👋 The 19th is off for a scheduled break. We’ll be back on Monday, January 5.

@19thnews.org is hiring two editors!! We're looking for folks who live and breathe for finding distinct angles, shaping stories and editing across platforms. I want to see a creative mind amid rigorous standards — someone who wants to grow *with* us. 19thnews.org/19th-news-ed...

Earlier this month I wrote about why doctors say you can’t compare the United States’ vaccine recommendations to other countries. Evergreen topic amid a lot of emerging headlines. 19thnews.org/2025/12/trum...

Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik formally launched her campaign November 7, but dropped out just six weeks later. In a December 19 post on X, Stefanik said she was ending her campaign for governor and also that she would not seek reelection to Congress.

With Affordable Care Act insurance premiums poised to skyrocket, some are considering going outside of the marketplace to find more affordable options. But that requires caution. From @kffhealthnews.org:

Exciting holiday news! @19thnews.org is hiring *two* full-time editors to join our newsroom in 2026! 🥳 Apply by January 19! 19thnews.org/19th-news-ed...

We're hiring two editors to join our newsroom! Benefits include: 🟣 $105,000 – $140,000 salary range 🟣 20 vacation days a year 🟣 Paid family leave (100% up to 6 months) Learn more and apply here: https://bit.ly/48Xlw0U

New proposed regulations from the Department of Health and Human Services would bar federal programs like Medicaid from covering gender-affirming care for transgender youth.

The Center for Biological Diversity released a new report finding that most state emergency preparedness checklists fail to include basic sexual and reproductive health supplies. Advocates and mutual aid groups are filling in the gaps. 19thnews.org/2025/12/wild...

wrote about how this chaotic and difficult year was filled with banger after banger from POC women and queer artists

States typically have a list of items that residents should have on hand in case of an emergency. But according to a new 50-state scorecard released on Thursday, only one state — Maryland — does a good job of including sexual and reproductive health supplies into its preparedness checklist.

Their stories surfaced in fragments, often only within families. A coalition led by Asian American women is pushing Congress to make them part of the official record. This piece is published in partnership with More to Her Story:

Wrote about the joy of giving Mount Pleasant kids Halloween candy in this unrelenting year 19thnews.org/2025/12/what...

It's almost the holidays! Except in Congress. Today, a bill that would jail doctors for up to 10 years if they provide gender-affirming care to minors is scheduled for a House vote. It's not expected to become law, but it's still a big deal. Catch up here:

The 2026 National Defense Authorization Act includes provisions related to parental leave — but notably excludes provisions that would have provided IVF coverage for active-duty military.

For five years, The 19th staff has taken time to pause and reflect on the things that brought us joy over the past year — completely unrelated to our work. That felt especially important in 2025, which brought an unrelenting, heavy news cycle.

One bill would jail doctors who prescribe gender-affirming care to trans youth. Another would block Medicaid dollars from funding that care.

This year brought an unrelenting cycle of news — but @19thnews.org still found time for joy, unrelated to our professional lives. Here is where we went, and what we did, watched, listened to and wore that brought us joy in 2025. Spoiler: I learned to do less, not more (in yoga, at least).

As the year ends, my colleagues and I examined how the Heritage Foundation wishlist for Trump’s second term impacted women and LGBTQ+ Americans. Read here:

“I’m the town crier, literally and figuratively. That’s all I seem to do these days,” Casey Rollins, executive director of Springfield's St. Vincent de Paul, told The 19th of the looming family separations crisis for Haitian immigrants in the Ohio city: 19thnews.org/2025/12/spri... via @19thnews.org

As the year ends, The 19th takes a look at how the conservative policy wishlist for Trump’s second term impacted women and LGBTQ+ Americans.

Though Match Group claimed to a survivor who reported Matthews that they had “permanently banned” him, the suit contends, he remained active on Hinge — and was even promoted as a “Standout” match.

The civil lawsuit filed Tuesday accuses the world’s largest dating app company of “accommodating rapists across its products,” through “negligence” and a “defective” product, and argues that dating apps could kick off serial rapists, but don’t.

“Minneapolis, since the early ’70s, has really been a leader in the gay rights movement,” he said. “That comes out of a lot of the student organizing at the University of Minnesota in the late 60s.”

Trump has long maligned journalists and dismissed news coverage he views as unfair to him as “fake news.” Recently, he’s ratcheted up his insults directed toward respected veteran women reporters in particular, drawing concern and pushback from press freedom advocates. https://bit.ly/456fA4v

Reiner’s greatest contribution to the LGBTQ+ community was as cofounder of the American Foundation for Equal Rights, which funded the legal fight against Proposition 8, the California ballot measure that revoked marriage equality in the state. h

In Springfield, Ohio — a city transformed by Haitian immigrants — Casey Rollins says she feels like the “town crier” warning of a looming family separations crisis. 19thnews.org/2025/12/spri...

