Lifestyle
As Congress tables proxy voting, state lawmakers seek solutions for parents who serve in office
As a bipartisan measure to allow new parents in Congress to vote by proxy has failed, some lawmakers hope their states can find solutions to bring and keep younger women in state capitols.
Republican Florida Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, who had been leading the congressional push, said she reached an compromise with U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson last week that does not include proxy voting.
Without a precedent in Congress, lawmakers remain hopeful that statehouses can change instead. Parents say proxy voting would allow women valuable and sometimes medically necessary time to recover and care for their infants at a moment when childcare, families and affordability are front and center for American politics.
“This should be about supporting families and supporting lawmakers who prioritize the issues of families,” said Mallory McMorrow, who was the second sitting Michigan state senator to give birth. “It should not be a partisan issue.”
Parenthood and policy making
Voting by proxy means a lawmaker casts a vote on behalf of another who is absent. Another option that has been used at the state level is remote voting, in which a member calls in to cast their vote.
Like in Congress, state legislative sessions can run late into the night, commutes home can be long and members stay away from home for several days a week.
There was no proxy or maternity leave policy for lawmakers when McMorrow had her daughter in 2021, but she took 12 weeks anyway. McMorrow, who is running for U.S. Senate, said technology exists to allow voting from afar. It would be useful as well for active duty military members and in medical emergencies.
Nebraska State Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh said the way legislatures operate shows state government was not built with women in mind. It was novel when she brought her baby to the floor in 2019 and had to push for a designated nursing room, both of which are now normalized.
Advocates for women’s representation say lawmaking is so hard on mothers with young families many choose not to pursue public office. While the numbers vary by state, only a third of all state lawmakers are women.
“We want people in office who understand what most American families are dealing with,” said Liuba Grechen Shirley, CEO and founder of Vote Mama, a group that supports mothers running for office.
Pandemic changes
Many states allowed remote participation during the COVID-19 pandemic and have since rolled back those practices. Others have kept the provisions.
The Minnesota and Colorado House chambers allow remote participation in limited circumstances, including health issues and the birth of child, while Minnesota’s Senate allows remote voting for any reason with permission from leadership. Earlier this year, Virginia leadership allowed a lawmaker to cast votes from afar after she gave birth in February.
Virginia Del. Destiny LeVere Bolling, who is currently on maternity leave, called the flexibility “invaluable” and was disheartened by the outcome in Congress.
“I am glad that Democrats in the Commonwealth of Virginia choose to stand with families, as we always have, to set a better example for our friends in D.C.,” she said in a statement.
Opponents of the practice such as Johnson, the Republican House speaker, say lawmaking requires participation in person. Some fear the option would result in too many lawmakers missing session.
Johnson agreed to formalize a “pairing system” long used in Congress in which one member who is physically present in the House cancels out the vote of someone who is absent. Arkansas’ Legislature has a similar system.
Rules made at the federal level have some precedent on practice in statehouses. Since the Federal Election Commission allowed congressional candidates to spend their campaign dollars on child care in 2018, 39 states have followed suit, according to Vote Mama.
“At the root of this, there just aren’t enough moms in office to push for these changes,” Grechen Shirley said.
‘You do miss a lot by not being there’
Hawaii House minority Leader Lauren Matsumoto said she was denied the chance to vote remotely when she gave birth to her daughter in late 2019. Shortly thereafter, the pandemic caused the Legislature to temporarily move to a remote system anyway.
Reinstating that practice would be useful for the many young parents joining the Legislature, but Matsumoto would want a system that safeguards against abuse.
“In Hawaii, we’re separated by water,” said Matsumoto, a Republican. “There’s different reps that have to fly in. So what works for Hawaii might not be the same for Oklahoma.”
Many proponents also want male lawmakers to be with their families during the birth of a child.
Former Missouri state Rep. Peter Merideth had to speed home occasionally during his tenure after his young daughter developed epilepsy. While video calling into committees or voting remotely would not have solved all his family needs, it would have helped.
“I would not want my representative to start doing that on a regular basis. I do think you miss a lot by not being there,” Merideth said. “But I wouldn’t want them to have to choose between a crisis situation at home and being able to be there for those of us that voted for them.”
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Associated Press writers Olivia Diaz, Andrew DeMillo and Steve Karnowski contributed to this report.
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The Associated Press’ women in the workforce and state government coverage receives financial support from Pivotal Ventures. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) — With her purple-and-pink hair swaying, Reneé Colón stands on a stepladder in the rented corner of a warehouse, pouring Brazilian coffee beans into her groaning old roasting machine.
