So many moving parts with SNAP benefits right now so I wanted to slow things down and remind folks that food insecurity is here, and so is the mom guilt. My latest for @19thnews.org: 19thnews.org/2025/11/snap...

I wrote about low wages in statehouses back in 2021 for @19thnews.org. The piece begins with the story of a state lawmaker who decided not to run again because she estimated her health insurance premiums cost more than her pay in the legislature. 19thnews.org/2021/11/stat...

Zohran Mamdani will be New York’s youngest mayor in over a century and the city’s first Muslim and first South Asian mayor. He has twice defeated Andrew Cuomo, who resigned as governor in the face of sexual harassment allegations. https://bit.ly/47pa8LH

A hunger cliff is days away. Women, children and food banks will feel it first. 19thnews.org/2025/10/food...

First ladies made history in the East Wing. It was razed for Trump’s ballroom. Latest from @errinhaines.bsky.social and @amandabecker.bsky.social for @19thnews.org: 19thnews.org/2025/10/east...

Setting aside that our post has been labeled adult content because of … a bare belly photo?? ... @slooterman.bsky.social and I dug deep into the history of blaming moms for their kids’ autism for @19thnews.org and how some moms see echos of that dark history in MAHA: 19thnews.org/2025/10/refr...

President Trump wants to revamp the childhood vaccine schedule, a move that would place an extra burden on working mothers — who often shoulder the responsibilities of scheduling doctor's visits and follow-up care within a household. My latest for @19thnews.org: 19thnews.org/2025/09/chil...

Trump to pregnant people: “Don’t take Tylenol. There’s no downside.” But acetaminophen is one of the few drugs that pregnant people can safely use to relieve pain or fever — conditions that, if left untreated, can increase risk of birth defects and premature delivery. 19thnews.org/2025/09/rfk-...

The federal government’s reported plans to link pregnant people’s use of acetaminophen — the pain-relief drug sold under the brand name Tylenol — as a cause of autism could worsen their health and stigmatize one of the few treatments pregnant people have for reducing pain and fever, doctors warn.

A vaccine panel just tabled a vote that would have delayed universal use of the Hepatitis B vaccine for newborns. For now, nothing has changed on use of the vaccine, which is safe and credited with saving lives. But how did we get here? My latest for @19thnews.org: 19thnews.org/2025/09/hepa...

The new MAHA report recommends that the United States increase its breastfeeding rates. But the report makes no mention of a federal paid parental leave program that experts in breastfeeding / caregiving say could make a difference. My latest for @19thnews.org: 19thnews.org/2025/09/gove...

I saw a lot of headlines about Florida getting rid of all its vaccine mandates for schoolchildren. So @nadrakn.bsky.social and I wanted to add a little context and clarity about what that means and what might happen next. Our latest for @19thnews.org: 19thnews.org/2025/09/flor...

If you’re looking for a better understanding of Let’s Move, Michelle Obama, RFK Jr. and MAHA, may I suggest a piece I wrote for @19thnews.org? 19thnews.org/2025/08/mich...

Can you get a COVID-19 vaccine this fall? The announcement last week that RFK Jr. and his HHS administration had essentially new guidelines for the shot made me try to answer that question. And well, it’s complicated. My latest for @19thnews.org: 19thnews.org/2025/09/new-...

Trump’s power grab in the nation’s capital, and his threat to expand his militarized takeover to other Democratic-led cities, is setting up a high-stakes showdown over the country’s democracy that pits him prominently against a familiar political foe: Black women. 19thnews.org/2025/08/blac...

There’s a lot going on right now, but I’m excited that @19thnews.org has launched a new three-year strategic plan. It has a renewed commitment to our core: gender and its many intersections — with race, ethnicity, class, disability. Learn more here: 19thnews.org/strategic-pl...

Before MAHA and the Trump administration's focus on childhood obesity and fitness … there was Michelle Obama. My latest for @19thnews.org looks at the legacy of the first lady’s work on children’s health: 19thnews.org/2025/08/mich...

Today is the 60th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act. As voting rights lose ground, The 19th spoke with four advocates working to preserve the path to the ballot for the most marginalized voters.

Who’s running for office? Amid a rise in threats of political violence and harassment, parents with young kids are increasingly weighing the risks. 19thnews.org/2025/08/pare...

A few Republican lawmakers have tried to frame the Medicaid cuts as targeting men. The data tells a different story. 19thnews.org/2025/05/medi...

In May, The 19th wrote about Ruano’s fight to remain in the country despite a pending order of deportation. Last month her fight against deportation, fueled by her Milwaukee community, ended under orders from ICE.

As a key vaccine panel (made up now of members picked by RFK Jr.) meets for the first time this morning, a new poll shows support for routine childhood vaccines is widely supported across political party lines. My latest for @19thnews.org: 19thnews.org/2025/06/vacc...

There is a lot going on right now with vaccine policy in America. Here's how doctors are responding, and what they want parents to know about their efforts to stick with evidence-based science. My latest for @19thnews.org: 19thnews.org/2025/06/rfk-...

There is a lot going on right now with vaccine policy in America. Here's how doctors are responding, and what they want parents to know about their efforts to stick with evidence-based science. My latest for @19thnews.org: 19thnews.org/2025/06/rfk-...

"Political violence is being normalized for us as an organization." After Saturday's shootings — and the reports that abortion providers were on Vance Boelter's list of possible targets — clinics in Minnesota and around the country are tightening security & figuring out how to move forward.

