This is Garrison Hardie with your CrossPolitic Daily News Brief for Thursday, May 26th, 2022. Have you signed up for our upcoming conference in Knoxville TN? Early bird pricing will end before you know it, and by the way, if you’re a club member, you’ll get $100 off, so sign up now, at flfnetwork.com/knoxville2022 I want to start your day off with some positive news… Birth rates, went up last year, for the first time in nearly a decade. 
 
https://nypost.com/2022/05/25/us-birth-rates-increased-in-2021-for-the-first-time-in-7-years/
 
Couples seemed to have been busy during the pandemic… and it makes sense… what else is there to do when you’re forced to stay inside by a tyrannical government? 
 
For the first time in seven years, birth rates in the United States increased – albeit by only 1%.
 
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics revealed there were 3,659,289 babies born in 2021, the first rise in births since 2014. Past years had seen a steady birth decrease of 2%, according to ABC News.
 
The data comes after births dropped 4% — dubbed the “baby bust” — in 2020 during the pandemic.
 
But now that society is bouncing back… if you can call it that… people are once again starting families.
 
Mothers, ages 35 to 44, gave birth the most of any age group — with a nearly 3% increase — which comes after a trend of women hesitant about having children.
 
In a state-by-state case, the Northeast region was amongst the boom of births. New Hampshire came out on top, with a 7% yearly birth-rate increase, trailed by Connecticut (6.5%), Vermont (5.2%) and New Jersey (5.09%). While only New Mexico saw a 1.9% percent fall and Hawaii only 1%, no other states saw a birth decrease greater than 1% from 2020 to 2021.
 
While the CDC doesn’t list an explanation for the boom, some respondents in a Pew Research Center poll cited medical issues (19%) or not knowing the “state of the world” (9%) as reasons for not having more or any children. A New York University study released in September 2021 demonstrated a similar trend: Fewer women wanted children, all thanks to the pandemic… I’d also like to add that women this day and age, are being encouraged to pursue careers as opposed to becoming mothers… one of the most incredible miracles we witness in this day and age, is a woman’s ability to create life….. But then again, I’m no Biologist. 
 
In 2021, fertility rates were up. The number of live births per 1,000 women between 15 and 44 years of age was 56.6, an increase from 56 the year prior.
 
While the total fertility rate was 1,663.5 births per 1,000 women, it still isn’t enough to reach “replacement levels,” or the level the population would need to essentially replace itself. According to ABC News, that number is 2,100 births per 1,000 women.
 
Some more good news… teen pregnancies were down by 6%. Pregnancies amongst 15- to 17-year-olds decreased by 8% and those amongst ages 18 to 19 fell by 7%. 
 
Speaking of babies… More baby formula is heading to store shelves as early as this weekend
 
https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/25/health/formula-supply/index.html 
 
From CNN, More baby formula is expected on store shelves as soon as this weekend through a variety of government efforts.
 
On Wednesday, 60 tons of formula landed at Dulles International Airport in Washington from Ramstein Air Base in Germany, the second shipment from Europe as part of the Biden administration's Operation Fly Formula. That effort was started to address the nationwide shortage that was exacerbated by the closure of formula maker Abbott Nutrition's plant in February after several inspections by the US Food and Drug Administration found "insanitary conditions."
 
Chris Calamari, who leads Abbott's nutrition division, apologized for his company's role in the shortage Wednesday at a hearing before the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigation.
 
"On behalf of everyone at Abbott, I want to express our extrao