Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Emily Ramshaw @eramshaw.bsky.social · 15h

Some Democrats, along with Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, have charged there’s another reason Grijalva’s swearing-in has been delayed: the Epstein files. 19thnews.org/2025/10/epst...

The standoff over the Epstein files — and the new congresswoman caught in the middle

Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva of Arizona, who won her election two weeks ago, would be the final signature needed to pass a resolution directing the Justice Department to release documents on Epstein.

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Emily Ramshaw @eramshaw.bsky.social · 15h

In 2000, during his short-lived bid for the Reform Party’s presidential nomination, Trump touted to LGBTQ+ magazine The Advocate that his New York upbringing instilled in him a kind of tolerance.

19thnews.org/2025/10/trum...

Was Trump always against LGBTQ+ rights? Everything in his past says no.

The president’s previous support is at odds with his anti-trans hostility now. What’s behind the shift?

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Emily Ramshaw @eramshaw.bsky.social · 1d

In our annual 19th News/SurveyMonkey poll, we can look at results by generation and gender. One dynamic jumps out over and over: Gen Z women are the most liberal group in the country.

Gen Z women are the most liberal group in the country

On issues like abortion and gender-affirming care, women 28 and younger skew substantially more left than the national average.

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Emily Ramshaw @eramshaw.bsky.social · 1d

All menopause treatments containing estrogen — including pills, patches, spray and creams — have since 2003 carried a black box warning, the strongest class of warning issued by the FDA on medication.

The black box warning on menopause treatments could change. Here’s why.

The FDA chief has indicated he’s interested in altering the warning on hormone therapies with estrogen. Experts say it’s complicated.

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Emily Ramshaw @eramshaw.bsky.social · 1d

“My biggest fear is going to the hospital,” she said.

Extraordinary reporting and storytelling by Mel Leonor Barclay and @shefali.bsky.social for @19thnews.org.

19thnews.org/2025/10/preg...

ICE fears put pregnant immigrants and their babies at risk

Fear of deportation is deterring people without permanent legal status from critical care. Doctors are worried for their health — and the health of their pregnancies.

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Emily Ramshaw @eramshaw.bsky.social · 2d

Chiles v. Salazar, brought by Christian counselor Kaley Chiles, seeks to overturn Colorado’s ban on conversion therapy, a pseudoscientific practice in which providers attempt to change a youth’s sexual orientation or gender identity, often through extremely harsh methods.

The UN calls conversion therapy 'torture.' Could the Supreme Court greenlight it anyway?

In the first of three blockbuster LGBTQ+ cases on its docket this term, the Supreme Court is about to hear a challenge to Colorado’s conversion therapy ban.

19thnews.org

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Emily Ramshaw @eramshaw.bsky.social · 5d

“I do this not just for myself, but for every mother, father, child, grandparent, sister, brother, boyfriend, husband, wife, friend, artist, intern, employee and assistant, who sacrificed for a man who only abused them in return."

'We heard you': Judge addresses victims after handing Sean 'Diddy' Combs a 4-year sentence

Prosecutors sought an 11-year sentence for Combs to “reflect the substantial psychological, emotional and physical damage he has inflicted.”

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Emily Ramshaw @eramshaw.bsky.social · 5d

“In the end, it comes back to the mother,” she said. “Whether you tell her now, don’t take Tylenol … it comes back to putting such an enormous burden on the mother.”

@bcrodriguez.bsky.social + @slooterman.bsky.social's latest for @19thnews.org.

This isn't the first time moms have been blamed for their kids' autism

One of the earliest theories of autism is centered on “refrigerator mothers.” Echoes of it can be found in plans to Make America Healthy Again.

19thnews.org

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Emily Ramshaw @eramshaw.bsky.social · 6d

Ninety-nine percent of incidents in the report, which looks at data from 2014 to 2020, involved a man shooting a woman. Men make up 87 percent of suicides by firearm in the United States.

Shooting his partner, then himself: How firearm access fuels domestic violence tragedies

States with strong gun control laws had three times fewer incidents of domestic violence homicide-suicide, according to a report shared exclusively with The 19th.

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Emily Ramshaw @eramshaw.bsky.social · 7d

Her research revealed how the primates raised their young, established hierarchy in their familial groups and used tools — which up until that point scientists believed was exclusive to humans.

Jane Goodall lived her childhood dream

Famous for studying the behavior of chimpanzees, one of the most renowned women conservationists in the world has died at 91.

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Emily Ramshaw @eramshaw.bsky.social · 7d

With 23 bans, “A Clockwork Orange” by Anthony Burgess was the most censored book over the past year.

These women are among the top five most banned authors in schools

From horror to manga, PEN America reports thousands of books are being pulled from school shelves, with three southern states leading the pack.

19thnews.org

Emily Ramshaw @eramshaw.bsky.social · 7d

Women held without a conviction represent 60 percent of the country’s local jail population, and 80 percent of women in jails are mothers, according to analysis by the Prison Policy Initiative.

Trump says ending cash bail endangers women. Advocates say it protects them.

