Sara Luterman
@slooterman.bsky.social
Disabled disability and aging reporter at The 19th. Opinions are my own. Follows are not endorsements.
Signal: slooterman.18
Email: sluterman at 19thnews dot org
Signal: slooterman.18
Email: sluterman at 19thnews dot org
Pinned
Behind the fight over expanding disability parking placards for pregnancy
Supporters call the efforts pro-family. But critics warn that with too few accessible spots already, expanding placards could shut more disabled people, including moms, out of everyday life.
19thnews.org
I dug into the expanding fight over disability parking placards for pregnant people.
Is it a no-brainer pro-family move or does it make life harder for disabled people? Are those even discrete categories?
Is it a no-brainer pro-family move or does it make life harder for disabled people? Are those even discrete categories?
Reposted by Sara Luterman
Bob Kafka is interviewed in this oral history of the Capitol Crawl. He says, "We wanted to show that 'access is a civil right' is more than just words, that we were willing to take action. We wanted to make sure the statement we made was symbolic & visual."
newmobility.com/the-capitol-...
newmobility.com/the-capitol-...
An Oral History of the Capitol Crawl
Mike Ervin talks with the activists who crawled up the Capitol steps and shook it loose.
newmobility.com
December 28, 2025 at 2:41 AM
Bob Kafka is interviewed in this oral history of the Capitol Crawl. He says, "We wanted to show that 'access is a civil right' is more than just words, that we were willing to take action. We wanted to make sure the statement we made was symbolic & visual."
newmobility.com/the-capitol-...
newmobility.com/the-capitol-...
Reposted by Sara Luterman
R.I.P. disability rights leader Bob Kafka. The ADAPT leader was known for leading protests. But was also a savvy policy wonk who could work with government officials--of any party--to win programs. www.npr.org/2006/09/15/6...
December 27, 2025 at 5:04 PM
R.I.P. disability rights leader Bob Kafka. The ADAPT leader was known for leading protests. But was also a savvy policy wonk who could work with government officials--of any party--to win programs. www.npr.org/2006/09/15/6...
A profound loss for the disability community. May his memory be a blessing.
Disability rights advocate Bob Kafka dead at 79
Bob Kafka was an organizer with ADAPT (American Disabled for Attendant Programs Today), a group which advocates for policy change to support people with disabilities.
www.npr.org
December 28, 2025 at 12:14 AM
A profound loss for the disability community. May his memory be a blessing.
Why is flying astronomically worse for parents of young children? Between waiting extra time for a stroller to get searched to having bottles of formula swabbed, it easily tacks 30-40 minutes onto security for basically no reason.
December 27, 2025 at 2:24 PM
Why is flying astronomically worse for parents of young children? Between waiting extra time for a stroller to get searched to having bottles of formula swabbed, it easily tacks 30-40 minutes onto security for basically no reason.
Reposted by Sara Luterman
Someone much more clever than I am pointed out that Frosty the Snowman could be considered a golem, so I ran with that.
December 15, 2025 at 4:42 PM
Someone much more clever than I am pointed out that Frosty the Snowman could be considered a golem, so I ran with that.
Reposted by Sara Luterman
The #Trump administration is pushing back on a lawsuit seeking to ensure that sign language interpreters are included at #WhiteHouse events by suggesting that the accommodation is incompatible with the president's image. #disabilities #accessibility
White House Says ASL Interpreters 'Intrude' On Trump's Ability To Control His Image
The administration is pushing back on a lawsuit seeking to ensure that interpreters are included at White House events by suggesting that the accommodation is incompatible with the president's image.
www.disabilityscoop.com
December 19, 2025 at 5:27 AM
The #Trump administration is pushing back on a lawsuit seeking to ensure that sign language interpreters are included at #WhiteHouse events by suggesting that the accommodation is incompatible with the president's image. #disabilities #accessibility
Reposted by Sara Luterman
OK, so the warrior dividends come from a housing allowance supplement that was in the Big Beautiful Bill, it has nothing to do with tariffs. That housing allowance for off-base expenses has been seen as inadequate, which necessitated the increase.
www.defenseone.com/policy/2025/...
www.defenseone.com/policy/2025/...
