12 Of Victoria Monét’s Most Iconic Beauty MomentsAfter years of writing hit songs for award-winning artists—including Chloe x Halle, BLACKPINK, and Ariana Grande—Victoria Monét did us all a favor by blessing us with her angelic vocals. Going […] TheEssence · May 1, 2026
Recapping a busy week at the courtPlus, the latest on tariff refunds and redistricting in Louisiana.SCOTUSblog · May 1, 2026
‘We’re gonna hang strong’: Black women in Congress face the next voting rights fightRep. Terri Sewell grew up steeped in the history of the Civil Rights Movement in Selma. She’s represented Alabama’s 7th District for over 15 years, one of the few Black women in Congress from the DeepThe 19th · May 1, 2026
Trans people could soon be banned from homeless sheltersThe Trump administration’s push to exclude transgender Americans is moving to the nation’s homeless shelters. On Tuesday, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) introduced a proposed ruThe 19th · May 1, 2026
Now That A Sequel Has Been Confirmed, Here’s What We Want To See In The Next Installment Of ‘Michael’At press time, Michael is still dominating theaters across the country. Audiences (especially our people) showed up in full, drawn by the music, the performances, and the chance to see […] The post NoEssence · May 1, 2026
Nepal: Balen Government Should Bring Human Rights ReformsClick to expand Image Nepal’s prime minister, Balendra Shah, takes the oath of office, Kathmandu, March 27, 2026. © 2026 Niranjan Shrestha/AP Photo (Geneva) – Nepal’s recently elected Rastriya SwatantHuman Rights Watch · May 1, 2026
Voices From Dilley: The Stolen Ordinary of Detained ChildrenIn 2026, the "ordinary" lives of immigrant children are being systematically dismantled. After family detention was largely phased out in 2021, the second Trump administration has revived the practiceMs. Magazine · Apr 30, 2026
The Gun Crisis Is a Maternal Health Crisis. Virginia Shows What a Comprehensive Response Looks Like.When the shots rang out at the Washington Hilton, it had not even been a week since the nation mourned the eight children shot dead in Shreveport, La., seven of whom were the gunman’s own. Two women, Ms. Magazine · Apr 30, 2026
Connecticut Senate Approves More Towing Reforms, Expanding on Landmark 2025 LegislationThe post Connecticut Senate Approves More Towing Reforms, Expanding on Landmark 2025 Legislation appeared first on ProPublica .ProPublica · Apr 30, 2026
Trump’s Budget Plunders Birth Control and Reproductive Health Programs—With Open Derision for Americans Who Need ThemTitle X is the federal program that funds family planning and reproductive health services nationwide—and under President Donald Trump’s proposed budget for 2027, it would be effectively eliminated, rMs. Magazine · Apr 30, 2026
Who gets to speak for mothers of autistic children?Self-described “MAHA moms” — who embrace the Make America Healthy Again movement — spoke about unsubstantiated treatments for autism and discredited theories this week as part of a key government adviThe 19th · Apr 30, 2026
What ‘The Pitt’ Got Right and Wrong About a Major Pregnancy RiskThe Emmy award-winning medical drama The Pitt closed its second season with a storyline about a parient with preeclampsia, a hypertensive disorder of pregnancy most identified through high blood pressMs. Magazine · Apr 30, 2026
The Best Gifts Under $100 For The Stylish MomsMother’s Day is the perfect moment to show appreciation for the women who do it all. And, contrary to popular belief, thoughtful gifting does not have to come with a […] The post The Best Gifts Under Essence · Apr 30, 2026
Trump pulls his support for MAHA influencer as surgeon generalPresident Donald Trump on Thursday withdrew his nomination of Casey Means, a wellness influencer, for surgeon general after key Senate Republicans declined to support her. Means, a doctor without an aThe 19th · Apr 30, 2026
The Best Looks From The Billboard Women In Music AwardsLast night, the 2026 Billboard Women in Music Awards—held at Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles—honored the most influential voices in the music industry. Additionally, hosted by Keke Palmer, who was Essence · Apr 30, 2026
