Finland is named the happiest country in the world for the eighth year in a row, according to the World Happiness Report 2025 published Thursday. Other Nordic countries are also once again at the top of the happiness rankings in the annual report published by the Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford. Besides Finland, Denmark, Iceland and Sweden remain the top four and in the same order. (Grieshaber, AP News)
Read MoreWitches have been enjoying something of a revival, and not only because of “Wicked,” the hit musical film starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo. The “witchtok” hashtag on TikTok has millions of posts, as users flock to witchcraft’s moody aesthetic, as well as to its emphasis on alternative healing and nature-centered spirituality. (Nazaryan, The New York Times)
Read MoreFour Augustinian friars have swapped their life of prayer for a sit-in protest that could see them jailed in a battle over the conversion of their historic monastery into a luxury retirement home. They are threatening to barricade themselves inside the Santo Spirito monastery in Florence. (Kington, The Times)
Read MoreThe U.S. is making progress against one of its most devastating public health threats: drug overdoses. Over the 12 months ending in October 2024, the country saw a 25% decline in overdose deaths compared with the same period the year prior, according to the latest preliminary estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About 82,000 overdose deaths were reported. (Wernau and Abbott, The Wall Street Journal)
Read MoreIn general, the large are growing larger and the small keep getting smaller. Congregations with more than 250 in attendance (62 percent) and those with 100 to 250 (59 percent) are more likely than churches with 50 to 99 in attendance (45 percent) and those with fewer than 50 (23 percent) to be growing by 4 percent or more. (Earls, Baptist Press)
Read MoreA federal judge in Washington D.C. has issued a preliminary injunction against the Trump administration over its attempt to ban transgender troops from serving in the U.S. military. Tuesday's decision by U.S. District Judge Ana C. Reyes temporarily blocks the Department of Defense from carrying through with a policy directive designed to remove transgender service members from the military. (Moore, NPR)
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