Plumber discovers mountain of cash-stuffed envelopes hidden inside wall at Joel Osteen's Texas megachurch



A Houston, Texas, plumber discovered thousands of envelopes stuffed full of cash and checks inside a bathroom wall last month, according to KRPC-TV.

The news comes several years after the televangelist Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church was reportedly victimized in a high-profile burglary that took place in 2014.

At the time, the church announced that $600,000 in cash and checks were stolen from the church, but no arrests were made at the time and the money was reportedly not recovered.

What are the details?

A plumber named Justin reported that he discovered the massive haul of cash while repairing a toilet at the Houston church in November.

Earlier this week, he told local radio station 100.3 The Bull, "There was a loose toilet in the wall, and we removed the tile. We went to go remove the toilet, and I moved some insulation away and about 500 envelopes fell out of the wall, and I was like 'Oh, wow!'"

He added that he immediately contacted his supervisor and reported that he'd discovered a horde of cash-stuffed envelopes during his work.

"I went ahead and contacted the maintenance supervisor that was there, and I turned it all in," Justin explained.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Lakewood Church confirmed the discovery of an "undisclosed amount of cash" and acknowledged that the Houston Police Department has been notified.

“Recently, while repair work was being done at Lakewood Church, an undisclosed amount of cash and checks were found," the statement read. "Lakewood immediately notified the Houston Police Department and is assisting them with their investigation. Lakewood has no further comment at this time."

It is unclear at the time of this reporting just how much cash was recovered or whether the discovery is related to the 2014 burglary.

At the time, the Houston Police Department said that at least $200,000 in cash and $400,000 in checks were stolen from the church's safe.

The church in 2014 issued the following statement to parishioners:

We were heartbroken to learn today that funds were stolen from the church over the weekend. This includes cash, checks and envelopes containing written credit card information, and it is limited only to those funds contributed in the church services on Saturday, March 8 and Sunday, March 9, 2014. If you made a contribution during these weekend services, we would encourage you to pay close attention to your accounts over the next several days and weeks and report any suspicious activity to your financial institution or credit card company immediately.It is important to note this was not an electronic data breach, but was instead limited to donations made in the services on March 8 and 9, 2014. You were not affected if you put your offering in a drop box, you gave online or through other electronic means, or you made a bookstore purchase. We are working with the police to fully investigate the incident. The funds were fully insured, and we are working with our insurance company to restore the stolen funds to the church.

Money, checks found in wall of Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church, years after $600K burglarywww.youtube.com

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Democrat Tulsi Gabbard calls $600 in COVID relief 'an insult and a slap in the face' to struggling Americans



Democratic U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard told her Twitter followers that $600 in COVID-19 relief coming to Americans as part of a massive spending bill passed by the House and Senate Monday is "an insult and a slap in the face" to everyone struggling financially due to pandemic shutdowns since the spring.

What are the details?

Gabbard — who's become a favorite among conservatives for her no-nonsense approach and shared views on crucial issues — posted a video saying that she voted against the spending bill.

"First of all, this bill was over 5,500 pages long," she began. "We received the text of this bill at approximately 2:30 this afternoon, and we're told we'd have to go and vote on it just a few hours later. There is no way that anybody in Congress had the opportunity or the time to go through and read this bill to know exactly what was in it. I've been here long enough to see how provisions are snuck into these bills literally in the dark of night, without any announcement, without telling anyone what is in it, and then rushed through in the manner that we have just seen tonight."

Gabbard added that such actions are "the height of irresponsibility" that prevented elected officials from being able to adequately represent the interests of Americans.

She also emphasized that "the central part of this bill was supposed to be about providing direct COVID relief to the American people who are struggling and who need help the most." But instead, Gabbard said, the bill "dished out hundreds of billions of dollars" to special interests, the military, and foreign countries while telling average Americans, "Here's what's left for you: You get 600 bucks."

"I'll tell you, in Hawaii, that in most cases won't even cover 25 percent of your rent," she explained. "It is an insult and a slap in the face to every single American in this country who is struggling because of this COVID pandemic, who is concerned about not being able to pay the rent, about eviction, about whether you'll have enough to buy groceries or medicine for yourself or your loved ones."

Gabbard concluded by calling the bill a "representation of the screwed-up priorities of Washington. They should be fighting for you and making sure that you, the American people, come first. This bill did not do that."

$600 is a slap in the face to every American struggling due to the pandemic. You deserve better.I voted against t… https://t.co/bJGysgnnXF
— Tulsi Gabbard 🌺 (@Tulsi Gabbard 🌺)1608607539.0

Anything else?

Gabbard also made headlines this week for holding off on receiving the COVID-19 vaccine being given to her congressional colleagues, saying she'll wait until elderly Americans are able to receive the shot.

And last week, she introduced two pro-life bills in the House of Representatives — one to protect babies who survive abortions and another to protect pain-capable unborn children from abortion.

Gabbard — who is retiring from Congress at the end of her term — also introduced a bill banning males from competing in women's sports if they identify as transgender as well as another with Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) that would repeal the Patriot Act.