Climate Change

Climate change is a global issue we have to address together, both through adaption and prevention. Governments have been slow to respond to the crisis, but climate advocates have continued to push for instrumental change across nations. The affects of climate change are far-reaching—on the global food supply, sea levels, weather pattens and spread of disease—and already disproportionately impact women and poorer nations.

Keeping Score: Federal Judge to DeSantis, ‘It’s the First Amendment, Stupid’; N.Y. Woman Investigated for Pregnancy Loss; Abortion Is #1 Issue for Women Voters Under 30

In every issue of Ms., we track research on our progress in the fight for equality, catalogue can’t-miss quotes from feminist voices and keep tabs on the feminist movement’s many milestones. We’re Keeping Score online, too—in this biweekly roundup.

This week: Abortion is the number one election issue for women under 30; a record-breaking 300,000 Georgians cast their ballots on the first day; equal pay trailblazer Lilly Ledbetter died at age 86; X (Twitter) fails to quickly remove revenge porn; less than 1 percent of U.S. abortions happen after 21 weeks; and more.

Realizing Youth Power: Engaging Youth Beyond Elections

Ever since I could remember, the prevailing narrative about young people and elections has been that they don’t care and don’t vote. As a result, politicians have expressed no obligation to young people and their priorities. Yet, in August, as I watched the Democratic National Convention, I saw something different: Broadcasters and commentators referred to “the youth vote” as a meaningful voting bloc. For the first time, our political discourse was acknowledging the critical role young people have played in the last several elections.

Issues like climate change, reproductive justice, student debt, education and gun violence are life-and-death issues, with clear implications for young people’s daily experiences. Drawing from the work of foster care system and disability justice activists, young leaders rally for “Nothing about us without us.”

(This essay is part of a Women & Democracy multimedia package focused on Gen Z and student voters. The future envisioned by young leaders is bright—it’s built on reproductive rights, bodily autonomy, sustainability, freedom from violence and economic opportunity. Explore essays, a brand-new podcast, videos and more from some of your most loved [or soon to be!] influencers and writers, brought to you by Ms., DoSomething, the nonprofit that helps make volunteerism “cool,” and The Anthem Awards, the social impact arm of The Webbys.)

What to Know About How Hurricanes and Voter Purges Are Affecting Early Voting

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In less than a month, Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton have caused record storm surge and damage in multiple southeastern states, including Florida, North Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee. With Election Day just weeks away (and early voting starting much sooner), will the storms force voters away from the polls in the South?

Meanwhile, the hurricanes aren’t the only challenge facing would-be voters. Right now, voters in states from Texas to Ohio are facing the additional threat of racist voter purges. In the wake of Donald Trump’s baseless comments about migrants in Springfield, Ohio, third-party groups are attempting to challenge voter registration lists with unfounded claims that non-citizen immigrants are voting illegally.

Do You Remember the First Time You Voted?

The first year I could vote, the choices for president were Republican Sen. Barry Goldwater or the incumbent President Lyndon B. Johnson. LBJ won—the largest landslide in U.S. history. Voting for him as a first-time voter felt consequential.

This year, I’ll be voting with two very special first-time voters: my twin granddaughters, in the swing state of Georgia. Our daughters’ and granddaughters’ future is in danger.

Keeping Score: Childcare Costs Top Pre-Pandemic Levels; Sharp Rise in Texas Maternal Mortality; Oct. 3 Marks Latina Equal Pay Day

In every issue of Ms., we track research on our progress in the fight for equality, catalogue can’t-miss quotes from feminist voices and keep tabs on the feminist movement’s many milestones. We’re Keeping Score online, too—in this biweekly roundup.

This week: a Georgia judge strikes down the state’s six-week abortion ban; JD Vance and Tim Walz debate; childcare costs rise after pandemic-era grants expire; Senate Republicans again block IVF protections; school superintendants are overwhelmingly male; Kentucky governor bans conversion therapy; nonbinary adults face violence and discrimination at work; Aisha Nyandoro, founding CEO of Springboard to Opportunities, is on the TIME 100 Next list; University of Pennsylvania professor Dorothy Roberts (host of the Ms. podcast Torn Apart) has won a prestigious MacArthur Foundation “genius” award; and more.

Inside Project 2025’s Secret Training Videos

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Project 2025’s plan to train an army of political appointees who could battle against the so-called deep state government bureaucracy on behalf of a future Trump administration remains on track.

Dozens of never-before-published videos coach future appointees on everything from the nuts and bolts of governing, to how to outwit bureaucrats. There are strategies for avoiding embarrassing Freedom of Information Act disclosures and ensuring that conservative policies aren’t struck down by “left-wing judges.” Some of the content is routine advice that any incoming political appointee might be told. Other segments of the training offer guidance on radically changing how the federal government works and what it does.

The Paranoid and Unhinged Rhetoric of Project 2025

Project 2025 is a wishlist of rightwing policy goals for the next conservative president.

I took a dive into the Project 2025 cesspool and fished out some of the choicest morsels, which I’ve organized into several categories: rebuilding the patriarchal family; ending sex discrimination … against men; reproductive rights and wrongs; demonizing our enemies; oil and gas will save the country; and eliminating government as we know it. Enjoy!

Climate Regulation and Reparations Should Focus on Fair Conditions for Pregnant People and Children

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The climate crisis is already quietly killing millions. It, along with other ecological crises, is set to potentially kill a billion humans and countless nonhumans—those least responsible for causing it. But here is a truth you will rarely hear: The death count predictions are premised on the current reproductive rights models, the ones that caused the crisis to begin with.

The 22 Scariest Lines We Found in Project 2025’s 900-Page ‘Mandate for Leadership’

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Project 2025, the extremist blueprint for the next Republican president, maps out the permanent reversal of more than 50 years of gains for American women and LGBTQ+ people. The authors of Project 2025—80 percent of whom served in the first Trump administration—paint a picture of a nation where women are fundamentally second class citizens.

Project 2025 contains an 887-page policy agenda. We read the whole thing, so you don’t have to. Here are the most terrifying things we found.