The second largest doctors’ group in the country, American College of Physicians (ACP) endorsed Medicare For All challenging other large doctor’s coalitions. This shift signifies changing ideals within the healthcare industry about a government plan. Second only to the American Medical Association (AMA), the ACP published a position paper arguing the benefits of a single-payer […]
New Film Celebrates the 100th Anniversary of Women Gaining the Right to Vote
Set to debut on June 30, a PBS film inspired by the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment will feature a number of feminist icons and activists. The 2020 MAKERS conference, happening today in Los Angeles, will announce the new documentary, NOT DONE, that celebrates the suffragists’ win in gaining the right to vote. The […]
U.S. House to Have First Vote on DC Statehood Since 1993
The House Committee on Oversight and Reform will hold a meeting today for H.R. 51, the Washington, D.C. Admission Act, which would grant the District of Columbia statehood. The committee’s chair, Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY 12), stated that it would be the first markup and vote for a D.C. statehood bill since 1993. H.R. […]
Documentary About Skateboarding Girls from Afghanistan Wins Oscar
At the 92nd Annual Academy Awards, a documentary featuring young girls learning to skateboard in Afghanistan won the Oscar for Best Documentary Short Subject. According to Diaa Hadid, International Correspondent for NPR, Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You’re a Girl), features a group of young girls in the Afghan capital of Kabul “clutch[ing] […]
Rep. Maloney Announces the Smithsonian Women’s History Act
Today Representatives Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), and Brenda Lawrence (D-MI) introduced the Smithsonian Women’s History Museum Act, which has 293 cosponsors and is expected to go to the U.S. House floor for a vote tomorrow afternoon. This bill will establish a Smithsonian museum dedicated to women’s history on the National Mall. “We are […]
Postpartum Recovery Ad Rejected by the Oscars for Being “Too Graphic”
ABC and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences rejected an ad for postpartum recovery products that would have aired during the Oscars for being “too graphic.” The commercial depicts a new mom adjusting to her post-birth body and placing a pad in a pair of mesh underwear. Frida Mom, the company behind the […]
Rep. Ayanna Pressley Responds to Trolls After Going Public with Alopecia
Rep. Ayanna Pressley has a message for those who called her Mr. Clean after she went public with an autoimmune disease. Last month Representative Ayanna Pressley publicly revealed her hair loss from alopecia, which is an autoimmune disease. In the video interview, Pressley opened up about the medical condition which in her situation, resulted in […]
Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite Makes History at the Academy Awards
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 […]