New from me today: Researchers, advocates and survivors of domestic violence say it’s vital to keep telehealth access available for people in abusive relationships who need discreet abortion options. Access to telehealth prescriptions of mifepristone is threatened by an ongoing Louisiana lawsuit.

"Marjane Satrapi, the Iranian-French author whose graphic novel series “Persepolis” introduced millions of readers to the struggles of ordinary Iranians during the turbulent years around the Islamic Revolution, has died at 56." www.nytimes.com/2026/06/04/w...

The Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine published new clinical guidance this week affirming that acetaminophen, better known by its brand Tylenol, should be the “first-line” defense against pain and fever during pregnancy. From @stateline.org

Racial wealth gap widens as many workers of color lack retirement savings arkansasadvocate.com/2026/06/03/r...

New from me: Melisa Hidalgo-Cuellar, director of Colorado’s Cobalt Abortion Fund, said their costs rose 26% in the first 3 months of 2026 because of soaring gas and airfare prices. The total spent in the first quarter of 2025 was about $465,000, while the total this quarter was nearly $590,000.

This is bittersweet, my last repro story @stateline.org for now: Black women in Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi are suing states over midwifery restrictions that they say make it harder for them to help expectant mothers in rural and underserved areas.

SPOILS SYSTEM? President Donald Trump’s $1.776 billion fund to pay allies and others who say they have been wronged by past administrations has drawn widespread condemnation by opponents, including some Republicans. From States Newsroom: nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/06/01/r...

It went from worse to worser

Still a GOP state but this gives Democrats some hope in a handful of legislative races this fall.

NO ANSWER: A Shreveport domestic violence shelter saw a surge in calls after the April 19 mass shooting that left 8 children dead, with survivors calling in to say their abusers threatened similar attacks. Lawmakers haven't responded to a call for more resources, @jsodonoghue.bsky.social reports

Misogyny is an increasing factor in far-right attacks, but it often goes unnoticed. n.pr/4tWJ12w

Voluntary departures reached 89,494 cases as of May 1, according to a @stateline.org analysis. Some judges, especially Republican appointees, are pressuring immigrants without lawyers to accept the agreements, @timhenderson.bsky.social reports.

“People will vote when they’re angry, and I think what we’re seeing today across the state, with the record early voting turnout, is that we’ve made some people mad,” said Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey, who has consistently opposed the effort over the last two weeks. via @scdailygazette.com

A trial over some seashells.

Via @timhenderson.bsky.social and Stateline: Immigrants seeking green cards will have to return first to their home countries and wait despite years of potential backlogs, the Trump administration announced Friday.

Andrea Pedro Francisco, a 23-year-old Guatemalan woman, was on her way to clean houses in February when she was detained by ICE in Minnesota. The agency has denied her requests for surgery to remove an ovarian cyst. OB-GYNS say she's at risk for an emergency that could affect her fertility.

Bill redrawing SC congressional voting lines advances in Senate as cost estimates double scdailygazette.com/2026/05/21/b... by @jmholdman.bsky.social

NEW - Less than 6 months before the midterms, Republicans face a difficult path to retaining the U.S. House amid Trump’s poor approval ratings— but the party’s gerrymanders have helped A look at the midterms landscape, from @fischler.bsky.social & me www.newsfromthestates.com/article/sagg...

The Alabama Supreme Court's 2024 "extrauterine children" ruling that temporarily upended IVF treatments in the state inspired abortion-abolitionist Kriss Martenson to try a similar tactic in Utah, whose statutes include broad personhood language and wrongful-death laws: stateline.org/2026/05/20/l...

"Besides altering Mr. Clyburn’s district, for example, the proposed map would lump Myrtle Beach, a popular tourist spot, into the same district as parts of Charleston." lol — hard to convey to outsiders how wildly different these two regions are, despite being down the coast from each other.

As a South Carolina native, I'm rarely surprised about what lawmakers in the state say about race. But this quote got me. www.nytimes.com/2026/05/20/u...

Gov. Kim Reynolds signed bills into law Tuesday requiring abortion pills to be prescribed only in person and requiring parental consent for HPV vaccines for minors. She also signed a medical conscience law, Robin Opsahl reports. iowacapitaldispatch.com/2026/05/19/g...

Trump's new $1.8b “anti-weaponization” fund could funnel money to activists who served felony sentences for breaking into and blocking patients from entering abortion clinics. Clinic leaders worry this could incentivize more violence as death threats, assault, stalking and blockades are on the rise

BREAKING from @virginiamercury.com: The Supreme Court of Virginia on Friday struck down the voter-approved redistricting amendment, upholding a lower court ruling that had declared the measure unconstitutional. www.newsfromthestates.com/article/supr...

