19thnews
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The 19th is an independent, nonprofit newsroom reporting at the intersection of gender, politics, policy and power. https://19thnews.org/newsletters
A federal judge has blocked efforts by the Trump administration to curb diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives within Head Start early child care programs, which included attempts to revoke funding from providers who use words like “women” and “race” on grant applications.
Head Start can still use words like 'race' and 'women' for federal funding, judge says
Head Start providers notched a legal win this week when a judge temporarily halted the administration’s requirements for grant applications.
19thnews.org
January 9, 2026 at 7:54 PM
A federal judge has blocked efforts by the Trump administration to curb diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives within Head Start early child care programs, which included attempts to revoke funding from providers who use words like “women” and “race” on grant applications.
Reposted by 19thnews
The real story behind child care fraud in Minnesota is far less nefarious than what is purported.
Here’s what we actually know about child care fraud in Minnesota and elsewhere, and how day cares and families may be impacted by the new changes.
@chabeli.bsky.social reports.
Here’s what we actually know about child care fraud in Minnesota and elsewhere, and how day cares and families may be impacted by the new changes.
@chabeli.bsky.social reports.
Here's what's really happening with child care fraud in Minnesota
Evidence is nowhere near the epidemic levels a viral YouTube video would suggest — but it hasn’t stopped a crackdown on child care funding. Here's a fact check.
19thnews.org
January 9, 2026 at 7:25 PM
The real story behind child care fraud in Minnesota is far less nefarious than what is purported.
Here’s what we actually know about child care fraud in Minnesota and elsewhere, and how day cares and families may be impacted by the new changes.
@chabeli.bsky.social reports.
Here’s what we actually know about child care fraud in Minnesota and elsewhere, and how day cares and families may be impacted by the new changes.
@chabeli.bsky.social reports.
Reposted by 19thnews
Altadena Girls: What began as a social media request for donations turned into a movement that revealed how inclusive disaster recovery can be when girls are centered rather than marginalized.
Avery Colvert was an eighth-grader when the Eaton Fire tore through Altadena, Calif. It was the second natural disaster she’d survived; she was just 14 years old. Her family had lost their home in Nashville, Tennessee, to a flash flood in 2021. 19thnews.org/2026/01/alta... via @19thnews.org
An eighth-grader’s plea after the Eaton Fire redefined disaster recovery for girls
Avery Colvert's viral ask on social media last year led to a million donations, a nonprofit and a community hub to help teens plan for the futures beyond the shadow of the wildfire.
19thnews.org
January 9, 2026 at 5:18 PM
Altadena Girls: What began as a social media request for donations turned into a movement that revealed how inclusive disaster recovery can be when girls are centered rather than marginalized.
Reposted by 19thnews
After the Eaton Fire, 14-year-old Avery Colvert noticed something missing from disaster recovery: attention to teen girls.
Her viral Instagram post sparked Altadena Girls — now a nonprofit that’s distributed over a million items and opened a permanent community space.
19thnews.org/2026/01/alta...
Her viral Instagram post sparked Altadena Girls — now a nonprofit that’s distributed over a million items and opened a permanent community space.
19thnews.org/2026/01/alta...
An eighth-grader’s plea after the Eaton Fire redefined disaster recovery for girls
Avery Colvert's viral ask on social media last year led to a million donations, a nonprofit and a community hub to help teens plan for the futures beyond the shadow of the wildfire.
19thnews.org
January 9, 2026 at 5:44 PM
After the Eaton Fire, 14-year-old Avery Colvert noticed something missing from disaster recovery: attention to teen girls.
Her viral Instagram post sparked Altadena Girls — now a nonprofit that’s distributed over a million items and opened a permanent community space.
19thnews.org/2026/01/alta...
Her viral Instagram post sparked Altadena Girls — now a nonprofit that’s distributed over a million items and opened a permanent community space.
19thnews.org/2026/01/alta...
Evidence is nowhere near the epidemic levels a viral YouTube video would suggest — but it hasn’t stopped a crackdown on child care funding. Here's a fact check.
Here's what's really happening with child care fraud in Minnesota
Evidence is nowhere near the epidemic levels a viral YouTube video would suggest — but it hasn’t stopped a crackdown on child care funding. Here's a fact check.
19thnews.org
January 9, 2026 at 7:04 PM
Evidence is nowhere near the epidemic levels a viral YouTube video would suggest — but it hasn’t stopped a crackdown on child care funding. Here's a fact check.
