With Today at Ms.—a daily newsletter from the team here at Ms. magazine—our top stories are delivered straight to your inbox every afternoon, so you’ll be informed and ready to fight back.

(Nina Zacuto)

By Kathy Spillar | In the middle of an accelerating democratic crisis, and a year defined by sweeping attacks on women’s rights, the Feminist Majority Foundation, publisher of Ms. magazine, gathered in Los Angeles to honor some of the most formidable leaders on the front lines of resistance. At the Nov. 18 Global Women’s Rights Awards, journalists, lawyers, artists, organizers, litigators, community activists and movement strategists came together to celebrate what I call the “essential trifecta” for defeating authoritarianism: the law, the press and culture.

We recognized The Contrarian’s Jennifer Rubin and Norm Eisen for building an independent media platform willing to call out authoritarianism plainly; Democracy Forward president and CEO Skye Perryman for her organization’s record-breaking wave of legal challenges against the Trump administration; and the creative team behind the Broadway hit Liberation—playwright Bess Wohl, director Whitney White, and former Ms. writer and editor Lisa Cronin Wohl—for reminding audiences that storytelling is itself a democratic act.

“The number one tool that autocratic actors use to try to consolidate power and take away power from the people, is to convince people that they have no power,” said Perryman. “Their toolbox is one of isolation. They want you to feel alone.”

“I grew up miles from here, family hamburger stand,” said Eisen, “and now to be here, to have this opportunity with my colleagues to fight for this democracy that took my country, and my parents. … When my mother was living, she loved to say the Nazis took us out of Czechoslovakia on cattle cars, and my son flew back on Air Force One. So, how can I not be hopeful?”

(Click here to read more)

(UNFPA Zimbabwe / Tigzozo Media)

By United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)| For years, Tjedza endured sexual violence at the hands of her father. Clara, an elderly woman, experienced abuse at the hands of her son. And for most of Tabeth’s married life, she bore abuse at the hands of her husband. 

These abuses—and many more like them—went unseen for far too long. Yet in rural Zimbabwe, services to support survivors of gender-based violence are often out of reach. Survivors often must travel long distances to seek help, and when they do, they risk facing stigma and blame from the very responders who are meant to protect them.  

But today, for survivors like Tjedza, Clara and Tabeth, the years of fear and silence are over. 

An initiative in Zimbabwe’s Bubi District, known as Women at the Center, is improving access to essential protection and support services—and improving the quality and delivery of these services as well. Now, when one survivor receives respectful care and protection, others are emboldened to speak out too.

“I only got the confidence to report after seeing how other survivors had received care and were in a much better place,” Tjedza shared.

“This program didn’t just save my life; it gave me back my dignity,” said Clara.

(Click here to read more)

(KFF)

By Justin Lo, Jared Ortaliza, Cynthia Cox, Imani Telesford, Lynne Cotter and Matt McGough | The Affordable Care Act (ACA) offers premium tax credits to help make health insurance more affordable. Under original Affordable Care Act provisions, an income cap for premium tax credits was set at 400 percent of the federal poverty level. Above that threshold, federal financial assistance was not available, creating a “subsidy cliff.”

Enhanced premium tax credits expire at the end of this year. Enrollees currently receiving premium tax credits at any level of income will see their federal assistance decrease or disappear if enhanced premium tax credits expire, with an average increase of 114 percent to what enrollees pay in premiums net of tax credits.

The impact will be greatest for those whose unsubsidized premiums are highest: older Marketplace enrollees and those living in higher-premium locales.

(Click here to read more)

Tune in for a new episode of Ms. magazine's podcast, On the Issues with Michele Goodwin on

Apple Podcasts + Spotify.

In July, the Justice Department released a controversial report about Jeffrey Epstein. Now with the release of over 23,000 files associated with Epstein, questions are being raised about the scope and scale of this sex trafficking ring and its connections to power. The House Oversight Committee has yet to hear testimony from Epstein survivors, despite urging by Rep. Ayanna Presley and others. In this episode, Dr. Goodwin is joined by journalist Moira Donegan to discuss the implications of the files, and what needs to be done in order for his victims to receive justice.

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