South Korea tackles population crisis with foreign caregivers
South Korea launched a pilot program aimed at addressing its declining population and childcare shortage by hiring immigrant caregivers from the Philippines. The program assists families with children under 12 or those expecting a baby.
The program started in August 2024 and brought in 100 Filipino caregivers. The caregivers work either full-time or part-time and are paid South Korea’s minimum wage of $7 an hour.
“We wanted to give couples more options so they wouldn’t have to give up on having children due to financial pressures,” Oh said when the program was announced.
However, the program faced challenges early on. Two caregivers left their jobs after they cited poor working conditions, including long commutes and curfews. The two workers were later detained by South Korean immigration authorities after taking illegal cleaning jobs. They were deported in September 2024.
In response to the criticism, the city made adjustments to the program. Officials have eliminated the curfew, reduced commuting distances and switched to more frequent wage payments.
Critics argue that the program doesn’t solve the underlying issue of childcare being seen as a responsibility primarily for women. They said that perceived responsibility discouraged many families from having more children.
South Korea has one of the lowest fertility rates in the world, with an average of 0.72 children per woman. The population decline is already creating labor shortages in sectors like agriculture, manufacturing and domestic services.
While the government hopes this program can help ease the childcare burden, experts and advocacy groups question whether it offers a sustainable solution to the larger demographic challenges the country faces.
Harris sits down with Fox News, Trump holds town hall
Vice President Kamala Harris appeared on Fox News to talk about topics ranging from immigration and whether she would continue policies implemented by the Biden administration. And what led to the tragic fatal fall of British pop star Liam Payne in Argentina. These stories and more highlight your Unbiased Updates for Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024.
Harris sits down with Fox News, Trump holds town hall
With less than 20 days until America heads to the polls to elect the next president, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump appeared on Fox News Wednesday, Oct. 16. While Fox News is a familiar outlet for Trump, this was Harris’ first interview with the outlet since becoming the Democratic nominee.
In the one-on-one sit-down interview, Harris told Fox News Anchor Bret Baier her presidency would not be the same as Joe Biden’s previous four years after being questioned about past comments she made, saying she would not have done anything differently than the president.
“So, you’re not Joe Biden, you’re not Donald Trump, but nothing comes to mind that you would do differently?” Baier asked.
“Let me be very clear: my presidency would not be a continuation of Joe Biden’s presidency, and like every new president that comes to office, I will bring my life experiences and professional experiences and fresh and news ideas,” Harris said. “I represent a new generation of leadership. I, for example, am someone who has not spent the majority of my career in Washington, D.C.”
At times during the interview the anchor and the vice president spoke over one another to get their point across. One of those times was when they touched on the topic of immigration and the border.
When pressed about whether she had concerns about President Biden’s health, Harris noted Biden is not the one running for president, Trump is and mentioned former senior Trump officials who said he is not fit for office.
Former President Trump’s town hall with Fox News anchor Harris Faulkner also aired Wednesday. It had an audience made up of all women.
During the event, Trump touched on the topics of abortion and IVF, where he said he was the “father of IVF.”
“We really are the party for I.V.F.,” Trump said. “We want fertilization, and it’s all the way, and the Democrats tried to attack us on it, and we’re out there on I.V.F., even more than them.”
In response to Trump’s “father of IVF” comment, Vice President Harris told reporters it was “quite bizarre.”
A Trump campaign spokesperson said Trump made a joke “in jest when he was enthusiastically answering a question about IVF as he strongly supports widespread access to fertility treatments for women and families.”
Judge invalidates 7 new Georgia election rules
As early voting is underway in Georgia, a judge has ruled seven new rules put in place after the 2020 election are “illegal, unconstitutional, and void.” Among those were three particularly controversial rules — one requiring ballots be hand-counted after polls close and two that had to do with the certification of election results.
On Wednesday, the judge ruled the state Election Board did not have the authority to make those rules and ordered them to be immediately removed. It must also inform all state and local election officials that the rules have been invalidated and not to follow them.
Also in Georgia Wednesday, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who charged former President Trump with interfering in the 2020 election, asked an appeals court to reinstate multiple charges against him and his co-defendants that had been tossed out by the trial court judge earlier this year.
Willis argued the judge made a mistake in dropping six of the charges against Trump related to Solicitation of Violation of Oath by a Public Officer. That ruling removed three of the charges Trump was facing in the case. The same judge later tossed two more counts against Trump.
US bombers strike Houthi weapons facilities in Yemen
The “precision strikes” by the B-2 stealth bombers targeted five underground storage facilities used by the Iran-backed rebel group. Defense officials said those facilities housed advanced weapons that the Islamist military organization has been using to attack military and civilian vessels in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden for months now.