Rob Reiner — who was found dead along with his wife, Michele — cofounded the American Foundation for Equal Rights, which led the fight against California's Prop. 8. From @theadvocatebr.bsky.social:

The problem, the experts said, is that nobody has been listening to men.

In Springfield, a city transformed by Haitian immigrants, Casey Rollins says she feels like the “town crier” warning of a looming family separations crisis.

On December 30, 1975, Minneapolis became the first city to adopt a trans-inclusive LGBTQ+ non-discrimination ordinance. Fifty years later, the U.S. still lacks similar protections on a federal level. https://bit.ly/4aAEWLF

“I’m the town crier, literally and figuratively. That’s all I seem to do these days,” Rollins told The 19th during a recent interview.

There is a family separations crisis that has already begun in Springfield, Ohio. 19thnews.org/2025/12/spri...

1/ Today is the final day of our Year-End Impact Drive! ✨As a nonprofit newsroom, we rely on the financial support of our members to help power our journalism. Here are five reasons to be become a member: 19thne.ws/makeanimpact

Gender affirming care, but only for cis people I guess. 19thnews.org/2025/12/test...

For too long, hormone therapy has been inaccessible for cisgender men — or so said clinicians, professors and a pharmaceutical CEO gathered this week by the FDA. So, HRT for everybody, right? ... Right guys?

Every time you see reports of children being quarantined because of exposure or infection to measles, the ripple effect is not just on health but the economy: Kids have to stay away from the child care centers and schools that help ensure families can work and pay bills: 19thnews.org/2025/07/meas...

Experts at Wednesday’s FDA panel presented a unified view of testosterone. The White House has denounced hormone replacement therapy when used by trans people. But cisgender people rely on hormone therapy, too. And some men clearly want more of it. https://bit.ly/48AlgWF

I've been trying to wrap up stories before year's end and am embarrassingly remiss in helping out with The 19th's year-end membership drive. I know times are tough for many but every $ of support helps us continue bringing you coverage of women and LGBTQ+ people. the19th.donorsupport.co/-/NVARDULH

If you're not familiar with @19thnews.org, we're an independent, nonprofit newsroom reporting on issues affecting women and LGBTQ+ people with heart and deep care. We have one day left in our Year-End Impact Drive. Every little bit helps, and we would so appreciate your support!

The 19th is excited to announce that Hannah Bernstein is joining the audience team as our first-ever audience growth manager! Learn more about Hannah and the role:

Trump’s memo to review other countries’ childhood vaccine schedules has no legal power but it signals a public endorsement of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s actions so far on vaccine policy.

We are trying to raise $30k. It sounds like a lot but $5, $10 or $20/month makes a huge difference in our ability to plan for the future. Recurring donations are how I support my fav independent media! the19th.donorsupport.co/-/NRLEQSZH

"We need to show up for each other and protect each other and send each other love, because we all belong, and I want all of us here, and I will not be quiet about that.” My latest, for @19thnews.org and @thebarbedwire.com...

I was able to interview Indigenous photographer Cara Romero about her stunning art in her "First American Doll" series. If you need a visual pick-me-up this is it. 19thnews.org/2025/12/firs...

This single mom is squeezed by LA’s cost of living. Now she’s running for mayor. Progressive housing advocate Rae Huang is challenging Karen Bass for Los Angeles mayor, promising free transit and social housing.

If elected, Rae Huang would be the city’s first Asian-American woman mayor — a progressive challenging Karen Bass, Los Angeles’ first woman mayor, from the left. This story was reported in partnership with @lapublicpress.bsky.social:

Cara Romero is a photographer, artist and an enrolled member of the Chemehuevi Indian Tribe. She created a photo series called “First American Doll” that defies the stereotypical Native American dolls she grew up seeing at truck stops by showcasing the diversity of tribes. https://bit.ly/4rRrj0D

Want to fund independent media for women and LGBTQ+ people? There's still time — our newsroom's year-end impact drive is almost over, and your help matters more than ever. Just $10 goes a long way!

The latest iternation of the Protect Children's Innocence Act dangerously conflates trans health care with female genital mutilation and cutting. That has made it more difficult to pass laws trying to actually stop FGM/C, an extreme form of gender violence. 19thnews.org/2025/10/anti...