The 19th News

06/23/2025

The average cost of child care for a baby exceeds in-state college tuition in 41 states. For families with two kids in child care, it’s more than a mortgage or rent in most states.

06/23/2025

The effort marks a new step in the escalating battle between states over whether and how people in America can get abortions — and to what extent individual states’ laws can influence medical care coming from another.

Doctors are pushing for laws that would make it harder to detect who prescribed abortion pills. They say it would protect them from out-of-state prosecutions.

06/20/2025

In one video, a girl in braces smears 14 products on her face, totaling $350. Her face turns red and becomes inflamed.

“This is what my skin looks like,” she reports. “It is very glowy right now, I love it!”

She then asks viewers how to get it to stop burning because, “it actually hurts a lot.”

Skin care social media influencers increasingly market to young girls. But the costs may outweigh the benefits, according to a new study published in Pediatrics.

Researchers at the Department of Dermatology of Northwestern Medicine analyzed 100 TikTok skin care videos aimed at girls 7-18 between January 2023 and April 2024.

🟣 About a third of the videos were made by kids aged 13 and younger.
🟣 All but one of the content creators were girls.
🟣 Nearly 75 percent of the creators had a light skin tone, researchers said.
🟣 The videos frequently prized skin the researchers associated with whiteness like “glowy,” glossy” and "porcelain."

“Skin care regimens on TikTok are costly, infrequently include sunscreen, and often involve exposure to ingredients that carry a risk of irritation, allergic contact dermatitis, and sun sensitivity,” the study found. “They offer little to no benefit for the pediatric populations they are targeting.”

In total, 260 products were identified in the 100 included videos. The most common ingredients in them were alpha-hydroxy acids, many of which cause skin irritation.

But more alarming, 19 out of the top 25 products contained at least one allergen, most often fragrance and the surfactants decyl glucoside and cocamidopropyl betaine.

On the whole, only 26 percent of the products contained sunscreen, which is recommended by the American Academy of Dermatology and the American Academy of Pediatrics for kids 6 months and older. Many of the products actually increased sun exposure risk.

Researchers note that use of skin care products is increasing rapidly among kids. In 2023, homes with kids 6-12 years old spent 27 percent more on skin care than the year before. The products studied in each of the videos (usually around six) cost an average of $168.

✍️: Kate Sosin, LGBTQ+ reporter
📸: Getty Images

06/20/2025

Michele Jawando recently stepped into a new role as president of the Omidyar Network.

She spoke with The 19th about what it means to lead in both the tech and finance communities as a Black woman and to think about equity in the current political moment.

The former civil rights lawyer and Big Tech alumna will help lead a pivot that responds to the moment in politics and technology.

06/18/2025

After three years and 1.3 million texts and phone calls, the national LGBTQ+ su***de prevention hotline is shutting down.

No reason was given for why services specific to LGBTQ+ callers are ending for 988, the crisis hotline for q***r youth that launched in 2022.

06/18/2025

Abortion providers have long grappled with threats of political violence, but Saturday’s shootings targeting Minnesota lawmakers have put them on high alert, and many say they feel newly vulnerable.

The suspected shooter had a list of targets that included abortion providers, including Planned Parenthood affiliates and employees.

06/18/2025

Season two of Netflix’s “America’s Sweethearts” reveals the cheerleaders have been fighting for higher pay — and won.

06/18/2025

From Los Angeles to Philadelphia, New York City to Atlanta, q***r community organizers, DJs, musicians and artists are producing monthly pop-up events that attendees and organizers say are reimagining q***r liberation through collective joy.

Where music, dance and activism come together to build spaces as fun as they are affirming for q***r people of color.

06/18/2025

Andrea Lucas is appearing before a Senate panel on Wednesday and is expected to be confirmed as EEOC chair. The Trump nominee wants to revisit agency guidance related to pregnancy and gender identity.

06/18/2025

The Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday to keep Tennessee’s gender-affirming care ban in place which may have watershed consequences for all transgender Americans.

This 6-3 ruling may embolden more states to ban gender-affirming care as the Trump administration prioritizes restricting it.

06/18/2025

Americans in their 60s, 70s and beyond showed up in force at this weekend’s protests, drawn by the Trump’s dismantling of public institutions and government programs.

06/17/2025

Ninety eight percent of trans and nonbinary people who had taken hormone therapy as part of their transition said they were more satisfied with their lives afterward, according to a new survey from the National Center for Transgender Equality.

More than 92,300 trans and nonbinary people took the U.S. Transgender Survey, the only comprehensive study of transgender life in America.