Trump rebrands Congressionally-approved troop housing subsidy as ‘warrior dividend’ bonus
More than $2.9 billion in reconciliation funds was allocated to beef up troop housing allowances. Now, it’s being used for $1,776 checks.
www.defenseone.com
December 18, 2025 at 2:20 PM
OK, so the warrior dividends come from a housing allowance supplement that was in the Big Beautiful Bill, it has nothing to do with tariffs. That housing allowance for off-base expenses has been seen as inadequate, which necessitated the increase.
www.defenseone.com/policy/2025/...
www.defenseone.com/policy/2025/...
Reposted by Sara Luterman
Brutal numbers for food in the latest inflation report:
- bananas rose 6.7 percent in the past year
-beef and veal rose by 15.8 percent
-coffee, which rose 18.8 percent in the last year.
www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...
- bananas rose 6.7 percent in the past year
-beef and veal rose by 15.8 percent
-coffee, which rose 18.8 percent in the last year.
www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...
Inflation spikes 2.7 percent despite Trump’s claims ‘prices are down’
Prices on numerous goods spike as the labor market continues to be sluggish
www.independent.co.uk
December 18, 2025 at 1:48 PM
Brutal numbers for food in the latest inflation report:
- bananas rose 6.7 percent in the past year
-beef and veal rose by 15.8 percent
-coffee, which rose 18.8 percent in the last year.
www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...
- bananas rose 6.7 percent in the past year
-beef and veal rose by 15.8 percent
-coffee, which rose 18.8 percent in the last year.
www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...
In which @19thnews.org staff talk about what we loved in 2025 and my colleague Zurii shows me tf up as a mom by talking about her baby while I talked about the video game I played with my spouse after our baby went to sleep.
What The 19th loved in 2025
What we did, watched, listened to and wore that brought us joy in 2025.
19thnews.org
December 17, 2025 at 3:52 PM
In which @19thnews.org staff talk about what we loved in 2025 and my colleague Zurii shows me tf up as a mom by talking about her baby while I talked about the video game I played with my spouse after our baby went to sleep.
I am curious about if Elizabeth Bernstein approached any of the estranged children for interviews — She doesn’t mention any declined to or did not respond to requests for comment.
Welcome to the pissed-off parent pushback: After years of therapists and others encouraging adult children to cut ties with families they deem harmful or “toxic,” estranged parents are speaking out on.wsj.com/4s49U52
These Moms Are Done Being ‘Doormats’ for Their Estranged Children
Parents publicly blast their adult offspring for cutting them off, drawing tens of thousands of online followers.
on.wsj.com
December 17, 2025 at 1:45 PM
I am curious about if Elizabeth Bernstein approached any of the estranged children for interviews — She doesn’t mention any declined to or did not respond to requests for comment.
I am on vacation so nobody can make me watch RFK Jr’s chronic Lyme event.
December 15, 2025 at 9:50 PM
I am on vacation so nobody can make me watch RFK Jr’s chronic Lyme event.
Reposted by Sara Luterman
"Alex Kleytman, an 87-year-old Ukrainian Holocaust survivor, was celebrating Hanukkah with his wife of 57 years, Larisa Kleytman, also a Holocaust survivor, when the attack began. He was killed while shielding Larisa from the bullets with his own body."
www.timesofisrael.com/chabad-rabbi...
www.timesofisrael.com/chabad-rabbi...
Chabad rabbis, Holocaust survivor, 10-year-old among victims of Sydney terror attack
At least 15 people were killed when two gunmen opened fire on 'Chanukah by the Sea' event at Bondi Beach. These are some of their stories
www.timesofisrael.com
December 15, 2025 at 1:18 PM
"Alex Kleytman, an 87-year-old Ukrainian Holocaust survivor, was celebrating Hanukkah with his wife of 57 years, Larisa Kleytman, also a Holocaust survivor, when the attack began. He was killed while shielding Larisa from the bullets with his own body."
www.timesofisrael.com/chabad-rabbi...
www.timesofisrael.com/chabad-rabbi...
