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NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Married couples across the U.S. have had access to no-fault divorce for more than 50 years, an option many call crucial to supporting domestic abuse victims and key to preventing already crowded family courts from drowning in complicated divorce proceedings. But some advocates for women worried as old comments from now Vice President-elect JD Vance circulated during the presidential campaign opposing no-fault divorce. After President-elect Donald Trump and Vance won the election, warnings began popping up on social media urging women who might be considering divorce to "pull the trigger" while they still could. Some attorneys posted saying they saw a spike in calls from women seeking divorce consultations. Donald and Ivana Trump pose in May 1988 outside the Federal Courthouse in New York after she was sworn in as a United States citizen. Trump — who is twice-divorced — hasn't championed overhauling the country's divorce laws, but in 2021 Vance lamented that divorce is too easily accessible, as have conservative podcasters and others. "We've run this experiment in real time and what we have is a lot of very, very real family dysfunction that's making our kids unhappy," Vance said during a speech at a Christian high school in California, where he criticized people being able to "shift spouses like they change their underwear." Marriage rates held steady but divorce rates of women age 15 and older declined from 2012 to 2022, according to U.S. Census Bureau data released in October. Despite concerns, even those who want to make divorces harder to get say they don't expect big, swift changes. There is not a national coordinated effort underway. States determine their own divorce laws, so national leaders can't directly change policy. "Even in some of the so-called red states, it hasn't gotten anywhere," said Beverly Willett, co-chair of the Coalition for Divorce Reform, whose group unsuccessfully attempted to convince states to repeal their no-fault divorce laws. A couple exchanges wedding bands Oct. 11, 2018, at City Hall in Philadelphia. Mark A. Smith, a political science professor at the University of Washington, said while many Americans became accustomed to no-fault divorce being an option, Vance's previous comments on making it more difficult to separate from a spouse could help jump-start that effort. "Even though he's not directly proposing a policy, it's a topic that hasn't gotten a ton of discussion in the last 15 years," Smith said. "And so to have a national profile politician talk that way is noteworthy." Meanwhile, Republican Party platforms in Texas and Nebraska were amended in 2022 to call for the removal of no-fault divorce. Louisiana's Republican Party considered something similar this year but declined to do so. A handful of proposals were introduced in conservative-led statehouses over the years, but all immediately stalled after they were filed. In January, Oklahoma Republican Sen. Dusty Deevers introduced legislation that would have removed married couples from filing for divorce on the grounds of incompatibility. Deevers backed the bill after writing a piece declaring no-fault divorce was an "abolition of marital obligation." Sen. JD Vance smiles as his wife Usha Vance applauds Nov. 6 at an election-night watch party at the Palm Beach Convention Center in West Palm Beach, Fla. Similarly, in South Carolina, two Republican lawmakers in 2023 filed a bill that would have required both spouses to file for a no-fault divorce application rather than just one. In South Dakota, a Republican lawmaker attempted to remove irreconcilable difference as grounds for divorce since 2020. None of the sponsors of these bills responded to interview requests from The Associated Press. All are members of their state's conservative Freedom Caucus. Nevertheless, some Democratic lawmakers say they remain worried about the future of no-fault divorce. They point to the U.S. Supreme Court overturning the constitutional right to abortion in 2022 as an example of a long-accepted option that was revoked through a decades-long effort. "When you choose to be silent, you allow for this to creep in," said Democratic South Dakota Rep. Linda Duba. "These are the bills that gain a foothold because you choose to be silent." Before California became the first state to adopt a no-fault divorce option in 1969, married couples had to prove their spouse violated one of the approved "faults" outlined in their state's divorce law or risk a judge denying their divorce, said Joanna Grossman, a law professor at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. Qualified