Gallup finds that average hours worked have dropped progressively since 2019 when U.S. employees reported working an average of 44.1 hours. In 2024, they work 42.9 hours per week. The decline in hours worked is more pronounced among younger (those younger than 35) than older workers (those aged 35 and older). Between 2019 and 2024, older employees have seen an average reduction of just under one hour per person per week, while younger employees have reduced their hours by nearly two hours. (Harter, Gallup)
Read MoreThe CIA used experimental intelligence methods to attempt to locate the Ark of the Covenant, but the revelations are about 25 years old. The Ark of the Covenant is more than a lost treasure for Indiana Jones to track down, it is also an important symbol in Jewish faith and history. In "recently resurfaced" documents, as reported by right-wing British outlet the Daily Mail, the CIA outlines how it used a "remote viewer" to mentally locate the site of the artifact, which has remained a mystery for centuries. (Crowley, USA Today)
Read MoreFollowing extensive research, scientists have resolved a conundrum. Heterosexual men, they find, really like breasts. A lot. They like looking at them, like touching them — and just generally like being around them. But while these new findings may not be a total revelation to at least half the population, crucially the study concluded this is true even when there is no shortage of breasts on display. (Whipple, The Times)
Read MoreThey’ve had to hide their Christian worship services amid the civil war in the country, especially after an attack by the Rapid Support Forces, a paramilitary organization formerly operated by the Sudanese government, on the Sudanese Church of Christ in Al Jazirah on Dec. 30, 2024. The attack left at least 14 people, including women and children, seriously injured. (Onyulo, Religion News)
Read MorePilgrims have been pouring into this medieval hilltop town to venerate not only two of the Catholic Church’s most celebrated saints, Francis and Clare, but its newest — Carlo Acutis, the first millennial saint, who will be canonized on April 27. “St. Francis, St. Clare, of course, important saints who marked an epoch – but that’s far removed from today’s teens. Carlo is like the kids,” said Maria Rosario Riccio, a mother and educator who was visiting Acutis’ shrine recently with a 50-strong parish youth group from southern Italy. “He’s a near-saint of our time, who can show teens that it’s possible to love Jesus while being a regular youth.” (Dell’Orto, AP News)
Read MoreIn many countries around the world, a fifth or more of all adults have left the religious group in which they were raised. Christianity and Buddhism have experienced especially large losses from this “religious switching,” while rising numbers of adults have no religious affiliation, according to Pew Research Center surveys of nearly 80,000 people in 36 countries. (Lesage, Starr & Miner, Pew Research Center)
Read More