News Articles

We have much to be grateful for and many reasons to be ecstatic about continued human progress.

By Tyler Brant
Courtesy of Foundation for Economic Education

“The 2010s have been the best decade ever. The evidence is overwhelming.”

Those are the words of Cato Institute senior fellow Johan Norberg, penned in an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal.

Norberg’s words seem hyperbolic at first glance, but he may be right. In many ways, the world is getting better every day, and at an explosive rate. This is contrary to mainstream sentiment, where pundits clamor about democracy falling apart, climate catastrophe threatening our […]

By Dennis Thompson
HealthDay Reporter
Courtesy of WebMD

MONDAY, Nov. 11, 2019 (HealthDay News) — Smoking pot doesn’t do your heart or your brain any favors, a pair of new studies shows.

They’re also more likely to be hospitalized for a dangerously erratic heart rhythm, according to the second study.

Both studies are to be presented at an upcoming meeting of the American HeartAssociation (AHA), in Philadelphia, Nov. 16 to 18. Research presented at meetings is typically considered preliminary until published in […]

By Danny Swartz
Courtesy of NBC News
Originally Posted Dec. 10, 2019

One day, we will likely speak about the spate of deaths that has plagued the rap industry since late 2017 the same way we do now about the murders of Tupac, Biggie Smalls and Big L in the late ‘90s.

Mac Miller’s overdose, Nipsey Hussle’s murder in front of his own store, and the slow, lean-induced demise of Fredo Santana were each devastating losses. The most troubling development, though, has been the emerging trend […]

By Evelyn Atieno
Courtesy of HUFFPOST
Originally posted June 14, 2016

“I don’t care if it was heroin in my cup, it’s in MY cup” said Lil Wayne in a 2009 interview for Behind the Music. Lil Wayne was being confronted about his abusive use of “lean” also known as codeine; to a Lil Wayne fan, it’s apparent that Wayne abuses lean, to others they think it’s what makes him, him. Lean has defined his career from his humble beginnings, in a perplexing way, Wayne doesn’t see lean as poisonous nor dangerous. He has been dependent on it for years, stating in […]

A recent study published in JAMA Psychiatry found that 16-year-old girls using oral contraceptives are more depressed than peers not using oral contraceptives. Oral contraceptive users particularly reported more crying, eating problems, and excessive sleeping compared with nonusers. The study warns that use of oral contraceptives by teenage girls may affect their quality of life and put them at risk for not taking the contraceptives regularly, leading to unplanned pregnancies.

Courtesy of JAMA Network

Association of Use of Oral Contraceptives With Depressive Symptoms Among Adolescents and Young Women

Key Points

Question  What is the association between oral contraceptive use and concurrent depressive symptoms […]

In recent years there has been growing awareness of Child Sex Trafficking. Here are WARNING SIGNS to watch for:

• Signs of physical abuse such as burn marks, bruises or cuts
• Unexplained absences from school, truancy
• Less appropriately dressed than before
• Sexualized behavior
• Overly tired or falls asleep in class
• Withdrawn, depressed, or distracted
• Brags about making or having lots of money
• Displays expensive clothes, accessories, or shoes
• New tattoo (tattoos often used by pimps as a way to brand victims.)
• Older boyfriend, new friends with a different lifestyle, or gang involvement
• Disjointed family connections, running away, living with friends, or experiencing […]
  

More than a decade of data reveals that American teens have become far less likely to abuse alcohol, nicotine, and illicit drugs, and less likely to engage in delinquent behaviors, such as fighting and stealing.

Researchers found that the number of substance-use disorders among 12- to 17-year olds had declined by 49% over a 12-year span, along with a simultaneous 34% decline in delinquent behaviors, such as fighting, assault, stealing, selling drugs or carrying a handgun.

The decline in substance abuse among teens in the years before 2015 parallels findings in other recent surveys, but, […]

By NBC15 Staff
Courtesy of NBC15

MADILL, Okla. (WMTV)– A police department in Oklahoma is warning parents about several apps that could be on their child’s tablet or smartphone.

According to the Madill Police Department’s Facebook posted on August 5, they posted the warning ahead of the upcoming school year.

“With school just around the corner, we wanted to share with parents, 15 Apps you should be aware of on your child’s phone/tablet and the dangers that come with some of them,” posted the police department.

The full list of apps with descriptions from Madill Police Department:

• MEETME: a dating social media app that […]
  

By Annie Holmquist
Courtesy of Intellectual Takeout

Let’s face it. Almost every child has likely had some type of meltdown in public, causing great embarrassment to both the child’s parent and to other witnesses in the vicinity. But while such disrespectful behavior is embarrassing at age two, it’s downright horrifying the older a child gets.

Dr. Leonard Sax recently experienced one of these horrifying displays of disrespect in his medical practice. He describes the scenario in a recent edition of The Wall Street Journal:

“Kyle was absorbed in a videogame on […]

By Timothy Oblad
Courtesy of Institute of Family Studies

In 2016, Natalie Natividad was an 8th grader at Hebbronville Middle in South Texas. After repeated bullying at school and online over the course of a year, she tragically took her own life. This was especially impactful to the local community as they were just recovering from the news of a nearby high school student who also made a similar suicide attempt because of depression from bullying (although this young woman survived). Cases such as these are difficult to face, but the growing number of individuals struggling with depression and bullying from […]