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Newsweek
11 hours ago
- General
- Newsweek
Mom's Shocking Reason for Firing 'Great' Babysitter Baffles Internet: 'Makes No Sense'
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. A professional nanny said she was fired from a new job just two weeks in—because the baby she was caring for slept too well. In a Reddit post, the nanny shared her confusion after being told that the infant's long naps were the reason she was being let go. Gut Feeling The 4-month-old had been sleeping two hours in the morning and another two in the afternoon, which the nanny explained is not only normal, but healthy for that age. "I really don't understand it," the original poster (OP) wrote, noting she had frequently offered to wake the baby if asked, "But she said she wanted him to wake up on his own, like he does with her." The mother apparently cried during the termination and said she had a gut feeling about trying someone else. According to the nanny, the mother said there were no other issues and even offered to serve as a reference and to pay for the final two unused days. Stock image: Upset woman in car. Stock image: Upset woman in car. Jacob Wackerhausen/iStock/Getty Images Plus Despite the amicable tone, the decision left the nanny sad and confused, especially given her years of experience and desire to follow the family's preferences closely. Many Reddit users responding to the post suggested the mother's decision might stem from a deeper issue. As one person offered, "Honestly, it sounds like postpartum anxiety and there is literally nothing you could have done differently." Another person pointed out that, "4-month-old babies should be sleeping about 15 hours a day so two, two hours naps a day is not at all unreasonable. In fact, I think it's great that the baby is able to take long naps on a schedule." Others took a more humorous tone: "Now please come over to my place and get my baby to take two solid naps, I'm begging," a supporter said. Dr. Melanie McCabe told Newsweek that the postpartum period can be both joyful and deeply challenging. However, while the arrival of a new baby is often celebrated, the physical, emotional and psychological transitions that accompany this time are frequently overlooked. For many new mothers, this phase can include significant anxiety—affecting an estimated 1-in-5 women, the psychologist in North Carolina said. "Postpartum anxiety is characterized by heightened fear or worry, even when the perceived threat is unlikely or unclear," McCabe said. "These emotional experiences often come with what psychologists refer to as action urges—natural impulses that guide how we respond to our emotions. "In the case of fear or worry, the action urge is usually to avoid or escape the perceived danger." McCabe said the best way to support new parents is with empathy, respect and a willingness to understand just how complex this period can be. "When support systems respond with compassion rather than critique, they not only validate the experience of the parents, but also contribute to a healthier environment for the entire family—including the newest member." In a story published by Newsweek, Amanda, a parent who posts under the name That Comfy Mom, shared how she repeatedly woke up to check on her sleeping baby, even though there was no immediate cause for alarm. Other moms responded with similar accounts of staying up to check baby monitors, zooming in to see if their infants were breathing, or waking in panic from vivid dreams. 'Nothing I could do' The nanny in the Reddit account left the job heartbroken, but remained proud of her work. She remained confused that a solution wasn't discussed before the termination. "It just seemed like there was really nothing I could do," the OP lamented. Newsweek has contacted the original poster for comment via Reddit. Newsweek's "What Should I Do?" offers expert advice to readers. If you have a personal dilemma, let us know via life@ We can ask experts for advice on relationships, family, friends, money and work, and your story could be featured on WSID at Newsweek. To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, click here.
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Work requirements are better at blocking benefits than helping low-income people find jobs
Meeting work requirements to receive government benefits can lead to burdensome paperwork. (JackF/iStock via Getty Images Plus) Republican lawmakers have been battling over a bill that includes massive tax and spending cuts. Much of their disagreement has been over provisions intended to reduce the cost of Medicaid. The popular health insurance program, which is funded by both the federal and state governments, covers about 78.5 million low-income and disabled people — more than 1 in 5 Americans. On May 22, 2025, the House of Representatives narrowly approved the tax, spending and immigration bill. The legislation, which passed without any support from Democrats, is designed to reduce federal Medicaid spending by requiring anyone enrolled in the program who appears to be able to get a job to either satisfy work requirements or lose their coverage. It's still unclear, however, whether Senate Republicans would support that provision. Although there are few precedents for such a mandate for Medicaid, other safety net programs have been enforcing similar rules for nearly three decades. I'm a political scientist who has extensively studied the work requirements of another safety net program: Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. As I explain in my book, 'Living Off the Government? Race, Gender, and the Politics of Welfare,' work requirements place extra burdens on low-income families but do little to lift them out of poverty. TANF gives families with very low incomes some cash they can spend on housing, food, clothing or whatever they need most. The Clinton administration launched it as a replacement for a similar program, Aid to Families with Dependent Children, in 1996. At the time, both political parties were eager to end a welfare system they believed was riddled with abuse. A big goal with TANF was ending the dependence of people getting cash benefits on the government by moving them from welfare to work. Many people