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1 week ago | 
thestoryexchange.org | Candice Helfand-Rogers
A new study reveals another way that climate change could disproportionately harm women. The research effort, published this week in the journal Frontiers, revealed a spike in cancer rates over the past 20 years among women living in several Middle Eastern and North African countries – a region that is particularly susceptible to the effects of climate change. The increase in diagnoses occurred in tandem with rising temperatures.
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1 week ago | 
thestoryexchange.org | Candice Helfand-Rogers
As the LGBTQ community continues to struggle amid a troubling national landscape under President Donald Trump, one state-level adoption win serves as a beacon of hope. Rep. Barbara Rachelson of Vermont sponsored a new law that will streamline the process for parents whose children were born through some form of assisted reproduction, such as surrogacy, and are seeking an official adoption decree.
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1 week ago | 
thestoryexchange.org | Candice Helfand-Rogers
Over Memorial Day weekend, swimmer Riley Gaines made headlines by taking on a new adversary: Kermit the Frog. His offense was serving as a commencement speaker at the University of Maryland last week, where Muppets creator Jim Henson earned his degree decades earlier.
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1 week ago | 
thestoryexchange.org | Candice Helfand-Rogers
The Trump administration is going after the Department of Education, a political tetherball for decades. Women educators, founders and more are fighting back.
Since re-assuming the presidency in January, Donald Trump has been on the offensive against the U.S. Department of Education. Here’s a breakdown of what we know – good, bad and ugly. In late March, President Donald Trump signed an executive order calling for the dismantling of the Department of Education.
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2 weeks ago | 
thestoryexchange.org | Candice Helfand-Rogers
Gaza, a Middle-Eastern city turned war zone, has become a place where Palestinian women and girls have died by the tens of thousands over the past few years. That’s according to a new report from UN Women. The agency says that over 28,000 girls and women have died there since the Israel-Hamas War began in October 2023.
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2 weeks ago | 
thestoryexchange.org | Candice Helfand-Rogers
Calling something “brilliant” speaks to its shine, its uniqueness. The 10 businesses we’re currently celebrating, and their owners, undoubtedly qualify for such a label. Our 2025 Brilliant Business Ideas list spotlights early-stage companies, all run by women, that achieve admirable goals, whether that’s bridging language barriers (Manzanita Marketing) or keeping sports moms warm (Chillin Sports Mom) or developing leadership via horses (Horse + Bow). And they do so in unexpected and exciting ways.
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2 weeks ago | 
thestoryexchange.org | Candice Helfand-Rogers
Late last week, the U.S. government paved the way for the selling of forced-reset triggers that allow semi-automatic rifles to fire ammunition far more rapidly. “This Department of Justice believes that the 2nd Amendment is not a second-class right,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement on the decision.
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2 weeks ago | 
thestoryexchange.org | Candice Helfand-Rogers
Late last week, the U.S. government paved the way for the selling of forced-reset triggers that allow semi-automatic rifles to fire ammunition far more rapidly. “This Department of Justice believes that the 2nd Amendment is not a second-class right,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement on the decision.
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3 weeks ago | 
thestoryexchange.org | Candice Helfand-Rogers
Around the world, there is a humanitarian aid crisis brewing – and it’s hitting women hardest. According to UN Women, international organizations that work to help women and girls are under significant strain, with roughly 90% of the 411 operations surveyed in March 2025 reporting funding and operational crises.
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3 weeks ago | 
thestoryexchange.org | Candice Helfand-Rogers
Lagging representation for women directors in film is an international problem. An analysis conducted by the Inclusion Initiative at the University of Southern California at Annenberg found that, worldwide, women accounted for just 11% of all directors leading on the production of films in 11 studied countries. Specifically, researchers looked at over 4,500 feature-length films from the past 10 years that earned at least $1 million at the global box office.
