Wednesday morning, Cyntoia Brown was released from jail after being sentenced to life in prison for killing a man responsible for sex trafficking her when she was only 16. She was granted clemency in January by then Tennessee Governor Haslam. Her clemency came after high-profile advocates and popular celebrities highlighted the injustice she had faced. […]
Ohio Governor Releases Gun Reform Policies in Response to Mass Shootings
This Tuesday, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine released a series of policy proposals aimed at reducing gun violence statewide. He addressed the issue from both major perspectives, outlining ideas to ensure better mental healthcare services and to implement gun control reform legislation. The legislative reforms are broad in scope and include many policies that the federal […]
Women’s Rights: A Major Campaign Point in Afghanistan’s Presidential Elections
Afghanistan’s presidential candidates have officially launched their campaigns and candidates are vowing to protect and advance women’s rights in the hope of winning women’s votes. During their public gatherings, two front runners Mr. Ghani and Mr. Abdullah promised to advance the status of women and girls in Afghanistan and that they will include women in […]
Mexican Government Plans to Investigate El Paso Shooter as a Terrorist against Latinx People
On Sunday evening following the El Paso terrorist attack the Mexican government issued statements denouncing the actions of the shooter who attacked Latinx people in El Paso, killing 22 people in a Walmart. Mexico’s Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebraud is evaluating if the Mexican government can charge the shooter on terrorism charges and investigate the seller […]
New Zealand Bill Aims to Decriminalize Abortions
The debate in New Zealand surrounding the legalization of abortion has erupted today in response to the New Zealand government introducing a bill that would decriminalize abortions nationwide, giving people the option to terminate a pregnancy up to twenty weeks. The bill was a significant part of Prime Minister Jacinda Arden’s campaign agenda, which was […]
Congressional Report Claims that Olympic Organizations and the FBI Failed to Protect Athletes from Nassar’s Abuse
Last Tuesday, the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Manufacturing, Trade, and Consumer Protection released a report condemning multiple organizations including the U.S Olympic Committee (USOC), the FBI, USA Gymnastics (USAG), and Michigan State University (MSU) for failing to stop Larry Nassar’s abuse, despite receiving multiple reports and allegations. The report concludes that each of these organizations […]
Saudi Arabia Ordered a Series of Reforms aimed at Women’s Rights
The Saudi Arabian government announced last week a series of reforms aimed at expanding women’s civil rights including allowing Saudi women over the age of 21 to travel abroad alone and allowing women to file for birth certificates, marriage, and divorce. The new laws require equal employment regulations and criminalize discrimination based on gender, disability […]
Doctor Prescribing Fake Abortion-Reversal Pill Shown to be Lying about Credentials
Last Thursday, an expository report by The Guardian revealed that Doctor George Delgado has been falsely claiming an affiliation with University of California San Diego medical school (UCSD) while he has been prescribing medication that he claimed would reverse a medication abortion. Despite UCSD requesting that he stop affiliating himself with the university one year […]
Sudan Closes all Schools as Students are Killed in Country-Wide Protests
As protesting students took the streets of Sudan, their cries were drowned by heavy gunfire which led to the authorities suspending all schools beginning this Wednesday. Governors of all states have been ordered to shut kindergartens, primary, and high schools until further notice. Children in their uniform joined other demonstrators to protest horrific living conditions […]
ACLU Argues Trump Separated Almost 1,000 Children in Past Year
Yesterday, ACLU lawyers argued in a court filing in U.S. District Court in San Diego that the Trump administration has separated almost 1,000 children from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border since U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw ordered the Trump administration to curtail family separations and reunite families more than a year ago. While Acting […]
Federal Judge in Arkansas Delays Enforcement of Three Anti-Abortion Laws
Last week, U.S. District Judge Kristine Baker issued a two-week restraining order, effectively delaying the enforcement of three laws restricting abortion access in Arkansas. In the opinion, the Court found that “the threat of irreparable harm to plaintiffs and the public interest, outweighs the immediate interests and potential injuries to the defendant.” The lawsuit was […]
HHS Awards $1.5 Million in Funding to Anti-Choice Organizations
Last week, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) awarded approximately 1.5 million dollars in teen pregnancy prevention funding to three anti-choice organizations, Obria Group, the Women’s Care Center of Erie County, and Bethany Christian Services. All three groups are known to have a history of misrepresenting sexual health information, and two of the […]
Kamala Harris’ Proposal Provides a Middle-Ground on Healthcare
This morning, two days before she takes the stage for the second Democratic presidential debate, Senator Kamala Harris released her new Medicare For All plan, calling for a government-run health insurance system that includes provisions for private insurance plans. Though Harris originally signed onto Senator Sanders’ Medicare For All legislation, which details an expedited path […]
White Male University Of Mississippi Students Posed with Guns in Front of Emmett Till Sign
***Warning: graphic topics of violence and racism*** On July 25, 2019 ProPublica unveiled an Instagram photo posted of three young white men in front of Emmett Till’s sign commemorating his brutal death and the ignition of the Civil Rights Movement. The students were suspended on Wednesday from their fraternity, Kappa Alpha, a historically racist institution, […]
Puerto Rico Governor Expected to Resign Amidst Mass Protest
Puerto Rico’s Governor Ricardo Rossello announced he will resign in early August after weeks of public protests over recently revealed homophobic and sexist messages Rossello sent government officials. His chief of staff as already resigned and Rossello has also resigned from his position as president of the new Progressive Party. The massive city-wide protests erupted […]
School District Threatens to Send Children into Foster Care over School Lunch Debt
Forty parents in the Pennsylvania Wyoming Valley West School District received letters this week from district officials threatening to remove their child from their home and place their child in foster care if they do not pay their child’s school lunch debt. Out of the district’s annual 80 million dollar budget, $22,000 dollars is owed […]
Trump Administration Delays Enforcement of Title X Abortion Restriction
On Saturday, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) sent out a notice to federally funded family planning clinics, stating that clinics would be given extra time to comply with a Trump administration rule announced last week that eliminated Title X funding for clinics that provide abortion referrals. The notice stated that the government […]
Dr. Leana Wen Removed as Planned Parenthood’s President
After less than a year on the job, Dr Leanna Wen M.D. has been removed from her position as Planned Parenthood’s president. Per the statement released by Dr. Wen, the ousting occurred after disagreements between Dr. Wen and Planned Parenthood’s board on the direction of the organization following the severe blows from the far right […]
Four Democratic Congresswomen Call Trump’s Racist Tweets a Distraction
Yesterday, four democratic congresswomen of color held a joint press conference to address a series of racist tweets made by President Trump in which he called for the women to “go back” to the countries they came from. The four women, Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley, and Rashida Tlaib, condemned his words as […]
Justice Denied Once Again as Eric Garner’s Murderer Goes Free
Five years after the death of Eric Garner, an unarmed black man whose last words “I can’t breathe” started a rallying cry, the Justice Department has decided that they will not bring federal charges against the New York City police officer allegedly responsible for strangling him to death. The announcement came exactly when the deadline […]