Tom Brady vs. Tim Tebow

Tim Tebow is now America's favorite active pro athlete.The poll, calculated monthly, had the Denver Broncos quarterback ranked atop the list for the month of December. In the 18 years of the ESPN Sports Poll only 11 different athletes -- a list that includes Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods and LeBron James -- have been No. 1 in the monthly polling.


In December's poll, Tebow was picked by 3 percent of those surveyed as their favorite active pro athlete. That put him ahead of Kobe Bryant (2 percent), Aaron Rodgers (1.9 percent), Peyton Manning (1.8 percent) and Tom Brady (1.5 percent) in the top-five of the results.


The poll results were gathered from 1,502 interviews from a nationally representative sample of Americans ages 12 and older.


"To put this in perspective, Tim Tebow rose to the top before the end of his second pro season. It took Tiger Woods three years, LeBron James eight years and Kobe Bryant 11 years," Rich Luker, founder and director of the ESPN Sports Poll, said. "I think we may be at the front end of a new era in sports stars.


Tom and Tim rank among the most popular, polarizing and appealing players in the game. Marketing Evaluations’ Q rating, which measures the public’s awareness and opinion of celebrities, lists Tebow as the NFL’s sixth-most-appealing player, and Brady as the 13th.


“Two out of three Americans age 6 years and older knew who Tom Brady was, and two out of five knew who Tim Tebow was,” Schafer said. “That’s crazy. That’s telling me (Tebow) is more of a national personality than anybody thought, even before the season started.”


What’s more, that measure was taken in September, before backup QB Tebow stepped up and turned his 1-4 Broncos into the NFL’s 8-8 comeback kids, very publicly professing love for Christ and admiration of his teammates the whole way through. Just yesterday, ESPN Sports ran a poll showing Tebow is American’s favorite active pro athlete, ahead of Brady in fifth place.


Indeed, a December report from Dallas-based The Marketing Arm says Tebow has just a shade less influence than Lady Gaga, and more than Tom Hanks. And he’s head-and-shoulders above Brady, who has about as much pull as Bruce Willis and Robert Downey Jr.

Tim Tebow

Timothy Richard "Tim" Tebow,   born August 14, 1987 is an American football quarterback for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Broncos as the 25th overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft. He played college football at Florida.
Tebow played quarterback for Nease High School in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida and was ranked among the top quarterback prospects in the nation as a high school senior. He ultimately chose to attend the University of Florida. Tebow was a dual threat quarterback, adept at rushing and passing the football. As a college freshman, the Gators' coaches largely used him as a change of pace to the team's more traditional passing quarterback, Chris Leak. Tebow contributed to the Gators' 2006 college football season as a key back-up, helping the team win college football's national championship game for the first time since 1996.
During the 2007 season, Tebow was Florida's starting quarterback and became the first college football player to both rush and pass for 20 or more touchdowns in a single season and the first college sophomore to win the Heisman Trophy.

Tebow at the 2006 U.S. Army All-American Bowl as a high school senior.

Tebow was born in Makati City in the Philippines, the son of Pamela Pemberton Tebow, daughter of a U.S. Army colonel, and Robert Ramsey Tebow, a pastor, who were serving as Christian Baptist missionaries at the time. While pregnant, Pam suffered a life-threatening infection with a pathogenic amoeba. Because of the drugs used to rouse her from a coma and to treat her dysentery, the fetus experienced a severe placental abruption. Doctors had expected a stillbirth and recommended an abortion to protect her life, but she remained undaunted and refused having abortion.
Tebow is the youngest of five children, with sisters Christy and Katie, and brothers Robby and Peter. All of the Tebow children were homeschooled by their mother, who worked to instill the family's Christian beliefs along the way. In 1996, legislation was passed in Florida allowing homeschooled students to compete in local high school sporting events. The law specifies that homeschooled students may participate on the team of the local school in the school district in which they live. The Tebows lived in Jacksonville, Florida, and Tim played linebacker and tight end at the local Trinity Christian Academy for one season. Tebow's preferred position was quarterback, but Trinity football team's offense did not rely on passing the football, so he began to explore his options to play for a new high school. He decided to attend Nease High School, which under head coach Craig Howard was known for having a passing offense. With the rest of his family living on a farm in Duval County, Tim and his mother moved into an apartment in nearby St. Johns County, making him eligible to play for the football team at Nease. His performance soon turned heads and led to a minor controversy regarding the fact that he was a home-schooled student having his choice of school to play for.


