United States

H&M's beloved European-only brand Cos and its new label & Other Stories may soon make their way to the United States, according to the retailer's US president, Daniel Kulle.

"Everything is in the works and the plans," Kulle told WWD. "& Other Stories has the potential with other H&M brands to come to America. . . We can also take Cos, which has 70 or 80 stores. Cos for sure will be in America. We're looking for an opportunity to open Cos."

The Swedish chain announced on Friday that it has major plans to expand H&M's presence in America. It has some 2,800 stores across the world, but only 269 of those are here in the United States. Forty of the stateside stores were opened last year, and there are currently plans for another 10, including locations in Boston, San Francisco, and Waikiki. It will also bring its home collection to a few stores, including the new Boston location, New York, and New Orleans, this year. Those goods will be available to buy online this Summer, when H&M plans to launch ecommerce in the United States.

Photo: Iselin Steiro photographed by Willy Vanderperre for Cos's Spring 2013 campaign.

Nobody knows what's going on between American sheets better than the Center for Sexual Health Promotion at Indiana University. I know that will make none of us sleep easier, but at least it has legitimate reason to know what's going down. Researchers surveyed 5,865 people, ages 14 to 94, to determine what sex is like in 21st-century America.

Some findings will surprise you; most won't. But here are five highlights to get you up to date.

• Old people use condoms the least, minorities the most
  Condoms are used twice as often for casual sex. Use is higher among black and Hispanic Americans than whites and other racial groups. Adults over 40? They use condoms the least.
• Intercourse among teens is not an epidemic
  Maybe middle-age adults are so worried about teens because they're not using condoms? While teen sex will always be a popular after-school sport, it's not the epidemic worrywarts believe. Condoms are used regularly among teens, and sex typically occurs in relationships.
• Faked orgasms may be as popular as ever
  Eighty-five percent of men report leading ladies to orgasms during their most recent sexual "event." Yet only 64 percent of women report orgasmic bliss. The conclusion? Men are lying, women are faking, or gay sex is throwing the findings off.

What else? Find out below.

A new study found more people search for the term "abortion" in red states, where policies are conservative or abortion options are limited, than in bluer states. The immediate takeaway is the argument pro-choice activists have been waiting for: limiting abortion access does not make the procedure any less in demand.

While I agree, and certainly want it to be true, it seems like a reductive and oversimplified response. It assumes anyone searching for "abortion" wants one, and it's not taking into account the very vocal anti-choice minority. (Even though 51 percent of Americans identified as pro-life last year, most haven't taken it on as a cause.)

I've searched for "abortion" often (job hazard) and there's a wash of results that are nothing but political and moral tirades. Sometimes they're even masked as "facts," like in my most recent "abortion" search. It turned up abortionfacts.com, which is copyrighted by the pro-life Heritage House, as the third result. Could it be that a good percentage of people are just searching for "abortion" to validate their strong beliefs against it?

While this discovery could be used to further investigate how women get, or don't get, abortions in underserved areas, it doesn't say much about abortion demand in red states.

• Love, American style — Glo
• 10 timeless quotes on love from Mad Men — YourTango
• Everything you didn't want to know about the PS spot — Em & Lo
• Dry weddings make people angry — Lemondrop
• Ultimate roommate survival guide — College Candy
• Marriage was awesome . . . in the 17th century — Double X
• What women were wearing while sexually harassed — Jezebel
• Will physical books be dead in five years? — GeekSugar

We'll begin seeing the first stages of healthcare reform this Fall when insurers start covering preventative care at no extra cost. Among those benefits women and advocates hope for? Birth control.

There are three million unplanned pregnancies in the United States every year. And, according to Guttmacher Institute, there were 1.21 million legal abortions in 2005. That's a lot of unplanning!

Prohibitive cost is one of the most common reasons women opt out of birth control. Even those who can afford something often pass up more effective methods like IUDs or hormonal implants for cheaper, less reliable options like the pill or condoms.

Yet not everyone sees birth control as "preventative care," even though it prevents the very medical condition of pregnancy. "Preventive care should be about preventing disease," said US Conference of Catholic Bishops spokeswoman Deirdre McQuade. "Fertility is not a disease to be cured, and the government should not treat it as that."

If women and pro-choice groups won't be listened to, then maybe we should take it from business. The National Business Group on Health, which represents large employers, supports covering contraception because, ultimately, it saves money. Prenatal and maternity care costs between $8,000 and $11,000 — far more than even the priciest birth control.