A Thursday Bonus Reason Roundtable! Live From Reason Weekend in California
Plus: did the editors sing Happy Birthday to Adam Smith?
Children
Police Found a Blunt in Their Car. So They Seized Their Kids.
"Then my baby started crying so I reached for my son, and as I'm reaching, a man held me and told me, 'Don't touch him. He's getting taken away from you,'" said the children's mother.
CDC Inflated Data About Teen Girls and Sexual Assault
Plus: Lack of independence could cause childhood mental health issues, Biden follows Trump playbook on TikTok, and more...
Critics Lose Their Mind as Arkansas Makes It a Bit Easier for Teens To Work
Youth employment is a recognized path to greater prosperity.
Flaco, New York City's Escaped Owl, Is a Flying Free-Range Metaphor
In just two weeks, he has learned to hunt and survive. There's a lesson there.
These New Laws Stop Cops From Lying to Kids
Yes, even children should have access to an attorney.
NetChoice Seeks Injunction Against California's Disastrous Internet Law
The trade association says the overbroad and vague A.B. 2273 places unconstitutional burdens on speech.
New Lawsuit Challenges New Jersey's Lifetime Child Abuse Registry
"Lifetime registries are wrong," said the plaintiff's attorney. "They're wrong based on the science and they're wrong based on the reality that risk is not static. It is dynamic."
The Government Is Subsidizing Microchip Firms—While Making It More Expensive To Produce Microchips
Politicians say they want to subsidize various industries, but they sabotage themselves by weighing the policies down with rules that have nothing to do with the plans.
Is Investigating a School Sexting Incident the Same as Possessing Child Porn? A Judge Says No.
Bradley Bass' case in Colorado says a lot about just how powerful prosecutors are.
Bringing the Child Tax Credit Back to Life Is Too Costly
Congress’ Joint Committee on Taxation reported that a permanent expansion would cost more than $1.4 trillion over a decade.
Tennessee's Anti-Drag Bill Is a Gaudy Public Performance
It’s already illegal to expose minors to obscenity, so what is this bill really for?
Social Media Making Kids Depressed? Send Them Outside To Play
When society criminalizes outdoor independence, it makes smart phone addiction more likely.
The Answer to Population Decline Is More Immigration
Politicians' go-to fixes like child tax credits and federal paid leave are known for creating disincentives to work without much impact on fertility.
Save Roald Dahl Books From the Dreaded Sensitivity Readers
Let Augustus Gloop be fat.
Bad Schools Aren't Always Underfunded
"More money can help schools succeed, but not if they fritter those extra resources in unproductive ways," says one researcher.
Lawmakers Use Kid Safety as Excuse To Violate Adults' Rights
Plus: New York "hate speech" law is likely unconstitutional, FTC Commissioner quits because of chair Lina Khan's antics, and more...
Under No Circumstances Did Joe Biden Save Social Security
Plus: a listener question on prohibition and a lightning round on the editors' favorite Super Bowl moments
The Fight Over the Debt Ceiling Is Just Beginning
Legislators will increasingly argue over how to spend a diminishing discretionary budget while overall spending simultaneously explodes.
Biden's Claims About Universal Pre-K Are Malarkey
During the State of the Union, Biden claimed that "children who go to preschool are nearly 50 percent more likely to finish high school and go on to earn a two- or four-year degree," but evidence in favor of universal pre-k programs is lacking.
Police Officer Who Kneeled on a 12-Year-Old Girl's Neck Faces a Federal Lawsuit
According to the suit, the officer "acted with malice or in reckless disregard of Jane Doe's federally protected rights."
Cop Orders Reporter To Leave a Park for Daring To Interview a Child
Normal human interaction should not automatically be considered creepy or criminal.
Children Lost One-Third of a Year of Learning During the Pandemic, Analysis Finds
"The COVID-19 learning deficit is likely to affect children's life chances through their education and labour market prospects," the analysis' authors argue.
