President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump are both visiting the southern border on Thursday‚ but the two places the men are visiting have differing accounts of the immigration crisis. The border towns where Biden and Trump are visiting‚ Brownsville‚ Texas‚ and Eagle Pass‚ Texas‚ respectively‚ have seen significant changes in their dynamics with illegal immigration in recent years‚ which both men appear eager to capitalize on. Brownsville‚ in the Rio...

President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump visited two different Texas border cities on Thursday in dueling trips that put immigration squarely at the center of their near-certain rematch in this year’s presidential election. The visits came on the heels of a bipartisan immigration bill failing in the U.S. Senate after Trump told Republicans not to vote for it‚ in part so that he could campaign on the issue. The bill proposed overhauling the nation's asylum system to...

President Biden and former President Donald Trump made dueling visits to the U.S.-Mexico border Thursday‚ as the two likely 2024 opponents used Texas towns 300 miles apart to blame the other’s party for failing to fix the migrant crisis. The nationally televised events—each featuring meetings with law-enforcement officials‚ tours of border barriers and curious onlookers—highlighted the extraordinary importance of immigration as an issue in the presidential election that...

The Alabama legislature voted Thursday to protect providers and patients doing in vitro fertilization from criminal or civil liability if embryos they create are subsequently damaged or destroyed. The fast action by both the House and Senate on bills to shield IVF came less than two weeks after the state’s Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos are people and that individuals could be liable for destroying them. The unprecedented decision‚ which gave fertilized eggs the same...

It was a rough week for Wendy’s. In the span of just a few days‚ the fast food giant went from an onslaught of attention to remarks by its CEO about “dynamic pricing” that were barely noticed at the time they were made two weeks ago; to a slew of headlines comparing that to Uber-style “surge pricing”; to burger memes galore on the internet; to a quick back-track that “dynamic pricing” isn’t “surge pricing” at all; to a cautionary tale in fast corporate PR.

The Department of Justice is planning to begin its annual process of renewing a powerful surveillance program that Congress has vowed to reform after revelations surfaced in recent years that the FBI has abused its access to it. Matthew Olsen‚ assistant attorney general for national security‚ said in a statement the DOJ is “taking the steps necessary” on its end to obtain certifications for Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Critics warn this...

There seems to be a constant war between children’s clothing retailers who want to push the boundaries of modesty and parents who push back‚ saying they are sexualizing children. On top of that‚ when young girls believe they are supposed to wear clothes that are tight-fitting and revealing‚ it's very damaging to their self-esteem and body image.“I think it’s one thing that the girls’ clothes are very fitted and small‚ and it’s another that they’re in such direct contrast to what you find on the boys’ side‚ and those two things send a pretty strong message about what they’re supposed to look like‚ dressed to be slim and to be fit‚” Sharon Choksi‚ a mom of two and founder of the clothing line‚ Girls Will Be‚ told CNN. The topic came up again recently when Meghan Mayer‚ a mother of 2 and a 7th-grade school teacher‚ posted a video on TikTok about a dress she saw at Target that received over 1.6 million views.Meghan was reacting to a smock-style patterned dress with balloon sleeves that appeared modest at first glance. But after closer examination‚ it has holes on the waist on both sides‚ revealing the girl’s midriff and possibly more. @thecrazycreativeteacher Thoughts? “My oldest daughter and I are at Target and there’s some cute spring stuff‚” Mayer started the video. "I am a little bit more conservative when it comes to my kids’ clothing‚ so maybe I’m overreacting‚ but let me know what you think of these dresses.”She added that the dress may be okay for a 12-year-old but was inappropriate in her opinion for a 6-or 7-year-old.Mayor asked her followers what they thought of the dress. “Like I said‚ I know I’m a little bit more conservative. I don’t usually even let my girls wear bikinis‚ but maybe I’m overreacting‚ I don’t know. Thoughts?”For reference‚ she then showed the sizes of the dresses to show they were for kids and then revealed the holes in the sides. “Look at these little slits on the sides of these dresses‚ right at the hips on all these dresses‚” she said.Most people commenting on the video thought the dress was a bit much for such a young girl to wear."You're not overreacting. You're parenting properly‚" Paper Bound Greetings wrote. "No‚ no. There is no reason for those holes to be there. They should have pockets! Not holes!" Anna wrote. "I think retailers are trying to mature our kids too fast. I agree with mom!" HollyMoore730 commented.But some people thought that that dress was acceptable and Mayer was overreacting."Unpopular opinion‚ I think they’re cute‚" Dr. Robinson wrote. "When I was a kid in the ‘70s I wore halter tops and tube tops; they were not seen as big deals. I don’t think this is scandalous‚" Kimberly Falkowsi added. "Overreacting. Both my girls have the blue and white‚ you can’t even tell much. It’s not that big of a hole. The dresses are so cute‚" LolitaKHalessi commented.Some commenters told Mayer that she should buy the dress and have her daughter wear a shirt beneath it so it doesn’t show skin. But Mayer believes that would be supporting Target for making questionable kids' clothing."No‚ I'm not going to buy it and have them wear a tank top with it‚ because then that's showing Target that it's OK‚" she told Today.com. "And over time‚ the cutout will get bigger and bigger."

