In 2025, 43.8 million Americans (ages 12 and up) used marijuana regularly, compared to 36.1 million Americans who smoked cigarettes, according to the 2025 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Marijuana use was highest among adults 18 to 25 (8.4 million people), while cigarette use was highest among adults 26 and up (32.2 million people), the survey, released on July 28, shows. (Cross, USA Today)
Read MoreThe term “limerence” was coined by Dorothy Tennov in the 1970s to describe profound romantic infatuation. It’s characterized by frequent thoughts about a love interest, moods dependent on their actions and vivid fantasy. (Battle, The Washington Post)
Read MoreYes, there are many benefits of cutting back. But bars are closing. Jobs are going away. And a way of being together can feel harder to find. (Bellafante, The New York Times)
Read MoreIncidents of anti-Christian hate, once sporadic, are becoming routine in Jerusalem, a city held sacred in Christianity, Judaism and Islam. Most Israelis condemn this behavior, but negative attitudes toward Christianity have become more common, particularly among young people, surveys show. (Stancati, The Wall Street Journal)
Read MoreClergy members in Arizona who learn of child abuse in the context of religious confession are not required to report it, the state’s supreme court has said in a ruling that protects what church leaders call the “seal of the confessional”. (Luscombe, The Guardian)
Read MoreIn Russia’s catalogue of kidnapped Ukrainian children, prospective guardians can choose preferred hair and eye color, and specify their intended form of guardianship. Teenage girls are photographed in seductive adult attire. (Chandler,Baptist Press)
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