1. Pope Francis Is Making Americans Uncomfortable — Why That’s a Good Thing
According to Gallup, Pope Francis’ favorability ratings have dropped from 76 percent in 2014 to 45 percent in 2015. America magazine writer Kerry Weber explains the pontiff’s recent dips in the U.S. polls.
2. Why Kylie Jenner Gets to Be ‘Just a Kid,’ But Amandla Stenberg Does Not
"America loves to defend those it perceives to be the most vulnerable — i.e. young white girls — at the expense of and detriment to young girls of color. … Though some may say this is just a pointless Instagram beef between children, this mentality of putting white womanhood on a pedestal has violent, real-world ramifications."
3. NASA Finds ‘Earth’s Bigger, Older Cousin’
Wait … what, now? According to NASA, its Kepler spacecraft has identified a planet some 1,400 light-years away — the first "nearly Earth-size planet to be found in a habitable zone of a start similar to our own," according to CNN.
4. U.S. Jets to Use Turkish Bases in War on ISIS
In a long-awaited turning point in the offensive on ISIS, and following the killing of a Turkish soldier, Turkey will allow the American warplanes access to two Turkish air bases to strike ISIS targets in Syria.
5. The Paradox of a Pro-Life Church Without Paid Parental Leave
National Catholic Reporter takes on the reality of working for the Catholic Church in dioceses without paid parental leave: "As lay leaders assume an increased presence in the U.S. church, our lack of guaranteed paid parental leave is a serious theological problem — and a moral failure. While our church celebrates family as ‘the first and vital cell of society,’ a painful dissonance exists between church teaching and practice. This dissonance fuels lay workers' lifetime resource gap and devalues the very moms and dads whose dedication enlivens our faith."
6. Rob Bell Talks Spirituality, Science, Oprah, and ‘Pure Joy’
A Q&A with the pastor and Love Wins author, now traveling the country in his one-man "Everything is Spiritual" speaking tour.
7. I Don’t Know When Life Begins, But I Know it Begins
Writer Matthew Paul Turner offers his take on the Planned Parenthood controversy: "We like to add our own stories to all the whos involved. And in most cases, we really don’t know the stories. We too often don’t care about the stories. We simply hate abortion. Or we simply support abortion. … But at some point, abortion is an issue that involves a person who has no voice. She’s not a liver. Or a heart. Or a pair of lungs. She’s a life."
8. Why Single-Tasking Makes You Smarter
A campaign to eliminate "toxic" multitasking: "Multitasking is a brain drain that exhausts the mind, zaps cognitive resources and, if left unchecked, condemns us to early mental decline and decreased sharpness. Chronic multitaskers also have increased levels of cortisol, the stress hormone, which can damage the memory region of the brain."
9. U.S. Navy Nurse Honored for Not Force-Feeding Gitmo Prisoners
The American Nurses Association handed out an ethics award to an unidentified nurse — who is fighting the Defense Department’s attempts to revoke his security clearance following his act, according to the AP — for refusing to force-feed detainees at Guantanamo Bay who were on an extended hunger strike.
10. Do You Know Why I’m Pulling You Over, Being Wildly Aggressive, and Charging You With Assault, Sir?
If bad cops narrated their actions, courtesy The Onion: "Now, just sit tight in your car while I take a look here and grow increasingly hostile. I’m just going to start addressing you in an unmistakably threatening tone that is specifically meant to intimidate and provoke, and then drastically escalate the situation so that it quickly gets out of hand."
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