How to stay healthy during cold, flu and COVID-19 season

Winter is here, inflicting its usual array of symptoms — coughs, nasal congestion, fatigue and fever — and, this year, a new COVID-19 variant is dominating the scoreboard. COVID-19 is leading hospital admissions among the respiratory viruses, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Last week, 25 U.S. states had high or … Read more

This 30-year-old American teacher moved to Denmark—now she spends $2,100 a month and is ‘much happier’

In June 2018, I packed three suitcases and booked a one-way flight from Texas to join my husband in Denmark. We met in 2016 and had been dating long-distance for much of our relationship. We were excited to get married and build a home and life together. We found a wonderful apartment online in a … Read more

How does social attention develop in autistic children?

As they grow, children increasingly focus their attention on social elements in their environment, such as faces or social interactions. However, children with autism are often more interested in non-social stimuli, such as textures or geometric shapes. By tracking where children look while viewing a cartoon, a team from the University of Geneva (UNIGE) has … Read more

South Carolina Republicans back trans youth health care ban despite pushback from parents, doctors

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Pleas from transgender children’s pediatricians and parents to keep allowing such kids to receive hormone therapies failed to stop Republican lawmakers from advancing a ban on those treatments to the South Carolina House floor on Wednesday. The GOP-led Medical, Military, Public and Municipal Affairs Committee voted to advance the bill within the … Read more

Parents facing diaper duty could see relief from bipartisan tax legislation introduced in Kentucky

FRANKFORT, Ky. — For weary parents rolling up their sleeves for around-the-clock diaper duty, a bill with bipartisan support in Kentucky would deliver tax relief when purchasing a necessity that adds up to a hefty expense. The measure would exempt diapers from the state’s 6% sales tax. Senators from both parties have signed on as … Read more

The Boeing 737 Max Crisis Reignites Arguments Over Infant Safety on Planes

As terrible as that tradeoff is, it’s worth noting that the risk of death on a commercial airliner to anyone, lap-held infants included, remains vanishingly low—so let the pangs of guilt subside if you’ve flown holding your baby on your lap. “Commercial aircraft accidents are still extremely rare, and the logistics of having infants in … Read more

Alabama can enforce a ban on gender-affirming care for transgender minors, appeals court rules

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Alabama can begin immediately enforcing a ban outlawing the use of puberty blockers and hormones to treat transgender people under 19, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday, granting the state’s request to stay a preliminary injunction that had blocked enforcement of the 2022 law. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had … Read more

USDA estimates 21 million kids will get summer food benefits in 2024

Nearly 21 million children in the U.S. and its territories are expected to receive food benefits this summer through a newly permanent federal program, the United States Department of Agriculture announced Wednesday. Thirty-five states, all five U.S. territories and four tribes opted into the Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer program, or Summer EBT, which the government … Read more

A judge has temporarily halted enforcement of an Ohio law limiting kids’ use of social media

COLUMBUS, Ohio — A federal judge issued an order Tuesday temporarily halting enforcement of a pending Ohio law that would require children to get parental consent to use social media apps. U.S. District Court Judge Algenon Marbley’s temporary restraining order came in a lawsuit brought Friday by NetChoice, a trade group representing TikTok, Snapchat, Meta … Read more

Meta to restrict teen content as complaints mount about youth harm

Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, attends a U.S. Senate bipartisan Artificial Intelligence Insight Forum at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., Sept. 13, 2023. Stefani Reynolds | AFP | Getty Images Meta said Tuesday it will limit the type of content that teenagers on Facebook and Instagram are able to see, as the company faces … Read more