We're hiring a contract climate reporter The 19th is seeking a full-time contract reporter to report, write and produce climate coverage, focusing on how politics and policies impact women and LGBTQ+ people.

@19thnews.org is hiring a contract climate reporter! We're looking for a reporter to spend three months covering climate's impact on women and LGBTQ+ people, including how it intersects with housing, child care and health.

Share or apply here: 19thnews.org/2026/04/cont...

Idaho Senate Republicans rush toward passing transgender bathroom criminalization bill The House-passed measure advanced to a full vote after a brief hearing in which lawmakers limited public committee testimony despite broad opposition.

NEWS: The Idaho Senate vote could be as soon as this evening.

At a committee hearing on Monday, senators allotted just 22 minutes for public testimony and heard from five speakers, three opposed to the bill and two in favor, despite far broader interest.

www.advocate.com/politics/sta...

Nonverbal 5-year-old who met Ms. Rachel over Zoom is released from ICE detention His parents, asylum-seekers from Colombia, said their son’s physical and emotional health deteriorated during the weeks they were held at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center in South Texas.

“No child should be here, regardless of their condition,” Gael’s dad told me from Dilley last week. “Even for us as adults, it’s hard.”

Now they’re on their way back to El Paso.

Ms. Rachel had called for their release after meeting the family over zoom this month.

9-year-old who pleaded to go to spelling bee released from ICE detention Deiver Henao Jimenez told children’s entertainer Ms. Rachel that he wanted to leave Dilley Immigration Processing Center in South Texas in order to go to his state spelling bee.

NEW: The 9-year-old who begged Ms. Rachel for help getting out of ICE detention so he could attend his spelling bee has now also been released from Dilley.
www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...

If you aren't comfortable reaching out through the form then Signal is the best way: joyurcaba.91

I'm also looking to speak with health care workers about changes they've seen in care access for trans adults over the last few years.

The form doesn't include an option for that, but you can email me Jo.Yurcaba@nbcuni.com or Signal joyurcaba.91

I'm still speaking with trans adults about how their access to transition care has been affected by state and federal policies.

We've created a form here for folks to give initial info. Nothing from this will be shared unless we talk about it in an interview.

forms.office.com/r/cNDLuSjses

“I am political,” Ms. Rachel told me of her new effort to free kids from ICE detention.

“It’s political to believe that children are worthy of love … and that our care shouldn’t stop at what we look like, our family, at our religion, at a border. Mr. Rogers was very political.”

Yes, still interested in talking to folks.

I've also received a few questions about my background or why people should trust me. I've been reporting on the trans community for NBC for five years.

You can read my work here: www.nbcnews.com/author/jo-yu...

Thanks to everyone who has shared this and reached out. The response has been overwhelming, so I might take a minute to get back to everyone.

I'd like to speak with trans adults (18+) whose access to transition care has changed due to state and/or federal policy changes.

DM, email Jo.Yurcaba@nbcuni.com or Signal joyurcaba.91

Kansas revoked 1,700 transgender drivers' licenses. Some are leaving the state. The state's move to retroactively cancel licenses and birth certificates is part of a nationwide escalation of restrictions on the legal recognition of transgender people.

"Some 1,700 Kansans had their driver’s licenses invalidated last month. It wasn’t for racking up speeding tickets or a DUI charge, but because they are transgender." www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news... via @joyurcaba.bsky.social

But also worth noting that many trans Kansans still haven't received a letter. One of the sources in this article checks the status of his license daily on the Kansas DOR site (which anyone can do), and his is still valid. I'd guess if it's showing as valid they could get a license in another state.

That's something I'm still trying to confirm with the Kansas Dept of Revenue. I have at least one source who moved to Minnesota and got a license there *right before* she got her letter invalidating her Kansas license. Not sure how it would've gone if she'd tried after getting the letter.

For Kansans: If you need help covering the costs of a new ID, transportation to the DMV, etc., both the LGBTQ Foundation of Kansas and Equality El Dorado have set up mutual aid funds to help:

LGBTQ Foundation of Kansas: lgbtqks.org/sb244/

Equality El Dorado: equalityeldorado@gmail.com

No, you actually have to pay $8.75 to get the gender marker changed or $26 if you're getting a whole new ID.

