In a historic first‚ the United States is set to sanction a unit of the Israel Defense Forces. According to three sources speaking with Axios‚ Secretary of State Antony Blinken will announce sanctions against the IDF’s 97th Netzah Yehuda Battalion. Notably‚ the sanctions are not due to any actions during the war in Gaza‚ but rather human rights abuses committed in the West Bank before Oct. 7‚ 2023. The battalion is made up of ultra-Orthodox Jews with an emphasis on accommodating their...

The U.S. is reportedly considering sanctions against the Netzah Yehuda‚ an Israeli Defense Force unit linked to violence against Palestinians in the West Bank‚ but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday he would fight the sanctions “with all my strength”—joining liberal and conservative members of the Knesset in condemning the possible move shortly after the U.S. approved a $26 billion aid package for the Israeli military. The State Department is expected to impose...

Israeli leaders have lashed out at the prospect that the Biden administration may cut off aid to one of the Jewish state's army battalions over accusations that it's committed human rights abuses in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. According to a report by Axios‚ sanctions against the Israeli army's ultra-Orthodox Netzah Yehuda battalion could be announced in the coming days. Secretary of State Antony Blinken suggested a decision had been made on Friday when he was asked about internal...

A veteran tabloid publisher testified Tuesday that he pledged to be Donald Trump ‘s “eyes and ears” during his 2016 presidential campaign‚ recounting how he promised the then-candidate that he would help suppress harmful stories and even arranged to purchase the silence of a doorman. The testimony from David Pecker was designed to bolster the prosecution’s premise of a decades-long friendship between Trump and the former publisher of the National Enquirer that culminated in an agreement to...

Think back to the United States as it was a year ago‚ a decade ago‚ a generation ago. Is the US a more caring or less caring nation now than it was back then&;#63; If you think Americans have lost their compassion‚ the data would be on your side — until recently. Since the late 1970s‚ psychologists have measured empathy by asking millions of people how much they agreed with statements such as “I feel tender‚ concerned feelings for people less fortunate than me.” In 2011‚ a landmark study led by...

The U.S. Justice Department announced a $138.7 million settlement Tuesday with more than 100 people who accused the FBI of grossly mishandling allegations of sexual assault against Larry Nassar in 2015 and 2016‚ a critical time gap that allowed the sports doctor to continue to prey on victims before his arrest. When combined with other settlements‚ $1 billion now has been set aside by various organizations to compensate hundreds of women who said Nassar assaulted them under the guise of...

When it comes to babysitting‚ you can hit the jackpot with someone who not only enjoys hanging out with your kiddos but also cleans out of boredom. The only babysitter I've had that experience with is my mom‚ but I do hear they do exist. While walking into a spotless house after a much-needed night out would be amazing‚ it's not really part of a standard babysitting package.Typically‚ whoever babysits for you is solely there to focus on the well-being of your children. They feed them snacks‚ play games with them‚ and follow their bedtime routine to the letter. Then they hang out on your couch reminding Netflix that they're still watching and wait for you to return. Sure‚ they clean up dishes from dinner and whatever toys were pulled out during their time with your kids‚ but they don't typically clean your house.But in a private parenting group I belong to‚ a long debate was started when a mom asked a group of 260k of her closest friends if it would be appropriate for a parent to ask a babysitter to clean their home.The anonymous mom explained that her college-aged daughter had recently started babysitting for a family‚ but on the second day‚ her duties suddenly changed. There was a list of chores waiting for the babysitter that included cleaning the family's dishes and cleaning up messes that were there before the sitter arrived. This revelation set off a firestorm of comments with many agreeing that anything outside of cleaning up after the children while they're in your care is a separate job. But not everyone was on the same page and it was clear that this was a topic that was going to cause some intense debate. Since summer months are here‚ there's no wonder this topic is coming up and views are split. Scary Mommy recently published an article posing a similar question‚ only this was coming from a parent who wanted her babysitter to clean while her children slept. Elizabeth Narins explains that she and her husband are stretched thin and have an active toddler she jokingly calls a &;quot;toy tornado.&;quot; &;quot;Given the amount of housework that clearly needs to be done‚ paying someone to sit on our toy-covered couch during naps or after bedtime just seems... inefficient‚&;quot; Narins wrote before posing the question. &;quot;Is it completely out of line for me to ask her to declutter when my kids are in bed&;#63;&;quot;Whether it's the expert interviewed for the Scary Mommy article or the parents in the private group‚ there does seem to be one common theme among the discourse: Any additional chores should be clarified in the original job description‚ and if it wasn't‚ then it should be directly brought up in a conversation with the babysitter. Many parents in the comments believed that a housekeeper should be hired in addition to the babysitter‚ while others thought the babysitter should be offered more money for the additional work. But there were several people who thought it was just common courtesy for a babysitter to clean the house while the kids were asleep.It may seem that you're paying a babysitter to do nothing while your children sleep‚ but you're paying them to be there in the event of an emergency. No matter which side of the debate you're on‚ it seems proper communication about expectations will save everyone a headache in the future. Do you think cleaning should be expected from a babysitter&;#63;This article originally appeared on 6.8.23

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