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ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — As a high school senior, Nick was blessed with a deadly accurate jump shot from the three-point range — something he was quick to monetize.He and his gym classmates not far from the Jersey Shore would compete to see who could make the most baskets, at $5 or $10 a pop.“It gave a different dynamic to the day, a certain level of excitement,” Nick said. “Little did I know how far it would continue to go.”Before long, he was gambling staggering sums of money on sports, costing him over $700,000 in the past decade. He hit rock bottom last year when he stole $35,000 from his workplace and gambled it away on international tennis and soccer matches – sports he admittedly knew nothing about.Wagering is now easier than ever for adults – and children – and there’s a growing movement in the U.S. to offer problem gambling education courses in public schools to teach teenagers how easily and quickly things can go wrong with betting.It’s a trend that Nick wishes had existed when his gambling habit took root in high school and led him on a path to financial ruin. He asked not to be identified by his full name because he has pending criminal charges stemming from his gambling addiction. The 27-year-old plans to look for work after his charges are resolved, and he fears the job hunt will be even harder if he’s identified publicly as a compulsive gambler.The rapid expansion of legalized sports betting in 33 states, with three more states coming soon, has brought steps designed to keep children from gambling, including age confirmation and identity checks. But teens can bypass betting restrictions and place wagers on their phones by using a parent or other relative's account, or via unregulated offshore betting sites that can be less vigilant about age checks. And some teens have weekend poker games where hundreds of dollars are won or lost, often fueled by money from parents.According to the National Council on Problem Gambling, 60% to 80% of high school students report having gambled for money during the past year; 4% to 6% of these students are considered at risk of developing a gambling problem.Now, a few states are moving toward gambling education in public schools. The effort is in its infancy, and the details of what would be taught are still to be determined.Virginia enacted a law last year requiring schools to have classes on gambling and its addictive potential. The state Board of Education is still formulating the curriculum and must report back to state government before lessons can begin.Other states are trying as well, including New Jersey and Michigan. Similar legislation failed in Maryland and West Virginia in recent years, but they're expected to try again.The legal gambling age in many states is 21, but is as low as 18 in others.<figure class="image text-center"><img src="https://cdn.corpemf.com/news/58183.jpg" alt="A roulette wheel spins at the Hard Rock casino in Atlantic City N.J."><figcaption>[Photo Credit: AP Photo/Wayne Parry] A roulette wheel spins at the Hard Rock casino in Atlantic City N.J.</figcaption></figure>Keith Whyte, executive director of the problem gambling council, recently spoke to a group of 40 high school juniors in Virginia.“Every single one of them said either they bet, or said their friends bet,” he said. “Almost every single one of them had sports betting apps on their phones; some were legal; more were not.”Whyte said widespread gambling risk education could be “comparable to the dramatic reduction in drunk driving deaths from when drinking and driving education became widespread.”Teresa Svincek is a teacher at a suburban Maryland school outside Washington, where many of her students are “heavily into sports betting” and weekly poker games."They laugh at losing hundreds of dollars over a weekend,” she said. “When I was their age, I was busy working to earn money, and losing what they lose over a weekend was what I made in a month. I think these kids are the future tip of the iceberg.”Teen gambling can take other forms, too. So-called “loot boxes” in online games offer prizes to players, but they have to spend real money to get the rewards. Buying tokens or other game equipment has been a fixture of online games for years, Whyte said, and it can get children to normalize the idea of spending money to “win” something.Dan Trolaro, vice president of prevention at EPIC Risk Management and a recovered compulsive gambler, said gambling is the logical next issue to address in the classroom.“We educate very well on alcohol, on substances, on stranger danger, on cannabis,” he said. “But we don't do anything around gambling.”Maryland state Sen. Bryan Simonaire has tried twice in recent years to pass a gambling education bill, unsuccessfully.“We have been expanding gambling in Maryland, and the schools got extra money for education,” said Simonaire. “I went to them and said, ‘Yes, you got the money from gambling, but you also have the responsibility to help those who will become addicted to gambling.’”Simonaire's father died penniless after gambling binges near his home in Arizona.<figure class="image text-center"><img src="https://cdn.corpemf.com/news/58185.jpg" alt="Chips sit on a roulette table at the Hard Rock casino in Atlantic City N.J."><figcaption>[Photo Credit: AP Photo/Wayne Parry] Chips sit on a roulette table at the Hard Rock casino in Atlantic City N.J.</figcaption></figure>The American Gaming Association, the national trade group for the commercial casino industry, recently adopted an advertising code of conduct. It aims to make sure gambling ads don't appear in places that will likely be primarily seen or read by children. But restrictions only go so far, as kids may simply use their parents' accounts to bet.The money Nick made shooting three-pointers in his New Jersey gym class soon turned into a $300 to $500 a week gambling habit. His first big bet was on the 2013 NBA finals, when he lost $200 backing the San Antonio Spurs in a bet with a friend.“Even at that early point, there was this chase involved: If only I could win that $200 back, or how great would it be if I could win $300 on the next bet?” he said. “You want back what you lost.”Fresh out of high school, Nick was betting large sums with bookies.Last July, while working at a business selling high-value sports trading cards, Nick took a $35,000 payment from a customer and lost it in a weekend of gambling, mostly on overseas tennis and soccer matches, “things I knew nothing about.” He confessed to his boss, who called police, and Nick was charged with theft. He hopes to have the charge expunged from his criminal record through a pre-trial intervention program for nonviolent offenders.Nick thinks having some sort of gambling education in high school would have made a “huge” difference in his life.“I couldn't see that I was in a cycle that started at an early age,” he said. “I might have been more conscious of how much money I was going through on a daily basis and what I was doing to myself.”<figure class="image text-center"><img src="https://cdn.corpemf.com/news/58184.jpg" alt="Slot machine awaits players at the Hard Rock casino in Atlantic City N.J."><figcaption>[Photo Credit: AP Photo/Wayne Parry] Slot machine awaits players at the Hard Rock casino in Atlantic City N.J.</figcaption></figure>