The pesticide revolt uniting Democrats and MAHA activists scores a winThe Make America Healthy Again, or MAHA, movement notched a win Thursday when the House voted to strip a pesticides provision from the farm bill. The amendment was introduced by Rep. Anna Paulina LunThe 19th · Apr 30, 2026
Transgender Idahoans sue over law that criminalizes using bathrooms that align with gender identitySix transgender Idahoans on Thursday sued to attempt to prevent from going into effect a new state law that criminalizes transgender people using bathrooms that align with their gender identity, incluThe 19th · Apr 30, 2026
Why Trump Can’t Just Decree Changes to Voting by Mail: Former Federal Judge Explains How the President’s EO Is ‘a Solution Looking for a Problem’John Jones knows about voter suppression. Currently the president of Dickinson College, Jones—nominated in 2002 by President George W. Bush and confirmed unanimously by the U.S. Senate—served for almoMs. Magazine · Apr 30, 2026
Court unanimously sides with faith-based pregnancy centers in litigation dispute with New JerseyThe Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled in First Choice Women’s Resource Centers v. Davenport that a group of faith-based pregnancy centers can litigate their challenge to New Jersey’s demands for informSCOTUSblog · Apr 30, 2026
Safe abortion pills, close to home: Evidence from NigeriaIn many parts of Nigeria, the nearest clinic is hours away. For women who need abortion care, that distance is not just inconvenient. It can be the difference between accessing safe care and not accesIpas · Apr 30, 2026
Amid Escalating Attacks on the Voting Rights Act and U.S. Democracy in Crisis, Lani Guinier’s Vision Feels More Urgent Than EverLani Guinier’s birthday was earlier this month. She would have been 76 years old. And as I find myself doing each year, I return not just to her work—which speaks powerfully on its own—but to the momeMs. Magazine · Apr 30, 2026
The Federal SAVE Act Will Likely Die in the Senate. But in Florida, It’s Already Law: AnalysisAfter the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act, Florida approved a new gerrymandered congressional map. Coupled with a law modeled on the federal SAVE Act, it could disenfranchise hundreds of thRewire News Group · Apr 30, 2026
Op-Ed: I Built The Business, Secured The Contracts, And Earned The Respect—But I Was Losing Myself In The ProcessAt the height of my success, I was totally depleted. My days started with the phone ringing before the sun came up. Either a driver had called out, or a […] The post Op-Ed: I Built The Business, SecuEssence · Apr 30, 2026
The Only Products You Really Need for Locs—No, SeriouslyThere’s a moment every loc wearer hits: standing in the beauty aisle, overwhelmed, wondering if you need all of this to take care of your hair. You don’t. Locs are […] The post The Only Products You REssence · Apr 30, 2026
Maine Gov. Mills drops out of Senate raceMaine Gov. Janet Mills suspended her campaign for Senate, saying that she didn’t have the money needed to run. Mills was trailing in all primary polls against fellow Democrat Graham Platner, who is aThe 19th · Apr 30, 2026
Court decides major Voting Rights Act casePlus, the justices heard argument on Wednesday on the Trump administration’s effort to revoke temporary protected status from Syrian and Haitian nationals.SCOTUSblog · Apr 30, 2026
Minnesota passes the nation’s first ban on ‘nudification’ appsThe Minnesota Senate on Wednesday passed the country’s first ban on “nudification” apps 65-0, addressing one of the main sources of nonconsensual deepfakes. The bill was passed by the state House lastThe 19th · Apr 30, 2026
Iconic Rap Group Public Enemy To Deliver Career-Spanning Set At ESSENCE Festival 2026In 1985, on the campus of Adelphi University on Long Island, Carlton Ridenhour and William Drayton Jr. (more commonly known as Chuck D and Flava Flav, respectively) connected for the […] The post IconEssence · Apr 30, 2026