were removed from the welfare rolls, but not because work requirements led to economic prosperity. Instead, they had trouble navigating the bureaucratic demands. TANF is administered by the states. They can set many rules of their own, but they must comply with an important federal requirement: Adult recipients have to work or engage in an authorized alternative activity for at least 30 hours per week. The number of weekly hours is only 20 if the recipient is caring for a child under the age of 6. The dozen activities or so that can count toward this quota range from participating in job training programs to engaging in community service. Some adults enrolled in TANF are exempt from work requirements, depending on their state's own policies. The most common exemptions are for people who are ill, have a disability or are over age 60. To qualify for TANF, families must have dependent children; in some states pregnant women also qualify. Income limits are set by the state and range from US$307 a month for a family of three in Alabama to $2,935 a month for a family of three in Minnesota. Adult TANF recipients face a federal five-year lifetime limit on benefits. States can adopt shorter time limits; Arizona's is 12 months. Complying with these work requirements generally means proving that you're working or making the case that you should be exempt from this mandate. This places what's known as an 'administrative burden' on the people who get cash assistance. It often requires lots of documentation and time. If you have an unpredictable work schedule, inconsistent access to child care or obligations to care for an older relative, this paperwork is hard to deal with. What counts as work, how many hours must be completed and who is exempt from these requirements often comes down to a caseworker's discretion. Social science research shows that this discretion is not equally applied and is often informed by stereotypes. The number of people getting cash assistance has fallen sharply since TANF replaced Aid to Families with Dependent Children. In some states caseloads have dropped by more than 50% despite significant population growth. Some of this decline happened because recipients got jobs that paid them too much to qualify. The Congressional Budget Office, a nonpartisan office that provides economic research to Congress, attributes, at least in part, an increase in employment among less-educated single mothers in the 1990s to work requirements. Not everyone who stopped getting cash benefits through TANF wound up employed, however. Other recipients who did not meet requirements fell into deep poverty. Regardless of why people leave the program, when fewer low-income Americans get TANF benefits, the government spends less money on cash assistance. Federal funding has remained flat at $16.5 billion since 1996. Taking inflation into account, the program receives half as much funding as when it was created. In addition, states have used the flexibility granted them to direct most of their TANF funds to priorities other than cash benefits, such as pre-K education. Many Americans who get help paying for groceries through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program are also subject to work requirements. People the government calls 'able-bodied adults without dependents' can only receive SNAP benefits for three months within a three-year period if they are not employed. Lawmakers in Congress and in statehouses have debated whether to add work requirements for Medicaid before. More than a dozen states have applied for waivers that would let them give it a try. When Arkansas instituted Medicaid work requirements in 2018, during the first Trump administration, it was largely seen as a failure. Some 18,000 people lost their health care coverage, but employment rates did not increase. After a court order stopped the policy in 2019, most people regained their coverage. Georgia is currently the only state with Medicaid work requirements in effect, after implementing a waiver in July 2023. The program has experienced technical difficulties and has had trouble verifying work activities. Other states, including Idaho, Indiana and Kentucky, are already asking the federal government to let them enforce Medicaid work requirements. Complying with these work requirements generally means proving that you're working or making the case that you should be exempt from this mandate. This places what's known as an 'administrative burden' on the people who get cash assistance. It often requires lots of documentation and time. If you have an unpredictable work schedule, inconsistent access to child care or obligations to care for an older relative, this paperwork is hard to deal with. What counts as work, how many hours must be completed and who is exempt from these requirements often comes down to a caseworker's discretion. Social science research shows that this discretion is not equally applied and is often informed by stereotypes. The number of people getting cash assistance has fallen sharply since TANF replaced Aid to Families with Dependent Children. In some states caseloads have dropped by more than 50% despite significant population growth. Some of this decline happened because recipients got jobs that paid them too much to qualify. The Congressional Budget Office, a nonpartisan office that provides economic research to Congress, attributes, at least in part, an increase in employment among less-educated single mothers in the 1990s to work requirements. Not everyone who stopped getting cash benefits through TANF wound up employed, however. Other recipients who did not meet requirements fell into deep poverty. Regardless of why people leave the program, when fewer low-income Americans get TANF benefits, the government spends less money on cash assistance. Federal funding has remained flat at $16.5 billion since 1996. Taking inflation into account, the program receives half as much funding as when it was created. In addition, states have used the flexibility granted them to direct most of their TANF funds to priorities other than cash benefits, such as pre-K education. Many Americans who get help paying for groceries through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program are also subject to work requirements. People