More Than A Magazine, A Movement
Beth Osborne, a Las Vegas writer and activist, had an abortion as a teenager. Now, she is working to convince Nevadans to approve Question 6 on their November ballots, which would enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution and preserve safe, legal abortion in the state.
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:
—The Trump administration proposed a rule that would eliminate quality standards for the Head Start preschool program.
—Todd Blanche was confirmed as attorney general, after promising to remove abortion rights nationwide.
—Democrats in the Senate call out Trump administration’s attacks on Title IX and mark its 54th anniversary with a bicameral resolution: “They will fearmonger about trans kids until the sun comes up, but the fact is this administration has all but decimated the Office for Civil Rights at the Department of Education, leaving egregious instances of sexual harassment and assault, and so much else, totally unaddressed.”
—Kindergartener Liam Tadeo and his father, Victor Martinez Nieto, both Austin residents, were detained by ICE on their way to a soccer game and later deported together to Mexico after being held at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center.
—The six recipients of the 2026 Goldman Environmental Prize are all women.
—Voters in battleground states say it’s important that lawmakers protect access to reproductive healthcare.
—At least 152 ICE or CBP agents have faced disciplinary action or criminal penalties for violent crimes.
—Women make up 35 percent of non-acting Emmy Awards, matching the record high.
—Actor Anne Hathaway, currently pregnant with her third child at age 43, faced social media hate and rumors that she faked her pregnancy, after showing her bump on a red carpet.
—Florida professor Vinita Prabhakar was fired for assigning a “political” short story in a freshman English class. The story “Bettering Myself” focuses on an alcoholic teacher at a Catholic school and is commonly taught at colleges across the country. Prabhakar is now suing to uphold her First Amendment rights.
—Aisha Wahab won the special election to replace former Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.), who resigned after sexual assault allegations. Wahab is the first Afghan American elected to Congress, and will be on the ballot for a full term in November.
… and more.
Attorney General Todd Blanche came to Dallas last week to deliver a “law and order” message at Trump’s midterm rally, where he praised the president and promised accountability for people who break the law. His central line was: “To evil men and women in this country, know this: President Trump will hold you accountable.”
A few miles away, survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse and their family were asking why that commitment to accountability had not extended to them.
They gathered inside the Donald J. Trump and Jeffrey Epstein Memorial Reading Room, surrounded by 3,437 bound volumes containing nearly 3.5 million pages released by the Justice Department. The books weigh about 17,000 pounds and stretch across hundreds of feet of shelving, turning a sprawling digital archive into something visitors can see, walk through and begin to comprehend.
The scale of the files is staggering, but survivors said releasing millions of pages is not the same as delivering justice. They are still waiting for the Justice Department to release the remaining records, protect their identities and investigate viable leads involving alleged co-conspirators and enablers.
“Justice that stops when it reaches power is not justice,” survivor Sharlene Rochard said.
The thousands of bound volumes make that unfinished work impossible to ignore.
After completing its Dallas run, the Trump-Epstein Reading Room is back on the road.
With just two months until the midterm elections, voters across party lines are looking for candidates who are willing to take on corruption, hold powerful abusers accountable and demand the full release of the Epstein files.
A new nationwide poll conducted by public opinion research firm GBAO and released Wednesday by COURIER and Reckoning Action found that 88 percent of Americans who plan to vote in the midterms, including 83 percent of Republican voters, will prioritize candidates who promise to hold powerful people accountable, including through the release of the full Epstein files. Justice for Epstein’s victims ranked higher for voters than almost every other issue, including healthcare, affordability, immigration, public safety and the Iran War.
Releasing the Epstein files became a national priority in 2025, as the Trump administration became engrossed in an apparent cover-up of the records, what they contained, and who they might implicate. The most grievous transgressions include secret meetings in the Situation Room; moving Epstein’s convicted co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell to a low-security prison; holding a fake Epstein files release party with far-right media personalities; and closing its investigation into Epstein without additional prosecutions after a hasty review of less than 7 percent of the DOJ’s investigative files.
In lieu of executive accountability, the public turned to Congress. Pressure from voters grew so intense that the bipartisan Epstein Files Transparency Act (EFTA) passed with virtually unanimous support.
But the new polling suggests that voters may now turn to the ballot box to punish those they believe have failed to ensure the law is upheld. To date, only half of the 6 million records from the government’s case files on Epstein have been released, and the U.S. Department of Justice has failed to provide Congress with explanations for redactions and omissions as required by law.