Reposted by Sara Luterman
The chabad rabbi killed at Bondi Beach
December 14, 2025 at 1:26 PM
The chabad rabbi killed at Bondi Beach
Reposted by Sara Luterman
Jewish groups are circulating the hebrew names of the injured for the traditional prayers for healing. Just got sent these:
* Reuven Ben Manya
* Chaya Mushka bas Shterna Sara
* Feivel Eliezer ben Dobra Bella
* Arsan ben Amelia
* Yaakov Dov ben Pnina
* Yaakov ben Ethel
* Moshe Yonatan ben Tziporah
* Reuven Ben Manya
* Chaya Mushka bas Shterna Sara
* Feivel Eliezer ben Dobra Bella
* Arsan ben Amelia
* Yaakov Dov ben Pnina
* Yaakov ben Ethel
* Moshe Yonatan ben Tziporah
December 14, 2025 at 11:10 AM
Jewish groups are circulating the hebrew names of the injured for the traditional prayers for healing. Just got sent these:
* Reuven Ben Manya
* Chaya Mushka bas Shterna Sara
* Feivel Eliezer ben Dobra Bella
* Arsan ben Amelia
* Yaakov Dov ben Pnina
* Yaakov ben Ethel
* Moshe Yonatan ben Tziporah
* Reuven Ben Manya
* Chaya Mushka bas Shterna Sara
* Feivel Eliezer ben Dobra Bella
* Arsan ben Amelia
* Yaakov Dov ben Pnina
* Yaakov ben Ethel
* Moshe Yonatan ben Tziporah
Oliver Sacks’ work was one of the first places I read about people like me in humanizing terms. We were still curiosities, sure. But he empathized and encouraged empathy with people who were and in some cases still are considered pathologically unlikeable. I will always love him for that.
December 12, 2025 at 11:57 PM
Oliver Sacks’ work was one of the first places I read about people like me in humanizing terms. We were still curiosities, sure. But he empathized and encouraged empathy with people who were and in some cases still are considered pathologically unlikeable. I will always love him for that.
Reposted by Sara Luterman
I’m quite speechless after reading this nuanced exploration of Oliver Sacks’ embellishments & fabrications – “half-report, half-imagined, half-science, half-fable, but with a fidelity of their own,” he once confided to his brother. Very clever on the nature of empathy & projection. But boy, oh boy…
Oliver Sacks Put Himself Into His Case Studies. What Was the Cost?
The scientist was famous for linking healing with storytelling. Sometimes that meant reshaping patients’ reality.
www.newyorker.com
December 12, 2025 at 5:57 PM
I’m quite speechless after reading this nuanced exploration of Oliver Sacks’ embellishments & fabrications – “half-report, half-imagined, half-science, half-fable, but with a fidelity of their own,” he once confided to his brother. Very clever on the nature of empathy & projection. But boy, oh boy…
Gender affirming care, but only for cis people I guess. 19thnews.org/2025/12/test...
There’s a testosterone crisis, the FDA says — for cisgender men
The government disapproves of the hormone for transgender people but is enthusiastic about what it could do for cisgender men.
19thnews.org
December 12, 2025 at 4:57 PM
Gender affirming care, but only for cis people I guess. 19thnews.org/2025/12/test...
Reposted by Sara Luterman
"Did you do any dancing at your bar mitzvah, Col. Kurtz?"
"The hora... the hora..."
"The hora... the hora..."
December 12, 2025 at 12:11 PM
"Did you do any dancing at your bar mitzvah, Col. Kurtz?"
"The hora... the hora..."
"The hora... the hora..."
Reposted by Sara Luterman
SCOOP: Academy Award-nominee Liam Neeson narrated a recent anti-vaccine documentary that glorifies RFK Jr.’s rise to power.