Avery Colvert's viral ask on social media last year after the the Eaton Fire consumed her school led to a million donations, a nonprofit and a community hub to help teens plan for their futures beyond the shadow of the wildfire.
An eighth-grader’s plea after the Eaton Fire redefined disaster recovery for girls
Avery Colvert's viral ask on social media last year led to a million donations, a nonprofit and a community hub to help teens plan for the futures beyond the shadow of the wildfire.
19thnews.org
January 9, 2026 at 4:15 PM
Avery Colvert's viral ask on social media last year after the the Eaton Fire consumed her school led to a million donations, a nonprofit and a community hub to help teens plan for their futures beyond the shadow of the wildfire.
Reposted by 19thnews
“I always hear teenage girls say, ‘Oh, I’m sorry,’ like they feel they need to apologize for asking for too much,” Avery said. “At the beginning [of recovery], there was a lot of stigma around asking for help. Girls, after they lost their homes, they felt like it was embarrassing.”
An eighth-grader’s plea after the Eaton Fire redefined disaster recovery for girls
Avery Colvert's viral ask on social media last year led to a million donations, a nonprofit and a community hub to help teens plan for the futures beyond the shadow of the wildfire.
19thnews.org
January 8, 2026 at 8:43 PM
“I always hear teenage girls say, ‘Oh, I’m sorry,’ like they feel they need to apologize for asking for too much,” Avery said. “At the beginning [of recovery], there was a lot of stigma around asking for help. Girls, after they lost their homes, they felt like it was embarrassing.”
“You heard a lot of chatter that what we’re asking for is not sustainable for the business,” Collier said. “Being on this side with Unrivaled, I know what it takes to run a sustainable business." https://bit.ly/4b9swL1
January 8, 2026 at 9:45 PM
“You heard a lot of chatter that what we’re asking for is not sustainable for the business,” Collier said. “Being on this side with Unrivaled, I know what it takes to run a sustainable business." https://bit.ly/4b9swL1
Reposted by 19thnews
Supermajority, the nonprofit focused on mobilizing young women, is shutting down, @jennifergerson.bsky.social reports. The organization, co-founded by Cecile Richards, Ai-jen Poo, and Alicia Garza, has been a key player in the women's resistance movement since 2019
19thnews.org/2026/01/supe...
19thnews.org/2026/01/supe...
Supermajority, group organizing women around politics, is shutting down
Founders of the group, which started in 2019, pointed to the legacy of women organizers responding to the Trump administration and how the country thinks about gender.
19thnews.org
January 8, 2026 at 4:41 PM
Supermajority, the nonprofit focused on mobilizing young women, is shutting down, @jennifergerson.bsky.social reports. The organization, co-founded by Cecile Richards, Ai-jen Poo, and Alicia Garza, has been a key player in the women's resistance movement since 2019
19thnews.org/2026/01/supe...
19thnews.org/2026/01/supe...
Supermajority, the nonprofit organization focused on mobilizing women voters, is shutting down.
The group became a key player in the women’s resistance movement after its founding in 2019. All 23 current Supermajority employees will be laid off.
The group became a key player in the women’s resistance movement after its founding in 2019. All 23 current Supermajority employees will be laid off.
Supermajority, group organizing women around politics, is shutting down
Founders of the group, which started in 2019, pointed to the legacy of women organizers responding to the Trump administration and how the country thinks about gender.
bit.ly
January 8, 2026 at 5:10 PM
Supermajority, the nonprofit organization focused on mobilizing women voters, is shutting down.
The group became a key player in the women’s resistance movement after its founding in 2019. All 23 current Supermajority employees will be laid off.
The group became a key player in the women’s resistance movement after its founding in 2019. All 23 current Supermajority employees will be laid off.
Reposted by 19thnews
Detroit entered a new year with the same winter math: fixed incomes that don’t stretch, heat that costs more than many seniors can safely afford and food in their homes that runs out before the month does.
Story from @19thnews.org
Story from @19thnews.org
Detroit’s seniors are facing a winter crisis most people never see • Michigan Advance
This story was originally reported by Ebony JJ Curry of The 19th. Meet Ebony and read more of their reporting on gender, politics and policy. Detroit entered a new year with the same winter math: fixe...
michiganadvance.com
January 8, 2026 at 4:39 PM
Detroit entered a new year with the same winter math: fixed incomes that don’t stretch, heat that costs more than many seniors can safely afford and food in their homes that runs out before the month does.