On January 7, 2007, Tebow was featured prominently in an ESPN "Outside The Lines" feature on homeschooled athletes seeking equal access to high school athletics in other states. Because a homeschooler's access to public and private school athletic functions vary by state, Tebow and New York Jets defensive end Jason Taylor (who was allowed to play at his local high school in Pennsylvania) argue in favor of extending the right to play for local teams to more states.
Upon becoming the first home-schooled athlete to be nominated for the Heisman Trophy, Tebow remarked, "That's really cool. A lot of times people have this stereotype of homeschoolers as not very athletic – it's like, go win a spelling bee or something like that – it's an honor for me to be the first one to do that."


As one of the most highly recruited quarterback prospects in the nation, Tebow received an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where he played for coach Urban Meyer's Florida Gators football team from 2006 to 2009. From his freshman season in 2006, when he was a backup behind the Gators' career passing yardage leader, Chris Leak, to his Heisman Trophy-winning sophomore season in 2007, to his BCS Championship-winning junior season in 2008, to his 13–1 senior season, Tebow left an indelible legacy on the Florida Gators football program. The Gators coaches selected him as a team captain in 2008 and 2009, and he is the only three-time recipient of the Gators' most valuable player award, having been chosen by his teammates in 2007, 2008 and 2009.




On December 8, 2007, Tebow was awarded the Heisman Trophy, finishing ahead of Arkansas's Darren McFadden, Hawaii's Colt Brennan, and Missouri's Chase Daniel. He was the first underclassman to have ever won the Heisman Trophy. He garnered 462 first place votes and 1957 points, 254 points ahead of runner-up Arkansas running back Darren McFadden. He finished the regular season as the only player in FBS history to rush and pass for at least 20 touchdowns in both categories in the same season. He had 32 passing touchdowns, and 23 rushing touchdowns. Tebow's rushing TD total in the 2007 season is the most recorded for any position in SEC history. The total also set the record for most rushing touchdowns by a quarterback in FBS history. Tebow became the third UF player to win the Heisman Trophy, joining Steve Spurrier and Danny Wuerffel.


Before the 2007 season had even come to a close, Florida coach Urban Meyer stated that he would likely use two quarterbacks during the 2008 season to take some of the workload off of Tebow's shoulders. Tebow led the Gators in rushing in 2007 but also had to play through a bruised shoulder and broken non-throwing hand.
Before the 2008 season even started, Tebow had his name pulled from consideration for the Playboy Preseason All-American team because it conflicted with his Christian beliefs.
On November 1, 2008, playing against the Georgia Bulldogs, Tebow ran for his 37th rushing touchdown, breaking the school record previously held by former Florida running back Emmitt Smith.
Tebow led the Gators to a 12–1 record in 2008. After clinching the Southeastern Conference Eastern Division title, the team played for and won the SEC title in the 2008 SEC Championship Game against the Alabama Crimson Tide. The win secured the #2 ranking in the final BCS standings, which earned the Gators the chance to play the #1 ranked Oklahoma Sooners in the 2009 BCS National Championship Game, which they won 24–14.


Tebow opened the 2009 season continuing a streak of throwing and running for a touchdown in blowout wins over Charleston Southern and Troy. He ran for a touchdown in the third game, a win against Tennessee, but failed to throw for a touchdown for the first time since his freshman season.
Once there, he vomited. He was taken by ambulance to the University of Kentucky Chandler Medical Center. A CT scan showed no bleeding in the brain, with the injury described as a mild concussion. Coach Urban Meyer stayed the night in the hospital with Tebow, who was discharged in the morning.
On October 31, 2009, while playing against the Georgia Bulldogs, Tebow ran for his 50th and 51st rushing touchdowns, breaking the SEC career record previously held by former Georgia running back Herschel Walker. 




In 2010, a new rule for the next NCAA football season, dubbed "The Tebow Rule" by media because it would have affected him, banned messages on eye paint. During his college football career, Tebow frequently wore biblical verses on his eye black. In the 2009 BCS Championship Game, he wore John 3:16 on his eye paint, and as a result, 92 million people searched "John 3:16" on Google during or shortly after the game. Additionally, later, when Tebow switched to another verse, there were 3.43 million searches of "Tim Tebow" and "Proverbs 3:5-6" together. Tebow stated of the searches "It just goes to show you the influence and the platform that you have as a student-athlete and as a quarterback at Florida".


