2013: Year in Review

Yahoo! did a really good job of the year in review-so, rather than write it myself, I am sharing theirs with you!

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Twins have twins!

Pa. Fraternal Twins Give Birth To Boys On Same DayPosted: Oct 27, 2013 4:36 PM EDT Updated: Oct 27, 2013 5:09 PM EDT

LEWISBURG, Pa. -A Northeast Pennsylvania-area hospital had a rare occurrence as two fraternal twins gave birth to healthy baby boys – on the same day!Alexandrea Condon, of Lewisburg, and Addison Firman, of White Deer Twp., say they're nothing alike, although they do finish each other's sentences.They also found out they were pregnant on the same day, and each popped out a boy on Thursday at Evangelical Community Hospital near Lewisburg.One in about 30 pregnancies results in twins, and for a pair of twins giving birth on the same day is even more rare.Even stranger, both babies were born premature, but are doing just fine."It's really weird that we both ended up early," Condon said, noting that they both had to have C-sections.

"Everyone is like, 'Oh my gosh!' And I'm like, 'Really? Is it that cool?'" Firman said.

"We actually found out on the same day that we were pregnant, March 10," Condon said.

"They'll kind of be built-in friends growing up," Firman said.

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The "Pope Francis" effect...

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The Pope Francis effect: ‘Francesco’ now Italy’s most popular baby name

Eric J. Lyman | Oct 18, 2013 | 3 Comments

ROME (RNS) Moved by the election of Pope Francis seven months ago, the name “Francesco” has leapfrogged to No. 1 on the list of the most popular baby names in Italy, according to a study.



Show caption

Pope Francis greets the crowd as he arrives to lead his general audience in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican on Wednesday, Sept. 11. Photo by Paul Haring/Catholic News Service

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The study, conducted by Enzo Caffarelli, who researches the origins of names at Rome’s Tor Vergata University, along with telephone directory publisher Seat PG Italia, also showed a trend toward re-naming streets, town squares and parks for St. Francis of Assisi, the pontiff’s namesake.

There are now more than 2,000 public places in Italy named after Francis; 300 of them were named this year.

The name Francesco has long been commonplace in Italy, according to Caffarelli. But the new pope has pushed its popularity even higher. Caffarelli noted that over the first three months of the year — before Francis’ election — the name was No. 2 in Rome, behind “Lorenzo.”

After the papal election on March 13, Francesco leaped into first and has grown more popular since then. (The study did not include baby girls named Francesca.)

In recent years, around 8,500 newborn Italian boys are christened Francesco every year — a number that should see a significant jump in 2013.

“The name ‘Francesco’ is the most popular name for newborns in Italy so far in 2013, and it is evident that the impact of the former Jose Mario Bergoglio is the main contributing factor to the name’s new popularity,” Caffarelli said.