A recent survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation took a look at more than 1,200 Americans between March 11 and March 15 and found that stressors connected to the coronavirus have been negatively impacting women more than men. Caitlin Mullen, Biswomen contributor for The Business Journals, notes that “the coronavirus pandemic has meant keeping another […]
Young Transgender Activist Shot and Killed in North Carolina
Monika Diamond, a 34-year-old transgender LGBT+ activist and businesswoman, was shot and killed on Wednesday, March 18 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Multiple shots had been fired before police and ambulance were dispatched in response to a disturbance call. After attempting to revive her, Diamond was pronounced dead at the scene. According to Maya Oppenheim, Women’s […]
Colorado Abolishes the Death Penalty
Colorado abolished the penalty on Monday, making it the twenty-second state to do so. Governor Polis signed a bill after it passed the State House and Senate earlier this year. Capital punishment was halted in 1972 through Furman v. Georgia as “cruel and unusual punishment,” but then reinstated through Gregg v. Georgia in 1976. Since […]
Obamacare Turns 10 This Week. Here’s How It Has Changed Healthcare in the US.
The Affordable Care and Patient Protection Act was signed into law a decade ago by former President Barack Obama, but even after being signed into law it faced countless attacks from political opponents, Supreme Court cases, and even found itself at the center of election debates on the topic of healthcare. However, the biggest challenge the ACA […]
TX, OH, LA Attempt to Ban Abortion in Midst of Global Pandemic
Abortion has been included as a nonessential surgery in Texas and Ohio in yet another attempt by lawmakers to ban abortion in the midst of a global pandemic. While the states pointed to a desire to save personal protective equipment for healthcare workers fighting COVID-19, abortion rights activists claim that abortion is, in fact, essential […]
Afghan Woman Mayor Survives Attack
Updated 3/25/20 @ 12:46pm The mayor of Maidan Shar, a city some 28 miles in the southern outskirts of Kabul, was attacked by four armed men, believed to be members of the Taliban. The armed men opened fire at her car while she was on her way home last Sunday. Mayor Zarifa Ghafari was recently […]
Schools Offer Drive-Thru and Pick-Up Lunches for Vulnerable Students
For nearly 30 million children across the United States, the closure of schools to slow the spread of coronavirus created a critical disruption: no more lunch. These children benefit from the National School Lunch Program, the nation’s second largest food and nutrition assistance program behind SNAP. But with hundreds of thousands of schools closing, kids […]
Trans Community Uniquely Affected by COVID-19 Pandemic
The spread of the COVID-19 virus will affect everyone in the country in a number of tangible ways, such work closures, shelter in place mandates, and empty toilet paper aisles in grocery stores. Marginalized communities are particularly affected by this pandemic, and the trans community is no different. Closures and strained health care systems make […]
Coronavirus Threatens Rural Hospitals Already On The Brink of Closure
Hospitals across America are rapidly losing profits as they prepare for COVID-19. With normally lucrative services like elective surgeries and routine visits cancelled or delayed and the price of basic medical supplies like masks and ventilators soaring, more and more hospitals are being pushed towards the red zone. For already strained rural hospitals, coronavirus might […]
Despite a Peace Deal, Taliban Kills Numerous Afghan Security Personnel
Amidst the efforts of peace negotiations, Taliban members have accelerated their attacks on Afghan government targets as well as Afghan civilians. In a major blow today, the Taliban targeted an Afghan army base in the southern part of Afghanistan, Zabul province, and killed between 17-25 members of the Afghan army and police. The details of […]
COVID-19 Spending Measures Stalled by Anti-Choice Lawmakers
On March 13, a Facebook post went viral, which claimed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi stalled a coronavirus relief package in an attempt to authorize federal abortion funding. On the contrary, most evidence suggests that conservative lawmakers were focused on inserting the issue of abortion in the bill. A number of conservative lawmakers demanded that the […]
Transgender Navy Officer Sues Pentagon Challenging Trump Transgender Military Ban
This week, a transgender Navy officer referred to as Jane Doe filed a lawsuit against the Pentagon regarding the Trump administration’s transgender military ban. Doe is seeking emergency relief to continue to serve in the military on the same terms as her cisgender peers, faced with involuntary discharge on the basis of her gender identity. […]
US Homeless Population Highly Vulnerable to Coronavirus
Homeless shelter staff and public health experts have raised concerns about the potential spread of coronavirus among the 550,000 people experiencing homelessness in the United States. Medical researchers estimate that homeless people are twice as likely to contract COVID-19 than the general population due to limited access to hand sanitizer or clean water and crowding […]
Marie Newman Defeats Longtime Incumbent Anti-Choice Democrat in Illinois Primary
On Tuesday night, Democratic primary candidate Marie Newman beat out longtime incumbent Democrat Rep. Dan Lipinski for a chance at becoming the next Congressional representative from Illinois’ 3rd district. Lipinski is well known as one of the Democratic party’s anti-abortion members. He opposed two landmark pieces of progressive legislation in recent years: the Affordable Care […]
ICE Continues Arrests as California Faces Coronavirus Pandemic
In the midst of California’s COVID-19 lockdown, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers are continuing to make arrests, despite calls from immigration advocates for a suspension of enforcement activities. To limit the spread of COVID-19, Los Angeles has shut down a range of public services and business, including libraries, movie theaters, clubs, gyms, and concert […]
New Zealand Decriminalizes Abortion
On Wednesday, March 18, New Zealand lawmakers voted on and passed a bill that treats abortion as health care and not as a crime, with a vote of 68 to 51. In Nick Perry’s Associated Press release published by ABC news, Margaret Sparrow, 84-year-old doctor and advocate for reproductive rights, said that, “it’s been a […]
Need for Universal Paid Sick and Family Medical Leave More Urgent Than Ever
The global pandemic caused by COVID-19, also commonly referred to as coronavirus, has revealed a number of systemic flaws in the United States that must be addressed, including paid leave. While the nature of this medical crisis draws attention to the lack of paid sick leave, paid family leave is a benefit that should also […]
Immigration Courts to Stay Open During Coronavirus Pandemic
The Department of Justice’s Executive Office for Immigration Review declared “operations as usual” for proceedings involving non-detained immigrants on Sunday night. The decision comes after Seattle’s immigration court was shut down last week after a report of second-hand exposure to coronavirus; it will remain shut until April 10. The order states that master calendar dates, […]
Richest 10% Using 20 Times More Energy than Bottom 10% of the Global Population
An international study led by researchers from the University of Leeds studied global energy inequality of income classes from 86 countries. The study concluded that the richest ten percent of people consume nearly 20 times more energy than the bottom ten percent. The researchers combined World Bank and European Union data to analyze how diverse […]
Biden Pledges to Pick a Woman for VP; Will Appoint a Black Woman to SCOTUS
During Sunday night’s CNN-Univision debate, former Vice President Joe Biden said that he would choose a woman to be his vice-presidential running mate. According to Biden in a piece by CNN, “If I’m elected president, my Cabinet, my administration will look like the country, and I commit that I will, in fact, appoint a, pick a woman to be vice […]