After passing on the 2009 NFL Draft for his senior season at Florida, Tebow went on to enter the 2010 NFL Draft. Despite his college success, Tebow's NFL potential was much debated. According to former Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Jon Gruden, he could "revolutionize" the pro game. Says Gruden: "Tim Tebow is 250 pounds, and he's the strongest human being that's ever played the position. He can throw well enough at any level." Former Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy said he would pick Tebow with a top 10 pick, and would take him over any quarterback in the 2010 draft. On the other hand, NFL analyst Mel Kiper, Jr. believes Tebow does not have the intangibles to play quarterback in the NFL. "I don't think he can be a fulltime quarterback. I don't think he can be the quarterback of the future for you, but I do think in the third round, maybe the second round, he'll be the same as Pat White", said Kiper.
Tebow was particularly mentioned as a potential third round pick of the Jacksonville Jaguars, his hometown team. Some, including Florida governor Charlie Crist, believe that Tebow could be the remedy for dwindling Jaguars ticket sales at EverBank Field. 


Tebow was drafted by the Denver Broncos 25th overall in the 2010 NFL Draft. The Broncos received the pick from the Baltimore Ravens for draft picks in the second, third and fourth rounds of the 2010 NFL Draft. Broncos head coach Josh McDaniels said about his two first-round selections, which included Tebow, "We want players who are tough, smart, have great character, love football and are passionate about coming here and helping the Broncos win a championship. I think both players fit that role, and I think that's something that we're looking for in all of our players. What we're trying to build here is team chemistry and a team that cares about winning and winning a championship, and that's it." He also added specifically about Tebow, "He has all the traits you look for. It's a good pick.


ESPN's Bill Williamson said, "Josh McDaniels' legacy is Tim Tebow.
When asked how Tebow will be used, McDaniels commented that Tebow probably won't start at QB as a rookie; although, he said he'll "play when he's ready." He also said that there could be some packages custom-made for Tebow right away and indicated that he could initially contribute to Denver's variation of the wildcat formation, called the wild horse formation.
The Denver Post columnist Woody Paige praised the pick, saying "Tim Tremendous may be high risk, but he will be a Mile High Reward...Tebow has become the most celebrated fourth-string rookie quarterback in NFL history, the most controversial quarterback pick by the Broncos since Tommy Maddox was chosen in exactly the same spot in the first round in 1992, the most decorated player and the most determined quarterback, and the most puzzling dichotomy, in the entire draft.


Tebow appeared on the September 2008 cover of Men's Fitness magazine.
On April 8, 2010, Tebow was announced as the cover athlete for all three game platforms of the video game NCAA Football 11.
Tebow is a spokesperson for Nike, Jockey International and FRS Health Energy.
Tebow was the first quarterback featured in ESPN's "Year of the Quarterback" series in 2011. The documentary, entitled "Tim Tebow: Everything in Between," followed him from the 2010 Sugar Bowl to the 2010 NFL Draft. It premiered on January 6, 2011.


A nationwide controversy surrounded Tebow's decision to appear in an ad funded by the socially conservative organization Focus on the Family that was broadcast during Super Bowl XLIV on CBS. There were two 30-second commercials, which included Tebow's personal story as part of an overall pro-life stance. The abortion issue was not specifically mentioned in the ad. Pro-choice groups condemned the ad, while pro-life groups rallied around Tebow.


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Dirk Nowitzki's late shot beats Celtics

Nowitzki scored just 16 points — 12 below his career average at the Garden — but his drive and free throw with 5.1 seconds left gave defending NBA champion Dallas an 90-85 victory.


After a timeout, Rajon Rondo’s inbounds bounced off Ray Allen and out of bounds. Jason Terry’s layup closed the scoring.


Paul Pierce scored only 7 points, but his 3-pointer tied the game, 85-85, with 25 seconds left. The Celtics captain is still rounding into shape after missing all of training camp and the first three regular-season games with a bruised right heel.


The Celtics have dropped two in a row at home and the schedule grows even tougher. In a four-day stretch, Boston will play three of the NBA’s best teams. Tomorrow night, the Celtics host 10-2 Chicago. The next night, they visit 7-3 Indiana, a team that won at the Garden last Friday. On Monday night, 10-2 Oklahoma City will visit here.


Mavericks Coach Rick Carlisle was ejected after picking up back-to-back technical fouls in the third quarter.


at New York 85, Philadelphia 79: Carmelo Anthony had 27 points and nine rebounds, and the Knicks ended the 76ers' six-game winning streak. Amare Stoudemire added 20 points and 10 rebounds, and rookie Josh Harrellson contributed 13 points off the bench as the Knicks won their fourth in a row.


at San Antonio 101, Houston 95 (OT): Tony Parker scored 28 points and made four free throws late in overtime to help the Spurs improve to 7-0 at home.


at Indiana 96, Atlanta 84: Danny Granger scored 24 points and broke out of a shooting slump as the Pacers improved to 7-3. Granger, who had been shooting 24.5% in January, made nine of 16 shots, including three of five from three-point range.