The full release of the Epstein files will take a Congress willing to use its power to force the DOJ to comply with the law, as Attorney General Todd Blanche has stonewalled any attempts to do so. Senate Republicans approved Blanche’s nomination to his role in August, despite pleas from survivors of Epstein’s abuse to reject him. Blanche took lead on the Epstein investigation in 2025, members of Congress currently investigating his handling of the case say his priority has been to protect the president every step of the way.
(Editor’s note: The Donald J. Trump and Jeffrey Epstein Memorial Reading Room—a traveling exhibit that organizes the 3.5 million pages of DOJ’s released Epstein files into 3,437 bound books—is on tour. Five cities will host the full Reading Room; the smaller Bookmobile will visit 20+ more along the way; read on for the full schedule.)
On Wednesday, Sep. 9, a three-judge panel of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans heard oral arguments in Louisiana v. FDA, a lawsuit filed by the Louisiana attorney general seeking to end telehealth abortion nationwide, even in states that protect abortion access.
Since the fall of Roe and a national snapback of abortion rights in a majority of U.S. states, the antiabortion movement has been laser focused on trying to restrict telehealth abortion because it’s increasing in both awareness and popularity, and it allows patients to circumvent state bans.
The 5th Circuit is considered one of the most conservative appeals courts in the country. But the three-judge panel randomly selected to hear Wednesday’s case included two judges appointed by Democratic presidents: Judge Stephen Higginson, appointed by former President Barack Obama; and Judge Dana Douglas, by former President Joe Biden. The third judge, Judy Richman, was appointed by George W. Bush.
During oral arguments, all three judges indicated skepticism about Louisiana’s arguments, starting with Louisiana’s right to bring the case.
While the recent 5th Circuit hearing offers hope that efforts to restrict mifepristone through the courts will not succeed anytime soon, two greater threats remain: Trump’s antiabortion nominee to lead the FDA, Heidi Overton, and Attorney General Todd Blanche’s promise to restrict the mailing of mifepristone under the Comstock Act. (This move would spur immediate lawsuits by Democratic states and manufacturers of mifepristone.)
Meanwhile, abortion rights advocates will never give up in finding new ways to put abortion pills in women’s hands.
MAGA 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 wives and mothers in the “ideal, natural family structure.”
We know an empowered female electorate is essential to democracy. That’s why day after day, we stay vigilant in our goals to dismantle patriarchy at every turn. We are watching, and we refuse to go back. This is the War on Women Report.
Since our last report:
—Under mounting pressure from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Scouting America eliminated dedicated community spaces for LGBTQ+ youth, girls and Scouts of color at its annual 2026 National Jamboree in West Virginia.
—An 18-year-old girl in North Carolina is facing criminal charges after allegedly taking abortion pills 31 weeks into her pregnancy, which prompted her to go into early labor.
—After a controversial two-day confirmation hearing in July, Todd Blanche has been confirmed as the new U.S. attorney general.
—In a win for domestic violence survivors, Rep. Cory Mills (R-Fla.) lost his bid for reelection amid accusations of abuse from women he has dated.
—A groundbreaking new report documents dozens of federal immigration agents who have faced administrative disciplinary action or criminal penalties for violent crimes.
—Ohio’s Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) abruptly ended its policy allowing transgender residents to update the gender marker on their driver’s licenses and state IDs to match their gender identity.
—Chicago mother Keshia Golden, who says she killed her boyfriend in self defense in 2022, accepted a plea deal for involuntary manslaughter, allowing her to avoid jail time.
—Karen Attiah, columnist for The Washington Post, has won her job back, after being fired last year for her comments on race, gender and violence in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s death.
… and more.
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:
—Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) is freezing her eggs and documenting the process on social media to normalize this facet of women’s reproductive healthcare.
—The top brands donating to members of Congress trying to expand ICE’s power include SpaceX, Home Depot, UPS and Walmart.
—Organizations speak out after Lorenzo Salgado Araujo and Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero were shot and killed by federal agents, and Jesús Manuel Arenas-Silva died in ICE custody.
—Epstein survivors warn the Senate not to confirm Todd Blanche as Attorney General.
—The Trump administration continues its attacks on immigrants, students, disabled people, gun control and more.
—Pete Hesgeth blocked the promotion of women Navy officers.
—Nicole Tung won the IWMF’s Anja Niedringhaus Courage in Photojournalism Award.
—Rep. Max Miller (R-Ohio) has been accused of abusing his ex-wife and their young daughter.
—President Trump finally paid E. Jean Carroll $5.6 million for sexually abusing and defaming her.
—84 percent of women’s organizations working in crisis-affected countries say the need for humanitarian services has increased since January 2025, but almost 90 percent don’t have the funding to meet those needs.
