A 2022 internal survey found that 64 percent of The Sims player base identified as women and 45 percent identified as non-heterosexual. Now, many fear that spirit of inclusivity could be at risk. https://bit.ly/48356oj

As the federal shutdown drags on, viral AI videos are being created, depicting mostly Black women aggressively lamenting the loss of SNAP benefits. These posts revive the racist “welfare queens” caricature and perpetuate misconceptions about who the average SNAP recipient is. https://bit.ly/3JzpDHV

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...

Two years ago, the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration approached the Lac Du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, and the original caretakers of the land, with an unheard of proposition: Would they like a piece of their land back? 19thnews.org/2025/11/cath...

The worry over long-term access to food collides with the reality that children and their families face detrimental health effects when they experience food insecurity.

"This return represents more than the restoration of land — it is the restoration of balance, dignity, and our sacred connection to the places our ancestors once walked."

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...

GOP Rep. Elise Stefanik is setting up a contest against Gov. Kathy Hochul, who first has a primary challenge from Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado.

Young women voters under the age of 29 logged soaring support for Democrats in races across the country, cementing them as the most Democratic voting group in the country by age and gender. https://bit.ly/3LAHNcN

Nancy Pelosi, the first and only woman to serve as speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, announced Thursday that this term in Congress will be her last. https://bit.ly/4hM6xuF

The decision barring transgender people from changing their gender markers will cause "irreparable harm," advocates say.

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Facing budget shortfalls due to the end of COVID funding, cuts to Medicaid in the Big Beautiful Bill and tariffs, states are turning to one place for cuts: child care. Many advocates in 2023 warned that a child care cliff was coming. Years later, it’s now here. 19thnews.org/2025/11/stat...

Facing budget shortfalls due to the end of COVID funding, cuts to Medicaid and tariffs, states are turning to one place for cuts: child care.

New: Women candidates, running on affordability, powered many of Dems’ big wins last night. Aside from the VA and NJ gov races, women made up a large % of those who flipped VA House seats + set a record for women’s representation in that chamber 19thnews.org/2025/11/demo...

Pelosi, the first and only woman to serve as speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, announced Thursday that this term in Congress will be her last.

When Erin Moulton learned what really happened to her great-aunt, she couldn't ignore the echoes of today's fights over reproductive rights. Published in partnership with @nhpr.org:

Getting new details on this now: As the arrest unfolded, teachers pleaded with the agents telling them the teacher had a work permit. The agents went into multiple rooms looking for teachers while children were present. One teacher hid with a child in her care while the agents stormed the facility.

Across the country, Democrats had a night of victories powered by women candidates, many of whom campaigned on the cost of living and energy prices, and achieved historic firsts.

Raids inside day cares had been off limits until this year, when, on his first day in office, President Donald Trump removed that protection. The arrest reportedly took place in front of children. 19thnews.org/2025/11/chil...

Raids inside day cares had been off limits until this year, when, on his first day in office, President Donald Trump removed that protection. https://bit.ly/4qKtCC6

I’m looking for folks with IDD and their families who rely on SNAP and want to talk to a journalist about it. DM me here, email me at sluterman dot 19thnews dot org, or hit me up on Signal at slooterman.18.

In her victory speech, Mikie Sherrill invoked New Jersey’s state motto of “liberty and prosperity.” “Liberty alone is not enough if the government makes it impossible for you to feed your family, to get a good education or to get a good job."

Zohran Mamdani addressed supporters on Tuesday night after notching a decisive win in the New York mayoral race, recognizing the diverse coalition that elected him and the affordability-based issues that propelled him. https://bit.ly/47G4Eee

The New York City mayor’s race was also a high-profile repudiation of a powerful man accused of sexual misconduct. 19thnews.org/2025/11/zohr...