Sacramento 98, at Toronto 91: Tyreke Evans scored a season-high 29 points, DeMarcus Cousins had 21 points and a career-high 19 rebounds and the Kings ended a seven-game losing streak in Toronto


at Chicago 78, Washington 64: Derrick Rose didn't play because of a sprained left big toe, but backup John Lucas III scored a career-high 25 points and led the Bulls to their third victory in three nights.


Oklahoma City 95, at New Orleans 85: Kevin Durant had 29 points and 10 rebounds, taking over in the third quarter as the Thunder pulled away. Durant scoring 11 points in the first eight minutes after halftime.


at Denver 123, New Jersey 115: The Nuggets shot 59.5% and had six players in double figures in a win over the Nets, who got 26 points from Jordan Farmar in 23 minutes off the bench.

Dirk Nowitzki

Dirk Werner Nowitzki, born June 19, 1978 is a German professional basketball player who plays for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). An alumnus of Röntgen Gymnasium and DJK Würzburg basketball club, Nowitzki was drafted ninth overall by the Milwaukee Bucks in the 1998 NBA Draft, and was immediately traded to the Mavericks, where he has played ever since. Standing 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m), Nowitzki plays the power forward position but also has the mobility, size, and shooting ability to play the other frontcourt positions, center and small forward.
Nowitzki has led the Mavericks to 11 consecutive NBA Playoffs (2000–01 to 2010–11), including an NBA Finals appearance in 2006 and the franchise's first championship in 2011, making him one of only 5 players in NBA history to win a championship while being the only NBA All-Star on the team. He is a 10-time All-Star and 11-time member of the All-NBA Teams, and the 1st European-born player in NBA history to receive the NBA Most Valuable Player Award. He is the first Maverick ever to be voted into an All-NBA Team and also holds several all-time Mavericks franchise records. Only Nowitzki and three other players have ever averaged more than 25 points and 10 rebounds in the NBA playoffs, and only Nowitzki and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar have managed 4 consecutive 30-point, 15-rebound games in the playoffs. Additionally, Nowitzki is the only player in NBA history to get 100 blocks and 150 3-pointers in a single season.
Nowitzki led the German national basketball team to a bronze medal in the 2002 FIBA World Championship and the silver medal in EuroBasket 2005, and was leading scorer and elected Most Valuable Player in both tournaments. Nowitzki has been a seven-time European Player of the Year, being named the Euroscar European Basketball Player of the Year by the Italian sports newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport for five years in a row, the Mister Europa European Player of the Year by the Italian sports magazine Superbasket in 2005, and the FIBA Europe Basketball Player of the Year the same year.
On December 18, 2011 he was named the 2011 German Sports Personality of the Year for the first time.


Nowitzki has been playing for the German national basketball team since the 1999 FIBA European championships. In his debut tournament, the 21-year old rookie emerged as the main German scorer, but Germany finished seventh and failed to qualify for the 2000 Olympic Games. In the 2001 FIBA European Championships, Nowitzki was top scorer with 28.7 points per game, and narrowly lost the MVP vote to Serbian player Peja Stojaković. Germany reached the semi-finals and were close to beating host nation Turkey, but down by three, Hedo Turkoglu hit a three-point buzzer beater, and the Turks eventually won in overtime. Germany then lost 99–90 against Spain, and did not win a medal. However, with averages of 28.7 points and 9.1 rebounds, Nowitzki led the tournament in both statistics, and was voted to the All-Star team. Back home, the German basketball team attracted up to 3.7 million television viewers, a German basketball record at the time.
Nowitzki finally earned his first medal when he led Germany to a bronze medal in the 2002 World Championships. In the quarter-finals against the Pau Gasol-led Spain, Spain led 52–46 after three quarters, but then Nowitzki scored 10 points in the last quarter and led Germany to a 70–62 win. In the semi-finals, his team played against the Argentinian squad led by Manu Ginóbili, but despite leading 74–69 four minutes from the end and despite Argentina losing Ginobili to a foot injury, the South Americans won 86–80. However, the Germans won 117–94 against New Zealand in the consolation finals and won bronze, and tournament top scorer Nowitzki (24.0 ppg) was elected MVP. Back in Germany, over 4 million television viewers followed the games, an all-time record in German basketball history.


