New Year’s resolutions actually go back to ancient times! So, before you pooh-pooh the idea, let’s explore what’s behind this tradition and more practical ways towards self-improvement. Plus, we also compare the top 10 resolutions from the 1940s to those of today! Are you surprised? (Boeckmann, Almanac)
Read MoreCarter, who died Sunday at 100, was widely known as a man of faith, especially after his long post-presidency became defined by images of the Baptist Sunday School teacher building homes for low-income people and fighting diseases across the developing world. (Barrow, AP News)
Read MoreSunday morning services have long been the “most segregated hour” in America, as the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. declared, calling churches’ racial segregation “one of the shameful tragedies” of the nation. While many congregations look different now, experts say the most powerful divider may be that Americans organize their religious lives around their politics. (Boorstein, The Washington Post)
Read MoreOperated by Falun Gong, the persecuted Chinese religious movement, Shen Yun’s success flows in part from its ability to pack venues worldwide — while exploiting young, low-paid performers with little regard for their health or well-being. (Rothfeld & Hong, The New York Times)
Read MoreThe report attributed the historically high number to several factors, including a multiyear surge in home prices and fast-rising rent costs, a reduction in covid-era assistance, stagnating wages and overburdened homeless service systems — the latter at times exacerbated by influxes of migrants. (Kornfield, Paquette & Hennessey-Fiske, The Washington Post)
Read MoreThe 0.9% increase in 2024 was a slight slowdown from 2023, when the world population grew by 75 million people. In January 2025, 4.2 births and 2.0 deaths were expected worldwide every second, according to the estimates. (Schneider, AP News)
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