The breakout success of the US reality TV show “The Secret Life of Mormon Wives,” the third season of which begins Thursday, shines a light on America’s fascination with the Christian religious movement. The main Mormon Church, known as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has seven million US members — two percent of the country’s population.Fundamentalist Mormon groups, which practice polygamy, account for fewer than 100,000 people.Mormons are still “prominent and unique in American imagination,” said Brenda Weber, a professor at Indiana University and author of a book on Mormonism in media and culture.The movement began in 1830 in New York state, coinciding with the rise of the printing press which served as a springboard for the belief system, Weber said.Mormonism, and particularly the practice of polygamy, also inspired the Sherlock Holmes story “A Study in Scarlet,” and silent cinema hit “Trapped by the Mormons” in 1922.The Church, which emphasizes singing and dancing, has been home to many hit artists including Donny Osmond and actor Ryan Gosling.The 2002 Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, Utah — which is the Church’s stronghold — marked the start of a cultural “Mormon moment.”The presidential ambitions of Republican Mormon Mitt Romney in 2008 and 2012 coincided with television programs dedicated to polygamous families in Utah.The series “Big Love” aired between 2006 and 2011, while the reality show “Sister Wives” has broadcast since 2010.On Broadway, the parody musical “The Book of Mormon,” named after a religious text, has been a hit since 2011.Around the same time, “Momfluencers” began gaining traction on social media — including Mormon matriarchs who are more likely to be stay-at-home mothers with more education and wealth than other American women.Matthew Bowman, a specialist in American religions at Claremont Graduate University, said that combination of factors created “potent possibilities for social media.” – ‘Very sensitive’ -Being a proselytizing religion — meaning followers seek to convert others — the Mormon women active online “create media to attract people,” said Weber. After being discovered on TikTok, the heroines of “The Secret Life of Mormon Wives” are their direct descendants. But the swinging practices of one of the stars serves as the basis for the show, the first season of which released on Hulu in 2024 and outperformed the Kardashians series.Show stars Taylor Frankie Paul, Mayci Neeley, Jen Affleck, and others — recently invited onto hit shows like “Dancing with the Stars” and “The Bachelorette” — claim to want to modernize the image of Mormons.They regularly discuss their roles in a culture where men are traditionally family heads and breadwinners. Even though the women claim they earn more than their husbands, many also paint themselves as “tradwives,” according to Weber.The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints did not respond to AFP’s request for comments on the program.A statement published shortly before season one criticized media representations that “depict lifestyles and practices blatantly inconsistent with the teachings of the Church.”Bowman said the Church has been struggling with something ever since ‘The Book of Mormon’ musical came out: “how does it grapple with publicity that may not, on the face of it, seem very favorable?”The Church responded to the hit musical with tongue-in-cheek advertisements inviting people to read its founding text.But overall, it “has often tended to be very sensitive about this sort of thing, and in many of its responses or public statements, it can be rather defensive,” said Bowman.

Syria is joining the global coalition against the Islamic State group, a US official said Monday hours after President Donald Trump welcomed his Syrian counterpart Ahmed al-Sharaa for historic White House talks.Sharaa, whose rebel forces ousted longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad late last year, was the first Syrian leader to visit the White House since the Middle Eastern country’s independence in 1946.But the 43-year-old’s landmark visit to the Oval Office came just days after Washington removed him from its terrorism list. Sharaa’s group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), was formerly affiliated with Al-Qaeda.”During the visit, Syria announced that it is joining the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS,” becoming the 90th member of the alliance and “partnering with the United States to eliminate ISIS remnants and halt foreign fighter flows,” a senior administration official said.According to the official, Syria will also be allowed to resume diplomatic relations with Washington “to further counterterrorism, security, and economic coordination.”Trump said he wanted Syria to become “very successful” after more than a decade of civil war and added that he believed Sharaa “can do it, I really do.””He’s a very strong leader. He comes from a very tough place, and he’s a tough guy,” Trump told reporters after the meeting, which was closed to press.”People said he’s had a rough past, we’ve all had rough pasts… And I think, frankly, if you didn’t have a rough past, you wouldn’t have a chance.”Trump said Syria was a “big part” of his plan for a wider Middle East peace plan, which the US president is hoping will prop up the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.”Having a stable and successful Syria is very important to all countries in the Region,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform after the meeting.Despite this, Trump would not confirm reports that Syria would sign any non-aggression pact with long-term foe Israel.Afterwards Sharaa was interviewed by broadcaster Fox News, saying Syria’s ongoing dispute with Israel over the Golan Heights territory would make entering peace talks difficult now. But he suggested talks facilitated by Trump and Washington could help start negotiations.The Syrian president’s visit capped a remarkable turnaround for a former jihadist who once had a $10 million US bounty on his head.In dramatic scenes as he left his meeting with Trump, he climbed out of his motorcade to greet crowds of supporters outside the White House, surrounded on all sides by bodyguards.- ‘Astonishing transformation’ -Syria’s presidency said on X that Sharaa and Trump discussed the bilateral relationship, “the ways to strengthen and develop it, as well as a number of regional and international issues of common interest.”It published photos of Trump standing and shaking hands with a smiling Sharaa beside the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office.Other pictures showed the Syrian leader sitting opposite Trump with top US officials including Vice President JD Vance, Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth and top US military officer Dan Caine.Since taking power, Syria’s new leaders have sought to break from their violent past and present a more moderate image to ordinary Syrians and foreign powers.Sharaa’s White House visit is “a hugely symbolic moment for the country’s new leader, who thus marks another step in his astonishing transformation from militant leader to global statesman,” said Michael Hanna, US program director at the International Crisis Group.The Syrian met Trump for the first time in Saudi Arabia during the US leader’s regional tour in May. At the time the 79-year-old Trump dubbed Sharaa, 43, as “a young, attractive guy.”Sharaa was expected to seek US funds for Syria, which faces significant challenges in rebuilding after 13 years of devastating civil war.After his arrival in Washington, Sharaa over the weekend met with International Monetary Fund chief Kristalina Georgieva over possible aid.Sharaa’s jihadist past has caused controversy in some quarters but the State Department’s decision Friday to remove him from the blacklist was widely expected.The Syrian president has also been making diplomatic outreach towards Washington’s rivals. He met Russian President Vladimir Putin in October in their first meeting since the removal of Assad, a key Kremlin ally.

