Five different themes emerging from digital media this year include a crossroads moment for streamers, how social media influencers are driving engagement with TV shows, films, and video games, the lack of women in gaming, the untapped potential of fandom, and the diversification of the American audience. (Carson, Variety)
Read MoreThe pace of babies born each year in the U.S. has slowed to a new record low, according to an analysis of 2023 birth certificate data published Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Last year's slowdown marks an official end to the uptick in new babies that began during the COVID-19 pandemic. At least 3,591,328 babies were born in the U.S. in 2023, down 2% from the 3,667,758 born in 2022. (Tin, CBS News)
Read MoreLisa Countryman-Quiroz is the CEO of JVS, or Jewish Vocational Service, a nonprofit in San Francisco that provides career training for unemployed workers to find jobs, including in skilled trades. She says that over the years there has been a shift — with skilled trade making a comeback, especially among members of Generation Z. (Johnston, NPR)
Read MoreA Russian Orthodox priest who presided over the funeral of Alexei Navalny in March has been suspended from clerical duties for three years. The priest, Dmitry Safronov, is forbidden from giving blessings, wearing the frock and bearing the church’s priestly cross until 2027, the Moscow Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church said. (The Telegraph)
Read MoreThe Supreme Court will hear arguments on Wednesday about whether Idaho’s near-total abortion ban conflicts with a federal law that protects patients who need emergency care, in a case that would determine access to abortions in emergency rooms across the country. (VanSickle, The New York Times)
Read MoreThese days, Swift’s faith appears more fluid. Her religious references are as eclectic as a Brooklyn thrift shop — well-worn Christian metaphors sit alongside a more bohemian mishmash of witchcraft, divination and paganism. Her newest release, “The Tortured Poets Department,” is a patchwork of religious allusions, from good Samaritans and Jehovah’s Witnesses to altar sacrifices and prophecies. (Post & Macrae, Religion News Service)
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