This bill would limit coverage of gender-affirming care as an essential benefit under Affordable Care Act plans and prohibit Medicaid & CHIP from covering the treatment. Earlier drafts limited this prohibition to care for minors; the approved bill extends it to care for all ages.

As Republicans in Congress try to tie the face of Medicaid work requirements to able-bodied people — including young men — there is data that shows many of these people are actually poor middle-aged women. My latest for @19thnews.org: 19thnews.org/2025/05/medi...

Yessenia Ruano has been in the U.S. for 14 years. She's had twins, become an integral part of the school where she works and her church, bought a home, and checked in with ICE 17 times. Now she has a one-way ticket to El Salvador that she's still hoping not to use. 19thnews.org/2025/05/upro...

While voters overwhelmingly felt safe, women and gender-nonconforming people were more likely to skip going to the polls due to safety concerns, a new report says.

Parents of children with complex medical needs and disabilities are navigating uncertainty over key pillars of their kids’ lives — Medicaid and the Department of Education — as the Trump administration considers major changes. My latest with @nadrakn.bsky.social: 19thnews.org/2025/05/kids...

In the fight over Medicaid, House Speaker Mike Johnson has targeted "able-bodied" men in the name of protecting women and others. But the changes he's talking about could reduce services for the very people he says he wants to protect. My latest for @19thnews.org: 19thnews.org/2025/05/medi...

HHS says its new report on gender-affirming care proves that science doesn't support the care & that its risks are too great. But the report doesn't really support that blanket statement. It found “sparse” to no evidence of harm and evidence about the benefits of gender-affirming care.

RFK Jr. is trying to respond to growing cases of measles in several states, in part by promoting vaccination — but that message is being undermined by his former nonprofit. My latest for @19thnews.org: 19thnews.org/2025/04/rfk-...

@msjpauly.bsky.social and I spent the last three months speaking to seven parents of trans kids and three trans teens. one 17-year-old told me that he was leaving the country: “Having to choose my safety over staying with my family at a young age is a really frustrating place to be in.”

As the Trump administration targets migrants and transgender people, Jewish Americans increasingly feel that history is in danger of repeating itself. Trans passport restrictions & hinderances on traveling freely, without harassment, are a key concern. Read more in my latest story for @19thnews.org

News: Diana Greene Foster, the MacArthur-winning author of the Turnaway Study, learned her NIH grant — funding a multi-year study on Dobbs' impact — has been pulled. She was told its bc the govt won't study "gender identity." Her work has shaped our understanding of abortion bans' consequences.

While RFK Jr. is promoting vaccines against measles ... he's also highlighting treatments that medical experts say do not prevent or treat the virus. My latest for @19thnews.org looks at the mixed messaging for parents and caregivers: 19thnews.org/2025/04/rfk-...

RFK Jr. is showing more direct support for the measles vaccine following the death of a 2nd unvaccinated child, but medical experts note he’s also sharing info about unproven remedies. My latest for @19thnews.org looks at the mixed messaging for parents and caregivers: 19thnews.org/2025/04/rfk-...

"The outgoing official said he was speaking out to encourage parents to vaccinate their children against measles, as cases mount in Texas and New Mexico." www.wsj.com/health/healt...

There's too much news, but I took a moment this week to think about the nurses who are reflecting on the impact of COVID and their union power — and what might come next. My latest for @19thnews.org: 19thnews.org/2025/04/nurs...

Who lost their jobs at the FDA? The people who determine if a costly drug is ready to be a generic The people who test food and drugs for contaminants and deadly bacteria in several labs were let go The people talking to overseas drug safety regulators to get ahead of foodborne illness & deaths

I recently asked @katybkoz.bsky.social what it meant not to be able to access PRAMS, even temporarily: “It’s hard to imagine getting toward a future where fewer moms die giving birth in this country, because the tools we had to imagine that are not available.” It’s hard to see how that changes now

One canceled grant was for investigating “Health and economic consequences of changing federal and state policies on reproductive health” — a topic that maybe has some significance after the past few years of abortion policy shifts

Trump's federal funding cuts are shutting down a range of studies — all because they focus on gender. For @19thnews.org, @shefali.bsky.social and I looked at the implications for the decades-long effort to better study the health of women and queer people: 19thnews.org/2025/03/wome...

The entire @votebeat.org staff tore Trump's executive order on elections apart to explain it to you. Here it is. I promise you it's the most detailed article on this you'll find on the internet right now. www.votebeat.org/2025/03/25/t...

The news that RFK Jr. and the FDA will be looking into baby formula — its access, ingredients and safety — made me curious about what that really means for parents. My latest for @19thnews.org tries to provide context as we wait for more policy decisions: 19thnews.org/2025/03/baby...

LGBTQ+ elders share what survival looks like under a hostile political regime and their advice to young people right now. By @oriion.bsky.social for @19thnews.org: 19thnews.org/2025/03/trum...

Is Trump cutting Medicaid? @amandabecker.bsky.social breaks things down for @19thnews.org: 19thnews.org/2025/03/medi...

To the parents out there, for @19thnews.org I spoke with some medical experts on what you need to know to best protect your families amid measles outbreaks: 19thnews.org/2025/03/meas...

Ahead of the joint session tonight, @19thnews.org spoke with people across the country on this administration's effect on their lives one month in. 19thnews.org/2025/03/six-...