Recent reforms now require safety risk assessments when considering pretrial release from jail. These can benefit women on multiple levels, from those accused of crimes to survivors of gender-based vi...

19thnews.org

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Emily Ramshaw @eramshaw.bsky.social · 7d

He announced 10 new directives that would shift the military’s culture away from what he called “woke garbage” and toward a “warrior ethos.”

In a room full of men, Hegseth called for a military culture shift from ‘woke’ to ‘warrior’

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth convened hundreds of commanders and decried diversity in the military’s ranks.

19thnews.org

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Emily Ramshaw @eramshaw.bsky.social · 8d

Only 2 percent of Americans say abortion is their top concern, according to a new 19th News/SurveyMonkey poll, down from 7 percent in the same poll a year ago and 5 percent in 2023.

Abortion’s most motivated voters went from defenders to opponents

A 19th News/SurveyMonkey poll suggests that abortion rights supporters are now less likely to prioritize the issue.

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Emily Ramshaw @eramshaw.bsky.social · 8d

Thrilled to see @msnbc.com talk with @slooterman.bsky.social over the weekend about an important story that her beat — as @19thnews.org's disability and aging reporter — makes her uniquely qualified to speak on.

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Emily Ramshaw @eramshaw.bsky.social · 8d

“All these women leaving work during midlife, during perimenopause — it’s not a coincidence, right? It’s because they are struggling and they have no way to get around it."

Check out the first edition of our menopause newsletter and then subscriber to get the next one sent to your inbox!

Menopause, mental health and a little Neko Case

Welcome to the first edition of The 19th's new menopause newsletter.

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Emily Ramshaw @eramshaw.bsky.social · 8d

This newsletter is for you. And for me… and everyone else experiencing perimenopause and entering midlife. @jennifergerson.bsky.social + @19thnews.org's first edition is out today. Sign up for the newsletter today so you don’t miss the next.

Menopause, without the noise

We’re talking about it, in your inbox every Tuesday.

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Emily Ramshaw @eramshaw.bsky.social · 8d

“The message from my church was: ‘You find a man, you marry a man, you have his babies, you stay married forever, whether you’re happy or not,’” she says. “Look around and pick a man,” they would tell her.

19thnews.org/2025/09/cons...

After years of repression, conservative Christian lesbians are coming out

When raised in environments that promote compulsive heterosexuality and patriarchy, how do lesbian women unravel what they want and who they are?

19thnews.org

Emily Ramshaw @eramshaw.bsky.social · 8d

“Intentionally or not, Trump is adding weight to this burden that women are already carrying as family health managers,” she said. 19thnews.org/2025/09/cons...

After years of repression, conservative Christian lesbians are coming out

When raised in environments that promote compulsive heterosexuality and patriarchy, how do lesbian women unravel what they want and who they are?

19thnews.org

Emily Ramshaw @eramshaw.bsky.social · 8d

Every shutdown is different, and there’s a lot we won’t know until it starts and federal agencies begin to furlough workers. Past shutdowns have impacted national parks, which continued to admit visitors in some cases but stopped many services and closed buildings.

How a government shutdown could impact federal workers and lower-income families

The 19th explains what a looming shutdown could mean for health care, nutrition and early-education benefits for thousands of families.

19thnews.org

Emily Ramshaw @eramshaw.bsky.social · 9d

Could not be more delighted to report that my dear friend and @19thnews.org board member Sarah Adler Hartman is the next CEO of my beloved alma mater @texastribune.org. An enormous thank you to her predecessor Sonal Shah! Congrats to the whole team!

www.axios.com/local/austin...

Texas Tribune's new CEO comes from the New York Times

Current CEO Sonal Shah announced in April that she would step down.

www.axios.com

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Emily Ramshaw @eramshaw.bsky.social · 9d

The first edition of our menopause newsletter comes out tomorrow!! Don't miss it. Sign up today! 19thnews.org/newsletters/...

Menopause, without the noise

We’re talking about it, in your inbox every Tuesday.

19thnews.org

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Emily Ramshaw @eramshaw.bsky.social · 9d

“To have to pay attention and not sit near a door in a restaurant or move to the other side of the church where you don’t normally sit and to always be looking over your shoulder and concerned, it is just not a way to live.”

@candicenorwood.bsky.social' latest for @19thnews.org.

'Not a way to live': AI is fueling violent threats against women judges

Florida judge Jennifer Johnson said that an AI video depicting her death terrified her children and highlighted security gaps for state judges.

19thnews.org

Emily Ramshaw @eramshaw.bsky.social · 12d

She was a member of the Black Liberation Army, a Marxist organization that advocated for “armed struggle” to achieve liberation for Black Americans in the 1970s.

Assata Shakur, who wrote and fought for Black liberation, dies at 78

She was a member of the Black Liberation Army and the FBI’s first Most Wanted woman.

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Emily Ramshaw @eramshaw.bsky.social · 12d

Many of those killed were women and children trying to flee the onslaught of bullets from soldiers who had surrounded the camp.

Soldiers who killed men, women and children at Wounded Knee will keep their Medals of Honor

“We’re making it clear that [the soldiers] deserve those medals,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced.

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