The South Korean film Parasite made history last night at the 92nd Oscars when it was named Best Picture. “This is very first Oscar to South Korea,” director Bong Joon-ho said in his first acceptance speech of the night, after he and fellow writer Han Jin Won won for Best Original Screenplay. The cast and […]
Switzerland Passes Amendment Banning Homophobia
On Sunday, Swiss voters participated in a referendum deciding whether they wanted to extend Switzerland’s racism statutes to sexual orientation, and 63.1 percent voted in favor of it. Previously, Switzerland did not have a law protecting the LGBTQ community, but this amendment is a big step in the right direction. Nearly two years ago lawmakers […]
Trump to Cut Safety Net Programs, Increase Security Spending in Proposed Budget
President Donald Trump is expected to propose a $4.8 trillion budget that includes cuts to safety net programs, government agencies, and foreign aid and increases to national security programs, according to a senior administration official. Trump is proposing a $4.4 trillion spending cut to safety net programs over 10 years. The budget includes $130 billion […]
Karen Pierce Appointed First Female British Ambassador to US
Karen Pierce has been appointed as Britain’s first female to hold the prominent position of ambassador to the US. Pierce is currently serving as the UK’s permanent representative to the United Nations. Pierce, has served as a diplomat for much of her career, joining the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1981, and holding diplomatic posts in several […]
Virginia Senate Passes Bill Banning LGBTQ+ Discrimination
Yesterday the Virginia Senate passed the “Virginia Values Act”, which adds sexual orientation and gender identity to the commonwealth’s anti-discrimination law, with a 30-9 vote. The Bill (SB 868 in Senate and HB 1663 in the House), makes sexual orientation and gender identity protected classes in regards to discrimination for things such as housing, employment, […]
One Year after Peace Deal, Many Children in Central African Republic Still Suffering
Wednesday marked the one-year anniversary of the most recent peace deal between the government of the Central African Republic and the 14 major armed groups involved in a civil war. The peace deal of February 2019 was the eighth agreement regarding the civil conflict in seven years. The African Union and United Nations took on […]
Female Russian Journalist and Lawyer Attacked in Chechnya
Famous Russian journalist, Elena Milashina, along with lawyer Marina Dubrovina were assaulted by a gang of men and women in the lobby of a hotel in Grozny, the capital of Chechnya. Milashina is well-known for exposing the kidnap and torture of gay Chechen men. Chechnya, a federal subject of Russia, has been ruled by President […]
U.S. Jobs Report Includes Data on Same-Sex Couples in Historic First
Today, the U.S. government has released their monthly jobs report of historical significance. This monthly report will be the first time which the Bureau of Labor Statistics will include same-sex couples in its count of workers within the U.S. economy, allow for greater LGBTQ+ representation in government statistics. This is not the only significant change […]
California Governor Pardons Gay Civil Rights Leader Bayard Rustin 67 Years After Arrest
Governor Gavin Newsom of California has posthumously pardoned Bayard Rustin, a civil rights leader convicted under anti-LGBTQ laws in 1953. Rustin worked closely with Martin Luther King Jr. and was the lead organizer of the 1963 March on Washington. Rustin was arrested for having consensual sex with a man in a parked car and convicted […]
Astronaut Christina Koch Returns to Earth after Record-Breaking Spaceflight
On Thursday morning NASA astronaut Christina Koch returned to Earth, marking the end of her 328 day-long journey in space. Koch follows in the footsteps of Peggy Whitson, who previously held the record of 288 days for the longest single spaceflight by a woman. During her time in space, Koch achieved yet another milestone for […]
Grassroots Activists Work to Find Solutions to End Female Genital Mutilation
Recent efforts in Gambia show the success of frontline activists fighting to end female genital mutilation (FGM). FGM is a global human rights’ issue that has affected nearly 200 million women and girls worldwide. Although frontline activists receive little to no funding, their efforts have seen promising results in countries from Kenya to Gambia. Kenya […]
Fact Check: Trump’s State of the Union Address
President Donald J. Trump delivered his third State of the Union address this Tuesday and spent approximately one and a half hours lying to the attending members of Congress, witnesses in the gallery, and the American public. Early on in his speech, Trump remarked that “jobs are booming” and “incomes are soaring,” but NPR Chief […]
Congresswomen Wear Suffragette White to State of the Union Address
Dozens of Democratic congresswomen wore white to last night’s State of the Union address in honor of the American suffragette movement and the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment. The symbolic move references the white outfits 20th-century suffragists often wore to represent purity and nonviolence as they fought for women’s right to […]
New York, California Legislatures Introduce Bills Banning “Virginity Testing”
Lawmakers in New York and California are considering new legislation that would ban virginity testing—the first such bills in the nation. The two bills were introduced after rapper T.I. said he subjects his 18-year-old daughter Deyjah Harris to an annual gynecological exam to see if her hymen is “still intact.” The practice is condemned by […]
Finland Introduces Reforms to Paid Parental Leave Program
Finland’s government announced reforms of the country’s paid parental leave program, giving both partners in a family equal amounts of leave and increasing the total amount of leave available to both. Under the old system, maternal leave was 4.2 months, and parental leave was 2.2 months. The new plan is gender-neutral, referring only to parental […]
Actor and Gay Icon Billy Porter Gives LGBTQ State of the Union
“Pose” star Billy Porter gave an LGBTQ state of the union hours before Donald Trump’s speech last night. Porter criticized the president ad highlighted the many issues that LGBTQ people are facing in the United States. Sponsored by Logo TV, Porter quickly called out the President as having “painted himself as a friend of the […]
Women and Children Make Up Majority of Deportees to Guatemala Under New Deal
The majority of the nearly 400 asylum seekers that are being deported back to Guatemala under the Trump administration’s controversial deal with the country are women and children. U.S. immigration officials have denied the opportunity to seek asylum of 378 migrants from Honduras and El Salvador as of Tuesday of this week, forcing them to […]
Despite Recommendations Against the Practice, Unnecessary Pelvic Exams are Still Common
A recent study from JAMA uncovered that although there are clear guidelines against the practice, U.S. doctors continue to perform an estimated 2.6 million unnecessary pelvic exams and pap smears on girls and young women costing nearly $123 million annually. The statistics spark new movements against healthcare practices that harm specifically young women and girls. […]
New Report by Doctors for Choice Asserts That Abortion Access is Healthcare
Tomorrow there will be a report released by Doctors for Choice, a worldwide pro-choice group of medical providers, regarding their stance on abortion being a healthcare issue and that bans on abortion would risk the lives of women. Doctors for Choice previewed its paper by describing their position with “the complete ban on abortion is […]
Healthcare Tops List of Iowa Voter Concerns
An exit poll from NBC News, CNN, and the Associated Press shows that healthcare is a top voter concern among Iowan Democrats; ranking ahead of issues like climate change or foreign policy. However, healthcare policy may not be the deciding factor of who people are going to vote for. According to Kimberly Leonard, senior healthcare […]