While Neil deGrasse Tyson might usually break down the more complex mysteries of our universe‚ he also has a knack for discussing the mundane in a way that makes it every bit as interesting. On a recent episode of the StarTalk Podcast‚ where the popular astrophysicist chats about “everything under the sun; Or rather under the universe!” Tyson sat down with comedian Chuck Nice to break down how and why Leap Day came to be. “People seem to be mystified by it. A day just shows up on the calendar‚” Tyson told Nice. But really‚ there’s nothing all that mystical about it. We know a year consists of 365 revolutions around the sun‚ aka a “year.” However‚ “there's no law in the heavens that requires” a year to consist of exactly 365 revolutions. In reality‚ a year is 365 revolutions…plus one-fourth. Or six hours. Tyson then pondered‚ “so what are you gonna do with the six hours?” Which brought on a pretty intriguing concept: a rotating New Year’s celebration. Celebrating at the standard midnight one year‚ followed by a 6am celebration the following year‚ then midnight again‚ and so on. “That’d be kinda dope‚” Nice and Tyson agreed.But regardless‚ we don’t do that. Instead‚ in ancient Rome‚ which used the Julian calendar‚ they “pocketed” the extra six hours and technically celebrated New Year’s early. When 24 hours accrued every 4 years‚ they’d give an extra day to the”month that needed it most‚” i.e. February. But here’s the thing: Ancient Romans didn't know that it actually takes “a little less” than 365 for the Earth to go around the sun‚ Tyson explained. Therefore days that should have been “reckoned” were not‚ causing key moments of the calendar to keep shifting. The spring equinox‚ for instance‚ which was originally on March 21st‚ continuously moved up a day.Neil deGrasse Explains Why We Have Leap DaysThis became more of a glaring problem in the Late 16th century‚ when the religious holiday of Easter‚ which closely followed the spring equinox‚ had gotten dangerously close to Passover on the calendar. So‚ Pope Gregory XIII had his team of scientists (aka the Jesuits) rectify the situation and account for the skipped days.The result? October got 10 of its days swiped that year‚ and we got the Gregorian calendar commonly used today. Which‚ like the Julian calendar‚ adds a day to the calendar every 4 years‚ except when the year is divisible by 100 and not divisible by 400.This is what makes the year 2000 so remarkable‚ Tyson told Nice. It was an incredibly rare “century year” that met the parameters needed to be a leap year. 1900‚ 1800‚ 1700 couldn't claim that. And perhaps this is the most amazing part of all: the Jesuits were able to figure all of this out “without a telescope‚” Tyson said. Leap Years might feel a bit wonky‚ arbitrary even. But really‚ it’s a nod to human ingenuity. The concept of time is such a complex‚ almost incomprehensible aspect of existence. It’s extraordinary that we have been able to even come up with a measuring system‚ albeit an imperfect one‚ in the first place.