Nowitzki is a versatile frontcourt player who mostly plays the power forward position, but has also played center, small forward and point forward throughout his career. Nowitzki hits 88% of his free throws, hits nearly 50% of his field goal attempts and 40% of his three-point shots, and won the 2006 NBA All-Star Three-Point Shootout competition. In 2006–07 Nowitzki became only the fifth member of the NBA's 50–40–90 Club for players who shot 50% or better from the field, 40% or better on three-pointers, and 90% or better on free-throws in a single season while achieving the NBA league minimum number of makes in each category.
Throughout Nowitzki's career, he has responded to the increased pressure of the playoffs by increasing his productivity. In the regular season he averages 23 points, 8.4 rebounds. In the playoffs he averages 25.9 points and 10.4 rebounds, which only Hakeem Olajuwon, Bob Pettit and Elgin Baylor have managed to do. In the most pressure packed games, such as playoff elimination games he averages 28.4 points, 12.2 rebounds. He has had 13 elimination games where he scored 30 or more points, with only Jerry West having more at 14. Of the top 100 elimination game performances in the last 20 years, Nowitzki has had the best performances in 8 of them, more than any other player in the NBA in that same time frame.
His shooting accuracy combined with his long seven-foot frame and unique shooting mechanics, such as having a release point above his head, makes contesting his jump shots incredibly difficult. Additionally, he can put the ball down and drive with it from the perimeter, like few have been able to do with his size. NBA.com lauds his versatility by stating: "The 7–0 forward who at times mans the pivot can strike fear in an opponent when he corrals a rebound and leads the break or prepares to launch a three-point bomb. Charles Barkley says the best way to guard Nowitzki is to "get a cigarette and a blindfold". When defenses guard Nowitzki with one of their biggest men, who is then pulled out to the perimeter, the net effect is that while Nowitzki's own statistics are actually compromised by being out of position to offensively rebound or make an easy close-range basket, the rest of the team becomes more offensively potent with the defense having to be spread across the floor. Often, this creates player mismatches that Nowitzki's teammates can exploit.

Mitt Romney maintains commanding lead in New Hampshire

COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Mitt Romney swept into South Carolina on Wednesday in pursuit of a confirming victory in the race for the Republican presidential nomination, buoyed by a second straight electoral triumph and bulging campaign coffers.


"I don't want to be overconfident," said the Republican front-runner. But increasingly, the former Massachusetts governor and Michigan native was talking about his plans for challenging President Barack Obama in the fall.


Underscoring his strong position, Romney's campaign announced that it had raised $56 million through Dec. 31 and is sitting on more than $19 million in cash. But his GOP rivals showed no sign of surrender.


Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich launched a fresh attack on Romney's business career at Bain Capital and a new TV ad painting him as a flip-flopper on abortion. A pro-Gingrich PAC called Winning Our Future was reported this week to be spending millions on TV and radio advertising attacking Romney in South Carolina.


Romney's lead here has eroded somewhat over the last week. It was at 46% for a two-day period before the Iowa caucuses, dropping to 43% in the two days after that contest. Paul also has dipped, from 23%, from the days before Iowa.


Santorum may have plateaued after an initial post-Iowa bounce, but Huntsman has jumped from 7% to 11%.


"All of the candidates behind Romney have a good chance finishing anywhere between second and fifth place," said UNH pollster Andrew Smith.


Eight percent of those surveyed are still undecided; only 44% say they are definite about their final choice, the poll found.


"New Hampshire voters historically have made up their minds in the final days before the election, and campaign activities in the final days matter, but this will be harder for Gingrich and Santorum as they are not running ads in the campaign’s final days," Smith said.


Romney has made electability a key part of his argument, but only 19% said that a candidate's ability to defeat President Obama is the most important characteristic for them, compared with 43% who say it is the candidate's position on the issues that matters.


In the New Hampshire primary, unlike Iowa's caucuses, Republicans and "undeclared" voters can vote in the Republican primary. Smith's sample assumes that registered Republicans will account for 57% of the total turnout.


Romney performs most strongly among that group, with 48% support compared with 14% for Paul and Santorum. Among undeclared voters, Romney's lead is 34%-21% over Paul, with Huntsman at 18%.


Romney holds on to 70% of the voters who supported him in the 2008 primary, the poll found. Among supporters of winning candidate John McCain, Romney gets 46%, compared with 14% for Paul and 10% for Gingrich.

