Rachel de Leon
@raeoflion.bsky.social
Video reporter and producer at The Center for Investigative Reporting
How to reach me:
Signal: @raeoflion.08
Email: rdeleon[ a t] cir [ d o t] org or raedeleon[ a t] protonmail[ d o t ] com
How to reach me:
Signal: @raeoflion.08
Email: rdeleon[ a t] cir [ d o t] org or raedeleon[ a t] protonmail[ d o t ] com
Another tragic case of child sexual abuse that could have been prevented by police. This time in New York.
NEW:
A teen said she was being sexually abused by her adoptive father. An officer didn't believe the teen and didn't take steps to investigate. The teen was returned to the home, where she continued to face sexual abuse. The officer was given just a reprimand.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/17/u...
A teen said she was being sexually abused by her adoptive father. An officer didn't believe the teen and didn't take steps to investigate. The teen was returned to the home, where she continued to face sexual abuse. The officer was given just a reprimand.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/17/u...
An Officer Bungled a Teen Rape Case. The Victim Was Abused Again.
www.nytimes.com
November 17, 2025 at 2:22 PM
Another tragic case of child sexual abuse that could have been prevented by police. This time in New York.
Reposted by Rachel de Leon
As @raeoflion.bsky.social and I wrote in this article featuring Rae's video:
A report from the California Health Care Foundation found that 10 percent cut to HCBS programs would lead to $1 billion more in Medicaid spending in the state... due to the greater overall costs of institutionalization.
A report from the California Health Care Foundation found that 10 percent cut to HCBS programs would lead to $1 billion more in Medicaid spending in the state... due to the greater overall costs of institutionalization.
Medicaid-funded services are their lifeline—and make their work possible. But the Trump cuts to the program could change it all.
Meet Audrey and Jeremy, who went viral for talking about how the GOP's Medicaid cuts could devastate their everyday.
Meet Audrey and Jeremy, who went viral for talking about how the GOP's Medicaid cuts could devastate their everyday.
What Trump's Medicaid cuts mean for two podcasters with Down syndrome
Medicaid-funded services are their lifeline—and make their work possible.
www.motherjones.com
November 15, 2025 at 1:52 AM
As @raeoflion.bsky.social and I wrote in this article featuring Rae's video:
A report from the California Health Care Foundation found that 10 percent cut to HCBS programs would lead to $1 billion more in Medicaid spending in the state... due to the greater overall costs of institutionalization.
A report from the California Health Care Foundation found that 10 percent cut to HCBS programs would lead to $1 billion more in Medicaid spending in the state... due to the greater overall costs of institutionalization.
Sometimes people will ask how I unwind after working on stories that are depressing and infuriating. Listening to stories like this one from @acleek.bsky.social is one method. I love when a journalist's insatiable curiosity is used for something unexpected and sweet. 🥰
Reveal’s smallest, most personal investigations yet
Serious investigations into deeply Unserious questions. Hear the first in our occasional series of “inconsequential investigations.”
revealnews.org
October 27, 2025 at 4:52 PM
Sometimes people will ask how I unwind after working on stories that are depressing and infuriating. Listening to stories like this one from @acleek.bsky.social is one method. I love when a journalist's insatiable curiosity is used for something unexpected and sweet. 🥰
I hadn't read this before: "[...] states newly covered by the PWFA saw a 3.2 percent increase in births, suggesting that the law has helped reduce miscarriage rates by nearly 9.6 percent. The latest from @julialurie.bsky.social www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
A pregnant Amazon employee asked for a chair to sit on—and wound up homeless
"You're just a number to them."
www.motherjones.com
October 20, 2025 at 11:26 PM
I hadn't read this before: "[...] states newly covered by the PWFA saw a 3.2 percent increase in births, suggesting that the law has helped reduce miscarriage rates by nearly 9.6 percent. The latest from @julialurie.bsky.social www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
"Unflinching" was the word we used to describe Taylor Cadle in @julialurie.bsky.social's and my reporting. It's really something to see her now, at 22-years-old, speaking so loudly for the child version of herself and for other child victims who may be in her position.
'I have to be the voice': Woman sues Grady Judd, Polk deputies over botched rape case from 2016
Taylor Cadle was 12 when she told a sheriff’s office detective she'd been raped for years by her adoptive father. But deputies didn't believe her.
www.wtsp.com
October 16, 2025 at 4:55 PM
"Unflinching" was the word we used to describe Taylor Cadle in @julialurie.bsky.social's and my reporting. It's really something to see her now, at 22-years-old, speaking so loudly for the child version of herself and for other child victims who may be in her position.