Abortion Coverage Limitations in Medicaid and Private Insurance PlansThis brief reviews current federal and state policies on Medicaid and insurance coverage of abortion services in the U.S. and presents national and state estimates on the availability of abortion coveKFF Women's Health Policy · Apr 30, 2026
At Courses Where Black Players Once Fought To Tee Off, This Black-Led Golf Collective Is Proving The Sport Was Always OursGolf has always been clear about who it was built for. The country clubs, the dress codes, the long-running sense that certain people were always welcome while others were merely […] The post At CourEssence · Apr 30, 2026
Influencers are turning baby bumps into business modelsThere’s only one career where having a baby can boost a woman’s career: influencing. Other women in the workforce have to contend with the motherhood penalty, but moms-to-be making a living on social The 19th · Apr 30, 2026
Why We Are Suing the Department of EducationThe post Why We Are Suing the Department of Education appeared first on ProPublica .ProPublica · Apr 30, 2026
Thursday briefing: What new evidence tells us about the reality of racial discrimination in maternity careIn today’s newsletter: Persistent gaps in maternal health outcomes have long been documented, but now a growing body of evidence suggests that racism and deprivation have profound consequences for pThe Guardian Women · Apr 30, 2026
EU Parliament Confirms That ‘Only Yes Means Yes’Click to expand Image A demonstration with the slogan "Without consent, it's rape" takes place in Rome, Italy, on February 28, 2026. © 2026 Andrea Ronchini/NurPhoto via AP Photo The European ParliamenHuman Rights Watch · Apr 30, 2026
In Our Own Voice Denounces Supreme Court Decision Gutting the Voting Rights Act“Today’s decision is a devastating blow to our democracy and Black voters who have fought for generations to have our voices heard and our communities fairly represented.” The post In Our Own Voice DeNational Black Women's RJ Agenda · Apr 30, 2026
Nepal: Transgender Rights Progress StallsNepali authorities have stopped processing applications for transgender people to change their legal gender on identity documents.The authorities’ actions are regressing on years of progress and underHuman Rights Watch · Apr 30, 2026
War on Women Report: Rise of ‘Sleep Porn’; Georgia Midwives Sue for Right to Practice; Louisiana Family Massacre Exposes Deadly Intersection of Domestic Violence and GunsMAGA Republicans are back in the White House, and Project 2025 is their guide: the right-wing plan to turn back the clock on women’s rights, remove abortion access, and force women into roles as wivesMs. Magazine · Apr 29, 2026
Racial considerations in voting rights and immigration policy on the last day of oral argumentToday is the last day of oral argument for the term, capping a very busy week for the justices. On Tuesday evening, six justices and their spouses attended the White House state dinner for King CharleSCOTUSblog · Apr 29, 2026
When Power Protects Abuse: The Architecture of Male Entitlement in CongressWhen survivors of Jeffrey Epstein stood in the Capitol during the State of the Union earlier this year, we were meant to read it as a sign that this Congress takes the sexual exploitation of women andMs. Magazine · Apr 29, 2026
SCOTUS Made It Easier for Anti-Abortion Clinics to Mislead Pregnant Patients: Analysis“Crisis pregnancy centers” offer ideological counseling—not medical care. A Supreme Court ruling in First Choice Women’s Resource Centers v. Platkin may help to stretch the legal and regulatory loophoRewire News Group · Apr 29, 2026
Justice Kagan Sounds the Alarm as Supreme Court Dismantles Voting Rights Protections: ‘Elected Politicians Picking Their Voters’In a 6-3 decision in Callais v. Louisiana on Wednesday, the Supreme Court struck down Louisiana’s current congressional map—drawn after the 2020 census to include a second majority-Black district—and,Ms. Magazine · Apr 29, 2026
Supreme Court decision could undo decades of gains by Black women lawmakersThe U.S. Supreme Court’s decade-long effort to gut the Voting Rights Act reached its “now-completed demolition” with a ruling on Wednesday from its conservative majority in a case related to LouisianaThe 19th · Apr 29, 2026