the government calls 'able-bodied adults without dependents' can only receive SNAP benefits for three months within a three-year period if they are not employed. Lawmakers in Congress and in statehouses have debated whether to add work requirements for Medicaid before. More than a dozen states have applied for waivers that would let them give it a try. When Arkansas instituted Medicaid work requirements in 2018, during the first Trump administration, it was largely seen as a failure. Some 18,000 people lost their health care coverage, but employment rates did not increase. After a court order stopped the policy in 2019, most people regained their coverage. Georgia is currently the only state with Medicaid work requirements in effect, after implementing a waiver in July 2023. The program has experienced technical difficulties and has had trouble verifying work activities. Other states, including Idaho, Indiana and Kentucky, are already asking the federal government to let them enforce Medicaid work requirements. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Anne Whitesell is an assistant professor of political science at Miami University. Through its opinion section, Kansas Reflector works to amplify the voices of people who are affected by public policies or excluded from public debate. Find information, including how to submit your own commentary, here.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Confirmed measles cases in North Dakota rises to 19
Blood sample positive with measles virus. (iStock / Getty Images Plus) Confirmed cases of measles in North Dakota increased to 19 this week after the Department of Health and Human Services reported additional exposures occurred on a flight to Williston. Molly Howell, immunization director for HHS, said she is 'cautiously optimistic' about the slow spread of the disease in the state that was first confirmed May 2. But she reiterated that it takes two full incubation periods, or 42 days, without any new cases to declare an outbreak over. 'We're definitely a long ways from that,' Howell said. Thirteen cases of measles involve people in Williams County and six confirmed cases were reported in Cass County, including one person who was hospitalized. All of the cases involve people who were unvaccinated. Fifteen of the people are under age 19, including one child under age 5, according to the department. The latest exposure occurred on a May 14 United Airlines flight from Denver to Williston. Anyone who entered the Williston Basin International Airport between 10:22 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. that day should consider themselves exposed to the virus, according to the department's website. The state health department recommends any unvaccinated people, those without at least one dose of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, exposed at the airport should quarantine themselves for 21 days to see if symptoms develop to prevent exposure to the community. Nonpartisan poll finds 'remarkably low' trust in federal health agencies Howell said state health officials were able to get the flight manifest from the affected plane and all North Dakotans on the flight were notified about their exposure to the illness. Anyone showing symptoms should contact a health care provider before walking into a medical clinic to receive instructions on how to present themselves for testing, Howell said. Measles symptoms can develop up to 21 days after exposure. The symptoms include fever, cough, runny nose, eye irritation and a body-wide rash. The measles virus is spread through the air and people remain contagious for several days before and after the first symptoms appear, the department said previously. Other North Dakota exposure sites include: Tractor Supply Williston on May 12. Band Day Parade Williston in Harmon Park, Main Street and 11th Street on May 10. Essentia Health Walk-in Care Clinic on 52nd Avenue in Fargo on May 9. Essentia Health – The Lights West Fargo Clinic on May 7. Missouri Ridge Elementary School from April 29 to May 2. Howell said over the next few days the quarantine period for Williston schools will expire. 'Hopefully, we won't have any children positive from the school setting,' she said. 'From what I'm hearing from local public health, people have been coming in to be vaccinated … which is great to hear.' As of May 22, the CDC reported 1,046 measles cases have been confirmed nationwide across 30 states. About 67% of those cases involved people under age 19 and 97% of the confirmed cases involved people who were unvaccinated or had an 'unknown' vaccination status. 'We don't want there to be any more cases, so we just really want to encourage people to revisit vaccination with a trusted health care provider,' Howell said. An updated list of measles exposure sites can be found on the HHS website. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Jefferson Griffin – it's time to turn in your Army uniform
The U.S. Constitution (iStock via Getty Images Plus photo) After six long months, the day has finally come. Hell has frozen over. Jefferson Griffin has conceded his loss to Allison Riggs in the North Carolina Supreme Court Race. This ends one of the most pathetic and embarrassing chapters for any public servant in the history of our state and country. Seldom before has one man so thoroughly ruined his reputation in the pursuit of power. We can only hope that his humiliation will deter future wannabee autocrats from going down the same dark path that he chose. Because you see, there is nothing more patriotic and small-D democratic than gracefully conceding an election that you lost and willfully participating in the peaceful transfer of power. This is how a strong democracy functions. Indeed, there is no democracy when the loser of a race refuses to concede. I was once a proud member of the Republican party before Donald Trump took complete control of the party. Now sadly the GOP has become the party of election denialism, where candidates are praised for trying to steal an election by any means necessary. It is a damn shame, and they are taking the country down a dark path. What Jefferson Griffin has done the last few months is also a disgrace to anyone that has ever worn the military uniform and fought for this