Democrats are projected to keep control of both chambers of the Virginia legislature, meaning Democrat-backed referendums on marriage equality and abortion are likely to be on the ballot next year. https://bit.ly/47Angwo

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

Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill will be New Jersey’s next governor and only the second woman to serve in the office. The race was closely watched as a barometer of the national mood 10 months into Trump’s second term. https://bit.ly/4i2tSIV

Abigail Spanberger will be Virginia’s next governor and the first woman to hold the state’s highest office. Her campaign promised to fight the “chaos” of President Donald Trump’s second term and to address cost-of-living issues. https://bit.ly/3JEKGZp

Electricity prices are rising everywhere, with some experts referring to them as the "new eggs" in the cost of living crisis. For older people on fixed incomes, it's yet another strain on their finances. Women in particular are worried. 19thnews.org/2025/11/olde...

1/ Today is Election Day! 🗳️ It's an off-year, meaning there is no presidential election or midterm congressional election. However, there are key races in Virginia, New York, New Jersey and Michigan that we're keeping a close eye on:

Detroit’s City Council president is running to become the city's first woman mayor, with housing for single-mother-led households as a major part of her platform.

For people across the country, electricity costs are going up at a fast clip, with some experts now calling electricity “the new eggs.”

Trump’s travel ban inspired state Sen. Ghazala Hashmi to first run for office. Now, as candidate for Lieutenant Governor of Virginia, she could make history Tuesday night as the first Muslim woman ever elected to statewide office in the United States.

134 Head Start programs across 41 states and Puerto Rico serving 58,627 children are at risk of closings as federal funds expire. Since the beginning of October, an additional six Head Start programs serving 6,525 children have been operating without federal funding. 19thnews.org/2025/11/head...

The government shutdown has forced providers of the early learning and child care program for lower-income families to close across the country. From @the74.bsky.social:

The Blue Jays’ responses to their loss reveal that contrary to the oft-quoted line in “A League of Their Own” even men in the sport cry. https://bit.ly/4qHEa4K

Gendered talk and expectations have infused the race between Democrat Mikie Sherrill and Republican Jack Ciattarelli.

Trump and his administration are transforming not only how the government talks about pregnancy, but the health policy around it. Due to recent federal actions, physicians say they’re spending more time dispelling pregnant patients’ concerns about what care is safe for them. https://bit.ly/4nxHmNM

“This is another instance in which Trump has said one thing — that the East Wing would not be altered — and he’s altering it,” historian Alexis Coe said. The East Wing is home to the Office of the First Lady and has played a key role in women’s visibility in the White House. https://bit.ly/3JeAneF

A growing body of research has linked environmental threats like extreme heat and wildfire smoke to an uptick in stillbirths, premature births and low-birth weights. A new pilot program in Florida teaches doulas how to prepare pregnant people for climate disasters. https://bit.ly/3X1Yd0i

As Congress remains gridlocked, a federal court ruled Friday that the USDA must release contingency funds — but it is unclear how quickly the SNAP funds will get to recipients.

“We’re gearing up to step up, expanding our services and doing our absolute very best to make sure that the food-insecure folks... are served to the very best of our ability and we know that that’s going to extend us."

No private or public org finances anti-domestic violence work as broadly or as deeply as the US gov. Without federal funds, the work to prevent intimate partner violence, feed families in shelters fleeing abuse or help with legal protection would not exist on the scale it does today. @19thnews.org

A mother of four in Detroit, a pastor serving LGBTQ+ congregants in Dallas and a food bank manager in Chicago share their fears — and resilience — as federal funds are set to expire.

It is unknown just how many LGBTQ+ people were detained or died in concentration camps during World War II. But contrary to often dominant perceptions, many were women and nonbinary.

The USDA has refused to release contingency funds, and Congress remains gridlocked — but there are still paths to keeping the nutrition assistance program alive.

The disruption the Trump administration has wrought on this critical public safety and public health infrastructure is unprecedented, threatening a framework built over a half-century.

This year’s mayoral race in New York City is shaping up to be the most-watched and most consequential local election in the country. Here’s every key move the leading candidates have made related to the queer community. From @unclosetedmedia.bsky.social:

Earle-Sears, who is also an immigrant, has marked the historic nature of her campaign by attacking Democrats over their outreach to Black voters, women voters and immigrants — all groups that tend to favor Democrats.