States in the Resistance Spring 2026: State Wins Protecting LGBTQIA+ and Reproductive Rights, Lowering Child Care Costs, and Giving Us HopeI’m interning at NWLC while attending college in the heart of Tennessee. While I spend my days tracking the ways the Trump administration is jacking up prices for working families, rolling back protecNational Women's Law Center · Apr 29, 2026
BET Icon Debra Lee Debuts New Luxury Handbag LineDebra Lee has nothing left to prove. After serving as Chairman and CEO of BET for 13 years, launching her own organization Leading Women Defined, and holding board seats spanning […] The post BET IconEssence · Apr 29, 2026
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II Reimagines John Creasy In Netflix’s ‘Man on Fire’In the new series Man on Fire, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II stars as the well-known (and conflicted, to say the least) character of John Creasy. The show itself revisits A.J. Quinnell’s […] The post Yahya AbEssence · Apr 29, 2026
Rep. Maxine Dexter and the Girls of San Benito: Investigating the Office of Refugee Resettlement’s Treatment of Pregnant Unaccompanied MinorsU.S. Rep. Maxine Dexter—a physician and member of Congress from Oregon—visited a remote immigration detention center in San Benito, Texas. Her goal: to talk to the girls living there. She wanted to asMs. Magazine · Apr 29, 2026
Sex Workers Remember Victims of Gilgo Beach Killer: ‘Our Sisters’Opinion: The media portrays sex workers as a plot point in Rex Heuermann’s story. But we know violent men, and public conversations should center our voices. The post Sex Workers Remember Victims of GRewire News Group · Apr 29, 2026
This Wellness Retreat With Jhené Aiko Helped Me With BurnoutESSENCE Senior Beauty & Style Editor Akili King believes ‘glow’ is more than skin deep. In The Ritual Report, she shares personal healing practices—from acupuncture for skin and grounding benefits […]Essence · Apr 29, 2026
The final argument dayWednesday is expected to be the final argument day of the 2025-26 term, as well as an opinion day.SCOTUSblog · Apr 29, 2026
Abortion isn’t *the* issue in 2026. But it’s still definitely *an* issue.In Wisconsin, a liberal candidate for state Supreme Court won her April race by 20 points after highlighting her work supporting abortion rights. In Georgia, two liberal candidates running for their sThe 19th · Apr 29, 2026
FIFA: New Rule Recognizes Afghan Women’s TeamClick to expand Image Players of Afghan Women's United football team receive support from Tunisian players after the FIFA Unites: Women's Series 2025 on October 29 in Casablanca, Morocco. © 2025 FrancHuman Rights Watch · Apr 29, 2026
The FACE Act Is Settled Law, Despite Efforts to Reframe ItIn front of the House Judiciary Committee, Prof. Jessica Waters gave a forceful defense of the FACE Act and pushed back on efforts to recast clinic blockades as protected speech. "People should be ablMs. Magazine · Apr 29, 2026
Guttmacher Institute Applauds Legislation to Block Supercharged Global Gag Rule, Calls for Permanent RepealGuttmacher Institute Applauds Legislation to Block Supercharged Global Gag Rule, Calls for Permanent Repeal April 29, 2026 mcherins <time datetime="2026-04-28T14:58:23-06:00" title="Tuesday, April 28,Guttmacher Institute · Apr 28, 2026
Black Hair Takes Center Stage In The ‘Doodle For Google’ ContestA Washington high school student is celebrating the beauty and power of Black hair on a national stage. Thanks to her illustration that centers Black identity through a personal lens, […] The post BlaEssence · Apr 28, 2026
Poor preparation doomed Camp Mystic victims, investigator tells Texas lawmakers in harrowing accountAsked by the Texas Legislature to investigate last summer’s deadly flood at Camp Mystic, Casey Garrett recounted the harrowing early-morning hours as the Guadalupe River surged through cabins and reacThe 19th · Apr 28, 2026
12 Black-Owned Beauty Gifts For Mother’s DayWe’ve all learned a thing or two about beauty from our mothers. How to sit still getting your hair done? Check. How to be quiet while sneaking lipstick from her […] The post 12 Black-Owned Beauty GiftEssence · Apr 28, 2026
