The Ugliest of Bills: How Republicans’ Reconciliation Bill Endangers All Children

One of the many dangers of the budget reconciliation package currently before the Senate is its audacity. It is so large, so ugly and so expensive—nothing beautiful to see here—that it can be hard to know how to fight back. 

So much is at risk that, even assuming some of the most talked-about measures, such as Medicaid cuts, are removed or modified in the Senate, it is likely that passage of This Ugliest of Bills (THUG Bill) would still fundamentally harm millions of people.  

Children—citizen and non-citizen—are going to be especially hard hit if this ugliest of bills passes.

A’Lelia Bundles Claims Family History and Black Cultural Legacies With New Book ‘Joy Goddess’

“Langston Hughes called [A’Lelia Walker] the ‘Joy Goddess’ of Harlem’s 1920s,” said A’Lelia Bundles, great-great-granddaughter of Madam C.J. Walker and author of Joy Goddess: A’Lelia Walker and the Harlem Renaissance, out June 11.

“Now, her life was not always happy. But I think his idea was that she used her wealth, her influence and her homes to create a joyful space and a welcoming space for a wide range of people.”

Every Day Should Be No Kings Day

A would-be king wants a coronation on June 14, a date already laden with meaning: Flag Day, the 250th anniversary of the founding of the U.S. Army, and, yes, Donald J. Trump’s 79th birthday. But this year, Americans are refusing to let the day be co-opted.

Across all 50 states, from big cities to small towns, more than 1,800 events are planned to mark what organizers are calling the “No Kings Day of Defiance.” 

Trump Is Gutting Healthcare—But Women’s Health Was Already Disastrously Underfunded

For the past few decades, women’s healthcare has been under increasing attack across the country. Even states like New York, often perceived as a beacon of women’s healthcare, are backsliding, increasingly unable to address women’s health challenges adequately. Indeed, the lack of funding and legislative support isn’t limited to rural areas or red states; it is everywhere.

As the Trump administration threatens to accelerate this decline even further, we must come to terms with how little our cities, states and federal government have valued and prioritized women’s health for more than 30 years and begin fighting back against this renewed assault.

Pregnant in Power: U.S. Rep. Brittany Pettersen Confronts a System Built for Men

In the fight for better policies for mothers and families, Rep. Brittany Pettersen (D-Colo.) has also had to fight to have her own voice heard on Capitol Hill.

Last October, five months pregnant with her second child, Pettersen proposed a change to the House Rules Committee for “a narrow exception to the prohibition on proxy voting” that would allow members of Congress to vote by proxy while on parental leave, a push begun by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) after giving birth to her first child in 2023. This would have ensured, Petterson said in a recent interview with Ms., that as a member of Congress, “you’re able to have your voice, your constituents’ voices represented” during a critical time for your family and health.

Illinois Lawmakers Pursue Creative Path to Protect Mifepristone Access—Even if FDA Revokes Approval

While antiabortion extremists work to eliminate mifepristone from the shelves—and the FDA faces mounting antiabortion political pressure to revoke its approval—Illinois lawmakers are fighting back with a legal firewall: a first-of-its-kind bill to keep abortion pills on the market, even if the Trump administration bans them.

The Illinois General Assembly has passed HB 3637, legislation allowing clinicians to prescribe drugs removed from the FDA’s approved list—as long as the World Health Organization still recommends them. Under the bill, Illinois clinicians could continue prescribing and dispensing the abortion medication mifepristone—even if the Trump administration rolls back the FDA’s longstanding approval of the medication. The legislation now awaits the signature of Illinois Governor J.D. Pritzker.

Ms. Global: Police Target Georgian Women Protesters, Dominican Republic Deports Pregnant Haitian Women, and More

The U.S. ranks as the 19th most dangerous country for women, 11th in maternal mortality, 30th in closing the gender pay gap, 75th in women’s political representation, and painfully lacks paid family leave and equal access to health care. But Ms. has always understood: Feminist movements around the world hold answers to some of the U.S.’s most intractable problems. Ms. Global is taking note of feminists worldwide.

This week: News from South Korea, Mexico, Poland, Australia and more.

Trump Is Creating Unique Problems for Gen Z

Since November, much of the media coverage of this most recent election cycle has focused on Gen Z—especially the Gen Z gender gap, and how young men in particular seem to be swinging further and further right.

At the same time, Gen Z (born between the mid 1990s and the early 2010s, so around ages 13 to 28 in 2025) is the most diverse generation in American history… which might be why so many of the Trump administration’s recent actions, like attacks on higher ed, seem to be targeting Gen Z specifically.

‘It’s Always Been Me and the Boys’: How Guaranteed Income Is Helping Black Mothers Build Stronger Families and Futures

Now in its fourth year, Front & Center is a groundbreaking Ms. series amplifying the voices of Black women navigating poverty—highlighting their struggles, resilience and dreams as they care for their families, build careers and challenge systems not built for their success.

“Every Friday, my boys and I have a special ritual. We go get snow cones and head to the snow park. We walk around, talk about our week and do affirmations. We discuss what we can do better, with each other and for ourselves. If I messed up, they let me know, and we talk about it. If I feel like they need to improve, we discuss that, too. …

“I dream of going back to school and finishing my criminal justice degree. I fell short because of hard times. But I’m going back this year! I want to make my kids proud. If I can do it, they can do it, too. It’s not easy, but it’s not hard, either. You just have to push. As long as you have that mindset, you’re going to make it.”

Four States Urge FDA to Follow Science and Remove Abortion Pill Restrictions

Attorneys general of four states—Massachusetts, California, New Jersey and New York—asked the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Thursday, June 5, to lift long-standing restrictions on the medication mifepristone. The drug is used in approximately two-thirds of abortions in the United States.

The petition came just three days after the FDA commissioner Marty Makary announced his decision to “review” the agency’s regulation of mifepristone after previously stating he had no plans to restrict the medication.

“Given mifepristone’s 25-year safety record, there is simply no scientific or medical reason to subject it to such extraordinary restrictions,” said New York Attorney General Letitia James. “New Yorkers, and all Americans, deserve access to this safe, effective and essential medication without burdensome, unjustified restrictions. The FDA must follow the science and lift these unnecessary barriers that put patients at risk and push providers out of care.”