Los Angeles Archdiocese to pay $880M to clergy sex abuse victims
Attorneys for more than 1,300 people who say they suffered abuse at the hands of local catholic priests, reached the settlement after months of negotiations with the archdiocese. It puts an end to more than two decades of litigation against the most populous archdiocese in the United States.
The Archdiocese of Los Angeles has reached an agreement in principle worth $880 million to compensate more than a thousand decades-old claims of childhood sexual abuse.
The archdiocese has previously paid $740 million to victims in various settlements. This settlement put the total payout at more than $1.5 billion, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Liam Payne, member of One Direction, dies at 31 after fall from hotel balcony
The music industry and fans around the world are mourning the death of Liam Payne, a member of the British boy band One Direction. He died Wednesday at 31 years old.
According to authorities in Argentina, Payne fell from a third-story balcony at a hotel in Buenos Aires. The circumstances surrounding his death are under investigation, however, the Associated Press reported police rushed to the hotel in response to a call about an “aggressive man who could be under the influence of drugs or alcohol.”
Since the band took an indefinite hiatus in 2016, Payne embarked on a solo career. The singer has been open about his struggles with alcoholism, announcing in July 2023 that he had been sober for six months after seeking treatment.
Pop star Charlie Puth, who collaborated with Payne in the past, remembered the One Direction singer on social media saying, “Liam was always so kind to me. I can not believe that he is gone…may he rest in peace.”
Payne is survived by his 7-year-old son, his parents, and two older sisters.
Pizza Hut to open “Personal Pan Pizza Hut” pop-up location in New York City
For those craving pizza but not wanting to share it, Pizza Hut has come up with a concept just for you.
It’s opened the Personal Pan Pizza Hut, a small restaurant experience only offering the pizza chain’s popular 6-inch personal pan pizza. Guests who are able to snag a reservation can customize their pizza any way they want, in their personal hut.
The Personal Pan Pizza hut will only be around in New York City for two days sometime later this month, so spots are limited. Reservations open Thursday, Oct. 17, and are available on a first-come, first-serve basis.
China upping pressure on people to have kids, it’s getting invasive
China is upping the pressure on its population, pushing families to start having children, according to several reports on Tuesday, Oct. 8. The country introduced a new policy in 2021 aimed at addressing China’s rapidly declining birth rate.
However, new revelations about the reportedly heavy-handed tactics the government is using to achieve results are emerging.
Chinese women are reporting family planning officials going door-to-door and getting very personal, with some asking about women’s menstrual cycles and their plans for children.
The effort is to embrace a “fertility culture” while abandoning a culture that once restricted childbirth.
Some fear the new approach will lead to tougher restrictions on abortion. Those concerns have grown as some cities require any woman who is 14 or more weeks pregnant to get permission from the local family planning department before having the procedure done.
The requirement dates back to the early 2000s to stop parents from aborting female fetuses, a common practice in the one-child era.
However, in at least one city with the rule, officials at two family planning offices reportedly are trying to discourage women from seeking abortions. The firms weren’t ordered to do so but mentioned the government’s three-child policy and less young people having children as an influence.
There’s also more visible artwork in the country, with subliminal messages to encourage childbirth and marriage. China’s new strategy appears to be spurred by fears of a shrinking population as it looks to surpass the United States as a world power.
Getty Images
That goal may prove difficult with China’s population expected to fall by 109 million people by 2050, according to the United Nations, which more than tripled those numbers from a 2019 forecast.
Numbers for the future look even worse for the country, with some reports saying China could lose over 60% of its population, dropping to 525 million residents, by 2100.
Republicans block Right to IVF Act, Democrats have done the same to them
Senate Republicans blocked a bill that would create a statutory right to access fertility treatments, specifically IVF. The Right to IVF Act would also allow the Department of Justice to file civil actions against any person or entity that tries to impose limits.
“Access to IVF can no longer be taken for granted,” Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said. “From the moment the MAGA Supreme Court eliminated Roe, the hard right made clear that they’d keep going.”
This was largely a show vote to make a political point ahead of the election. Democrats had previously brought the same bill up for a vote in June and Republicans blocked it then too.
“Last time, Republicans killed this bill and Trump said nothing,” Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said. “Now he says he is a leader on IVF. It lowers the cost of IVF for families with stronger insurance coverage requirements, and it helps more veterans and service members get IVF.”
Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., is an OB/GYN who has delivered more than 5,000 babies. He said he also helped hundreds of couples conceive through IVF. However, he voted against the bill because he said it doesn’t have good guardrails.