Mitt Romney Pressured Single Mother

Mitt Romney spends the next leg of his campaign courting evangelical voters in South Carolina, his Mormon faith is expected to re-emerge as a subject of serious scrutiny. But concerns won’t belong exclusively to theologically suspicious Baptists: a newly revealed episode from the candidate’s time as a lay leader in the LDS church could raise eyebrows among women’s advocates.
While serving as bishop of a Mormon congregation near Boston in the early 80’s, Romney once threatened to excommunicate a young single mother if she did not give her soon-to-be-born son up for adoption, according to a passage from a forthcoming book, “The Real Romney.” excerpted this week in Vanity Fair.
The anecdote, which Romney has disputed, sheds new light on a compelling part of the candidate’s religious life—one that serves, politically, as a double-edged sword. On one hand Romney’s time spent as a minister of his faith gave him the unique opportunity of serving low-income Boston neighborhoods, undercutting the narrative that he’s an out-of-touch millionaire. On the other, his role as a representative of the church sometimes put him in a position of standing up for politically unsavory teachings.


Romney has since changed course on abortion. Bassett recently reported on an ad released by Newt Gingrich's campaign that attacked Romney as "pro-abortion." The story clarifies Romney's current position:


To be clear, Romney is not, as the Gingrich ad accuses, "pro-abortion" or even pro-contraception. He supports overturning Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision that protects a woman's right to have an abortion before the fetus is viable outside the womb. And although he attended Planned Parenthood fund-raisers and supported taxpayer funding for abortion before changing his stance in 2005, Romney now says he would eliminate the Title X family planning program, which funds Planned Parenthood and provides affordable contraception and other basic medical care to millions of uninsured and low-income women.

Single Mother

Single parent usually refers to a parent who has most of the day to day responsibilities in the raising of the child or children, which would categorize them as the dominant caregiver. The dominant caregiver is the parent in which the children have residency with majority of the time; if the parents are separated or divorced children live with their custodial parent and have visitation with their noncustodial parent. In western society in general, following separation, a child will end up with the primary caregiver, usually the mother, and a secondary caregiver, usually the father.
There are many facts involving single parenting in the social spectrum of the world today. Single parenting has become an accepted norm in the United States and is an accepted trend found in multiple countries outside of the United States. Single parenting is often a result of divorce in which children exist in a relationship. Custody battles, awarded by the court or rationalized in other terms, determine who the child will spend majority of their time with, this effects children in many ways and there are many suggestions to counsel them. A mother is typically the primary caregiver in a single parent family structure as a result of divorce, unplanned pregnancy, or other factors like death of a partner. Fathers are less commonly seen as primary caregiver but they are growing in recent years. Single parent adoption is an option for adults who want children but are not currently in a relationship or seeking a partner.
The demographics of single parenting show a general increase worldwide in children living in single parent homes. Statistics from the United States, North Korea, and the United Kingdom all fall in line with this trend. Multiple debates concerning single parenthood have come about over time. Debates concerning not only the single parents themselves, but also the children involved, support for the families in single parent households, and more have risen to the surface. Divorce is one of the main events that leads to single parenting. Divorce can have many different effects on the children involved, and there are many ways to deal with it to try to make everything go smoothly. Media are a very important resource for people all over the world. Men and women of all ages are portrayed in the media, mostly on television or in movies, as great parents, showing that this can situation can result in a successful family environment.


Collectively, 83.1% of single parents are mothers compared to 16.9% of those who are fathers. Among this percentage of single mothers, there are multiple factors that contribute to single motherhood: 45% of single mothers are currently divorced or separated, 1.7% are widowed, 34% of single mothers are not married--which may have resulted from accidental pregnancy--or never have been married. There are also a few options for women who want to mother on their own by choice, through adoption, artificial insemination, or in vitro fertilization.
The prevalence of single mothers as primary caregiver is a part of traditional parenting trends between mothers and fathers. In her work Marriages & Families Nijole V. Benokraitis, Ph.D. in sociology and conducted research with marriage and family and gender roles, defines mothers as the expressive role players, who provide the emotional support and nurturing that sustain the family unit. Because of this, she argues, mothers outshine fathers who tend to be stricter and more distant. She goes on to express that one of a woman's expressive roles is that of kin-keeper, an important communication link among family members. Children tend to drift towards preference of parent depending on how involved a particular parent is, and a common problem in society today are absentee fathers; therefore, children are more likely to show preference for their mothers, as they are more involved with them than the fathers.
Cultural definition of a mother's role also contribute to the preference of mother as primary caregiver. Children will lean more towards mothers because of their protective, nurturing characteristics, from a long established mother-child relationship from early on attachment beginning at birth and continuing as the child grows up.[25] In addition to their traditional protective and nurturing role, single mothers have to play the role of family provider as well; since men are the breadwinners of the traditional family, in the absence of the father the mother must fulfill this role whilst also providing adequate parentage. Because of this dual role, 80% of single mothers are employed of which 50% are full-time workers and 30% are part-time. Many employed single mothers rely on childcare facilities to care for their children while they are away at work. Linked to the rising prevalence of single parenting is the increasing quality of healthcare, and there have been findings of positive developmental effects with modern childcare. It's not uncommon that the mother will become actively involved with the childcare program as to compensate for leaving her children under the care of others. Working single mothers may also rely on the help from fictive kin, who provide for the children while the mother is at her job.

