The Trump administration is now receiving comments on a proposed rule that will eliminate Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits for over 750,000 unemployed and underemployed individuals and cut $15 billion dollars from the program over 10 years. Trump originally wanted this to be included into a farm bill he signed into law; however since […]
The Trump administration is implementing a policy that prevents clinics that provide abortion counseling and referrals from receiving Title X Family Planning Program funding, funding that provides birth control, STD tests, cervical and breast cancer screenings, and reproductive health care to low-income and uninsured individuals. Under Title X, federal dollars already cannot directly fund abortion […]
Over 700 Afghan women from all 34 provinces participated today in a National conference to demand their inclusion in any peace talks with the Taliban in Afghanistan while stressing the importance of preserving women’s rights and upholding Afghanistan’s democracy. This conference was in response to recent peace talks between U.S. officials and the Taliban, a […]
Last Friday, there was a mass shooting at a manufacturing warehouse in Aurora, Illinois. The gunman began shooting at his coworkers when he was being fired at a meeting with managers—he killed five of his coworkers and injured several police officers. Those killed were Trevor Wehner, an intern on his first day and senior at […]
This morning, President Trump announced that he will declare a national emergency over the nonexistent “border crisis” in an attempt to secure up to 8 billion dollars in emergency funds to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. In a press conference this morning, Trump announced that he “can do the wall over a longer […]
On Monday, Congressional negotiators came to an “agreement in principle” on a spending bill to prevent another government shutdown from occurring Friday that includes an offer of $1.375 billion for 55 miles of new border fencing to satisfy President Trump’s demand for a border wall. Once the text of the actual spending bill is complete, […]
California Governor Gavin Newsom announced his decision to withdraw National Guard troops from the southern border with Mexico, against Trump’s request for troops from border states, stating that “the border ‘emergency’ is a manufactured crisis and California will not be part of this political theater.” Currently, California has 360 troops at the southern border at […]
The Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), a division within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), proposed a new abortion restriction under the Affordable Care Act in their “2020 Payment Notice” that is meant to deter insurers from covering abortion services, requiring insurance companies that have plans covering non-Hyde abortions to […]
Yesterday, members of Congress, led by Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Rep. Nita Lowey (D-NY), announced their plan to introduce the Global Health Empowerment and Rights (HER) Act soon. The bill reverses and permanently bans the anti-abortion Global Gag Rule reinstated under the Trump administration, and protects access to healthcare, especially for women and girls, […]
Jussie Smollett, a black and openly gay actor, released a statement this morning after he was attacked while walking down the street in Chicago by two masked assailants that allegedly yelled racist and homophobic slurs while pouring a chemical substance, believed to be bleach, on him and tying a noose around his neck; this was […]
The Center for Disease Control’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report found that nearly 2% of all high schoolers identify as transgender; this report also confirms that transgender students need to be protected in and out of school. In school, transgender students are more likely to be victims of bullying, whether in person or online. They […]
Today, furloughed workers received their second consecutive $0.00 paycheck because yesterday, a plan made by the Democrats, that they hoped would have bipartisan support to end the shutdown, failed to pass, forcing the government shutdown to continue in its 35th day. House Democrats are in the process of composing a border security proposal of $5.2 […]
A new federal trial began Tuesday in Maryland reviewing concerns that the inclusion of a citizenship question to the 2020 census will depress participation of households with noncitizens just a week after a federal judge in New York barred the Trump administration from adding the question to the survey. The same issue is also being […]
The Senate has scheduled a vote for Thursday on Trump’s proposal to reopen the government, after the 33 day government shutdown. If the proposal fails to receive the 60 votes needed to prevent filibuster, the Senate will then vote on a different short-term spending bill that will reopen the government until February 8th—the House has […]
The Supreme Court announced this morning that the Trump administrations’ ban on transgender military service can immediately take effect, impacting over 9,000 Service members, but the Supreme Court declined hear arguments regarding the ban’s constitutionality. Appeals to lower courts will continue but the Supreme Court issued a stay of lower courts’ injunctions which prevented the […]
On Saturday, during a White House address, President Trump stated he would grant a temporary three-year protection for Deferred Action For Child Arrivals (DACA) immigrants from deportation, without a pathway to citizenship, in exchange for $5.7 billion to fund a permanent wall on the U.S. – Mexico border. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced he […]
The government shutdown, which began December 22nd 2018, persists into its 19th day as President Trump continues to rebuff any spending bill that does not allocate $5.7 billion to fund a wall on the border of Mexico and the United States. Congressional leaders are expected to return to the White House today to resume negotiations, though an immediate resolution seems unlikely.
Today the Trump Administration announced it would rescind parts of the Obama administration’s “Rethink Discipline” school policies, policies that ensured that minority students were not unfairly targeted for harsher punishments or disciplinary practices.
Recently, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) under the Trump Administration has been directing lenders to deny Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients government-insured home loans. While an official policy has not been issued, lenders and borrowers have reported that Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and HUD officials verbally tell lenders to deny […]
A sports complex in Tijuana that sheltered over 5,000 migrants closed due to health issues and poor sanitary conditions. Since Thursday, migrants have been transferred from the sports complex to a new shelter and by Sunday, most migrants have been transferred. However, CNN officials found groups of migrants camping outside the gates of the sports […]