This office has still never apologized to a child rape victim for labeling her a liar and prosecuting her.
October 14, 2025 at 4:07 PM
This office has still never apologized to a child rape victim for labeling her a liar and prosecuting her.
Last year, we wrote about survivor Taylor Cadle. When she was 12, she told police she’d been raped. They said she was lying and charged her with false reporting. She then took the extraordinary measure of recording the next act of abuse.
Now, Taylor has legal counsel and filed a lawsuit.
Now, Taylor has legal counsel and filed a lawsuit.
October 13, 2025 at 10:13 PM
Last year, we wrote about survivor Taylor Cadle. When she was 12, she told police she’d been raped. They said she was lying and charged her with false reporting. She then took the extraordinary measure of recording the next act of abuse.
Now, Taylor has legal counsel and filed a lawsuit.
Now, Taylor has legal counsel and filed a lawsuit.
Lawyers have been publicizing a new term to describe ICE's racially targeted detainments: a “Kavanaugh stop.”
Mother Jones reporter Pema Levy explains in this new video:
Mother Jones reporter Pema Levy explains in this new video:
October 10, 2025 at 4:18 PM
Fetal personhood laws can turn a miscarriage into a crime scene. As @abbyvesoulis.bsky.social writes, "being pregnant is not just a health status. Sometimes, it’s a criminal liability."
@pregnancyjust.bsky.social's new reports sheds light on what police weigh when criminalizing pregnancy outcomes.
@pregnancyjust.bsky.social's new reports sheds light on what police weigh when criminalizing pregnancy outcomes.
When miscarriages become crimes
412 women faced criminal charges for pregnancy outcomes. This is what fetal personhood looks like.
www.motherjones.com
September 30, 2025 at 4:11 PM
Fetal personhood laws can turn a miscarriage into a crime scene. As @abbyvesoulis.bsky.social writes, "being pregnant is not just a health status. Sometimes, it’s a criminal liability."
@pregnancyjust.bsky.social's new reports sheds light on what police weigh when criminalizing pregnancy outcomes.
@pregnancyjust.bsky.social's new reports sheds light on what police weigh when criminalizing pregnancy outcomes.
Reposted by Rachel de Leon
What happens when a miscarriage is treated like a crime?
That’s not a hypothetical anymore. It’s happening in the U.S. right now. 🧵 www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
That’s not a hypothetical anymore. It’s happening in the U.S. right now. 🧵 www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
When miscarriages become crimes
412 women faced criminal charges for pregnancy outcomes. This is what fetal personhood looks like.
www.motherjones.com
September 30, 2025 at 2:14 PM
What happens when a miscarriage is treated like a crime?
That’s not a hypothetical anymore. It’s happening in the U.S. right now. 🧵 www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
That’s not a hypothetical anymore. It’s happening in the U.S. right now. 🧵 www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
Reposted by Rachel de Leon
For years, medical professionals and transgender advocates have been saying the "Society for Evidence-based Gender Medicine" was not following the principles of evidenced-based medicine.
Now the "godfather" of evidence-based medicine is leveraging the same claim against them. (1/)
Now the "godfather" of evidence-based medicine is leveraging the same claim against them. (1/)
Trans health care "skeptics" lost a key ally—now they're having a meltdown
The godfather of evidence-based medicine on rejecting anti-trans "misuse" of his work.
www.motherjones.com
September 23, 2025 at 5:11 PM
For years, medical professionals and transgender advocates have been saying the "Society for Evidence-based Gender Medicine" was not following the principles of evidenced-based medicine.
Now the "godfather" of evidence-based medicine is leveraging the same claim against them. (1/)
Now the "godfather" of evidence-based medicine is leveraging the same claim against them. (1/)
Famine and mass hunger in Gaza meanwhile this guy has multiple ventures involving drinks/supplements/? that are just for funsies and vibes.
NEW: How does a North Carolina entrepreneur go from launching a CBD venture, a hangover prevention product, and a drink for ravers ... to founding a private security contractor arming aid sites in Gaza?