Story from @19thnews.org
Story from @19thnews.org
Reposted by 19thnews
Elon Musk, the owner of X, announced a new feature with a post on Christmas Eve encouraging users to try editing images and videos with Grok. Then, a few weeks later, many women noticed something disturbing online: a flood of AI-generated sexualized images of them on the social media platform X.
Women and children are being digitally undressed on social media
X users are asking the platform's AI chatbot, Grok, to create sexualized images before new legal protections take effect.
19thnews.org
January 8, 2026 at 3:22 PM
Elon Musk, the owner of X, announced a new feature with a post on Christmas Eve encouraging users to try editing images and videos with Grok. Then, a few weeks later, many women noticed something disturbing online: a flood of AI-generated sexualized images of them on the social media platform X.
Reposted by 19thnews
still seeing a lot of chatter about grok and not a lot on how to deal with being targeted. i wrote this last year and it has details on how to document abuse and who to go to for help removing images. 19thnews.org/2025/05/take...
Here’s how you can use the Take It Down Act
The 19th explains how the new law on nonconsensual intimate imagery will be implemented — and how you can request the takedown of explicit images created or shared without permission.
19thnews.org
January 8, 2026 at 12:02 AM
still seeing a lot of chatter about grok and not a lot on how to deal with being targeted. i wrote this last year and it has details on how to document abuse and who to go to for help removing images. 19thnews.org/2025/05/take...
Women reflect on the toll of the Eaton Fire and the destruction it brought to their community of Altadena, a multicultural haven for generations.
'I just really want my home back'
Women reflect on the toll of the Eaton Fire and the destruction it brought to their community of Altadena, a multicultural haven for generations.
bit.ly
January 7, 2026 at 11:56 PM
Women reflect on the toll of the Eaton Fire and the destruction it brought to their community of Altadena, a multicultural haven for generations.
Reposted by 19thnews
Three children’s hospitals are under federal investigation for providing gender-affirming care to trans youth
This stems from RFK Jr. saying that, under his authority as health secretary, he can unilaterally decide that gender-affirming care is not a safe and effective treatment
This stems from RFK Jr. saying that, under his authority as health secretary, he can unilaterally decide that gender-affirming care is not a safe and effective treatment
Three hospitals are under investigation for providing gender-affirming care to trans youth
In Washington state, Colorado, and Minnesota, children’s hospitals are facing federal scrutiny over care that’s legal under state law.
19thnews.org
January 7, 2026 at 3:48 PM
Three children’s hospitals are under federal investigation for providing gender-affirming care to trans youth
This stems from RFK Jr. saying that, under his authority as health secretary, he can unilaterally decide that gender-affirming care is not a safe and effective treatment
This stems from RFK Jr. saying that, under his authority as health secretary, he can unilaterally decide that gender-affirming care is not a safe and effective treatment
Centers are confronting financial strain, restrictive regulations and resistance from hospitals.
From @stateline.org:
From @stateline.org:
Freestanding birth centers are closing as maternity care gaps grow
Centers are confronting financial strain, restrictive regulations and resistance from hospitals.
19thnews.org
January 7, 2026 at 8:57 PM
Centers are confronting financial strain, restrictive regulations and resistance from hospitals.
From @stateline.org:
From @stateline.org:
Reposted by 19thnews
I appreciate the @glaad.bsky.social nomination for this story, which is part of my larger series on detransition
Detransition is rare, but it’s driving anti-trans policy anyway
Many people who detransition are still gender non-conforming — and their experiences are more complex than gender-affirming care bans suggest.
19thnews.org
January 7, 2026 at 5:47 PM
I appreciate the @glaad.bsky.social nomination for this story, which is part of my larger series on detransition
“It is a big trauma to lose everything that you have at 10 years old.”
When Erin Williams Tyler and her son evacuated their home in Altadena, California, they only had about 30 minutes to grab what they could. Everything else was burned in the Eaton Fire.
When Erin Williams Tyler and her son evacuated their home in Altadena, California, they only had about 30 minutes to grab what they could. Everything else was burned in the Eaton Fire.
‘He knows it is gone’: What it’s like to parent through the Los Angeles wildfires
Mothers are helping their children cope with the loss of safety and stability — even as they are grappling with it themselves.
bit.ly
January 7, 2026 at 7:55 PM
“It is a big trauma to lose everything that you have at 10 years old.”
When Erin Williams Tyler and her son evacuated their home in Altadena, California, they only had about 30 minutes to grab what they could. Everything else was burned in the Eaton Fire.
When Erin Williams Tyler and her son evacuated their home in Altadena, California, they only had about 30 minutes to grab what they could. Everything else was burned in the Eaton Fire.
