the Web Editors

Jimmy Kimmel recently hosted Jesus on his late show. Not real Jesus, of course. (Don’t worry, this isn’t the apocalypse. You haven’t been left behind). It’s just pretend white Jesus.

Kimmel’s team took real quotes from various presidential candidates and let an actor pretending to be Jesus read them as if he were running for president. And yes, they did happen to include quotes from Donald Trump.

“We want[ed] to get an idea of what [these statements] would actually sound like from the mouth of Jesus,” said Kimmel.

It’s quite disturbing, really. 

Joel Osteen may believe in the “power of positive vision,” but prominent Roman Catholic Stephen Colbert had something else to offer him Feb. 2 during Osteen’s appearance on The Late Show.

“Have you tried the power of crippling guilt?”

Coming to a theater near you: the Vicar of Christ. The charismatic Bishop of Rome is set to play himself in the movie Beyond the Sun, reports Variety. This will be Pope Francis’ first time acting — not to mention the first time a pope has ever appeared in a feature film.

1. Michigan Officials Quietly Gave Bottled Water to State Employees Months Before Flint Residents

It keeps getting worse. “The Michigan Department of Technology, Management & Budget decided to haul water coolers into the Flint state building in January of 2015 out of concern over the city’s water quality, a year before bottled water was being made available to residents.”

2. Becky Hammon Becomes First Female Named to NBA All-Star Coaching Staff

She already made history when she was appointed to the San Antonio Spurs coaching staff — and as the first female coach to lead a summer league to the championship. Now she can add All-Star coaching to her resume.

3. Barbie’s Got a New Body

Curvy. Petite. Diverse. Mattel’s Barbie doll finally got a makeover aimed at making her a more realistic representation of women — and also recovering from plummeting sales of the iconic doll.

1. WATCH: America and the Impact of Racial Geography
“Race is in the air we breathe and in the water we drink in Flint … I don’t think if it was 8,000 white kids this would’ve happened." —Jim Wallis visited MSNBC’s Morning Joe to discuss race and the crisis in Flint. Read more in his new book: http://bit.ly/23f5Vlu

2. As Historic Blizzard Bears Down on East Coast, Concerns for Homeless
The Sojourners offices are closed today as we prepare for this weekend’s blizzard. Join us in prayer for the city’s homeless — and those throughout the path of the storm.

3. Flint Was Forgotten Before It Was Poisoned
“They are among America’s forgotten cities—wracked with pervasive poverty and violent crime—populated by a forgotten people. Mostly black and brown, they have little voice over their own destiny. There are no finely suited Washington lobbyists pressing their interests. Presidential candidates rarely come to places like these and they almost never make the national news unless something really bad happens.”

“Are you challenging me to a Catholic throwdown?”

Thus commenced Stephen Colbert and Patricia Heaton’s Catholic-off on the Jan. 18 episode of the Late Show. The famously Catholic TV host wanted to give his guest a fighting chance though. So, he produced a family photo of Heaton’s family with approximately enough people to fill a village.

“Baby steps.”

That’s the amount of progress leading Black Lives Matter activist DeRay Mckesson agreed Stephen Colbert made toward overturning his white privilege when the two sat down on Martin Luther King Day to discuss racism.

The interview got personal when Colbert switched seats with DeRay, letting the activist ask the questions. Colbert’s responses are clearly well-meaning, but also genuinely awkward. White privilege is tough for white people, even (perhaps especially) for renowned television hosts.

In an abrupt change, the city of Chicago has made public video footage that documents the shooting death of Cedrick Chatman at the hands of Chicago police. The 17-year-old Chatman was shot and killed while running away from police. The officers claim he turned around and pointed a black object at them, an object which turned out to be a black iPhone box.

For the second year in a row, every Academy nominee in an acting category is white.

Forget Idris Elba in Beasts of No Nation. Or Michael B. Jordan in Creed. Or Bernicio Del Toro in Sicario. Or Will Smith in Concussion.

The 93% White, 76% Male Academy wasn't interested.

Straight Outta' Compton was also lauded as a potential best picture nominee, but was only nominated for Best Original Screenplay, which was written by two white writers. Similarly, only Sylvester Stallone was nominated for Creed, a film with a black lead actor and a black director.