The beans are precious because they survived severe drought in a year when environmental conditions depressed coffee production globally, doubling the price of raw beans in just months.
“Unfortunately, coffee is going to become more scarce,” said Colón, founder and roaster at Fuego Coffee Roasters. “Seeing that dramatic loss of the Brazilian crop is a perfect example.”
Renee Colon, co-owner of Fuego Coffee Roasters, operates her roasting machine, Friday, March 21, 2025, in Rochester, N.Y. (Max Conway via AP)
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EDITOR’S NOTE: This story is a collaboration between Rochester Institute of Technology and The Associated Press.
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Losses from heat and drought have cut production forecasts in Brazil and Vietnam, the world’s largest coffee growers. Global production is still expected to increase, but not as much as commodity market investors had expected. That’s sent coffee prices up, largely because of continued high demand in Europe, the U.S., and China.
Prices peaked in February but have remained high, forcing roasters like Colón to weigh how much of that cost to absorb and how much to pass on to consumers.
Renee Colon, co-owner of Fuego Coffee Roasters, stands for a photo, Saturday, March 22, 2025, in Rochester, N.Y. (Max Conway via AP)
The beans Colón was roasting cost her $5.50 per pound in early March, more than double what they cost in September. And that was for mixed, midrange beans. Specialty coffees — grown in delicate climates to slow growth and add flavor — can cost even more.
President Donald Trump’s current 10% tariffs cover most coffee-producing countries, including Brazil, Ethiopia and Colombia, and are expected to drive up costs for Americans. Amid his chaotic tariff pronouncements — at one point he threatened 46% tariffs on Vietnam imports and 32% on Indonesia imports before pausing them — American coffee roasters are rethinking their supply chains.
“With all these changes in coffee maybe we should open our own damn farm,” Colón muses.
Rural New York isn’t an option, of course. The world’s best coffee thrives near the equator, where seasons are long, and in high altitudes, where slow growing allows beans to gather flavor. But Puerto Rico, where Colón and her husband have roots, isn’t a serious option, either — labor costs are too high and she worries about the increasing risk of crop-damaging hurricanes.
She shrugs off buying coffee from Hawaii and California, which she says is either poor quality, overpriced or both.
In February, global coffee green exports were down 14.2% from a year earlier, according to the International Coffee Organization’s market report. The shortage led to the highest price ever for raw coffee in February, breaking the record set in 1977 when severe frost wiped out 70% of Brazil’s coffee plants.
Patrons sit at Fuego Coffee Roasters, Saturday, March 22, 2025, in Rochester, N.Y. (Max Conway via AP)
A couple of espresso drinks sit on a counter at Fuego Coffee Roasters, Saturday, March 22, 2025, in Rochester, N.Y. (Max Conway via AP)
Climate isn’t the only thing driving up prices, said Daria Whalen, a buyer for San Francisco-based Ritual Coffee Roasters. Inflation is driving up the cost of labor, fertilizers, and borrowing, she said.
She described being in Mexico in April seeking to finalize contracts between Trump’s fits and starts on tariffs. It reminded her of being in Colombia a month earlier as Trump threatened and then backed away from tariffs that would have affected coffee prices.
“It was kind of like roller coaster day, because at the end of the day it didn’t exist,” Whalen said.
Renee Colon, co-owner of Fuego Coffee Roasters, makes a cup of coffee, Saturday, March 22, 2025, in Rochester, N.Y. (Max Conway via AP)
Some of the recent rise in coffee prices may be from importers buying extra in anticipation of the tariffs. Colón believes prices will go still higher as import taxes begin being paid. And with consumer confidence hitting a 12-year low, Colón could see a decrease in demand for her premium coffee.
“It is tough on our end because it drives the price up, tough on the consumer end because they have to pay more and tough on the farmers’ end because they may be experiencing really significant losses,” Colón said.
Yet she’s committed to expanding.
In December, she and her husband took out a $50,000 loan to buy a custom coffee roaster from Turkey that will triple capacity. They’re trying to increase sales by adding new wholesale clients like coffee shops, and selling directly to homes via a beans-of-the-month-style subscription service.
The Colóns have raised the wholesale price on a pound of roasted beans by 25 cents. They’re considering doing the same for pour-overs and espresso drinks at their two retail locations.
At one of those, called Melo, one couple said they don’t look at the coffee’s price on the receipt. For them, it’s a treat.
“We know we could go find coffee cheaper somewhere else,” said Rob Newell, a high school biology teacher, as he held a cooing infant daughter alongside his wife, who is also a teacher. “Maybe it’s just because we’re new parents, but you get, like, cabin fever staying in the house all day.”