Raising kids is tough and no parent does it perfectly. Each child is different‚ each has their own personalities‚ strengths and challenges‚ and each of them requires something different from their parents in order to flourish.But there's one thing that parents have long said‚ with their actions if not with their words‚ that justifiably drives kids bonkers: "Do as I say‚ not as I do." To be fair‚ both moral and actual law dictate that there are things that adults can do that kids can't. Children can't drive or consume alcohol‚ for example‚ so it's not hypocritical for adults to do those things while telling kids they cannot. There are other things—movies‚ TV shows‚ books‚ etc.—that parents have to decide whether their kids are ready for or not based on their age and developmental stage‚ and that's also to be expected. But there are some gaps between what adults do and what they expect kids to do that aren't so easy to reconcile.In fact‚ there's a lot of hypocrisy when it comes to the way adults behave and the way they think kids should behave that warrants some examination. Here are 10 things some people punish kids for that adults do with total impunity: 1. Being hangryGrown-ups are so familiar with being cranky when they need food that they coined the term "hangry." And yet‚ if a child melts down because they're hungry‚ they are expected to pull themselves together and "stop that fussing." Sure‚ kids have to learn to regulate their emotional expression‚ but being punished for needing food and not being able to control their reactions to hunger yet isn't going to teach them that regulation. They have a hard enough time learning that skill when they aren't hungry‚ so give kids a little grace when the hanger hits. (And always carry snacks.)2. Not wanting to share something specialThe concept of sharing is something most parents try to instill into their kids in order to move them away from self-centeredness. That's not a bad thing‚ for sure.But it's worth noting that most adults have certain special belongings that they don't want other people to use‚ which is totally fine‚ so expecting kids to always share everything doesn't really make sense. Instead‚ teach kids that if they have something special that they don't want to share‚ to keep that item put away when other kids are around. They can also learn to kindly say‚ "Actually‚ that toy is extra special to me‚ but I'm happy to let you play with this one" while offering something else. 3. Breaking dishes‚ dropping drinks‚ or other oopsiesHow many of us don't break a dish on occasion‚ simply due to fumbling fingers? Accidents happen‚ and it's not always because we're being careless. If a kid is tossing a dish up in the air and trying to catch it behind their back or some other foolish game‚ that's worth a talking to about carelessness. But if a child breaks something or drops something‚ our first reaction shouldn't be to get angry and blame or shame them. Grown-ups don't get in trouble when they drop something. Kids‚ who have a lot less experience with their hands‚ definitely shouldn't. Model forgiveness and compassion by helping them clean up the mess‚ and move on. 4. Not responding immediately"Did you hear what I said? Are you listening?" we ask our children mere minutes after they had to repeat "Mommy‚ Mommy‚ Mommy‚" to us before we were able to respond to them. We can't expect our kids to immediately pull their attention away from what they are doing every time we want to say something to them‚ just as we can't always immediately shift our focus to them if we're putting together a recipe or typing out a thought or in the middle of a calculation. It's reasonable to teach kids to respectfully say‚ "One second‚ please‚" if we want their attention when they're in the middle of something. That teaches them that their learning/play is worth concentrating on‚ but also that responding to their parents is important. Give them a little time to disengage‚ just as adults grant one another all the time if we need to talk. 5. Forgetting thingsAdults sometimes forget their lunchbox at home. Adults sometimes leave their jacket someplace by accident. Forgetting things is a normal human phenomenon‚ not limited to children‚ and we all give one another grace when we forget something.With kids‚ we tend to be less forbearing. If forgetting is a daily occurrence‚ then sure‚ it might need to be addressed. But making a kid go hungry because they forgot their lunch even though we could easily bring it to them because "this will teach them to remember it" is kind of silly. Would we do that to our spouse if they forgot their lunch? No. Why do it with a kid (again‚ unless it's a recurring habit)?6. Refusing to eat somethingWe all have likes and dislikes‚ and one man's feast is another man's napkin food. We would never force an adult who doesn't like sweet potatoes to stay at the table until they finish their sweet potatoes. Why do that to kids?Encouraging kids to try something they've never tasted is one thing‚ but making them eat something they've tried and didn't like is just ick. Kids can learn to be grateful for the food they have without being made to eat everything on their plate. Provide lots of options‚ encourage tasting‚ but don't force kids to eat anything. That's a quick way to take the enjoyment out of trying new foods and create a negative association with eating certain foods—the exact opposite of what you're wanting. Most kids will grow out of picky eating‚ but there will always be certain things people don't care for. It's okay to let that be.7. FidgetingSome people have a really hard time sitting still for long periods of time‚ adults and children alike. But kids are the ones who get in trouble for not sitting still. Look at how popular standing desks‚ under-the-desk treadmills and walking meetings have become for working adults—and that's even when they have comfortable‚ ergonomic office chairs to sit in. Yet kids are expected to sit in uncomfortable desks most of the day without being able to get up and move around as they need to? No wonder some kids get fidgety. 8. Being in a bad moodWe all have our moments‚ don't we? Times when we're just feeling salty or irritable and we don't even know why? Maybe it's hormones‚ maybe it's hanger‚ maybe it's a full moon—whatever it is‚ we let people know we're feeling prickly and do what we need to do to either stay away from people or put ourselves right. What certainly wouldn't help is having someone chide us for having a "bad attitude" and insist that we "shape up." Helping kids manage their mood or alter their environment when they're struggling to manage it is a much more effective life skill than punishing them for being in a bad mood. 9. ComplainingEver seen a grown-up sit down to do their taxes without a single complaint? No‚ you haven't‚ because even if we're getting a refund the process of figuring it out is painful. Plenty of adults complain when we have to do something we don't want to do‚ and it's not because we were raised that way‚ most of the time. It's because some things just suck and it makes us feel better in the moment to express how much they suck. What kids complain about may seem trivial or silly to us‚ but it's not to them. Totally find to teach kids that complaining doesn't do any good‚ but not worth punishing them for it. 10. Sneaking sweetsUmm‚ hi. Guilty‚ pretty much daily. It's technically not sneaking when you own the sweets and you're a grown-up‚ but it feels like it. And who can blame kids for wanting to raid the cookie jar or the chocolate chip stash? Not saying they should. Just saying I get it‚ kid. What else belongs on this list?