@motherjones.com investigates the man behind UG Solutions:
www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
@motherjones.com investigates the man behind UG Solutions:
www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
“Amateur hour”: The man sending US military contractors to Gaza
How a little-known former Green Beret went from starting a company to prevent hangovers to the center of a dubious scheme to deliver aid in Gaza.
www.motherjones.com
September 17, 2025 at 10:21 PM
Famine and mass hunger in Gaza meanwhile this guy has multiple ventures involving drinks/supplements/? that are just for funsies and vibes.
Reposted by Rachel de Leon
We documented some of the calls for retribution that followed Charlie Kirk’s murder. With @kieraevebutler.bsky.social and @juliannemcshane.bsky.social www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
“THIS IS WAR”: Some right-wing figures call for retribution following Kirk killing
“More people will be murdered if the Left isn’t crushed with the power of the state.”
www.motherjones.com
September 10, 2025 at 11:42 PM
We documented some of the calls for retribution that followed Charlie Kirk’s murder. With @kieraevebutler.bsky.social and @juliannemcshane.bsky.social www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
ICE arrested a disabled 15-year-old AT GUNPOINT outside Arleta High School. Superintendent Carvahlo says that agents left behind bullets on the ground. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
ICE detained a teen with disabilities outside a Los Angeles school
"The trauma will linger."
www.motherjones.com
August 13, 2025 at 4:58 PM
ICE arrested a disabled 15-year-old AT GUNPOINT outside Arleta High School. Superintendent Carvahlo says that agents left behind bullets on the ground. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
Please take a moment to vote for us to go to SXSW 2026! This is so important to me, and it would be huge to share my reporting from Victim/Suspect on this stage. Voting is open until August 24. All you need to do is click on the ❤️
Please help us get to SXSW 2026! Survivors of sexual violence are being punished—not protected. Our panel, Arresting the Innocent, discusses the film Victim/Suspect and the unjust criminalization of sexual assault survivors.
Vote by Aug 24 to help us bring this conversation to SXSW: buff.ly/11V27Yv
Vote by Aug 24 to help us bring this conversation to SXSW: buff.ly/11V27Yv
August 11, 2025 at 5:32 PM
Please take a moment to vote for us to go to SXSW 2026! This is so important to me, and it would be huge to share my reporting from Victim/Suspect on this stage. Voting is open until August 24. All you need to do is click on the ❤️
This bill also targets shield laws that protect manufacturers and the doctors who prescribe abortion pills in other states.
“Texas continues to try to meddle in the provision of safe, legal, and affordable reproductive health care nationwide."
Texas bill would allow lawsuits over shipping abortion pills.
The latest collaboration with our friends at @revealnews.org and @cbsnews.com:
Texas bill would allow lawsuits over shipping abortion pills.
The latest collaboration with our friends at @revealnews.org and @cbsnews.com:
Texas bill would allow lawsuits over shipping abortion pills
Advocates have opened a new path to block access to abortion-inducing drugs.
www.motherjones.com
August 11, 2025 at 4:51 PM
This bill also targets shield laws that protect manufacturers and the doctors who prescribe abortion pills in other states.
Now free, several men sent to CECOT talked to @nlanard.bsky.social and @isabelaalhadeff.bsky.social: “What they did there was torture us” www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
“What they did there was torture us”
Now free, the Venezuelan men the Trump administration sent to El Salvador want the world to know what they lived through.
www.motherjones.com
August 7, 2025 at 8:41 PM
Now free, several men sent to CECOT talked to @nlanard.bsky.social and @isabelaalhadeff.bsky.social: “What they did there was torture us” www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
Reposted by Rachel de Leon
As Mike Huckabee visits Gaza today and praises the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, hear what a whistleblower witnessed while working with the Israeli-backed American nonprofit.
"An enterprise that has failed from the beginning."
“It’s abhorrent." bit.ly/45tLWqn
"An enterprise that has failed from the beginning."
“It’s abhorrent." bit.ly/45tLWqn
Gaza Aid Whistleblower Speaks Out Amid Escalating Famine
► For more, visit Mother Jones: https://www.motherjones.com/
On June 6, Anthony Aguilar, a retired 25-year US Army veteran and Green Beret, found himself facing a daunting logistical problem. He…
youtu.be
August 1, 2025 at 12:34 PM
As Mike Huckabee visits Gaza today and praises the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, hear what a whistleblower witnessed while working with the Israeli-backed American nonprofit.
"An enterprise that has failed from the beginning."
“It’s abhorrent." bit.ly/45tLWqn
"An enterprise that has failed from the beginning."
