Where did all the babies go?

The last time the United States had as few newborns as it did last year, Ronald Reagan was president. The U.S. birthrate is "still above countries such as Spain, Greece, Japan and Italy," The Associated Press reports, citing notoriously graying nations, "but the gap appears to be closing."

Westend61/Getty Images Shoddy data, plus the power of suggestion, created an audio puzzle that drove people nuts Yanny? Laurel? Laurel? Yanny? A short, distorted clip became the auditory version of 2015's blue-and-black/white-and-gold dress this week. Neurologists see the same root cause: When sensory data is lacking, your brain fills in the gaps — and not everyone’s does it the same way. In both cases, people were told what to expect, making it easier for your brain to settle on an answer. Alex Wong/Getty Images In his first year as special counsel, Robert Mueller let his work do the talking. How much is yet to come? What started as a counterintelligence operation — chasing why Russia was so interested in one presidential campaign — has resulted in indictments, plea deals and an immense hoard of information. But Mueller has stayed silent, and almost everything about the special counsel's probe remains shrouded in mystery. The biggest unknowns: how far and how long his team will dig. Listen: NPR Politics Podcast on the Russia probe's first year LA Johnson/NPR Your brain does weird things when you’re a teen. This author says we should walk them through what’s happening Structural changes, social and environmental sensitivity: There is a lot going on inside adolescent skulls. "They should understand why they might be particularly self-conscious or susceptible to peer influence or more likely to take risks," says neuroscientist Sarah-Jayne Blakemore — who adds that such information would aid educators to understand those things too. The teen years are also a key time for learning about mental illness, she says. AGF/UIG via Getty Images U.S. fertility rates slid last year, continuing a decadelong trend In the biggest drop since 2010, the birthrate fell by 3 percent last year, with the average American woman now estimated to have fewer than 1.8 babies in her lifetime. The birthrate among teens is down most sharply and is less than half what it was in 2007. All of it means that America is ever-more reliant on immigration to keep the population up and the economy growing. Shizuo Kambayashi/AP When ‘sorry’ just isn’t good enough: Japanese train operator tries to apologize away a disgracefully early departure "The great inconvenience we placed upon our customers was truly inexcusable," Japan Railways said in a statement — while failing to offer refunds, tender resignations or dissolve its enterprise entirely — after a bullet train left Notogawa Station 25 seconds early on May 11. See the organization's absurd excuse for this half-minute transit travesty. You received this message because you're subscribed to our Best of NPR emails. |  Unsubscribe  |  Privacy Policy | NPR 1111 N. CAPITOL ST. NE WASHINGTON DC 20002