By Lindsey Bell

Ashton Kutcher Fights Human Trafficking

Ashton Kutcher is an actor and cofounder of the group Thorn: Digital Defenders of Children, which builds software to fight against trafficking online. He continues to be a voice for those who can’t speak up for themselves.

In February Kutcher spoke to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and shared about the magnitude of the human trafficking problem. He explained how technology can—and is—helping with the problem. “It’s working,” he said. “In six months, with 25 percent of our users reporting, we’ve identified over 6,000 trafficking victims, 2,000 of which are minors.” Kutcher asked for the government to support efforts and technology that will help children all across the globe.

Prison Cosmetology School

A cosmetology school in California is making waves because of its unique location. Carmen Shehorn teaches cosmetology at Valley State Prison in Chowchilla, California. The cosmetology program began in 1996 when the prison housed female inmates. Even after the prison population changed and became male, though, the school has continued to thrive. Inmates who participate in the program learn hair, nails, coloring techniques, and everything a typical cosmetology student would learn.

Pierce Larick with UPROXX recently spoke with Shehorn, as well as with many of the inmates who are participating in the program. One inmate, James Sellers, told Larick he joined the program because he wanted to learn how to fix his daughter’s hair but then fell in love with it.

Because education has proven effective in keeping ex-cons out of trouble once they are released, the hope is that programs such as this one will prepare inmates for life outside of the prison walls.

West Virginia School Sued Over Bible Classes

Some parents in West Virginia are suing the Mercer County public school district because of a voluntary Bible class that is being taught in the schools. The class has been taught since 1939, is fully funded through private donations, and is very popular in the district. In fact 96 percent of the students who attend the 19 elementary schools in the district enroll in the Bible class. That totals more than 4,000 students.

Nonetheless, Tony Dokoupil with CBS News reported that a major lobby for the separation of church and state is arguing that “popular is not the same as legal.” The Freedom From Religion Foundation claims that the district is holding “Bible indoctrination classes.”

Some parents are concerned because they believe their children are being bullied when they opt out of the class. Mercer County schools argue that the Bible should be studied because of its “literary and historic qualities.”

Skip the Wedding Gift—Give Pizza

If you’ve ever struggled to find the perfect wedding gift, you now have a new option. Domino’s launched a wedding registry that allows you to give pizza to the happy couple instead of a wedding gift.

The packages range from $15 to $100 and function exactly like eGift cards, allowing the couple to purchase anything from Dominos.com. But these are more than simple gift cards. The pizza packages have unique names like “An Excuse Not To Cook” and “Post-Honeymoon Adjustment to Real Life.”

Melissa Wuske is a freelance editor and writer. She and her husband, Shawn, live and minister in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts. Find her work online (melissaannewuske.com).