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Chips sit on a roulette table at the Hard Rock casino in Atlantic City N.J.

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60% to 80% of high school students report having gambled for money during the past year; 4% to 6% of these students are considered at risk of developing a gambling problem.

Gambling Surges Nationwide, Should Schools Teach Teens About Risk?

"So often in churches, disabilities are hidden, just like in culture at large. And to see the joy – and even the competence – of these people as they were leading in worship, was quite a delight and a joy to the church at large.” Jeremy Marshall is the family discipleship minister at <a href="https://brooksave.org/services/special-needs/">Brooks Avenue Church of Christ</a> in Raleigh, North Carolina.Lori Young is the volunteer coordinator for the church’s special needs ministry, which is offered weekly. “There is just such a significant need out there,” emphasizing that families need a place “where their loved ones are cared for…and being taught.” This loving ministry also allows parents to “sit in peace for a while and be fed by the Word of God and also be fed by relationships” at the church. It’s win-win.Both Lori and Jeremy have no doubt the special needs kids and adults are capable of comprehending, to some degree, the concept of faith in Jesus.&nbsp;Lori tells us about a 14-year-old boy (pictured below) who uses a computer device to speak. She smiles, he’s “full of sarcasm and sass” and “answers questions from his heart, not a rote answer.” He types “I pray every night. I want to make sure God loves me.” The young man missed church for a while due to sickness, and sent his teachers a picture and wrote, “I miss all of you.” And he was talking about the worship, which he holds dear.<figure class="image"><img src="https://cdn.corpemf.com/news/57824.jpg" alt="Oliver and his trusty computer, which speaks for him"><figcaption>[Photo Credit: Christian Chronicle] Oliver and his trusty computer, which speaks for him; Lori interacting</figcaption></figure><figure class="image text-center"><img src="https://cdn.corpemf.com/news/57825.jpg" alt="Oliver"><figcaption>[Photo Credit: Brooks Avenue Church of Christ ] Oliver's message about bedtime prayer</figcaption></figure>Jeremy shares with us about the “beautiful story in the Gospel of Luke” where Mary, who is pregnant with Jesus, visits Elizabeth, who is pregnant with John the Baptist. And Elizabeth can “feel the baby in her womb jumping for joy at Christ coming near.” Jeremy believes, “If the Holy Spirit can create faith in a fetus, then I don’t worry about our friends and family members with special needs” missing out on being touched by faith.Taking no chances with health or safety, the church employs four licensed professionals who provide needed care and also help with lessons. They are certified in first aid and ways to interact with people with special needs.There are also volunteers who assist with the special needs “Eagles” (adults) and “Eaglets” (children) – the name referring to Isaiah 40:31, which invokes trust in the Lord and soaring high “with wings like eagles.”Brooks Avenue Church of Christ recently held a carnival for disabled people regardless of age or physical limitations. Hundreds attended - and all were invited to the special needs Sunday service the next day. &nbsp;We’d like to thank to the Christian Chronicle and reporter Audrey Jackson for making some of the images available to us, and providing <a href="https://christianchronicle.org/on-special-sunday-disabled-members-lead-worship-at-a-north-carolina-church/ ">the lead </a>for this encouraging story.Jeremy shares, “You’re actually seeing the Lord at work. You’re realizing you’re in the presence of the Lord at work and it draws you deeper into him.” Be encouraged by our complete podcast interview:<figure class="media"><oembed url="https://cdn.corpemf.com/news/57826.mp3"></oembed></figure><figure class="image"><img src="https://cdn.corpemf.com/news/57827.jpeg" alt="Jeremy Marshall and son, August"><figcaption>[Photo Credit: Brooks Avenue Church of Christ ] Jeremy Marshall and son, August</figcaption></figure><figure class="image"><img src="https://cdn.corpemf.com/news/57831.jpg" alt="Learning...and fun"><figcaption>[Photo Credit: Brooks Avenue Church of Christ ] Learning...and fun</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;