Colón is also seeking to cut costs.
The warehouse where she roasts has some extra space, so she’s weighing stacking up more bags of raw beans there to save as much as $500 on monthly storage costs in port cities.
She’s tried to cultivate relationships with farmers to minimize price spikes and control bean quality. She described working with a farmer in Colombia as coffee prices were spiking in February to lock in a one-year contract that avoided the worst of the increase.
And like many small business owners, she’s had to get used to the complexity of tariffs.
Anderson Miller, left, and Claire Terrelli, right, make coffee at Fuego Coffee Roasters in Rochester, N.Y., Saturday, March 22, 2025. (Max Conway via AP)
In January, she turned down a pitch from a Montreal coffee importer who suggested the U.S. dollar’s strength in Canada would allow her to save money by importing through their warehouse. She feared that tariffs on Canada could increase prices. Plus, the coffee would have to cross an extra border, risking delays. And the value of the dollar has been up and down.
“I want things to be less complicated instead of more,” she said.
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The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.
NEW YORK (AP) — After a brutal year of headlines about The Washington Post, executive editor Matt Murray sounded almost relieved to be talking about journalism.
In an interview, he was touting “100 scoops in 100 days” about the Post’s coverage of the Trump administration’s first weeks. What sounds like a publicist’s confection has truth behind it, with reporters putting their heads down and working, notably on stories involving the federal workforce and spending cuts.
Most stories about the Post in the past few months have been negative, including publisher Will Lewis’ botched reorganization that led to former executive editor Sally Buzbee’s resignation last June, owner Jeff Bezos asserting himself over the opinion section and defections among journalists worried about the outlet’s direction.
“Great stories and great scoops are always good to remind people — both externally and internally — that it’s all about the journalism at the end of the day,” Murray said.
The grunt work of reporting on the federal workforce
Dan Diamond, Hannah Natanson, Carolyn Y. Johnson and Lena H. Sun are among the reporters who have dug into specifics about Department of Government Efficiency-inspired cuts and what they’ve meant for medical research and services for Social Security recipients. Natanson, Rachel Siegel and Laura Meckler have explored the use of government data to go after undocumented immigrants.
Adam Taylor and John Hudson have dug into proposed cuts at the State Department. Maria Sacchetti and Artur Galocha showed how half of the people the White House reported as immigration enforcement arrests were already behind bars. Jacob Bogage wrote about a Trump appointee asking the IRS to review an audit of conservative personality Mike Lindell.
It’s grunt work, developing sources and stories that build upon other stories, many involving federal workers — the industry that the city is built upon.
“The Post has an historic obligation — it’s right in our name, Washington — to write aggressively, truthfully, thoughtfully about the government and what’s happening there,” Murray said. “Obviously the Trump administration, whatever one thinks of them, has the most aggressive change program that we’ve seen in many administrations.”
The work breaking stories has been noticeable, said Margaret Sullivan, a former media columnist at the Post who still writes, teaches at Columbia University and runs the Craig Newmark Center for Journalism Ethics and Security there.
“I’ve been happy to see that,” she said. “The place has been through such a difficult time and it’s not due to the journalists there. It’s because of the ownership and management.”
The Post hasn’t yet earned its own Truth Social post about its reporting since President Donald Trump’s return — the ultimate sign it has gotten under Trump’s skin — but the White House labeled one of its stories about health funding “fake news.” Tulsi Gabbard, national intelligence director, cited a Post story about Israel and Iran among her reasons to seek out internal leakers.
The work has also calmed fears about whether owner Bezos’ newfound friendliness with Trump would impact news coverage. Last fall, Bezos ordered a planned endorsement of Trump opponent Kamala Harris spiked, triggering an exodus of angry subscribers. He was a prominently visible guest at Trump’s second inauguration and soon after said the Post’s opinion pages should focus primarily on personal liberties and the free market.
That change in direction led to the resignations of editorial page editor David Shipley and two long-time Post columnists, Ruth Marcus and Eugene Robinson.
Bezos’ actions with the opinion section have hurt the Post’s reputation when the country really needs it, and when its news coverage has been excellent, said Robert McCartney, a retired Post columnist. “Their DOGE coverage has been really good, as good as anybody’s,” he said. “They have broken a lot of news. They have done a lot of important accountability reporting.”