The longest-ever US government shutdown appeared headed Monday to an eventual resolution, after several Democratic senators broke ranks to join Republicans in advancing a compromise deal — sparking intra-party backlash.Since October 1, the first day of the shutdown, more than a million federal workers have been unpaid, while government benefits and services have been increasingly disrupted.Severe impacts on air traffic have begun to mount in recent days, with more than 1,000 flights canceled daily, raising the political pressure to end the stalemate.”We’ll be opening up our country very quickly,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, adding: “the deal is very good.”After clearing a key procedural hurdle late Sunday, the Senate began the voting process late Monday to pass the compromise budget measure.It would then move to the House of Representatives, which like the Senate is controlled by Republicans. The chamber could vote on the bill as early as Wednesday to send it to Trump’s desk.”It appears to us this morning that our long national nightmare is finally coming to an end, and we’re grateful for that,” House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters Monday. “At least some Democrats now finally appear ready to do what Republicans and President Trump and millions of hardworking American people have been asking them to do for weeks.”The House — which Johnson has kept out of session throughout the standoff — would be called back this week, he said.”I’d like to vote tonight after the Senate is done, but it takes everybody a while to get back” for a vote, Johnson told broadcaster CNN.- Obamacare – At the heart of the impasse is Democrats’ demand to extend health insurance subsidies expiring at the end of the year. Republicans insist any negotiation occur after the government is re-opened.Millions of Americans who have purchased health insurance through the “Obamacare” program would see their costs double if the subsidies are not extended.Sunday’s breakthrough agreement would re-open the government through January, with some programs funded for the full fiscal year, and reverse some of the Trump administration’s firings of federal workers.The bill notably would restore funding for the SNAP food aid program, which helps more than 42 million lower-income Americans pay for groceries.While the Senate’s Republican leadership has agreed to hold an eventual vote on health care, it does not ensure the insurance subsidies will be extended.”After 40 days of uncertainty, I’m profoundly glad to be able to announce that nutrition programs, our veterans, and other critical priorities will have their full-year funding,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune said late Sunday.While leaders were rushing to move the bill through Congress, it could still take days to make its way to Trump’s desk. Tuesday is a national holiday.- Divided Democrats -Senator Jeanne Shaheen, one of eight Democratic caucus members who backed the measure, said the Senate “took a big step forward towards protecting the health care of tens of millions of Americans.”She said the agreement would grant Democrats, despite being in the minority, the power to call a vote on health care legislation.However, with the extension of the subsidies not guaranteed, the move has angered party members who preferred to keep holding out.”Pathetic,” California Governor Gavin Newsom posted on X in reaction to the announced agreement.Top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer voted no, saying he could “not in good faith” support a measure “that fails to address the health care crisis.””This fight will and must continue,” he vowed.Some lawmakers criticized Schumer himself for failing to keep the Democrats united.”Tonight is another example of why we need new leadership,” Massachusetts Representative Seth Moulton said Sunday. 

After years of temporary pop-up events, streaming giant Netflix will make its first foray into the theme park space this week, rivalling entertainment giants Disney and Universal Studios.The company’s “Netflix House” theme park will open its doors Wednesday at the King of Prussia mall — one of the largest shopping centers in the United States, in the suburbs of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania — in a space measuring over 100,000 square feet (10,000 square meters).The theme park, which will offer free admission, plans to host a wide range of dining and activities, all decorated to resemble some of the platform’s most popular shows and movies, including “Bridgerton,” “Stranger Things,” “Squid Game” and “KPop Demon Hunters.”Netflix Chief Marketing Officer Marian Lee said the company opted against charging for admission because “we wanted that accessibility. We want to be an everyday destination.””As we were launching these pop-up experiences, it became clear that we would actually have more flexibility if we had a permanent location,” she told AFP in an interview.Additional “Netflix House” locations are set to open after the Pennsylvania attraction, with one in Dallas, Texas scheduled to debut on December 11 and a third on the Las Vegas Strip in Nevada by 2027.”Las Vegas is a very different space. It’s not inside of a shopping center, but it is on the Strip…and so there, we will program it a little bit differently,” Lee said.Although Lee did not confirm the costs to build these theme parks, she said “you can see it’s a huge capital investment for the company to invest in both the space and like all the finishings and the fabrications of everything.”As of right now, Lee said there no plans to build a “Netflix House” internationally. “We’d have to think about it in a different way,” she said.