“It’s abhorrent." bit.ly/45tLWqn
A security contractor is blowing the whistle on the Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation for the way it’s treated the starving people in Gaza simply trying to feed themselves.
A whistleblower who worked with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation—the Israel-backed American nonprofit overseeing food aid in Gaza—is speaking out against what he describes as “an enterprise that has failed from the beginning." bit.ly/45tLWqn
Gaza Aid Whistleblower Speaks Out Amid Escalating Famine
► For more, visit Mother Jones: https://www.motherjones.com/
On June 6, Anthony Aguilar, a retired 25-year US Army veteran and Green Beret, found himself facing a daunting logistical problem. He…
youtu.be
July 31, 2025 at 4:44 PM
A security contractor is blowing the whistle on the Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation for the way it’s treated the starving people in Gaza simply trying to feed themselves.
Reposted by Rachel de Leon
Sex testing is officially back in sports -- which is a huge bummer and also contradicts so much ethics, human rights law, and actual science. More on all that (and the history) on my podcast Tested: www.tested-podcast.com
July 30, 2025 at 5:09 PM
Sex testing is officially back in sports -- which is a huge bummer and also contradicts so much ethics, human rights law, and actual science. More on all that (and the history) on my podcast Tested: www.tested-podcast.com
They fled violence, sexual assault, and death threats.
Now thousands of legal immigrants, many of whom developed deep roots in the US, are at risk of deportation, marking the single largest delegalization campaign in US history.
Now thousands of legal immigrants, many of whom developed deep roots in the US, are at risk of deportation, marking the single largest delegalization campaign in US history.
Trump is making thousands of rule-abiding immigrants undocumented
Inside the largest delegalization campaign in modern US history.
www.motherjones.com
July 28, 2025 at 5:30 PM
They fled violence, sexual assault, and death threats.
Now thousands of legal immigrants, many of whom developed deep roots in the US, are at risk of deportation, marking the single largest delegalization campaign in US history.
Now thousands of legal immigrants, many of whom developed deep roots in the US, are at risk of deportation, marking the single largest delegalization campaign in US history.
She was sure that the Golden State Killer was her rapist. A detective disagreed, and said maybe this other known serial rapist had attacked her, even though that was impossible timing. What a truly bonkers response to toss around unchecked theories about who might have raped you decades ago.
Evidence in her brutal 1979 rape pointed to the Golden State Killer. The police didn’t want to hear about it.
How one woman's quest for closure unleashed its own kind of nightmare.
www.motherjones.com
July 24, 2025 at 6:23 PM
She was sure that the Golden State Killer was her rapist. A detective disagreed, and said maybe this other known serial rapist had attacked her, even though that was impossible timing. What a truly bonkers response to toss around unchecked theories about who might have raped you decades ago.
Reposted by Rachel de Leon
are you enrolled in the SAVE plan for student loans and facing confusion or financial distress at the prospect of upcoming interest charges or changing loan repayment plans? I’d love to talk to you for @motherjones.com. reach me at sszilagy@cir.org or securely (info in my bio).
July 23, 2025 at 2:40 PM
are you enrolled in the SAVE plan for student loans and facing confusion or financial distress at the prospect of upcoming interest charges or changing loan repayment plans? I’d love to talk to you for @motherjones.com. reach me at sszilagy@cir.org or securely (info in my bio).
The fragility in this person's voice as she talks about the last time she saw her daughter sounds like it happened yesterday, but it was more than 6 years ago. @julialurie.bsky.social reports for @pbsnews.org on a thriving adoption industry in an environment of shrinking guardrails.
www.motherjones.com
July 14, 2025 at 6:16 PM
The fragility in this person's voice as she talks about the last time she saw her daughter sounds like it happened yesterday, but it was more than 6 years ago. @julialurie.bsky.social reports for @pbsnews.org on a thriving adoption industry in an environment of shrinking guardrails.
The very journalist who wrote this, @hurwitz.bsky.social, is on this blacklist for writing about the killing of Palestinians. Yet the people who run and fund this site are hidden. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
How a shadowy online blacklist became a legal threat to pro-Palestinian activists
“Are you familiar with the Canary?”
www.motherjones.com
July 8, 2025 at 7:28 PM
The very journalist who wrote this, @hurwitz.bsky.social, is on this blacklist for writing about the killing of Palestinians. Yet the people who run and fund this site are hidden. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...