Journalists are taking advantage of new opportunities
Between the turmoil and a sea of red ink resulting in layoffs, the Post suffered a significant talent defection at the end of last year. Journalists like Matea Gold, the respected managing editor, and reporters Josh Dawsey, Ashley Parker, Philip Rucker and Michael Scherer took new jobs. That exposed some thin skin; Murray, then only interim editor, briefly banned goodbye emails believing they were bad for morale, before the decision was reversed, the Guardian reported. The paper has banned its media writers from reporting stories about the newspaper.
“The reporters are doing good work, by and large,” said Richard Prince, a retired reporter and editor who spent 20 years at the Post in two stints. “It’s a shame there is all this turmoil that is coming from the top. It seems like they lost more talent than they gained.”
At a time there are more journalists than jobs, the Post is still a desired destination. “Many other people are stepping up and have had new opportunities and are showing their chops,” said Murray, who had the “interim” removed from his title with no fanfare earlier this year.
The Post is still in transition; Murray appointed some key deputies last week. It is still sorting out coverage areas that need more attention and those that don’t. He promised more resources to follow technology, artificial intelligence and the markets.
The Post reportedly lost some 325,000 subscribers after the Harris non-endorsement and editorial policy change; the newspaper won’t say whether it has recovered that number since through new or returned subscribers. The newspaper is more aggressively seeking new readers and says 100,000 more new subscribers signed up this year than did over the same period in 2024.
It’s spring; consider them all shoots popping up from the ground after a damaging winter.
“I would not quit the Post,” Sullivan said. “If I were a regular reader, I would still find it very interesting and necessary.”
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David Bauder writes about the intersection of media and entertainment for the AP. Follow him at http://x.com/dbauder and https://bsky.app/profile/dbauder.bsky.social
Lifestyle
AP PHOTOS: LGBTQ+ models showcase Lady Gaga-inspired outfits at Rio de Janeiro train station
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AP) — Members of the LGBTQ+ community on Tuesday modeled creations inspired by Lady Gaga’s iconic style at a fashion show in Brazil featuring outfits made either by the models themselves or by the sustainable fashion house “Escola de Divines.”
The fashion show took place at Rio de Janeiro’s Central train station and aimed to publicize the special train schedule for Lady Gaga’s Saturday concert on Copacabana Beach.
It also served as an awareness campaign guiding the LGBTQ+ population on how to stay safe and what to do in cases of violence, as well as tips to preserve sexual health.
A member of the LGBTQ+ community looks into a mirror backstage in preparation for a fashion show of creations inspired by Lady Gaga’s style, at the Central train station in Rio de Janeiro, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
A member of the LGBTQ+ community gets ready backstage before modeling an outfit inspired by Lady Gaga’s style at the Central train station, in Rio de Janeiro, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
A member of the LGBTQ+ community gets ready backstage to model an outfit inspired by Lady Gaga’s style at the Central train station in Rio de Janeiro, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
Members of the LGBTQ+ community get ready backstage to model outfits inspired by Lady Gaga’s style at the Central train station days in Rio de Janeiro, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
A member of the LGBTQ+ community gets ready backstage to model an outfit inspired by Lady Gaga’s style at a fashion show at the Central train station in Rio de Janeiro, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
A member of the LGBTQ+ community models a creation inspired by Lady Gaga’s style in a subway car at the Central train station in Rio de Janeiro, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
A member of the LGBTQ+ community models a creation inspired by Lady Gaga’s style during a fashion show at the Central train station days in Rio de Janeiro, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
Members of the LGBTQ+ community model creations inspired by Lady Gaga’s style during a fashion show at the Central train station days in Rio de Janeiro, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
A member of the LGBTQ+ community models a creation inspired by Lady Gaga’s style in a subway car at the Central train station in Rio de Janeiro, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
A member of the LGBTQ+ community strikes a pose while modeling a creation inspired by Lady Gaga’s style during a fashion show at the Central train station in Rio de Janeiro, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
Members of the LGBTQ+ community model creations inspired by Lady Gaga’s style during a fashion show at the Central train station in Rio de Janeiro, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
Members of the LGBTQ+ community model creations inspired by Lady Gaga’s style during a fashion show at the Central train station in Rio de Janeiro, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
Members of the LGBTQ+ community strike poses as they model creations inspired by Lady Gaga’s style in a subway car at the Central train station days in Rio de Janeiro, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
A member of the LGBTQ+ community strikes a pose wearing a creation inspired by Lady Gaga’s style at the Central train station days in Rio de Janeiro, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
Members of the LGBTQ+ community model creations inspired by Lady Gaga’s style in a subway car at the Central train station days in Rio de Janeiro, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
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