Social Issues

You may want to think twice before tossing food from your fridge instead of subjecting yourself to leftovers. A new report presented at the Reuters Food and Agriculture Summit in Chicago this week estimates that somewhere between 30 and 50 percent of the world’s food production goes into the garbage. The Natural Resources Defense Council, ... read more »

A daycare and preschool center in Bakersfield, California has recently initiated a new scheduling model which will expand their current hours of 6am – 6pm, to 24 hours, 7 days a week. The bold, expanded hours was implemented to meet the needs of swing shift workers and parents looking for sitters on weekends. The daycare ... read more »

An Ohio lawmaker wants to make men jump through additional hoops to obtain drugs to treat erectile dysfunction. State Sen. Nina Turner (D-Cleveland) has introduced Senate Bill 307, which would require doctors to take certain steps before and after prescribing PDE-5 inhibitors such as Viagra. The mandatory actions would include things such as having the ... read more »

Invisible Children’s short film highlighting the dire plight of children in Uganda has received tens of millions of views since it was uploaded on YouTube this week, but it has also generated questions about the organization itself. The film, Kony 2012, highlights the actions of Ugandan guerrilla group leader Joseph Kony, whose group, the Lord’s ... read more »

Kirk Cameron, the 80s television star best known for his role as Mike Seaver on Growing Pains, is facing backlash after anti-gay remarks. Appearing on the Piers Morgan Tonight show on CNN, Cameron was asked about the issue of gay marriage. Not surprisingly, the born again and deeply religious Cameron has a problem with it, ... read more »

Lost Without U singer and celebrity dad, Robin Thicke, recently made the news, after being caught by the New York police department, smoking marijuana in his Cadillac Escalade. The multitalented father-of-one was charged with drug possession after being spotted kicked back in his car enjoying some green. Thicke was completely cooperative with the police and ... read more »

While most of the United States celebrates the current Girl Scouts cookie season by munching on Thin Mints and Samoas, an Indiana lawmaker has decided to rail on the group instead. Indiana House Republicans put forth a resolution last week to honor the 100th anniversary of the Girl Scouts, but Rep. Bob Morris (R-Fort Wayne) ... read more »

A reporter has found out the hard way that teens don’t like it when you cut off their easy access to alcohol. Andrea McCarren, a long time TV reporter for WUSA in Washington, DC, produced a report about underage drinking that featured the Town Square Market, a local liquor store that was allegedly selling alcohol ... read more »

When Amy Zvovushe took a new job with Ryan Partnership, she never imagined that when she became pregnant and informed her Human Resources department of her condition she’d be told she wouldn’t have a job waiting for her when she came back to work after having her child. That’s just what happened, alleges Zvovushe, who secretly recorded ... read more »

A mother is facing backlash after posting a photo on Facebook showing her rock climbing with her 2-year-old daughter on her back. Menna Pritchard, 26, has been routinely taking her daughter, Ffion, on outdoor trips since the toddler was 4 months old, reports BBC News, but mostly for hill walking with Ffion in a sling. ... read more »

A family in Worcestershire, UK, have been warned that they face eviction – if they can’t stop their two-year-old daughter from crying. Nicola Baylis, 23, and Tim Richold, 34, moved into their first-floor flat in December 2010, with their daughter Skye. They have now been issues with a notice seeking repossession of the house, due ... read more »

Both anti-abortion groups and Planned Parenthood are trying to take credit for Illinois’ stark decline in abortions over the last few years. Between 2009 and 2010, abortion rates in Illinois were the lowest since the U.S. Supreme Court legalized access to safe abortions back in 1973. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, once Roe v. Wade ... read more »

  According to a path-breaking report by CNN, an estimated 100,000 children are toiling in cocoa fields in the Ivory Coast and other cocoa-producing countries – all in a bid to create chocolate products. According to the International Labor Rights forum, many children working on cocoa farms are smuggled into Ivory Coast from Mali and ... read more »

What has long been suspected has been given official credence. Experts at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law agreed that children who suffer bullying – whether at school or on the Internet – are more prone to long spells of depression and suicidal thoughts.  Dysthymia, or long-term depression (LTD), is characterized ... read more »

  From the onset of the second season of 16 and Pregnant, most of the controversial show’s loyal watchers knew that Leah Messer’s story would continue to be played out if a second season of Teen Mom were created. And it was, with Leah being one of the most popular cast members. During her time ... read more »