In the film, Neeson—a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador—calls the COVID-19 vaccines “dangerous experiments.”
www.importantcontext.news/p/liam-neeso...
In the film, Neeson—a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador—calls the COVID-19 vaccines “dangerous experiments.”
www.importantcontext.news/p/liam-neeso...
Liam Neeson Narrates Anti-Vax, Pro-RFK Documentary
The Taken actor can be heard calling mRNA COVID vaccines “dangerous experiments.”
www.importantcontext.news
December 11, 2025 at 5:52 PM
SCOOP: Academy Award-nominee Liam Neeson narrated a recent anti-vaccine documentary that glorifies RFK Jr.’s rise to power.
In the film, Neeson—a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador—calls the COVID-19 vaccines “dangerous experiments.”
www.importantcontext.news/p/liam-neeso...
In the film, Neeson—a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador—calls the COVID-19 vaccines “dangerous experiments.”
www.importantcontext.news/p/liam-neeso...
Reposted by Sara Luterman
*taps sign*
September 22, 2025 at 7:05 PM
*taps sign*
Reposted by Sara Luterman
Ok so I finally tried this last night at a strange and disastrous pop up in New York and would you believe it it's just hot chocolate. It tastes exactly like Swiss Miss made with half and half.
December 11, 2025 at 2:13 PM
Ok so I finally tried this last night at a strange and disastrous pop up in New York and would you believe it it's just hot chocolate. It tastes exactly like Swiss Miss made with half and half.
Reposted by Sara Luterman
The measles outbreak in South Carolina is “accelerating” with no end in sight following Thanksgiving and other large gatherings, state health officials say.
South Carolina measles outbreak is 'accelerating,' driving hundreds into quarantine
Some students who remain unvaccinated are now in a second 21-day quarantine since the beginning of the school year.
nbcnews.to
December 10, 2025 at 10:20 PM
The measles outbreak in South Carolina is “accelerating” with no end in sight following Thanksgiving and other large gatherings, state health officials say.
Reposted by Sara Luterman
The Washington Post is launching a personalized AI podcast, saying users will be able to "shape their own briefing, select their topics, set their lengths, pick their hosts and soon even ask questions using our Ask The Post AI technology."
December 10, 2025 at 4:09 PM
The Washington Post is launching a personalized AI podcast, saying users will be able to "shape their own briefing, select their topics, set their lengths, pick their hosts and soon even ask questions using our Ask The Post AI technology."
Reposted by Sara Luterman
This op-ed by @krutikakuppalli.bsky.social is profoundly worrying. Identity-driven opposition to vaccines that's fueled by misinformation & political polarization is impeding the capacity of doctors to effectively care for their patients. www.statnews.com/2025/12/10/a...
Rise of anti-science rhetoric has fundamentally changed the relationship between doctors and patients
“The rise of anti-science and anti-vaccine rhetoric has fundamentally changed the relationship between clinicians and patients.”
www.statnews.com
December 10, 2025 at 2:52 PM
This op-ed by @krutikakuppalli.bsky.social is profoundly worrying. Identity-driven opposition to vaccines that's fueled by misinformation & political polarization is impeding the capacity of doctors to effectively care for their patients. www.statnews.com/2025/12/10/a...
Reposted by Sara Luterman
a type of content that makes me want to launch myself into space and is huge part of why everything is so bad: TikToker goes down a “rabbit hole,” makes 9-minute video. The “rabbit hole” was she found an Eater article. The Eater journalist did all the work: www.tiktok.com/t/ZTruBS8cp/
allow me to take you on a journey where, once again, we learn we have no idea what’s in our food. at least we know corporations are pure of heart so I’m sure it’s fine🫶🏼🤡
TikTok video by kaelin
www.tiktok.com
December 7, 2025 at 1:10 AM
a type of content that makes me want to launch myself into space and is huge part of why everything is so bad: TikToker goes down a “rabbit hole,” makes 9-minute video. The “rabbit hole” was she found an Eater article. The Eater journalist did all the work: www.tiktok.com/t/ZTruBS8cp/