There is. The article includes the latest update on that. A judge declined to grant a temporary restraining order against it yesterday.

Kansas revoked 1,700 transgender drivers’ licenses. Some are leaving the state The state's move to retroactively cancel licenses and birth certificates is part of a nationwide escalation of restrictions on the legal recognition of transgender people.

NEW: Kansas revoked 1,700 transgender drivers’ licenses. Some are leaving the state

I spoke to trans Kansans and the one Republican who voted against the law.

For @nbcnews.com:
www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...

NEW: Kansas judge declines to grant a temporary restraining order against law invalidating trans Kansans' drivers' licenses and requiring them to use the bathrooms of their birth sex in govt buildings.

Full story incoming.

Looking to speak with trans Kansans about how SB 244 (the law affecting driver's licenses, birth certificates, bathrooms and more) is affecting your life so far and plans for the future.

Jo.Yurcaba@nbcuni.com or Signal @joyurcaba.91

Looking to speak with trans Kansans about how SB 244 (the law affecting driver's licenses, birth certificates, bathrooms and more) is affecting your life so far and plans for the future.

Jo.Yurcaba@nbcuni.com or Signal @joyurcaba.91

She’d Never Changed Her Gender Marker. Kansas Invalidated Her License Anyway. — Assigned A trans Kansas resident recently changed her name but not her gender marker on her license, fearing what Kansas may do if she did. The Kansas DMV still flagged her ID.

Kansas is invalidating trans residents' licenses even if they HAVEN'T changed their gender markers, according to this reporting from @natezuke.bsky.social @assignedmedia.org:

www.assignedmedia.org/breaking-new...

They watched 'Heated Rivalry.' Then they were overcome with desire to hit the ice. LGBTQ hockey leagues report a surge in aspiring new players following the hit show’s success, at a moment of reckoning for the sport.

Very happy to share that I wrote a gay hockey story. Here's how "Heated Rivalry" has driven more LGBTQ+ people to join queer hockey leagues nationwide.

For @nbcnews.com:
www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...

They watched 'Heated Rivalry.' Then they were overcome with desire to hit the ice. LGBTQ hockey leagues report a surge in aspiring new players following the hit show’s success, at a moment of reckoning for the sport.

Huge thanks to the leagues, including Coachella Valley Pride founders Bob Tranchida and Paul O'Kane, who met at an LGBTQ hockey tournament in 1998 and have been together ever since.

www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...

They watched 'Heated Rivalry.' Then they were overcome with desire to hit the ice. LGBTQ hockey leagues report a surge in aspiring new players following the hit show’s success, at a moment of reckoning for the sport.

Very happy to share that I wrote a gay hockey story. Here's how "Heated Rivalry" has driven more LGBTQ+ people to join queer hockey leagues nationwide.

For @nbcnews.com:
www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...

Have you started playing hockey or are in the process of joining a team due to "Heated Rivalry"?

DM me or email Jo.Yurcaba@nbcuni.com

Trump administration removes Pride flag from Stonewall National Monument, a major LGBTQ landmark The change reverses a decade-long tradition at the New York City monument, which commemorates a major turning point in the LGBTQ rights movement.

Trump admin removes Pride flag from Stonewall National Monument

The change, first reported by Gay City News, reverses a decade-long tradition at the New York City monument, which commemorates a major turning point in the LGBTQ rights movement.

For @nbcnews.com:
www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...

At least 21 hospitals have ended or restricted trans care for minors since January The disruptions follow multiple efforts by the Trump administration to block such care for patients younger than 19.

In August, NBC found that at least 21 hospitals had paused or ended care, so the number has more than doubled.

www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-...

Per this new report: Since January 2025, more than 40 hospitals have restricted transition-related care for trans young people.

The article also includes a scrollable chart of all the hospitals, with useful details like what patient population they have paused or stopped care for.