“It doesn’t have any type of religious protections for those people that don’t want to participate in it, and it doesn’t even define, require a diagnosis of infertility for IVF to be covered,” Sen. Roger Marshall said. “So I think it’s bad medicine, it’s bad policy.”
Marshall said he would have voted for the bill proposed by Sens. Katie Britt, R-Ala., and Ted Cruz, R-Texas. That bill does not compel anyone to provide the services and allows states to create health and safety standards. The legislation makes a state ineligible to receive Medicaid funding if it creates an outright ban on IVF. Republicans described that proposal as the right balance between life and liberty. Democrats blocked it the same way the GOP blocked theirs.
Republicans want religious protections because if any of the embryos created during the IVF process are not used, they can be destroyed. That would require those who believe life begins at conception to go against their religious teachings.
Access denied: Less than 1 in 4 infertile couples in US can access IVF
On the campaign trail this week, former President Donald Trump pledged to make in-vitro fertilization free if elected in November. Trump spoke about his plan during a rally.
“I’ve been looking at it and what we’re going to do is, for people that are using IVF – which is fertilization – the government is going to pay for it or mandate your insurance company to pay for it, which is going to be great,” Trump said.
Infertility rates are rising around the world and the cost of IVF in the U.S. can be a huge barrier to treatment. The American Society for Reproductive Medicine estimates that fewer than a quarter of infertile couples have sufficient access to infertility care.
The cost of a single cycle in the U.S. can run $20,000-$25,000, and many families need multiple cycles to achieve a live birth. Studies show an IVF cycle in the U.S. is 271% more expensive than the mean cost in 25 other countries.
“We want to produce babies in this country, right?” Trump said.
The U.S. fertility rate has been at or below replacement levels for more than 50 years. The official replacement rate is 2.1 births per woman. The U.S. currently sits at less than 1.7 births per woman.
And this story is not unique. All but one developed nation struggles with low birth rates. The main concern is this will eventually put a major strain on economies as fewer working-age people will be around to contribute.
That is why this campaign season, candidates are talking more about policies like free IVF and baby bonuses, and the U.S. is far behind on this train.
And in the one developed country in the world where fertility is robust, IVF is free there too.
“It’s an unlimited number of treatments, up to the second child, so long as the mother is below age 45,” Alex Weinreb, a demographer and Research Director at the Taub Center for Social Policy Studies in Israel, said. “It’s quite generous.”
Israel’s fertility rate is the envy of developed countries at 2.9 births per woman. But because its birth rate is already so high, Weinreb said free IVF has less effect.
“If Israel’s fertility was low, then the effect would be larger, but as of now, about 5% or so of births in Israel in any given year, they stem from IVF,” Weinreb said.
So why pay for the program at all? Weinreb said it is all about what the program communicates.
“I think the more important thing in Israel, or in the Israeli context, is it sends a message that the state is supporting women and men’s desire to have children,” Weinreb said.
Trump quickly took his message of free IVF to the campaign trail but with little detail on how he would pay for universal fertility treatments or force insurance companies to cover the cost.
HPV Infections may impact male fertility, study finds
For years scientists have suspected human papillomavirus (HPV) could play a role in male infertility. Now, they’re getting closer to an answer.
Until recently, most research about HPV and infertility has been done on women. However, a new study shows certain strains of HPV do appear to play a role in male infertility.
Researchers found “high-risk” HPV strains are more common and can impact sperm quality. Those that are considered high risk are strains that have been linked to cancer.
The study found high-risk HPV appears to suppress key components of the immune system in the male genital tract. That could harm the body’s ability to clear HPV while also raising the risk of other infections that may also impact male fertility.
A review of 50 different studies done in 2020 found 21% of infertile men had HPV-positive semen. That study also found that even after accounting for female infertility, men with HPV in their semen had a three times greater chance of being infertile than those without the virus.
There are more than 200 known strains of HPV. A vaccine for it has been available since 2006 and the CDC recommends all boys and girls get it at 11 or 12 years old. The vaccine helps prevent nine of the riskiest HPV strains.
According to the CDC, people can still get the vaccine even if they’re older, though it’s usually not as helpful since many people get at least one form of HPV after becoming sexually active. Still, people up to 45 can discuss getting vaccinated with their doctors.
Vance accuses Walz of lying about IVF since he used IUI. What’s the difference?
Republican vice presidential nominee, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, is accusing his Democratic counterpart, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, of lying about his family’s experience with IVF. That’s because Walz and his wife used a slightly different procedure called IUI to conceive.