reasons varied from state to state, but largely included infidelity, incarceration or abandonment. Donald and Marla Trump wave to photographers Dec. 20, 1993, as they enter their wedding reception in New York's Plaza Hotel. The system was a particular burden on domestic violence victims, who are often women who could be stuck in dangerous marriages while they try to prove their partner's abuse in court through expensive and lengthy legal proceedings. "If there was any evidence that the couple both wanted to get divorced that was supposed to be denied because divorce was not something you got because you wanted it, it was something you got because you've been wronged in a way that the state thought was significant," Grossman said. To date, every state in the U.S. adopted a no-fault divorce option. However, 33 states still have a list of approved "faults" to file as grounds for divorce — ranging from adultery to felony conviction. In 17 states, married people only have the option of choosing no-fault divorce to end their marriages. The link between rates of divorce and age at first marriage has been borne out over time, but it also explains geographic differences in rates of divorce. Today, most of the states with the lowest rates of divorce are also those with a higher median age for marriage. States like New Jersey, New York, California, and Massachusetts all stand out for having fewer than 10% of adults divorced and an age at first marriage above 30. One exception to this is Utah, which has the lowest overall median age for first marriage at 25.5 but also the third-lowest share of divorced adults at 9%, likely due in part to the state’s strong religious ties to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . In contrast, Maine and Nevada lead all states in the share of the population currently divorced at 13.9% and 13.8%, respectively. And at the local level, many of the cities with the highest levels of divorce are found in Florida, Appalachia, and the Southwest. The data used in this analysis is from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2020 American Community Survey . To determine the most divorced locations, researchers at ChamberOfCommerce.org calculated the percentage of adults currently divorced. In the event of a tie, the location with the higher percentage of adults currently separated was ranked higher. To improve relevance, only cities with at least 100,000 residents were included. Additionally, cities were grouped into cohorts based on population size: small (100,000–149,999), midsize (150,000–349,999), and large (350,000 or more). Here are the most divorced cities in the U.S. Photo Credit: Jacob Boomsma / Shutterstock Photo Credit: Sean Pavone / Shutterstock Photo Credit: Sean Pavone / Shutterstock Photo Credit: photo.ua / Shutterstock Photo Credit: Jonny Trego / Shutterstock Photo Credit: Tupungato / Shutterstock Photo Credit: Sean Pavone / Shutterstock Photo Credit: Kevin J King / Shutterstock Photo Credit: Sean Pavone / Shutterstock Photo Credit: Galina Savina / Shutterstock Photo Credit: f11photo / Shutterstock Photo Credit: CHARLES MORRA / Shutterstock Photo Credit: LHBLLC / Shutterstock Photo Credit: Valiik30 / Shutterstock Photo Credit: turtix / Shutterstock Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter.
On Sunday, Washington Commanders kicker Austin Seibert came under much scrutiny after missing what would have been a game-tying extra point in the final minute of the 34-26 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. Perhaps the real issue was that Seibert played in that game at all. After missing Washington's previous two contests due to a hip injury, Seibert returned against the Cowboys. Now, he's been not only ruled out again for the Commanders' next contest, but placed on injured reserve . Washington will presumably replace Seibert with Zane Gonzalez, who is currently on the team's practice squad and who previously filled in for Seibert during the two weeks he missed. The bigger issue, though, seems to be the fact that this move should have been made a week ago. Surely, Gonzalez -- who was a combined 3-for-3 on field goals and 4-for-4 on extra points during his two previous appearances with Washington -- could have had a better outing than the hobbled Seibert against the Cowboys. Prior to Sunday, Seibert had been having an exceptional season for Washington, making 25 of his 27 field goal attempts and all 22 of his extra points. Even still, his percentages on the year are both at or above 90. If there's any takeaway to be found here, it's Seibert can't be the one to blame for Sunday's loss. That falls on whoever made the decision to play him while he clearly wasn't fully healthy.