Syria opposition denies killing French journalist

Syria - The deadly violence in Syria has been mounting for ten months, leaving more than 5,000 people dead - mostly anti-government protesters - according to the United Nations.
The protesters demand that long-time dictator Bashar Assad step down immediately, but his family has held Syria in an iron grip for 40 years, and he is determined to hang on at any price.


Assad has kept most foreign journalists out of the country. CBS News applied for visas six months ago, and on Wednesday, CBS News correspondent Elizabeth Palmer finally gained official access to the closed nation. She saw only what the government wanted her to see, but the brutality and violence was still apparent.


Another group of Western journalists were midway through their own government-supervised tour of the embattled city of Homs when the area came under fire Wednesday.


One French reporter was killed. So were eight Syrians - ordinary residents of this middle class neighborhood. Just 20 minutes earlier, the CBS News crew was on the same street to hear from the people who say the threat of snipers and kidnapping is constant.


CBS News wasn't allowed out of sight of the government minders, but from the bus windows, Homs looked eerily quiet. Armed opposition groups opposed to the regime now control whole neighborhoods, which are off limits to all government vehicles.


Four members of the Syrian army were killed when a bomb exploded in a military bus Wednesday, the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency said. Eight others were injured in the explosion in the Damascus countryside, according to SANA. It blamed the attack on an "armed terrorist group."
Opposition groups blame the violence on al-Assad's government, but the president continues to blame the bloodshed on terrorists.
Al-Assad -- who rarely makes public appearances -- caused quite a stir when he showed up at Wednesday's rally. A news anchor said his presence "caught us off guard, quite surprising."
The Arab League has called on Damascus to stop violence against civilians, free political detainees, remove tanks and weapons from cities and allow outsiders, including the international news media, to travel freely around Syria.
Arab League officials have pledged to add to their 165 observers already in the country. But the group's mission has been met with skepticism from both al-Assad supporters and anti-government activists.
Anwar Malek, an Algerian Arab League observer who withdrew from the monitoring team, told Al-Jazeera he quit because he found himself "serving the regime, and not part of an independent monitoring body.

Food allergy

Food allergy is an adverse immune response to a food protein. They are distinct from other adverse responses to food, such as food intolerance, pharmacological reactions, and toxin-mediated reactions.
The protein in the food is the most common allergic component. These kinds of allergies occur when the body's immune system mistakenly identifies a protein as harmful. Some proteins or fragments of proteins are resistant to digestion and those that are not broken down in the digestive process are tagged by the Immunoglobulin E (IgE). These tags fool the immune system into thinking that the protein is harmful. The immune system, thinking the organism (the individual) is under attack, triggers an allergic reaction. These reactions can range from mild to severe. Allergic responses include dermatitis, gastrointestinal and respiratory distress, including such life-threatening anaphylactic responses as biphasic anaphylaxis and vasodilation; these require immediate emergency intervention. Non-food protein allergies include latex sensitivity. Individuals with protein allergies commonly avoid contact with the problematic protein. Some medications may prevent, minimize or treat protein allergy reactions.
Treatment consists of either immunotherapy (desensitisation) or avoidance, in which the allergic person avoids all forms of contact with the food to which they are allergic. Areas of research include anti-IgE antibody (omalizumab, or Xolair) and specific oral tolerance induction (SOTI), which have shown some promise for treatment of certain food allergies. People diagnosed with a food allergy may carry an injectable form of epinephrine such as an EpiPen or Twinject, wear some form of medical alert jewelry, or develop an emergency action plan, in accordance with their doctor.
The scope of problem, particularly for young people, is a significant public health issue.


