On Monday, the US Supreme Court heard oral arguments on Texas’s law prohibiting abortions after six weeks, a near-total ban. The pair of cases—Whole Woman’s Health v. Jackson and United States v. Texas—were marathon sessions with little mention of the thousands of people who have already faced the consequences of the ban. Amid a lot […]
Author: Andrea Guzman
The Trump Administration Used Its Food Aid Program for Political Gain, Congressional Investigators Find
This story was originally published by ProPublica. A $6 billion federal program created to provide fresh produce to families affected by the pandemic was mismanaged and used by the Trump administration for political gain, a new congressional report has found. As a ProPublica investigation revealed last spring and as the new report further details, the […]
Mexico’s Underground Abortion Networks Prepare for Pregnant People Fleeing From Texas
Twenty years ago, when MC was a teenager growing up in Tamaulipas, Mexico, she helped her friend get an illegal abortion. The two girls had heard about a local man who sold medications to end pregnancies, so they went together to meet him. He gave MC’s friend pills and a mysterious injection. It worked: MC’s […]
In an Emotional Hearing, Lawmakers Share Their Own Abortion Stories
During a Thursday House Oversight Committee hearing about state laws blocking abortion access, representatives shared personal stories about their abortions in condemnation of SB 8, the Texas law that serves as a near-total ban on abortion. Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO) talked about a church trip she took the summer after graduating high school during which […]
Heeding Steve Bannon’s Call, Election Deniers Organize to Seize Control of the GOP—and Reshape America’s Elections
This story was originally published by ProPublica. One of the loudest voices urging Donald Trump’s supporters to push for overturning the presidential election results was Steve Bannon. “We’re on the point of attack,” Bannon, a former Trump adviser and far-right nationalist, pledged on his popular podcast on Jan. 5. “All hell will break loose tomorrow.” […]
This Former Pastor Is Changing Evangelicals’ Minds on COVID Vaccines
When Curtis Chang heard that many evangelical Christians were reluctant to get vaccinated against COVID-19, he suspected he could help. A former pastor who now consults on strategy and planning for governments and nonprofits, Chang knew he could mobilize pastors to educate and encourage their congregations. So earlier this year, Chang, who also serves on […]
How Unemployment Insurance Fraud Exploded During the Pandemic
This story was originally published by ProPublica. A Bronx man allegedly received $1.5 million in just ten months. A California real estate broker raked in more than $500,000 within half a year. A Nigerian government official is accused of pocketing over $350,000 in less than six weeks. What they all had in common, according to […]
An Anti-Tobacco Hero’s Complicated Legacy
This article was originally published by Undark and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. Not many scientists have fought harder against smoking than Stanton Glantz. As a professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco and founding director of its Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education, Glantz led […]
I Talked to the Guy Who Makes Papel Picado That Says “F*ck Greg Abbott”
In May, after Texas passed a restrictive abortion law, San Antonio artist Rafael Gonzales Jr. decided to create papel picado. Typically, this means tissue paper banners that are placed on altars for Day of the Dead celebrations or hung as street decoration. Gonzales, instead, retrofitted the papel picado into yard signs and T-shirts with a […]
Telehealth Should Be Here to Stay
Since the arrival of COVID-19, our lives have shifted in ways big and small. Most likely, the pandemic will not end with a bang—we’ll be dealing with some version of it for years to come. As we slowly adapt to our new normal, we’ll embrace some changes and resent others. A few of us at Mother […]