Reposted by 19thnews
Gender-affirming care for trans youth is legal in all 3 states. But HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. last month announced that medical practitioners who provide gender-affirming care to minors are out of compliance w federal health care standards. Now, the agency is enforcing that declaration.
Three hospitals are under investigation for providing gender-affirming care to trans youth
In Washington state, Colorado, and Minnesota, children’s hospitals are facing federal scrutiny over care that’s legal under state law.
19thnews.org
January 7, 2026 at 5:37 PM
Gender-affirming care for trans youth is legal in all 3 states. But HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. last month announced that medical practitioners who provide gender-affirming care to minors are out of compliance w federal health care standards. Now, the agency is enforcing that declaration.
The administration previously pressured hospitals to halt gender-affirming care by threatening to revoke federal funding, which worked in many cases, but these Health and Human Services investigations mark a new escalation.
Three hospitals are under investigation for providing gender-affirming care to trans youth
In Washington state, Colorado, and Minnesota, children’s hospitals are facing federal scrutiny over care that’s legal under state law.
19thnews.org
January 7, 2026 at 3:42 PM
The administration previously pressured hospitals to halt gender-affirming care by threatening to revoke federal funding, which worked in many cases, but these Health and Human Services investigations mark a new escalation.
Reposted by 19thnews
“It kind of just reminds you of how fragile things are and any disruption to whatever is already happening, whether it’s SNAP, whether it’s our program, whether it’s your Social Security check, it all has a huge impact."
Ebony JJ Curry reports for @19thnews.org.
Ebony JJ Curry reports for @19thnews.org.
Detroit’s seniors are facing a winter crisis most people never see
Older women are more vulnerable to hunger, unsafe cold and isolation. They’re also reluctant to reach out for help.
19thnews.org
January 6, 2026 at 5:58 PM
“It kind of just reminds you of how fragile things are and any disruption to whatever is already happening, whether it’s SNAP, whether it’s our program, whether it’s your Social Security check, it all has a huge impact."
Ebony JJ Curry reports for @19thnews.org.
Ebony JJ Curry reports for @19thnews.org.
Reposted by 19thnews
If you’re still processing the news about a new childhood vaccine schedule and what it might mean for you and your family — like whether you can still access vaccines that aren’t broadly recommended anymore by the federal government — here’s what we know: 19thnews.org/2026/01/cdc-...
What does the new childhood vaccine schedule actually mean for your family?
Officials say not much will change. Experts aren't so sure.
19thnews.org
January 6, 2026 at 11:12 PM
If you’re still processing the news about a new childhood vaccine schedule and what it might mean for you and your family — like whether you can still access vaccines that aren’t broadly recommended anymore by the federal government — here’s what we know: 19thnews.org/2026/01/cdc-...
The court ruled that the law, along with another banning abortion except to protect the life of the pregnant person or in cases of rape or incest, violates the state constitution. https://bit.ly/4jwV96S
January 6, 2026 at 10:19 PM
The court ruled that the law, along with another banning abortion except to protect the life of the pregnant person or in cases of rape or incest, violates the state constitution. https://bit.ly/4jwV96S
Federal officials claim the altered vaccine schedule will not impact vaccine access for the general public. But medical groups say they’re still determining how it might impact long-term vaccine supply, access and insurance coverage.
What does the new childhood vaccine schedule actually mean for your family?
Officials say not much will change. Experts aren't so sure.
19thnews.org
January 6, 2026 at 8:58 PM
Federal officials claim the altered vaccine schedule will not impact vaccine access for the general public. But medical groups say they’re still determining how it might impact long-term vaccine supply, access and insurance coverage.
1/ Ashli Babbitt's death at the Capitol on January 6, 2021, gave Trump’s Make America Great Again movement something it needed: a martyr.
Her death became part of a larger narrative — one designed to accomplish a political goal, not mourn the victims.
Her death became part of a larger narrative — one designed to accomplish a political goal, not mourn the victims.
How Trump turned a January 6 death into the politics of ‘protecting women’
Ashli Babbitt was killed while trying to overturn the results of the 2020 election — and became proof to Trump and his followers that women need protection.
19thnews.org
January 6, 2026 at 8:28 PM
1/ Ashli Babbitt's death at the Capitol on January 6, 2021, gave Trump’s Make America Great Again movement something it needed: a martyr.
Her death became part of a larger narrative — one designed to accomplish a political goal, not mourn the victims.
Her death became part of a larger narrative — one designed to accomplish a political goal, not mourn the victims.