NEW - A week after Callais, the decision is roiling politics across the South as GOP states rush to gerrymander districts with large numbers of Black voters www.newsfromthestates.com/article/kill...

Abortion providers and advocates are bracing for what comes next after a federal appeals court briefly blocked nationwide telehealth access to mifepristone. Here’s what to know about the case, what could happen next and how providers are preparing if access changes. 👇 stateline.org/2026/05/07/u...

In January, @propublica.org wrote a story about the plight of Ciji Graham, a Black woman in North Carolina who died in 2023 waiting for an abortion. An NC senator recently filed a bill named after Graham that would help people with high-risk pregnancies get timely care, @lbonner.bsky.social reports.

Exciting news: Starting tomorrow, I'll be writing Daybreak, a new morning newsletter from @statesnewsroom.com. Be sure to sign up below! This also means my time at @stateline.org has come to an end. But keep an eye out — I'll be back to reporting on technology news and creating journo content soon!

A new morning newsletter covering the country, powered by @statesnewsroom.com journalism. Curated and written by real people -- not AI

A Pulitzer for Julie K. Brown. Richly deserved, and overdue!

BREAKING: Justice Alito has temporarily restored online & mail-order access to the abortion drug mifepristone. The court's stay last only until May 11, giving them time to decide what to do with drugmakers' emergency appeal of the 5th Circuit's bombshell ruling www.documentcloud.org/documents/28...

The Supreme Court has restored access to the abortion pill mifepristone through telehealth, mail and pharmacies

In light of the 5th circuit's decision regarding the abortion pill, last year @prri.org found that most Americans, including a majority of Republicans, oppose laws that make it illegal to use or receive through the mail FDA-approved drugs for medical abortion. prri.org/research/abo...

STORY:

Some personal news: • I am now a staff writer @stateline.org! • I'll broaden my scope of coverage beyond repro issues. • But I'm still leading the Reproductive Rights Today newsletter! • RRT will hit inboxes twice a week: Tuesdays and Thursdays. • And I'll send SL Weekly, our top stories letter.

And there it is. Mills ends her campaign. It is now officially Graham Platner vs. Susan Collins for Maine. #MESen

A Greensboro Abortion Provider Closes, Leaving Limited Options  Greensboro’s only clinic offering surgical abortions will close at the end of April. Providers, advocates, and patients are now scrambling to fill the gap.

NAACP President Derrick Johnson responds to the Supreme Court's decision to gut the Voting Rights Act:

I start every day with the Reproductive Rights Today newsletter from @elishabrown.bsky.social @statesnewsroom.com and this morning’s is a big one: States that banned abortion after Dobbs saw a rise in pregnancy-related deaths by the end of 2023. 68 lives. www.newsfromthestates.com/newsletter/r...

Ex-FBI Director James Comey, targeted by Trump, indicted for '86 47' seashell photo www.newsfromthestates.com/article/ex-f...

NC’s infant mortality rate and drug overdose deaths declined in 2024 ncnewsline.com/2026/04/27/n...

“It’s really a long history, and we have to view it with a backdrop of what this country is, as great as this country purports to be, as not wanting to see the browning of America," Attorney Ruth Jean told @dduret.bsky.social.

Family and friends of Virginia Roberts Giuffre gathered in the nation’s capital Saturday to mark one year since her death, and to demand justice for victims of the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Alabama ranks at or near the bottom in the country for infant and maternal health. This clinic expanded to address the problem and also announced they're working with incarcerated moms. My latest for @al.com. www.al.com/news/2026/04...

Thanks to @kkdumez.bsky.social and @annewhitesell.bsky.social for their great insight in this @rns.org piece by @alejacorazonhm.bsky.social, reporting on @prri.org 's latest survey report on abortion attitudes in America. religionnews.com/2026/04/23/w...

Lot of chatter about menopause these days, but just a handful of states require insurers to cover treatments, @kelciemmorris.bsky.social reports.

A majority of Americans and religious groups believe abortion should be legal in all or most cases, per a massive @prri.org poll released today. Lots of insight on state-by-state abortion views, religion, Christian nationalism and more in the report. Take a look: prri.org/research/map...

Influencers and grifters are putting impressionable young women's health in danger.

Schumer: "Weaponizing the DOJ to indict civil rights groups is not law and order. It's a message. If you defend voting rights, if you fight white supremacy, you're next. Donald Trump will use the federal government to go after any group that dares to speak out against him."

New from me: A 2024 study about military abortion access from Ibis Reproductive Health was supposed to be like the one from 2019 that had 323 participants. They could only find 3 this time around. I interviewed two veterans about how women's issues that were once hushed are now going silent.