"The brands that are backing away from Pride Month are doing exactly what we knew they would do all along – support LGBTQ+ people only as long as it was profitable," writes columnist @sarapequeno.bsky.social. bit.ly/4ejw4vb 📸: Grégory Dziedzic, Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images

"There are plenty of reasons why young people today aren’t describing themselves as patriotic. And no, it isn’t just about President Donald Trump," writes columnist @sarapequeno.bsky.social. bit.ly/4eAnK9l 📸: Kerem Yucel/AFP via Getty Images

"It turns out you actually have to do things for your constituents to win elections. Who knew?" writes columnist @sarapequeno.bsky.social. bit.ly/4e0LxjG 📸: Graeme Sloan/Getty Images

"The energy the Knicks are bringing to New York City is inescapable – you have to get on the train or miss out on the experience of a lifetime," writes columnist @sarapequeno.bsky.social. bit.ly/4eEcwlh 📸: Charly Triballeau/AFP via Getty Images

"Some Republican lawmakers in North Carolina are proving just how far they’re willing to go to control women’s bodies," writes columnist @sarapequeno.bsky.social bit.ly/4vIxSUx 📸: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

cheering for Jalen Brunson despite knowing he was on the team that beat UNC in the 2016 NCAA championship

"It’s starting to look vaguely familiar – almost like he’s doing the exact same things he has accused Biden of doing," writes columnist @sarapequeno.bsky.social . bit.ly/4vu2Cs3 📸: Evan Vucci/Reuters

"Our nation is at its best when its leaders govern through bipartisan agreement," writes columnist @sarapequeno.bsky.social. bit.ly/3PRydVl 📸: Kylie Cooper/Reuters

"Some of the most extreme members of the Republican Party believe that abortion is the exact same thing as taking the life of a fully formed human being, and should be punished as such," writes columnist @sarapequeno.bsky.social. bit.ly/49P0T8z 📸: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

"Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-North Carolina, taught a child a very important lesson. You’re never too young to learn that politicians will fail you," writes columnist @sarapequeno.bsky.social. bit.ly/3RDgmC8 📸: Elizabeth Frantz/Reuters

"Conservatives are grasping at straws to find something to complain about because they know that Mamdani is not the scary socialist dictator they make him out to be in attack ads," writes columnist @sarapequeno.bsky.social. bit.ly/4f3NmNF 📸: Jason Alpert-Wisnia, Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images

Opinion: It seems that the democratic socialist mayor of New York City is more effective at governing than many viewers on both sides of the aisle anticipated.

A week later and still nothing from Rep. Foxx. It’s almost as if she doesn’t give a damn. But @sarapequeno.bsky.social keeps watch. www.usatoday.com/story/opinio...

"Harris, while qualified, simply doesn’t have the popularity it would take to win against whichever Republican becomes the 2028 nominee," writes columnist @sarapequeno.bsky.social. bit.ly/3PK6VAh 📸: Jeenah Moon/Reuters

"Platner is a lesson to national Democrats that it’s not about having a polished, pristine image and minimal skeletons in the closet," writes columnist @sarapequeno.bsky.social. bit.ly/3QX5I98 📸: Graeme Sloan/Getty Images

"It’s not like any of these taxes will actually put a dent in the pockets of the wealthiest people in the nation," writes columnist @sarapequeno.bsky.social. bit.ly/49abACj 📸: Andy Jeffrey/Times Herald

"Why is she willing to humiliate herself and the Democratic Party for a second time? Why does she think she has a better shot this time?" writes columnist @sarapequeno.bsky.social. bit.ly/4t6leg3 📸 Jeenah Moon/Reuters

Wrote about getting diagnosed with ADHD in my twenties. www.usatoday.com/story/opinio...

Opinion: I’m wary of seeing Kamala Harris at the top of the 2028 Democratic presidential ticket after the devastating loss in 2024.

Smart and lovely and funny column by my colleague Drew Atkins, who recently decided to climb Cringe Mountain: www.usatoday.com/story/opinio...

"There are plenty of grifters making a fortune from being bigots," writes columnist @sarapequeno.bsky.social. bit.ly/3OCkwJx 📸: William Edwards/AFP via Getty Images

"New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has new plans to meet the $5.4 billion budget deficit – and capitalists everywhere are furious," writes columnist @sarapequeno.bsky.social. bit.ly/3OpFBqB 📸: Mickey Welsh/Montgomery Advertiser/USA TODAY Network

"Clinic providers and volunteers regularly receive death threats or are stalked by anti-abortion extremists," writes columnist @sarapequeno.bsky.social. bit.ly/4eA2pOG 📸: Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images

Using public transit in Chapel Hill just reminds me how life-changing free buses would be for New Yorkers.

