By Melissa Wuske

Working Families in America

The percentage of households with both the mother and father working full time has grown in the past decades, from 31 percent in 1970 to 46 percent in 2015, according to a study by the Pew Research Center.

In these households the mother is more likely to do more than the father in managing children’s schedules and activities (in 54 percent of households) and caring for the children when they are sick (47 percent of households). In the areas of chores, discipline, and playing with children, however, mothers and fathers share equally in the majority of households.

When both parents work full time, most households report that neither parents’ career takes priority over the other: 15 percent say the mother’s career takes priority; the father’s career takes precedent in 22 percent of households; and 62 percent give both careers equal priority.

Facts About Refugees

As refugees continue to be in the news and feature prominently in the presidential race, Stephen Bauman, President and CEO of World Relief, urges citizens and candidates alike to take an open, honest look at the situation. World Relief is one of nine agencies that the U.S. State Department has authorized to resettle refugees in the U.S. Since 2011 the United States has resettled 2,200 Syrian refugees, 70 percent of whom are women and children under age 14. 

Bauman cautions against a blanket fear of refugees. “If you look at the 35 years of refugee resettlement in our nation, over three million since the mid to late ’70s, there has been no one from that group of people that are terrorists or have carried out a terrorist attack. . . . If there are radical elements that come into our country, and I am sure there are, the last place they would want to seek entry is through the refugee program because it is so sealed tight from a security perspective.”

Bauman also pointed out the ultimate benefit refugees can bring to the country: “People think refugees are a drag on our economy, when in fact the opposite is true. . . . People like one of the cofounders from Google was a refugee. You don’t have to go back too far with Steve Jobs, who came from Syrian descent.”

Preventing Blindness in Premature Babies

More than half of babies born before 30 weeks gestation are affected by retinopathy of prematurity and 50,000 babies worldwide go blind annually as a result—including the musician Stevie Wonder. But now research has discovered a powerful, though not surprising, antidote: breast milk. 

For infants fed exclusively breast milk, the odds of retinopathy of prematurity were reduced 89 percent. Those fed a mix of breast milk and formula were half as likely to have retinopathy of prematurity as those fed only formula.

The Ultra-Modern Breakup

As if modern relationships weren’t strange enough, people can now pay the Breakup Shop to end a relationship for them. Options include text messages, emails, one-minute phone calls, standard letters, and personalized letters, so a person can break up in whatever way they like—without having to do it themselves. 

“People are already paying services like Tinder to get them in a relationship, why not pay a service to get you out of one?” said Breakup Shop’s founders.