IVF stands for in vitro fertilization, a multi-step process that involves stimulating the eggs, removing them from the body, fertilizing them in a lab, and then placing the embryo in the uterus.
IUI means intrauterine insemination. It’s much less invasive and is done by injecting sperm directly into the uterus during ovulation. The sperm sample is washed to select the highest quality sperm then they’re inserted into the uterus with a catheter to help them reach the egg.
IUI is often attempted before IVF, but it doesn’t face the same level of political controversy because it doesn’t risk the eventual destruction of unused embryos, which some anti-abortion advocates believe deserve the same protections as unborn children.
Walz has never directly said he and his wife had their children via IVF, but it’s been implied by statements he’s made in the past.
In February, after the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that embryos created through IVF were considered children, Walz wrote on Facebook that he and his wife “have two beautiful children because of reproductive health care like IVF.”
In March, Walz’s team sent a fundraising email titled “Our IVF Journey,” sharing an article that referenced “his family’s IVF journey” in the headline.
Walz also seems to have implied it while speaking at a campaign rally in Michigan on Aug. 7.
“Is there anybody in America sitting around in a bar, a bunch of people talking and say, ‘You know what we need in this country? We need to ban Animal Farm. That’s the first thing we’d even do,’” Walz said. “Nobody says that. But you know what? It would be funny if it wasn’t so dangerous. Because then they start thinking about things like IVF and banning IVF. And I have to tell you, this is very personal for my family. When my wife and I decided to have children, we went through years of fertility treatments.”
While the two procedures are very different, many fertility doctors say it’s common for people to use the terms IVF and IUI interchangeably, even if it’s not necessarily accurate.
Study explores a commonly used drug’s potential to extend female fertility
Rapamycin, a drug commonly used to help treat transplant patients, has been shown to slow or reverse signs of aging in ovaries in mice. Now, researchers of an ongoing clinical trial are studying if the drug can help extend fertility in women.
The study shows female mice given rapamycin daily developed a delay in ovarian aging and menopause and even had babies later in life. Now, the question is: Can rapamycin do the same in humans?
The researchers recruited 50 women between the ages of 35 and 45 and gave them either rapamycin or a placebo to take daily for three months.
A co-leader of the study, Yousin Suh, a professor at Columbia University, spoke to The Guardian and said early results show it could be “realistic to hope the drug could decrease ovary aging by 20%.”
Suh said if the trials are successful, rapamycin could give hope to women who are wanting to get pregnant later in life.
Some women are currently putting off having children into their 30s and 40s, and even though life expectancy rates have increased over the years, fertility has not. By the age of 35, a woman’s fertility starts declining when the follicle activity begins to rapidly deteriorate.
The study’s authors said menopause usually begins around the age of 51 and can cause health complications, like an increase in cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis and dementia. The scientists said extending the reproductive lifespan can allow more women to choose when to have children and can delay those “negative health consequences of menopause.”
Next the researchers will move on to the next step of the trials and recruit 1,000 women to see if rapamycin can extend fertility. They are expected to report the next phase of the study’s findings in two years.
Fertility rate for US women in 2023 hits lowest level in a century: CDC
Women in the United States are giving birth at record-low rates, according to federal data released on Thursday, April 25. The report, conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Center for Health Statistics, found that the total fertility rate fell to 1.62 births per woman in 2023, marking the lowest rate recorded since the 1930s.
Dr. Brady Hamilton, a statistician with the National Center for Health Statistics and lead author of the report, said that the decline reflects ongoing trends as women navigate economic uncertainty and societal challenges, choosing to delay or forgo having children.
Hamilton said that factors contributing to this trend include establishing careers and access to contraception. Meanwhile, many young couples are increasingly investing in homeownership and paying off student debt, affecting their decision to have children.
The recent data coincides with broader cultural shifts including the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. Some states with abortion bans have seen increases in fertility rates, which suggests a correlation between reproductive rights and fertility trends.
Declining birth rates can also reportedly have a number of detrimental effects on the United States. First, declining birth rates can create a decline in population, however, record numbers of immigrants coming into the U.S. have offset those losses in recent years.
Low fertility rates may also reduce the number of workers contributing to the economy, which can in turn affect the sustainability of Social Security.
Hamilton maintains that many women want children but often choose to delay motherhood. However, despite advances in fertility treatments, science suggests that trying to conceive later in life carries lower success rates and greater health risks.
Alabama enacts IVF protections following Supreme Court decision
Alabama’s Governor has signed a bill into law aimed at protecting IVF patients and hospitals from prosecution following a near-three week pause in treatments. And—why New York is deploying hundreds of National Guard members to city subways. These stories and more highlight The Morning Rundown for Thursday, March 7, 2024.