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With technical prowess and considerable style, Marta danced around two sliding defenders, outwitted a goalkeeper and calmly scored as another player rushed forward in desperation to stop her. It was more Marta Magic. That goal last weekend helped propel the Orlando Pride into Saturday's National Women's Soccer League championship game against the Washington Spirit. Barbra Banda also scored in the Pride's 3-2 semifinal victory over the Kansas City Current . While Banda has had an incredible first season with the Pride, captain Marta has been the talisman that has helped lead the team in its remarkable turnaround this year. The last time the Pride were in the NWSL playoffs was in 2017 — Marta's first year with the club. But this season they nearly went undefeated, going 23 games without a loss to start the season before losing 2-0 to the Portland Thorns with just two regular-season games left. “I think because of the way that we did it, during this season, from beginning to now, it’s something very special that I’ve never had before with any other club that I’ve played for," Marta said. "Plus year by year, we see in America, strong competition. This is the best league in the world. And you never know what’s going to happen, and it’s hard to keep winning the games, being in the first place almost like the whole season. That’s why it’s really different and so special.” Marta’s goal was the latest gasp-inducing moment in a stellar career filled with them. Known by just her first name, the 38-year-old is a six-time FIFA world player of the year. "Let's see if tomorrow I can do something similar — or even better," Marta said on Friday. Her teammate Kylie Strom chimed in: “That was the greatest goal I've ever witnessed, hands down." Appropriate. Earlier this year, FIFA announced that the best goal in women's soccer each year would earn the Marta Award. In a lighthearted moment the day before the title match, Marta was asked if she thought it was possible she might give the award to herself. “You guys need to decide, because who votes for the best goal in the year? It’s you. It’s the people in the public. So it should be really interesting, like Marta’s Award goes to Marta!” she said with a laugh. Marta has played in six World Cups for Brazil and played this summer in her sixth Olympics, winning a silver medal after falling in the final to the United States . She previously said this would be her final year with the national team. But since then Brazil was named the host of the 2027 Women's World Cup. "I had a conversation with my coach, the national team coach, and I was really clear about playing in 2027. I told him it’s not my goal anymore,” she said. “But I’m always available to help the national team. And if they think I still can do something during this preparation for the World Cup, yeah, I would be happy to help them." Marta's club career started in Brazil when she was just 16. She has also played in Sweden and in the U.S. professional women's leagues that came before the NWSL. With nine regular-season goals, Marta has had one of her best seasons since she joined the Pride. “I can never pick a side, I never pick favorites — but I love to see this for Marta," U.S. coach Emma Hayes said. “Marta is someone we all like, admire and are grateful for. And that goal was just like prime Marta at her best. And so grateful for and thankful for her that she got the opportunity with another game with her team.” The Pride went 18-2-6 this season, clinching the NWSL Shield for the first trophy in club history. Orlando also set a record with 60 regular-season points to finish atop the standings. “We are sitting top of the table, but I think there still are a lot of doubters. I think there’s people out there who say, maybe this was a one-off season,” Strom said. “But we’re here to prove them all wrong. So I think we do carry a bit of that underdog mentality still with us.” The second-seeded Spirit advanced to the title match at Kansas City's CPKC Stadium last weekend on a penalty shootout after a 1-1 draw against defending champions Gotham FC. The Spirit's roster includes Trinity Rodman, a standout forward who formed the so-called “Triple Espresso” trio with Mallory Swanson and Sophia Smith for the United States at the Olympics. AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
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Judge dismisses charges against Karen Read supporter who scattered rubber ducks and fake $100 billsGold Coast Don't miss out on the headlines from Gold Coast. Followed categories will be added to My News. It’s no secret that Santa has become a byword for controversy in our schools. From religious connotations now considered politically incorrect, to contentious gift exchanges between students, to excessively expensive presents for teachers, the silly season is fraught with social snares. Last week, a Melbourne school hit the headlines for banning Secret Santa gift swaps – citing the potential to offend non-Christian students, but the Gold Coast is also not immune from these campus prohibitions. A furious parent informed me just this weekend that her child, a primary student at a local private school, was told by a teacher gift swaps were not allowed because it was a sign of “privileged behaviour”. They were also told some students may be upset at being left out and not to exchange gifts on the school grounds, despite many classrooms organising officially sanctioned present swaps. Author Rebecca Sparrow. There may be some merit in that argument at least, given social media is full of stories from parents whose children were excluded from festive friendship gift swaps. Teen educator and author Rebecca Sparrow recently reposted a parent’s letter from last year, describing how her daughter had been deliberately left out of a group gift-giving. “This is the third email I’ve had this past fortnight about Secret Santa exclusion amongst friendship groups,” said Ms Sparrow. “I feel very sad for your daughter that she went through this because being excluded is just one of the most awful feelings in the world. So I’m sorry this has happened.” As a former female student, I concur with these sentiments. But there are also a host of complaints from parents about the never-ending list of end-of-year expenses, including these very Kris Kringle exchanges. Said one unhappy parental participant on Reddit: “Kids don’t have their own money to go shopping and buy a gift for their classmate. They solely rely on what their parents can do for them. “Also, there’s no choice in this setting for the kid to participate or not. It’s different with adults or friend groups, they choose to give and get a gift. There is nothing that kids learn from doing Secret Santa, other than life is extremely unfair and capitalism rules all.” Now, plenty of schools set price limits on these gift swaps but, honestly, sometimes it’s simply the time spent rather than the money that’s the issue. Which brings me to the bane of every primary school parent’s existence ... the teacher gift. Or is that teachers’ gifts? Because there is the main classroom teacher, the teacher aide, the specialist teachers like music and sports, maybe a swim coach ... the list is longer than my daughter’s actual Christmas list. And let’s talk about the actual gifts being given ... back in my primary school parent days, we would all chip in for a gift card and the dollar total was incredible, hundreds and hundreds, if not over a thousand. Indeed, local personal finance expert and journalist Sarah Megginson recently ran an Instagram poll asking how much parents spent, on average, on their teacher’s gift – with almost half of respondents indicating they would spend up to $50 to $100. Personal finance expert Sarah Megginson. Picture: Supplied. While the NSW and Victorian Departments of Education have clear policies that any gift, benefit or hospitality valued over $50 must be reported by teachers, there is no such policy in Queensland. Education Queensland has previously defended the practice of teachers receiving gifts, saying teachers were not to accept gifts or benefits that were intended to influence the performance of their duties. However, a sample of some of the gifts declared by Queensland state school teachers last year reads more like a wedding registry: a robot vacuum cleaner, holidays, jewellery, $1500 yoga classes and Air Jordan sneakers. Now, I’m not implying that teachers don’t deserve these gifts – in fact, they deserve all this and more – but parents should not feel obliged to deliver, especially in the midst of a cost of living crisis. As for Secret Santa and classroom gift exchanges, we don’t need to make room for political ideologies or excuses, nor accusations of ‘privileged’ behaviour (FYI there are plenty of kids at private schools whose parents make enormous sacrifices for their education), but I do understand concerns about exclusion and the further pressure on parents. Ugh, who knew the price of festive spirit was so steep? Maybe we should secretly ask Santa to deliver a solution to this Christmas conundrum. More Coverage ‘Nightmarish hellscape’: What council staff really think about working there Paul Weston How Gold Coast’s top schools performed in this year’s NAPLAN Tahlia Leathart Originally published as The concept of celebrating the festive season and gifting in schools is increasingly contentious Join the conversation Add your comment to this story To join the conversation, please log in. Don't have an account? Register Join the conversation, you are commenting as Logout More related stories Gold Coast Gold-medal Olympian shares huge news An Australian Olympic gold medallist has shared news which he says has been his greatest achievement of all. Read more Gold Coast Major new challenge to hated ‘View Tax’ Council is facing a fresh challenge to its controversial ‘View Tax’, with the Queensland Ombudsman investigating the fairness of the rates rise. Read more
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Sinn Fein actively pursuing route into government, insists leader McDonaldRio Ferdinand talked up Bukayo Saka's credentials as a future Arsenal captain after his performance in the 5-1 UEFA Champions League thrashing of Sporting CP. The winger scored the Gunners' fourth goal in Lisbon as they romped to a 5-1 victory over a team that defeated Manchester City 4-1 in the previous matchday. Sporting had gone more than a year without a loss on home turf, their 30-match unbeaten run at the Estadio Jose Alvalade stretching back to October 2023, but this was something of a rude awakening for a team adapting to life after coach Ruben Amorim's departure for Manchester United . Kai Havertz scored in the seventh minute before doubling his tally just before the half-hour mark from Saka's cut-back. Gabriel's towering header from a corner made it 3-0 just prior to the break. Sporting hit back through Goncalo Inacio early in the second half, but Saka's composed penalty restored Arsenal's three-goal advantage before Leandro Trossard turned in a rebound from Mikel Merino's saved shot. MORE: All the latest Arsenal news | Premier League schedule for 2024/25 | Latest Premier League top scorer rankings Much has been made of the impact of Gunners skipper Martin Odegaard since his return from injury, but former Man United defender Ferdinand said focus on the midfielder should not come at the expense of praise for Saka. "We've talked about how much this team missed Odegaard, but let's not undercut or undervalue the importance of Bukayo Saka," Ferdinand said on TNT Sports. "He had the armband at the end of the game there. He could be Arsenal captain, without a shadow of a doubt. He's a leader in this team already. He leads the team in his ability to take the ball all the time, under pressure, no pressure — he wants the ball. "His goals return, goals and assists, consistency is through the roof. England are going to have to rely on him in years to come. Here at Arsenal, the whole place is built for him." MORE: All the latest EPL club news | Team-by-team Premier League schedule for 2024/25 | Latest Premier League top scorer rankings Saka himself suggested after the match that having Odegaard in the side helps his own game to flourish, saying: "He's an unbelievable player. The day he returned, I had a big smile on my face. You can see the chemistry we have, how much I enjoy playing with him. I hope he stays fit for the rest of the season." Saka now hopes Arsenal can continue in this vein after proving their Champions League credentials with a dominant victory. "We spoke about it before the game. We know they haven't lost here this season. Everyone was top and I'm really proud of all the boys today," he added. "This is where we belong. We've shown the level we can play at. We need to continue like this."