Epinephrine, also known as adrenaline, is a common medication used to treat allergic reactions. Epinephrine reverses the allergic reaction by improving blood circulation. This is done by tightening blood vessels in order to increase the heart beat and circulation to bodily organs. Epinephrine is produced naturally in the body. It is produced during "flight-or-fight" response. When a person is presented with a dangerous situation, the adrenal gland is triggered to release adrenaline; this gives the person an increased heart rate and more energy to try to fight off the danger being imposed on the individual. Epinephrine is also prescribed by a physician in a form that is self-injectable. This is what is called an epi-pen.


Antihistamines are also used to treat allergic reactions. Antihistamines block the action of histamine, which causes blood vessels to dilate and become leaky to plasma proteins. Histamine also causes itchiness by acting on sensory nerve terminals. The most common antihistamine given for food allergies is diphenhydramine, also known as Benedryl. Antihistamines relieve symptoms. When it comes to dealing with anaphylaxis, however, they do not completely improve the dangerous symptoms that affect breathing.


Steroids are used to calm down the immune system cells that are attacked by the chemicals released during an allergic reaction. This form of treatment in the form of a nasal spray should not be used to treat anaphylaxis, for it only relieves symptoms in the area in which the steroid is in contact. Another reason steroids should not be used to treat anaphylaxis is due to the long amount of time it takes to reduce inflammation and start to work. Steroids can also be taken orally or through injection. By taking a steroid in these manners, every part of the body can be reached and treated, but a long time is usually needed for these to take effect.


Desensitisation may be a cure for food allergies. If the major precipitating allergen is a pollen then this is targeted by current protocols for desensitisation, not the food analogue allergen. Injections are used, as sublingual drops are not suitable for sufferers of oral allergy.
Prof. Dr. Ronald van Ree of The University of Amsterdam and The Academic Medical Center expects that vaccines can in theory be created using genetic engineering to cure allergies. If this can be done, food allergies could be eradicated in about ten years.


The most common food allergens include peanuts, milk, eggs, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, soy, and wheat — these foods account for about 90% of all allergic reactions. The most common food allergies in adults are shellfish, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, and egg. The most common food allergies in children are milk, eggs, peanuts, and tree nuts.
Six to eight percent of children under the age of three have food allergies and nearly four percent of adults have food allergies.
For reasons that are not entirely understood, the diagnosis of food allergies has apparently become more common in Western nations in recent times. In the United States, food allergy affects as many as 5% of infants less than three years of age and 3% to 4% of adults. There is a similar prevalence in Canada.
Seventy-five percent of children who have allergies to milk protein are able to tolerate baked-in milk products, i.e., muffins, cookies, cake.
About 50% of children with allergies to milk, egg, soy, and wheat will outgrow their allergy by the age of 6. Those that are still allergic by the age of 12 or so have less than an 8% chance of outgrowing the allergy.
Peanut and tree nut allergies are less likely to be outgrown, although evidence now shows that about 20% of those with peanut allergies and 9% of those with tree nut allergies will outgrow them.

Ammaria Johnson's death highlights allergy safety in schools

Ammaria Johnson, the 7-year-old Virginia girl who died after an Food allergic reaction at school, was given a peanut by another child unaware of her allergy, police said.


Johnson ate the peanut on the playground of her Chesterfield County elementary school, Hopkins Elementary, during recess. After noticing hives and shortness of breath, she approached a teacher and was taken to the school clinic. A clinic aid was trying to help her when she stopped breathing, according to police.


"When emergency crews arrived, she was already in cardiac arrest in the clinic," Lt. Jason Elmore, a spokesman for the Chesterfield County Fire Department, told ABC News.


An investigation by Chesterfield police concluded that Johnson died from cardiac arrest and anaphylaxis, and that no crime or criminal negligence was committed by the child who shared the peanut, school personnel or Johnson's mother.
About 75% of schools in the country have access to a school nurse, and about 25% do not have any access to a school nurse. Between 40% and 50% have a full-time nurse. There's not really a shortage of school nurses; there's a shortage of funded positions, said Linda Davis-Allbritt, president of the organization.
"Children need to have a school nurse so that their health conditions can be well-managed," she said. "Healthy kids do learn better."
It's rare, but it has happened that when there is a clear emergency, a school nurse would use an epinephrine injection that was prescribed for another student, she said. This action would be controversial, however -- one problem is that the other student could have had a reaction at the same time or shortly thereafter, and their medication would have been used.
"The cost of epinephrine is so much less than the value of a child's life," Davis-Allbritt said. "It would make a lot of sense to have epinephrine available, and have a school nurse in the building every day, and have people besides the school nurse who are trained in case there is an emergency.