CCF’s Weekly Media Roundup by Steve Mintz, December 9th, 2016

1. Life expectancy declines in America for the first time since 1993
2. Malta Outlaws ‘Conversion Therapy,’ a First in Europe
3. America’s male employment crisis is both urban and rural
4. Dating With a Disability
5. Is It Fair to Ban Public Housing Tenants From Smoking?
6. Trump Voters are Feeling It
7. United States: LGBT Students Face Discrimination
8. Parents and the High Cost of Child Care
9. The American Dream, Quantified at Last
10. Why Homeless Kids Can’t Get to School
11. A Complex Portrait of Rural America
12. Are the Suburbs Really Back?
13. Justice by Algorithm
14. Stabilizing children’s lives: Insights for research and action
15. Danish Doctors’ Group Wants to End Circumcision for Boys
16. Inequality Is Killing The American Dream
17. U.S. Life Expectancy Declines, and Researchers Are Puzzled
18. Behind the Reality of Mass Incarceration
19. Stay Optimistic, Live Longer?
20. How The Public Views Ohio’s Abortion Bill

 

1. Life expectancy declines in America for the first time since 1993

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/us-life-expectancy-declines-for-the-first-time-since-1993/2016/12/07/7dcdc7b4-bc93-11e6-91ee-1adddfe36cbe_story.html?utm_term=.5880690af7f6&wpisrc=nl_headlines&wpmm=1

Rising fatalities from heart disease, strokes, diabetes, drug overdoses, accidents and other conditions are to blame for the decrease, according to the National Center for Health Statistics.

 

2. Malta Outlaws ‘Conversion Therapy,’ a First in Europe

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/07/world/europe/malta-outlaws-conversion-therapy-transgender-rights.html

The Mediterranean island nation criminalized therapeutic methods that purport to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity, officials said.

 

3. America’s male employment crisis is both urban and rural

https://www.brookings.edu/research/americas-male-employment-crisis-is-both-urban-and-rural

While the 2016 election brought to light the bleak employment picture for men in rural America, an analysis of Census data reveals similar numbers of out-of-work men in many major cities.

 

4. Dating With a Disability

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/08/well/family/dating-with-a-disability.html

Women with disabilities often begin to date much later in life, and they struggle in a dating culture that places a premium on physical appearance.

 

5. Is It Fair to Ban Public Housing Tenants From Smoking?

http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2016/12/08/is-it-fair-to-ban-public-housing-tenants-from-smoking

The federal government has banned all smoking in public housing complexes beginning early next year. Officials acted to protect public health but, in doing so, restricted what tenants could do in their own homes. Is the measure sensible or heavy-handed?

 

6. Trump Voters are Feeling It

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/08/opinion/trump-voters-are-feeling-it.html

There is a legitimate case to be made that just by giving voice to those in the white working class who are distrustful, alienated and isolated from contemporary culture, Trump will provide temporary relief from the stress that these voters experience — much as the nomination and election of Barack Obama did for black and Hispanic voters in 2008.

 

7. United States: LGBT Students Face Discrimination

https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/12/07/united-states-lgbt-students-face-discrimination

Schools remain hostile environments for LGBT students, according to a new report by Human Rights Watch, a group that advocates for LGBT rights. The group conducted in-depth interviews with students, parents, teachers and administrators in Alabama, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas and Utah and found that in many schools “discriminatory policies and practices exacerbate the sense of exclusion students face.”

 

8. Parents and the High Cost of Child Care

http://usa.childcareaware.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/CCA_High_Cost_Report.pdf

Child Care Aware of America says in a new report that in 39 states and the District of Columbia, the average cost of center-based care for a baby is higher than 10 percent of the median income for a married couple with children. In fact, the report says, the average cost for an infant in center-based child care can be as high as $17,082 per year – or $12,796 annually for a four-year-old.

 

9. Older Americans Went Back To School During The Recession. Did It Pay Off?

http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/older-americans-went-back-to-school-during-the-recession-did-it-pay-off/

 

10. The American Dream, Quantified at Last

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/08/opinion/the-american-dream-quantified-at-last.html

Research shows that only half of Americans in their 30s earn more than their parents did at the same age. A few decades ago, nearly all adults did.

 

11. Why Homeless Kids Can’t Get to School

http://www.citylab.com/housing/2016/12/choosing-between-shelter-and-school/509993/?utm_source=nl__link6_120816

Antiquated procedures and limited resources prevent many homeless children from having a stable education experience.

 

12. A Complex Portrait of Rural America

http://www.citylab.com/housing/2016/12/a-complex-portrait-of-rural-america/509828/?utm_source=nl__link4_120816

New Census data show that the real differences between the city and the country may not match up with popular perception.

 

13. Are the Suburbs Really Back?

http://www.citylab.com/housing/2016/12/are-the-suburbs-really-back/509927/?utm_source=nl__link3_120816

The Wall Street Journal claims population growth in the U.S. suburbs is “outstripping” cities. That’s not exactly the case.

 

14. Justice by Algorithm

http://www.citylab.com/crime/2016/12/justice-by-algorithm/505514/?utm_source=nl__link1_120816

Baltimore uses a little-known risk assessment tool to help make bail decisions. It’s supposed to be an objective way to keep non-violent defendants out of jail, but some fear it might be reinforcing racial bias.

 

15. Stabilizing children’s lives: Insights for research and action

http://www.urban.org/urban-wire/stabilizing-childrens-lives-insights-research-and-action

Children need a solid foundation to thrive: access to basic necessities, relationships with loving adults, and stable environments. But many children lack this stability, which can harm their development.

 

16. Danish Doctors’ Group Wants to End Circumcision for Boys

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/08/world/europe/circumcision-boys-babies.html

The medical association in Denmark said the procedure should be an “informed personal choice” that men make for themselves when they reach adulthood.

 

17. Inequality Is Killing The American Dream

http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/inequality-is-killing-the-american-dream/

Decades of rising income inequality and slowing economic growth have eroded a pillar of the American dream: the hope that each generation will do better than the one that came before

 

18. U.S. Life Expectancy Declines, and Researchers Are Puzzled

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/08/health/life-expectancy-us-declines.html

It dropped for the first time since 1993, to 78.8 years.

 

19. Behind the Reality of Mass Incarceration

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/07/opinion/behind-the-reality-of-mass-incarceration.html

Conflicting views on the causes and consequences of mass imprisonment.

 

20. Stay Optimistic, Live Longer?

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/07/well/mind/stay-optimistic-live-longer.html

Increasing levels of optimism were tied to decreasing risks of death from cancer, heart disease, stroke and infections.

 

21. How The Public Views Ohio’s Abortion Bill

http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/how-the-public-views-ohios-abortion-bill/

Ohio’s Republican-led legislature passed a law on Tuesday making abortion illegal once a fetal heartbeat can be detected (typically at about six weeks’ gestation).