From  | | | | Two years ago, Flor Zamorano snapped a selfie as she beamed in the streaky mirror of a Safeway bathroom in Burlington, Wash. On the way to a club, she and her friends had stopped at the grocery store to buy wine, kicking off a typical girls' night out — and one of their last for a while. | | | Flor Zamorano during a night out on February 2020 in Burlington, Wash. (Flor Zamorano; Washington Post illustration) | | That was back in February 2020, said Zamorano, now 24, when the coronavirus was just a faint blip on her radar. But "a lot has changed" since then, she said. As stay-at-home orders began taking effect, her final semester at Western Washington University moved completely online. Not long after she graduated in June 2020, Zamorano found out she and her husband were expecting. | | A message from McKinsey & Company |  | Employee experience matters. The Great Resignation forced organizations to take a hard look at their relationships with those without whom their businesses would not operate: their employees. What can organizations do to show they care? Explore ways to lead with empathy, empower staff to live their purpose, and more with curated reads on how to improve the employee experience. | | | | | | On March 10, 2021 — almost exactly one year into the pandemic — Zamorano gave birth to her daughter, Camila. A few months later, she stood in her bathroom for another signature mirror selfie — this time with Camila in tow. Zamorano said the photo captures a clear contrast of her life during and before the pandemic. | |  | | Zamorano with her daughter in July 2021 in Burlington. (Flor Zamorano; Washington Post illustration) | | "I was like a person who didn't really show emotions," Zamorano said, "and now I'm full of emotions now that I have a baby." For many like Zamorano, the pandemic has completely redefined their lives, inciting major life events and decisions. For others, it's just been about surviving. In recognition of the two-year anniversary of the pandemic, we asked six women to share "then and now" photos revealing the big and small ways their lives have changed. | | | | | Three need-to-know stories | | | (Gianmarco Maraviglia for The Washington Post) | 01.More than 1.5 million refugees from Ukraine have fled to neighboring countries over the past 10 days as the civilian toll mounts in the Russian invasion. If fighting continues, as many as 4 million could be displaced in the coming weeks, said Filippo Grandi, the U.N. high commissioner for refugees. Here's a look inside one woman's first 24 hours as a refugee. 02.Both Idaho and Florida's state Senates voted last week to pass Republican bills that would ban abortion after six weeks and 15 weeks of pregnancy, respectively. The moves signal the start of what is expected to be a cascade of new restrictions in GOP-led states as the conservative Supreme Court considers the fate of Roe v. Wade. 03.WNBA star Brittney Griner was arrested in Russia on suspicion of illegally bringing drugs into the country after the two-time Olympic gold medalist was searched at the airport and found with hash oil in her luggage, according to Russian news agency Tass. "We are aware of and are closely monitoring the situation with Brittney Griner in Russia," the Phoenix Mercury said in a statement. | | | | | | | | Autherine Lucy Foster, center, discusses her return to the University of Alabama following mob demonstrations in 1956. (Gene Herrick/AP) | | Autherine Lucy Foster, the first Black student to attend the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, died last week at the age of 92. Although she was chased from campus after only three days of classes and ultimately expelled by the school board, Ms. Foster's 1956 enrollment was a symbolic milestone in the civil rights movement, occurring at what was then an all-White citadel of the segregated South. The school overturned Ms. Foster's expulsion in 1988, and she soon returned to campus, receiving a master's degree in elementary education in 1992. She was awarded an honorary doctorate in 2019 and was on campus last month to attend the dedication for an education building named in her honor. "If I am a master teacher, what I hope I am teaching you is that love will take care of everything in our world," she said at the dedication ceremony. Read more from Harrison Smith in The Washington Post. | | | | | But before we part, some recs | | | (Courtesy of Molly Hensley-Clancy) | Molly Hensley-ClancySports investigations reporter, The Washington PostWhat kind of stories do you like to write the most?
I'm especially drawn to stories of abuse, inequality and exploitation of women in the sports world, but I always want to do them in a way that's empowering to the women at the center of them. Did you play any sports growing up?
I played soccer growing up and I still play all the time in women's and coed leagues in D.C. I watch women's soccer a lot, plus some men's soccer, and I've also been getting into the WNBA. What's your go-to late night snack?
I saw this recipe on TikTok where you fry an egg in chili crisp. I could eat it for every meal, but it's a perfect late-night snack with some leftover rice or toast. | | | | | | |