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Oliver, age 14, has cerebral palsy, loves learning about Jesus

“You’re in the presence of the Lord at work and it draws you deeper into him.” – Jeremy, dad of special needs son

People With Special Needs Learn About Christ, Even Lead A Sunday Service (+ podcast)

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — While judges, lawyers and support staff at the federal courthouse in Concord, New Hampshire, keep the American justice system buzzing, thousands of humble honeybees on the building’s roof are playing their part in a more important task — feeding the world.The Warren B. Rudman courthouse is one of several federal facilities around the country participating in the General Services Administration’s Pollinator Initiative, a government program aimed at assessing and promoting the health of bees and other pollinators, which are critical to life on Earth.“Anybody who eats food, needs bees," said Noah Wilson-Rich, co-founder, CEO and chief scientific officer of the Boston-based Best Bees company, which contracts with the government to take care of the honeybee hives at the New Hampshire courthouse and at some other federal buildings.Bees help pollinate the fruits and vegetables that sustain humans, he said. They pollinate hay and alfalfa, which feed cattle that provide the meat we eat. And they promote the health of plants that, through photosynthesis, give us clean air to breathe.Yet the busy insects that contribute an estimated $25 billion to the U.S. economy annually are under threat from diseases, agricultural chemicals and habitat loss that kill about half of all honeybee hives annually. Without human intervention, including beekeepers creating new hives, the world could experience a bee extinction that would lead to global hunger and economic collapse, Wilson-Rich said.The pollinator program is part of the federal government’s commitment to promoting sustainability, which includes reducing greenhouse gas emissions and promoting climate resilient infrastructure, said David Johnson, the General Services Administration’s sustainability program manager for New England.The GSA's program started last year with hives at 11 sites.Some of those sites are no longer in the program. Hives placed at the National Archives building in Waltham, Massachusetts, last year did not survive the winter.Since then, other sites were added. Two hives, each home to thousands of bees, were placed on the roof of the Rudman building in March.The program is collecting data to find out whether the honeybees, which can fly 3 to 5 miles from the roof in their quest for pollen, can help the health of not just the plants on the roof, but also of the flora in the entire area, Johnson said.“Honeybees are actually very opportunistic,” he said. “They will feed on a lot of different types of plants.”The program can help identify the plants and landscapes beneficial to pollinators and help the government make more informed decisions about what trees and flowers to plant on building grounds.Best Bees tests the plant DNA in the honey to get an idea of the plant diversity and health in the area, Wilson-Rich said, and they have found that bees that forage on a more diverse diet seem to have better survival and productivity outcomes.Other federal facilities with hives include the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services headquarters in Baltimore; the federal courthouse in Hammond, Indiana; the Federal Archives Records Center in Chicago; and the Denver Federal Center.The federal government isn't alone in its efforts to save the bees. The hives placed at federal sites are part of a wider network of about 1,000 hives at home gardens, businesses and institutions nationwide that combined can help determine what's helping the bees, what's hurting them and why.The GSA’s Pollinator Initiative is also looking to identify ways to keep the bee population healthy and vibrant and model those lessons at other properties — both government and private sector — said Amber Levofsky, the senior program advisor for the GSA's Center for Urban Development.“The goal of this initiative was really aimed at gathering location-based data at facilities to help update directives and policies to help facilities managers to really target pollinator protection and habitat management regionally,” she said.And there is one other benefit to the government honeybee program that's already come to fruition: the excess honey that's produced is donated to area food banks.

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A bee arrives at a hive on the roof of the Warren Rudman U.S. Court House, Friday, May 5, 2023, in Concord, N.H.

Without human intervention, the world could experience a bee extinction that would lead to global hunger and economic collapse

Honeybee Health Blooming At Federal Facilities Across The Country

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