Piano Guys Jon Schmidt’s Daughter Missing; How you can Help
Police in Portland, Oregon, are searching for a missing hiker, Annie Schmidt, daughter of the famous LDS musician Jon Schmidt of The Piano Guys.
Annie’s mother feels this is a search and rescue event, as Annie is probably hiking in the mountains near Columbia River Gorge near Bonneville Dam.
It appears that Annie has been missing since Sunday. The family posted the following on Facebook: “We are asking if you can help with any of the following: If you saw Annie’s last Snapchat on Sunday did you recognize any landmarks? Did she say anything to you about where she was planning to go? . . . Please pray that she can be found.”
Australian Press Explains how McMullin Could be President
Mercatornet.com is located in New South Wales, Australia. A press release from them on October 20, 2016, explained how Evan McMullin could actually gain the presidency come this election. McMullin is on the ballot in 11 U.S. states, and a possible write-in for 32 others.
FiveThirtyEight.com, an influential data journalism website, rates McMullin’s chances of being President at less than one percent. But, because of the quirks of the American electoral system, it is possible. Remember, this time last year, no one thought that Donald Trump would become the GOP candidate. And here we are. In 2016, anything seems possible.
This is the way it would work. The winner of the election would normally be the candidate who secures a majority — 270 votes — in the Electoral College. But if neither Clinton nor Trump reaches 270, the House of Representatives chooses amongst the three highest candidates in the Electoral College. If McMullin wins in Utah – the first third-party candidate in 46 years to take a state – he will be one of those three. If a majority in the House is Republican, and if enough of them spurn Trump, then Evan McMullin could take up residence at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
The election would have to be close. In 1968, the last time a third-party candidate took votes to the Electoral College, it made no difference. Segregationist George Wallace won the popular vote in five states, but Richard Nixon easily won in the Electoral College with 301 votes to Hubert Humphrey’s 191 and Wallace’s 46. At this point, Trump is flagging in the polls and a narrow margin seems unlikely.
Read more about McMullin’s chances at Mercatornet.com and how Mormons are rallying around him in Utah at Religion News Service.
Mormon Ad Execs, Mormon Actor, go Viral
The Squatty Potty pooping unicorns ad has garnered nearly 28 million hits for LDS advertising executives The Harmon Brothers. BoingBoing.net called it “the greatest viral ad in internet history.” Now they’ve done it again with the release of an ad for Love Chatbooks featuring LDS actor Lisa Valentine Clark (Once I was a Beehive), as well as young LDS actor Kimball Stinger (Cokeville Miracle).
LDS Singer wins Battle Round on The Voice
Belle Lyon, whose stage name is Belle Jewel, wowed celebrity judge Alicia Keys on The Voice from her first audition. Having now won the Battle Round, she is heading into the Knockout Round on the show. Belle, 18, comes from a family dripping with talent. Her father is LDS artist Howard Lyon.
Deseret News Partners with the Center for the Study of Elections and Democracy to Create The American Family Survey
The results of the survey show marked differences in the ways political liberals and political conservatives view the family. The survey has warranted coverage by major news outlets.
Some of the results:
“Marriage is needed to create stronger families”—84% of conservatives agreed, while only 39% of liberals agreed.
“Society is better off when more people are married”—75% of conservatives agreed, but only 35% of liberals agreed.
See more of the results at Deseret News’ American Family Survey.