"It looks like President Donald Trump is going back on campaign promises – surprising no one familiar with his track record of grift," writes columnist @sarapequeno.bsky.social. bit.ly/4c29g1Y 📸: Evan Vucci/Reuters

"November midterm elections are fast approaching, and Democratic candidates are set up to succeed," writes columnist @sarapequeno.bsky.social. bit.ly/4c5aGaJ 📸: Joel Angel Juarez/Reuters

Nvm

I can’t believe everyone has been hiding how fun March Madness brackets are

If you aren't familiar with High Point University, this deeply reported story from 2023 will get you up to speed. www.theassemblync.com/news/educati...

If @sarapequeno.bsky.social writes it, I’m reading it.

"New data has come out showing that Gen Z men across the world hold some pretty regressive views about women," writes columnist @sarapequeno.bsky.social. bit.ly/4sP9qiN 📸: Aggelos Nakkas/AFP via Getty Images

I interviewed @katmabu.bsky.social! www.usatoday.com/story/opinio...

Great column by my sharp colleague @sarapequeno.bsky.social on @katmabu.bsky.social and a campaign that’s setting a strong example of what campaigns should look like:

WHOA! TONY GONZALES OUT! #TX23 He will not seek re-election

Trump’s anti-trans agenda was always going to affect blue states, too. Hospitals in NYC are shutting down their gender-affirming care programs for minors. www.usatoday.com/story/opinio...

really remarkable how trump seems to relish sharing this lurid stories about the terrible pain people have experienced, and he does it exclusively to score some partisan points

New from me: From New York and California to Texas and Tennessee, progressive Democrats are challenging incumbents in safe blue districts with the hopes of pushing the party forward. www.usatoday.com/story/opinio...

"Choosing to endorse somebody simply because he’s a Kennedy whose posts do numbers online doesn’t actually do anything to promote fresh ideas or push the party forward," writes columnist @sarapequeno.bsky.social. bit.ly/4bUUtq5

On Feb. 10, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi endorsed Kennedy heir Jack Schlossberg to be the next leader of New York’s 12th Congressional District – because of course she did. www.usatoday.com/story/opinio...

Turns out not every community in America wants a patriotic detention facility, which is weird, because they’re really cool and not at all the physical manifestation of a barbaric federal effort to racist-ly reshape the demographic makeup of America. www.usatoday.com/story/opinio...

looks like Mamdani is gonna get his rent freeze this year after all. big news on the housing beat from @smaldo.bsky.social:

New from me: After noticing a trend of people opting for analog, I decided to try my hand at navigating New York City without my phone for a day. www.usatoday.com/story/opinio...

"We must remember that this is about justice for survivors of sexual abuse as much as it is about our right to know about criminal activity," writes columnist @sarapequeno.bsky.social. bit.ly/45QV3kU

It seems like Republicans are giving the Trump administration a blank check to inflict new horrors at home and abroad. www.usatoday.com/story/opinio...

The Trump administration has removed a large pride flag at the Stonewall National Monument in New York City. It comes weeks after the government issued federal guidance on what types of flags are allowed to be flown at national parks. bit.ly/4cl421I

By doing this, Trump is quite literally trying to erase LGBTQ history from Stonewall. www.usatoday.com/story/news/p...

the diner I go to after therapy is staffed by absolute yearners…. what do you mean you just went from Peter Gabriel’s “In Your Eyes” to “Sofia” by Clairo?

I'm going to do a thread of all the references and context behind Bad Bunny's performance and what it means for Puerto Ricans to see this on the biggest stage. The opening title screen is a street mural in Puerto Rico that comes to life with footballs as coconuts. Follow along!

"Bad Bunny’s highly anticipated halftime performance during Super Bowl 60 was spectacular to watch – both because of the artistry and the message that it sent," writes columnist @sarapequeno.bsky.social. bit.ly/45YfA7c

Opinion: Emblazoned on the jumbotron behind Bad Bunny at the Super Bowl 60 halftime show were the words 'THE ONLY THING MORE POWERFUL THAN HATE IS LOVE.'