserved for only the lowest of status, it was also a punishment meant to publicly humiliate those who suffered it.

Eyewitness reports from the scene on that fateful Good Friday approximately 2,016 years ago are also conflicting. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John all include the crucifixion event in their Gospel accounts of Jesus' death, but only John references wounds in the palms of the risen Jesus. The Gospel of Peter explicitly mentions nails being removed from Jesus' hands.

Though the exact method of crucifixion is contested, the symbol of Jesus on the cross remains powerful and enduring in the Christian tradition, whether his hands were bound or nailed.

Indie hit back bigger and Greeker than ever

When My Big Fat Greek Wedding was released in 2002, little did anyone think the low-budget, independent film would go on to become the highest grossing romantic comedy in US box office history.

Telling the story of a Greek-American woman who falls in love with a non-Greek man - much to the annoyance of her suffocating parents - and the brash culture clash that ensues, the film was a surprise hit.

It also brought "typical" Greek culture to the mainstream, illustrated through Toula's parents desire for her to "marry a Greek boy, make Greek babies and feed everyone until the day I die".

Creator Nia Vardalos says although the film was based on her own family and experience marrying a non-Greek man, she was struck by how many people found her story recognisable: "It's so wild how it translates to all cultures - no matter where, people say to me 'that's my family!'."

After many years of calls for a sequel, a follow-up has finally been made - reuniting the entire original cast including John Corbett and Lainie Kazan, as well as bringing back producers Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson.

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The first film was the highest grossing romantic comedy in the US - you must be feeling the pressure to live up to those expectations.

No, because I protected myself by working with the same producers and just tried to have fun - if it's not fun, it's not worth it to me. I always think of myself as a fearless idiot and think it's always best to go into something without any expectations, but with standards.

Why did it take so long to write a sequel and were you worried too much time had passed between now and the first film?

I knew the desire was there because every project meeting I would have [with production company Playtone] would end with "Have you thought about sequel?", but the wait is completely my fault.

At the end of the first one I had written that Toula was a mother, but I believe that was wishful thinking I had written it in, because in reality I was in a very private struggle to become a mum. It took me 10 years and on my daughter's first day of kindergarten I was crying so hard people were backing away from the ethnic sobbing mother. Another mother in an effort to calm me down, and said: "Oh come on, in 13 years they'll go off to college and leave us."

And I was struck by such panic - that's when I realised I had morphed into my own suffocating parents and in that moment I got the idea for the sequel. The overarching theme is not do we become our parents, but when do we become our parents.

There's no way that I have not become [Toula's father] Gus, because sitting beside my daughter watching the Olympics I was telling her how each part came from Greece - and my husband was eye-rolling me and I was like "what? It's true!"

Was it easy to get all the original cast back together?

Very easy. I'm such an optimist - I wrote quietly for a long period of time by myself and then at the end of a meeting one day Playtone said to me "how about sequel?" and I said, "how about the script?" and gave it to them. They immediately said we would make it and it was [on screen husband] John Corbett's birthday that day and I got to call him and tell him the news. I said to him: "So do you feel like kissing me again?" and he said in his signature sexy John Corbett voice: "Always baby!"

Did you all just fall into old habits like you were never apart for 10 years?

Very much so. A lot of us are really close - John is one of my closest friends. He was raised by his mum, so he's very comfortable with a woman being in charge. He is very supportive and doesn't feel emasculated at all by it. But there is parity in my scripts - the men have good character arcs and so do the women. And that's all we're asking for when men are writing screenplays - could they look at their roles and say "can that boss be a woman?".

People criticise Hollywood for lazy film-making with the current trend of sequels and remakes - what's your feeling on the issue in relation to this fiim?

Those are different because they are tent pole pictures - we are still an independent film, just released by Universal. I feel like we went against that trend in that we kept the original cast and then didn't bring in great big movie stars which usually happens with the sequel. You have to go bigger - and we went bigger and Greeker and louder, but we didn't go "Hollywood".