Child Welfare Algorithm May Unfairly Target Disabled Parents, Complaints to DOJ Allege
"When you have technology designed by humans, the bias is going to show up in the algorithms," said one former child welfare worker.
Utah Lawmakers Want To Give Parents Access to Their Kids' Social Media Accounts
Plus: Sex workers in popular media, stadium subsidies still don't work, and more...
Utah Funds Scholarship Program for Students Seeking Private Education
Gov. Spencer Cox signed legislation that will provide scholarships to K-12 students who choose nonpublic education.
Connecticut Parents Arrested for Letting Kids, Ages 7 and 9, Walk to Dunkin' Donuts
"I have never felt threatened by a single person in this town until meeting those officers and the social worker."
Why Did Schools Stop Teaching Kids How To Read? Live With Robert Pondiscio, Nick Gillespie, and Zach Weissmueller
Join Reason on YouTube and Facebook on Thursday at 1 p.m. ET for a discussion of American K-12 education policy with author Robert Pondiscio.
No, the World Is Not Heading Toward 'Mass Extinction'
Despite an apocalyptic media narrative, the modern era has brought much longer lives and the greatest decline in poverty ever.
Illinois Department of Children and Family Services Wrongfully Jailed Children for Months, New Lawsuit Alleges
"Sometimes I even feel like they wanted me in there, because I was in there so long," said one 18-year-old who was wrongfully incarcerated for 166 days.
How Can Businesses Comply With Virginia's Proposal To Protect Children's Data? The Bill Doesn't Say.
Virginia’s children’s privacy proposal leaves businesses wondering how they can comply.
Mississippi Bill Would Mandate Surveillance Cameras in Schools and Colleges
Eliminating privacy in schools would be a disaster for academic freedom and social development.
Actually, the CCP Is the Worst Co-Parent Imaginable
An op-ed in The New York Times tries to make the case that the Chinese Communist Party is a worthy partner in raising children.
Britain Wants To Jail Social Media Managers Who Don't Censor to the Government's Liking
Tech firm operators may face criminal charges if children who use their platforms encounter too much “harmful content.”
A Boy Was Taken Into State Custody. 2 Weeks Later, He Was Dead.
"They couldn't keep him alive for two weeks," says the boy's father. "That's absolutely insane."
School Closures Still Link to Learning Loss, Nearly 3 Years Into Pandemic
Reading and math scores declined between 2020 to 2022, reversing two decades of improvement.
A Modern History of 'Groomer' Politics
The social changes that paved the way for gay and trans acceptance have made pedophile acceptance less likely, not more.
Chicago Public Schools Will Call Child Services if You're Late To Pick Up Your Kids From School
"My daughter rushed to the car and she's like, 'mommy DCFS came to the school, and the lady made it sound like we weren't going to come home with you today,'" Tresa Razaaq told a local news station.
Lockdowns Had Little Impact on COVID-19
Data show Florida and New York had similar death numbers despite vastly different approaches.
Seattle School District Sues Google, Facebook, Snapchat, and TikTok for Causing Teen 'Mental Health Crisis'
It's hard to believe its arguments will hold up in court.
Federal Adoption Law Leads States To Prematurely Separate Families
For 25 years, the law has been giving states kickbacks when they finalize adoptions quickly.
Cops Question Connecticut Mom Who Let 7-Year-Old Walk a Mile
"She is way too young to be walking this distance by herself," said the cops.
Charity and Capitalism Are Better Than Government
When I was young, I assumed government would lift people out of poverty. But those policies often do more harm than good.
Top 10 Attacks on Free-Range Parenting in 2022
Overbearing CDC guidance, pointless calls to the police, and more.
5 New Studies That Challenge Conventional Wisdom About Kids and Tech
A slew of recent research suggests parents should relax a bit about screen time.
Congress Can Reduce the Deficit by $7.7 Trillion in 10 Years
The Congressional Budget Office projects that future deficits will explode. But there's a way out.