—The United States is unique among similar countries, with single mothers participating in the workforce more often than partnered mothers.
… and more.
Sixty-one years ago, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965 into law—one of the most consequential victories of the Civil Rights Movement and a landmark affirmation of the principle that democracy belongs to all of us.
But the Voting Rights Act was not simply handed down from Washington. It was won through years of organizing, resistance and extraordinary courage—by people who marched, registered voters and risked their lives demanding that the federal government enforce a right already promised by the Constitution.
The lesson of Selma is not that the fight was won. It is that our rights survive only when people are willing to defend them.
We are seeing another test of that principle right now in the Senate.
Trump’s nominee for attorney general, Todd Blanche—his former personal defense attorney and now acting attorney general—has spent weeks struggling to secure enough Republican support for confirmation. The Senate Judiciary Committee advanced his nomination this week on a party-line 12-10 vote, only after Blanche made (non-binding) concessions to Republican senators concerned about a proposed $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund connected to a settlement of Trump’s lawsuit against the IRS.
At Ms., we have been following Blanche’s record closely—from his role in the Justice Department’s horrific mishandling of the Jeffrey Epstein files, to his threats involving medication abortion and the Comstock Act, to larger concerns about whether as the nation’s top law enforcement officer he will ensure the independence of the Justice Department and defend the Constitution or the political interests of the president who appointed him.
Blanche’s confirmation is all but assured, with Senate GOP leadership planning to take up his nomination before leaving Washington for its August recess. His confirmation does not resolve the serious questions surrounding his independence—it makes vigilance and accountability all the more important.
Accountability is also at the center of another troubling story unfolding in Washington. Rep. Max Miller (R-Ohio) is facing allegations of domestic violence and child abuse from his former wife. His former father-in-law, Republican Sen. Bernie Moreno, has gone so far as to say Miller should not serve in Congress, while lawmakers and advocates have called for investigation and accountability. The standards we demand from our leaders—and whether institutions are willing to enforce them—tell us something fundamental about whose safety and dignity we value.
These stories may appear very different: the Voting Rights Act, the nomination of a corrupt attorney general, allegations involving a member of Congress. But they are connected by a basic question: What does democracy require? And what does it require of us?
In a party line vote of 12-10, the Senate Judiciary Committee advanced Todd Blanche’s nomination for attorney general on Wednesday; a full Senate vote is expected in the coming days. The vote prompted a wave of criticism from feminist leaders, democracy advocates and Democratic lawmakers, who warned President Donald Trump’s former personal defense attorney has repeatedly demonstrated his loyalty to the president over the Constitution, and could further erode the Justice Department’s independence at a pivotal moment for U.S. democracy, while also threatening access to reproductive healthcare.
“He is not America’s lawyer,” Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) said on the Senate floor. “He is about to become Trump’s sword against his adversaries and shield against any scrutiny.”
“Our Republican colleagues see no evil, hear no evil, and speak no evil,” Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) said during debate.
As the Senate prepared to vote on Todd Blanche’s confirmation as attorney general, another major development emerged, adding fresh urgency to warnings from reproductive rights advocates: A new Politico report reveals Blanche privately pledged antiabortion leaders the DOJ would pursue a crackdown on medication abortion if confirmed with the goal of “the Dobbs decision [becoming] permanent in every single state.”
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche now appears to have the votes to win Senate confirmation after Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana announced Friday morning that he will support President Donald Trump’s former personal attorney to permanently lead the Justice Department.
Cassidy’s announcement came just hours after Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska said she would oppose Blanche, joining Sen. Susan Collins of Maine and briefly putting his confirmation in serious jeopardy. With Republicans holding a 53-47 Senate majority and Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) absent, Blanche could afford to lose only two Republican votes if Democrats remain united against him. Cassidy’s support appears to give Blanche exactly the margin he needs, barring another Republican defection.
Murkowski said Friday that she did not have confidence Blanche would serve as a check on the Trump administration, pointing to the Justice Department’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files, its increasing politicization and the controversial $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization fund” proposed to compensate Trump allies and Jan. 6 defendants.
Cassidy’s decision comes after Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) also agreed to support Blanche following written assurances from the Justice Department that the anti-weaponization fund had been eliminated and that sweeping tax protections included in a settlement involving Trump and his family were limited.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune filed cloture on Blanche’s nomination Wednesday, setting up a path toward a final confirmation vote as senators prepare to leave Washington for the August recess. As of Friday morning, the Senate’s published schedule did not specify a time for the Blanche vote.