While my election-related columns about politics and the economy generated the most reader responses in recent weeks, I found the reaction to my column on direct primary care most interesting. In these arrangements, patients pay doctors directly, like in the old days, rather than through insurance. The topic tapped a vein of nostalgia with readers who remembered what health care was like 50 years ago, before the rise of interlinked networks of care systems and nationwide insurers. For others, the concept — in which patients essentially become members of a doctor’s practice and pay a flat monthly fee of around $70 to $90 — just seems practical. “We only need health insurance for major medical procedures. Health care would be much less expensive without it,” reader Mary O’Connor wrote. She then offered a plan for getting more people to use direct primary care physicians. “I suggest we start with public employees,” she wrote. “Take away their health insurance except for major medical procedures and give them an increase in pay. They can use this for doctor appointments. Doctors will lower their charges if they don’t have to wait for an insurance company to pay them.” Dr. Darrell Krieger, a physician in Crystal, wrote to point out a problem. “What is left unsaid in the article is the issue that primary care physicians are decreasing in number at an alarming rate, with no one to replace them, making access for patients increasingly difficult, particularly as older physicians such as myself retire,” he wrote. “This is a nationwide problem that is recognized within the medical field but gets little attention in the media,” he added. Though I didn’t mention it in the column, I talked with Dr. Laura Slings and her husband Steve, who runs the back office in her practice, about the broader numbers at stake. When she was working at one of the large health systems, Dr. Slings had more than 2,000 patients in her practice. She’s aiming for about 500 at her independent clinic. “If all these doctors leave the system and open direct primary care ... that’s going to contribute to the shortage, right?” Dr. Slings said. “It actually is a potential solution to the primary care crisis because so many primary care docs cannot continue to sustain what’s being asked of them right now. They’re retiring early. They’re burning out.” How, and whether, all this works out will take years, I suspect. My colleague Karen Tolkkinen last week wrote about the most acute shortage of doctors in Minnesota: dentists outside the metro area . Separately, several readers asked about something I left out of my Oct. 16 column on ninja gyms: whether kids are more prone to getting injured in them than a playground or school gym. Kids are kids, of course, and they’re out flinging themselves around in these places. At Ninjas United, the Maple Grove gym I visited, the padding is everywhere and there are coaches and spotters all around. “You’ll see we have some $800 mats called cloud mats and they’re phenomenal,” co-owner Chris Voigt said. His wife, Jen, who runs the gym, said she notices teenagers are more prone to sprains or strains because they need to warm up. “But they still remember being a kid when they didn’t need to warm up,” she said. “So some are a little more relaxed in their warm-ups, when they should be a little more focused during that.” This past week, several readers reacted to my column about the dramatic, ignominious end of Bremer Bank , the longtime St. Paul institution that sold to Indiana-based Old National, by noting that the bank’s beginning was just as dramatic. Before starting the bank and the charitable foundation that owned it, Otto Bremer and his brother Adolf in 1911 took over the Schmidt Brewing Co. from its founder, Jacob Schmidt. They built it into one of the nation’s largest by 1920, when prohibition started. Through the 1920s, Otto started to purchase banks and, as the Depression started, “pledged every asset he owned” to keep them shored up. That included his stocks in “eastern banks,” according to the Star Tribune’s obit of him in 1951. “The eastern stocks were lost by sale when additional margins in a declining market could not be furnished,” the obituary said. Finally, a good news update to a column I wrote at the start of the year urging Minnesota regulators to allow taller buildings with a single staircase. On Oct. 31, the technical advisory group responsible for updating the state’s building code unanimously approved a proposal that will allow single-stair residential buildings up to four stories. “This approval makes Minnesota the first among the new wave of states around the country moving in this direction to actually adopt a code change statewide,” said Cody Fischer, president of Footprint Development in Minneapolis.Trump's threat to impose tariffs could raise prices for consumers, colliding with promise for relief