SCOTUS Could Make it Easier for Anti-Abortion Clinics to Mislead Pregnant Patients: Analysis“Crisis pregnancy centers” offer ideological counseling, not medical care. A campaign to stretch the legal and regulatory loopholes that allow this deception spans from Kansas to the nation’s highest Rewire News Group · Apr 28, 2026
Oprah Winfrey Is Bringing Her Entire Media Universe To AmazonOprah Winfrey has never been someone who does things small (and she’s got the billions to prove it). At 72, the woman who turned a local Chicago talk show into […] The post Oprah Winfrey Is Bringing HEssence · Apr 28, 2026
How House Of Aama And Nuuly Collaborated To Keep Up With Fashion’s Shifting LandscapeThese days, the algorithm is king. Fashion shows are watched through vertical screens or at livestreamed watch parties for more inclusive, enthused fashion communities. People are resorting to creatinEssence · Apr 28, 2026
Court to consider visa program for farmworkersToday is Justice Elena Kagan’s birthday. Born in 1960 in New York City, Kagan has served on the Supreme Court since 2010.SCOTUSblog · Apr 28, 2026
What is the Comstock Act, the 1873 Law That Could Ban Mailed Abortion Pills?Nearly three dozen anti-abortion groups have called on newly confirmed Attorney General Todd Blanche to dust off a 150-year-old law and use …Rewire News GroupAug 11choice
Built to Withstand Trump-Era Attacks on Mifepristone: New Telehealth Provider Serves All 50 States for Sliding-Scale FeeTelehealth provider At Home Abortion just opened Aug. 11, but the six doctors and nurses running the service have over 100 years combined ex…Ms. MagazineAug 11choice
Is Martha’s Vineyard Only For The Wealthy? Resident India Rose Debunks This And Other Common MythsIn Black America during the summer, there are some guarantees we can (almost) universally agree on: We’re getting invited to at least one al…EssenceAug 10resilience
AOC is freezing her eggs — and sharing the process onlineU.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is taking social media followers behind the scenes as she freezes her eggs. The New York Democrat announc…The 19thAug 10politics
The real-life, offline campaign of Francesca HongMILWAUKEE — State Rep. Francesca Hong, Democratic candidate for governor of Wisconsin, looked out at a crowd of 1,300 supporters. Her earlie…The 19thAug 10politics
‘Even the nuns are mad’: Catholic sisters are standing for Haitians outside ICE officesBLUE ASH, OHIO — The first Haitian immigrant reported to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) field office at 7:42 a.m. on Sunday. …The 19thAug 10immigration
US Activates Long Unused Deportation CourtClick to expand Image An image of US President Donald Trump hangs from the Department of Justice Building in Washington, DC, May 18, 2026. ©…Human Rights WatchAug 10immigration
Massachusetts expands abortion access to any point during pregnancyMassachusetts eliminated its cutoff for when someone can get an abortion, making it the tenth state — along with Washington, D.C. — to allow…The 19thAug 10choice
The Career Ladder Was Never Built With Women In Mind — So We're Building Something ElseTo understand why this is happening now, on a larger scale than ever before, we have to look at what the last few years have revealed.HuffPost WomenAug 10empowerment
The Ritual Report: The Healing Powers Of A Generational Girls TripESSENCE Senior Beauty & Style Editor Akili King believes ‘glow’ is more than skin deep. In The Ritual Report , she shares personal healing p…EssenceAug 10resilience
Todd Blanche Confirmed as Attorney General After Anti-Abortion CommentsPlus: Voters in Kansas and Missouri reject ballot initiatives that may have further curbed abortion access. Each week, Rewire News Group edi…Rewire News GroupAug 10politics
4 Essence Editors On Their Favorite Summer-To-Fall Nail ColorsThere are officially 43 days left of summer (yes, I’m counting and dreading it!). But there’s one thing that makes the gradual transition to…EssenceAug 10equality