country and its ideals. I believe that some of the greatest and most inspirational political speeches in American history have been concession speeches. John McCain in 2008 comes to mind. But perhaps the best and most American speech of my lifetime was Vice President Al Gore's concession speech after the 2000 election. This was one of the closest and most hotly contested elections in American history, and after the Supreme Court made its final decision, Gore gracefully conceded to George W. Bush. He didn't try and change the rules after the game was played, and he certainly didn't instigate an insurrection at the Capitol, or act like a manchild because he didn't get his way. Instead, he decided to act like a man with honor and a leader with integrity. He put principles over power and country over party and said the following: 'I say to President-elect Bush that what remains of partisan rancor must now be put aside, and may God bless his stewardship of this country. Neither he nor I anticipated this long and difficult road. Certainly, neither of us wanted it to happen. Yet it came, and now it has ended, resolved, as it must be resolved, through the honored institutions of our democracy.' These are the words of a true patriot. It is hard to fathom such words ever coming from such empty and hollow men as Jefferson Griffin and Donald Trump. Let us also not forget that Griffin could have followed the lead of what former Chief Justice Cheri Beasley did after her defeat in the 2020 state Supreme Court election. She lost by an even slimmer margin of 401 votes compared to the 734 votes that Jefferson Griffin lost by. She asked for audits and recounts which was in her right after such a close election. But after the recounts confirmed her loss, she conceded like a person of character would and went about her life serving the public in other ways. She left with her dignity and her head held high and history will remember fondly for that. Jefferson Griffin had that same opportunity but instead chose the path of raw power. He decided to forfeit his dignity and self-respect and now history will remember him as a coward and a fool, if it even remembers him at all. In a world full of Jefferson Griffins, teach your kids to be an Allison Riggs or a Cheri Beasley. All of this leads me to my main point, which is that now that Griffin has finally conceded his election loss, he should also resign his Army commission as an officer in the Army National Guard. As an Army veteran myself, the thing that enraged me so much about all of this is that he has worn and still wears the uniform of an Army Officer. He knows better. The fact that he would willingly try to throw out the votes of thousands of military absentee ballots just because they came from 'blue' districts is unforgiveable. Men and women who wear that uniform are supposed to represent America's best. The uniform represents duty, integrity, and moral courage. And what Jefferson Griffin has done these last six months has brought great shame and dishonor to the uniform. The right to vote is sacred and if men that swear an oath to the Constitution are willing to break it in pursuit of political power, then you should give up that precious uniform so someone that actually loves this country and what it stands for can take your place. Jefferson – if you have even a shred of dignity and decency left, then you will call your commanding officer tomorrow and formally resign your commission. Your unit, your state, and your country deserve so much better than you.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Ohio citizens working to get proposal on ballot to abolish property taxes
(iStock / Getty Images Plus) A group of homeowners is taking tax relief into their own hands — fighting to get a constitutional amendment on the November ballot that would abolish property taxes. Property taxes are at an all-time high for Marlene Homan in Cleveland. 'When you're on Social Security, that's a lot of money,' Homan said of the increase in her tax bill. 'And I know a lot of people got hit with a lot worse.' And with reappraisals and voter-approved tax hikes, it has been pricing some Ohioans out of their homes. 'Where does it end?' she asked. Due to what Lakewood advocate Beth Blackmarr calls the lack of movement from lawmakers to provide relief, residents are taking taxes into their own hands. 'We really need change, because nothing was getting done — substantially,' Blackmarr said. She is leading a movement to abolish property taxes in the state, and the Citizens for Property Tax Reform is on their way to getting a constitutional amendment on the ballot. Click here to read the full proposal. 'Legislators, in many ways, are reluctant to dive in,' she added. State Rep. David Thomas (R-Jefferson) has been tasked by House Speaker Matt Huffman to help devise property tax relief. The Northeast Ohio lawmaker understands the concerns, he said, but is asking homeowners to be patient. 'I know our members are motivated, it's just also getting it right and making sure the policy is a good one,' he said. 'We don't want to do anything that's just real quick or haphazard.' Gov. Mike DeWine raised another concern about what happens to local governments, police stations and schools if there are no more property taxes. 'I understand [their concerns], but they have an obligation — I think a moral obligation — to come forward and explain how they're going to pay for schools, how they're going to pay for the things that we value in Ohio,' the governor told us. Many schools rely on property taxes for the vast majority of their funding, with some Cleveland-area schools at about 80%. 'There are other ways that this can be approached,' Blackmarr said about funding schools. 'SDIT, a school district income tax, to help balance out the property taxes in their district.' But the advocate said that this movement doesn't have to hit the ballot. 'So really, this is the power going back to the people?' we asked. 'It is; it's the power back to people,' she responded. 'Hopefully, what legislators will do, is counter with some legislation of their own.' The state ballot board will decide Wednesday if the organization can start collecting signatures for the November ballot. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
