military spouses

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Russians Posed as ISIS Hackers to Threaten US Military Wives

'Bloody Valentine's Day!' they wrote

(Newser) - Army wife Angela Ricketts was soaking in a bubble bath in her Colorado home, leafing through a memoir, when a message appeared on her iPhone from hackers threatening to slaughter her family. "Dear Angela!" the Facebook message read. "Bloody Valentine's Day!" Ricketts was one of...

To Collect Full Benefits, War Widows Must Remarry

Confusing rules result in weird set of complications

(Newser) - Thanks to a confusing system of federal regulations, tens of thousands of war widows can’t fully collect on insurance bought by their late husbands—unless they marry someone else. There’s more: that remarriage must occur when the widows are 57 or older to count, the AP reports . The...

Long Wars Fray Military Marriages

Brief homecomings make healing difficult

(Newser) - With the Iraq and Afghanistan wars dragging on, long, multiple deployments are taking a toll on military families, USA Today reports. Troops develop instincts on the battlefield that don’t translate at home, while spouses learn to live independently—and when troops return home, there’s often too little time...

For Cash, Army Wives Turn to Surrogate Pregnancy

Thanks to military insurance, surrogacy is big boost

(Newser) - One San Diego woman exemplifies what some see as a growing trend among California military wives, the Los Angeles Times reports: surrogate pregnancies, made possible by generous insurance and amenable state laws, and motivated in part by upward of $20,000 in extra income for delivering a healthy child. “...

Michelle Obama Keeps Focus on Military Families

Would-be first lady reaches traditional GOP constituency

(Newser) - Michelle Obama has quietly carved out a niche that helps offset concerns about her husband's lack of military background: reaching out to spouses of service members. Rather than just delivering a speech, she's been hosting roundtable discussions, Politico reports. “I am here to listen and to do a...

Army Battles High Divorce Rates

'Marriage education' aims to bridge gulf between love and war

(Newser) - A jump in divorce rates since the start of the Iraq war has the Army concerned. Marriages are falling apart as soldiers return home from tours of combat duty emotionally distant and unwilling to discuss their experiences. The military has now launched 'marriage education' retreats to try and repair the...

The Secret Life of Surrogate Moms
The Secret Life of Surrogate Moms
Mar 30, 2008 8:13 PM CDT

The Secret Life of Surrogate Moms

Women like the $25K paycheck but discover a labor of love

(Newser) - More women are carrying babies for dollars, despite opposition from Christians, feminists, and medical ethicists—not to mention some states and most EU nations. So why do they do it? A $20,000 to $25,000 paycheck doesn't hurt, Newsweek reports, but many also do it for love. "I...

Military Death Payments Trouble Families

$500,000 windfalls for next of kin can cause confusion, discord

(Newser) - The military pays $500,000 to the next of kin of every soldier killed in Iraq or Afghanistan, but the sudden injection of cash during a time of grief often throws survivors off balance. Young military spouses can struggle with money management and long-lost friends and relatives sometimes appear asking...

With Parent Away at War, Child Abuse Increases

Stressed women more likely to mistreat kids

(Newser) - Incidents of child abuse and neglect rise significantly when the Army's deployment of one spouse to war leaves the other worried at home, a study finds. An Army-funded report found female spouses four times more likely than males to mistreat their children; the Army has beefed up family-support services to...

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