Gallup finds that average hours worked have dropped progressively since 2019 when U.S. employees reported working an average of 44.1 hours. In 2024, they work 42.9 hours per week. The decline in hours worked is more pronounced among younger (those younger than 35) than older workers (those aged 35 and older). Between 2019 and 2024, older employees have seen an average reduction of just under one hour per person per week, while younger employees have reduced their hours by nearly two hours. (Harter, Gallup)

The CIA used experimental intelligence methods to attempt to locate the Ark of the Covenant, but the revelations are about 25 years old. The Ark of the Covenant is more than a lost treasure for Indiana Jones to track down, it is also an important symbol in Jewish faith and history. In "recently resurfaced" documents, as reported by right-wing British outlet the Daily Mail, the CIA outlines how it used a "remote viewer" to mentally locate the site of the artifact, which has remained a mystery for centuries. (Crowley, USA Today)

Following extensive research, scientists have resolved a conundrum. Heterosexual men, they find, really like breasts. A lot. They like looking at them, like touching them — and just generally like being around them. But while these new findings may not be a total revelation to at least half the population, crucially the study concluded this is true even when there is no shortage of breasts on display. (Whipple, The Times)

They’ve had to hide their Christian worship services amid the civil war in the country, especially after an attack by the Rapid Support Forces, a paramilitary organization formerly operated by the Sudanese government, on the Sudanese Church of Christ in Al Jazirah on Dec. 30, 2024. The attack left at least 14 people, including women and children, seriously injured. (Onyulo, Religion News)

Pilgrims have been pouring into this medieval hilltop town to venerate not only two of the Catholic Church’s most celebrated saints, Francis and Clare, but its newest — Carlo Acutis, the first millennial saint, who will be canonized on April 27. “St. Francis, St. Clare, of course, important saints who marked an epoch – but that’s far removed from today’s teens. Carlo is like the kids,” said Maria Rosario Riccio, a mother and educator who was visiting Acutis’ shrine recently with a 50-strong parish youth group from southern Italy. “He’s a near-saint of our time, who can show teens that it’s possible to love Jesus while being a regular youth.” (Dell’Orto, AP News)

In many countries around the world, a fifth or more of all adults have left the religious group in which they were raised. Christianity and Buddhism have experienced especially large losses from this “religious switching,” while rising numbers of adults have no religious affiliation, according to Pew Research Center surveys of nearly 80,000 people in 36 countries. (Lesage, Starr & Miner, Pew Research Center)

The start of season 1 didn’t grab Neulinger right away. She switched it off. But then, she said, she heard a voice. “I swear, I heard [God] say, ‘You go back to that show, and you turn it on, and you’re gonna watch it.’ And I did,” she said. As Neulinger watched, she was reminded of her childhood encounters with God. Her grandmother, a devout Christian, had often brought her to Sunday school. (Kuo, Christianity Today)

Alcohol and personal health have been in the news lately amid a U.S. surgeon general advisory that even moderate drinking increases cancer risk. About seven-in-ten Americans ages 21 and older say they drink alcohol at least a few times a year, according to a new Pew Research Center survey. Our survey explores how this group thinks about their own alcohol use and whether drinkers who are aware of the federal warning about cancer risks plan to change their own behavior. (Tyson & Kennedy, Pew Research Center)

World Athletics president Sebastian Coe said Tuesday that the track and field's governing body has approved the introduction of cheek swabs and dry blood-spot tests for female athletes in order to maintain "the integrity of competition." The planned changes include reinstating a version of chromosome testing that was discontinued in the 1990s, requiring athletes who compete in the female category to submit to a cheek swab or dry blood-spot test for the presence of a gene that indicates whether the athlete has a "Y" chromosome present in males. (Associated Press, ESPN)

Playing off a secular dance trend, as the first riffs from “Not Like Us” begin, Workman changes from green Ordinary Time vestments to purple Lenten ones. The deacon from the Diocese of Beaumont, Texas, copies Lamar’s walking dance steps with his daughter backing him up in altar server surplice. After the video posted to Lexy’s TikTok account received over 34 million views and 5 million likes, the Catholic priests got on board. Dancing to the diss track became a trend to hype up congregants and social media users for Lent. (Hertzler-McCain, Religion News)

Men have outpaced women in church attendance the past three years, reversing a longstanding trend of more women in the pews that narrowed in 2016, Barna said in its 2025 State of the Church release, created in partnership with Gloo. Women had outpaced men in attendance since 2000, then at 47 percent to 38 percent, before men began outpacing women in 2022, at 35 percent to 30 percent. In 2024, 30 percent of men were attending weekly, compared to 27 percent of women. (Chandler, Baptist Press)

After opening with a massive 24.3 million views in its first four days, “Adolescence” was the most watched title on Netflix during the week of March 17-23 with another 42 million views, taking the show to 66.3 million views total thus far — more than any other Netflix limited series has achieved within a two-week period, and the U.K. crime story managed that within just 11 days. (Hailu, Variety)

A controversial South Korean church with powerful political connections faces dissolution in Japan after a Tokyo court ordered a revokation of its legal status after the government accused it of manipulative fundraising and recruitment tactics that sowed fear among followers and harmed their families. (Yamaguchi, AP News)

Until recently, churches were considered "sensitive locations" and immigration officers were restricted from taking action there. But on his first full day in office, President Trump rescinded these restrictions, making churches and other houses of worship susceptible to immigration enforcement. (Davis, King & Ventre, NPR)

On Monday (March 24), Gelsinger was named executive chair and head of technology for Gloo, a Christian tech platform that seeks to “catalyze the faith ecosystem through AI and other breakthrough technologies.” Gelsinger, an investor and board member for about a decade, will now take a more hands-on role, Gloo said in a press release. (Smietana, Religion News Service)

In the days since its March 13 release, the four-part drama about a 13-year-old boy who murders a girl from his school after potentially being exposed to misogynist ideas online has become Netflix’s latest hit. According to the streamer, it was the most watched show on the platform in dozens of countries after it debuted, including the United States. (Marshall, The New York Times)

After Holy Grail came out, the Pythons were the most famous and influential comics in America and therefore the world. Now, 50 years on, despite the success of their later work, both solo and together, nothing – not Life of Brian nor Fawlty Towers nor even Michael Palin’s travel shows – has had the cultural impact of Monty Python and the Holy Grail. (Quantick, The Telegraph)

The White House wants to recruit corporate sponsors to contribute to its Easter Egg Roll next month, raising ethical and legal concerns that President Trump is allowing companies to profit from the 147-year-old tradition by turning it into a showcase for their brands. (Kim, The New York Times)

American women have never been this resigned to staying single. They are responding to major demographic shifts, including huge and growing gender gaps in economic and educational attainment, political affiliation and beliefs about what a family should look like. (Wolfe, The Wall Street Journal)

The longtime LGBTQ organization is dealing with the potential loss of $300,000 in corporate sponsorship for its hugely popular annual parade, funding needed ahead of June's Pride Month. Multiyear sponsors including Comcast, Anheuser-Busch and Diageo have all backed away from participating. (Collins, USA Today)

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