Alabama enacts IVF protections following Supreme Court embryo decision
Alabama Governor Kay Ivey enacted legislation safeguarding in vitro fertilization (IVF) practices, following a controversial state Supreme Court decision that classified frozen embryos as children. This landmark ruling had previously led hospitals to suspend IVF treatments, fearing potential criminal prosecution.
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The legislation, which was expedited through the state legislature and signed by the governor late Wednesday, comes in response to urgent calls for the state to address the implications of the Supreme Court’s decision. This decision had permitted couples to pursue wrongful death lawsuits if their frozen embryos were mishandled and destroyed at fertility clinics.
I have signed SB159, the IVF protections legislation, after it received overwhelming support from the Alabama Legislature. #alpolitics
— Governor Kay Ivey (@GovernorKayIvey) March 7, 2024
Under the new law, fertility patients, doctors, and hospitals are provided with legal protections, ensuring they “cannot be held criminally responsible if an embryo is destroyed.” Furthermore, the legislation stipulates that any civil damages awarded in such cases will be limited to the cost of one IVF cycle.
Following this significant development, some clinics in Alabama have announced that IVF treatments, which had been halted for two weeks, might resume as soon as today or Friday.
President Biden to deliver State of the Union address
President Joe Biden is slated to deliver his annual State of the Union address to the nation tonight, before a joint session of Congress this evening. The address is anticipated to cover key issues such as the economy, immigration, and the ongoing foreign conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza.
In tonight’s speech, Biden is expected to present his argument for re-election, leveraging one of his largest audiences ahead of the general election in November. The address follows closely on the heels of Super Tuesday, which has seemingly paved the way for a potential rematch between Biden and Trump in the upcoming presidential race.
Viewers can tune in to watch the State of the Union, which begins at 9 p.m. Eastern Time.
Armorer on ‘Rust’ movie set found guilty of involuntary manslaughter
Following the verdict, Gutierrez-Reed’s attorney announced plans to appeal the decision. Baldwin, who has consistently denied pulling the trigger in the fatal accident, is slated to stand trial in July and has entered a plea of not guilty.
Three people killed in first fatal Houthi attack on ships in the Red Sea
U.S. officials have reported a deadly attack by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels on a commercial ship in the Gulf of Aden, marking a significant escalation in regional tensions. The missile strike on a cargo ship resulted in the deaths of three crew members, the first fatalities in a series of Houthi assaults on shipping in the Red Sea.
The strike targeted the Barbados-flagged, Liberian-owned True Confidence, escalating tensions along a vital maritime route crucial for global shipping. Despite ongoing U.S. airstrikes against the Houthis, their aggressive actions persist, including the recent commandeering of a $50 million Kuwaiti crude oil cargo for Chevron Corp.
The U.S. Central Command reported the ship was hit by an anti-ship ballistic missile from Yemen, causing significant damage and injuring another four crew members.
Houthi military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree stated the attacks aim to lift the “siege on the Palestinian people in Gaza.”
National Guard deployed to New York City subways to combat crime
In an effort to enhance passenger safety, a combined force of one thousand National Guardsmen and state police will be stationed throughout the subway network. These security personnel will focus on monitoring the city’s busiest stations and will conduct bag checks to search for weapons.
Addressing the recent violence, Governor Hochul stated, “These brazen, heinous attacks on our subway system will not be tolerated. So today, in the wake of these latest attacks, I’m unveiling a five-point plan to rid our subways of people who commit crimes and protect all New Yorkers.”
Oakland Athletics unveil new Las Vegas stadium designs
The Oakland Athletics are set to dramatically alter the Las Vegas skyline with their new $1.5 billion stadium, drawing inspiration from the iconic Sydney Opera House. The team and their design partners revealed plans for the ambitious project this week, signaling a new era for the city and the franchise.
Together with @BIG_Architects and @HNTBCorp, we have unveiled the design for our new ballpark project in Las Vegas on the Tropicana site. BIG will serve as the design lead and HNTB as the sports/hospitality designer and architect of record.
Scheduled to replace the 67-year-old Tropicana Las Vegas by 2028, the 33,000-seat domed stadium will boast an outfield glass window offering panoramic views of the Strip, alongside the installation of the largest video board in Major League Baseball, measuring 18,000 square feet.
A’s owner John Fisher highlighted the decision to incorporate a non-retractable roof, emphasizing the stadium’s versatility for hosting a wide range of events throughout the year. The project’s hefty $1.5 billion price tag includes $380 million in public financing, with construction slated to begin next year.
