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Diff'rent Strokes Actor Dies at 57
Her Role on
Diff'rent Strokes
Broke Barriers
obituary
Dec 29, 2025 5:01 AM CST

Her Role on Diff'rent Strokes Broke Barriers

Actor Melanie Watson dies at 57

(Newser) - Melanie Watson, who brought the wheelchair-using character Kathy Gordon to Diff'rent Strokes in the early 1980s, has died at 57, People reports. Her brother, Robert Watson, told TMZ that she died Friday in Colorado Springs, Colorado, after she was hospitalized due to bleeding and her condition worsened. No additional...

Meet the Dating App for the Disabled, Chronically Ill

Founders of Dateability say they want to make their brainchild 'truly inclusive'

(Newser) - In her early 20s, Kaci LaFon lived in Branson, Missouri, a tourist town known for its older population. She wanted to date but found it a challenge, so, like many her age, she headed to the apps. Over five years, she'd get a date here and there, but they...

Uber Hit With Discrimination Suit by the Feds

Complaint says drivers routinely deny service to disabled people, including those with service dogs

(Newser) - The federal government said Friday that it's suing Uber for allegedly discriminating against passengers with disabilities. The Department of Justice said drivers for Uber, the largest ride-hailing company in the US, routinely refuse to serve individuals with disabilities, including those with service dogs, per the AP . The lawsuit alleges...

Deaf Nonprofit Sues White House Over MIA Interpreters

National Association of the Deaf says WH should make sign language available once more for events

(Newser) - A deaf advocacy nonprofit has filed a complaint against the White House over the latter's sudden removal of sign language interpreters at press conferences and other public events since President Trump once again assumed the Oval Office in January. "Defendants are now denying hundreds of thousands of deaf...

Schools Find Their First Niche for AI Tools

More are using artificial intelligence to help students with dyslexia, other challenges

(Newser) - Schools everywhere have been wrestling with how and where to incorporate artificial intelligence, but many are fast-tracking applications for students with disabilities, reports the AP . Its story draws on the example of 14-year-old girl Makenzie Gilkison, a student with dyslexia in Indianapolis who can finally keep up with her peers...

American Airlines Hit With $50M Fine Over Disabled Fliers

It's a record payout over injuring passengers, damaging wheelchairs

(Newser) - The nation's largest airline has been hit with a $50 million fine for repeatedly violating rules intended to protect passengers with disabilities. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced the fine against American Airlines on Wednesday, saying it was 25 times larger than any other fine issued by the Department of...

UK: Disabled People Should Work From Home or Lose Benefits

Critics slam 'nasty' Conservative Party

(Newser) - Critics of the UK's ruling Conservative Party say welfare reforms unveiled Wednesday show why it is nicknamed the "nasty party." Under the new plan, disabled people, including people with mobility or mental health issues, will be instructed to look for work they can do from home or...

Schools Screen for Dyslexia. 'Dyscalculia,' Not So Much

Hundreds of thousands of students have learning disabilities that make math harder

(Newser) - Nationwide, hundreds of thousands of students face challenges learning math due to disabilities like dyscalculia, a neurodevelopmental learning disorder caused by differences in parts of the brain that are involved with numbers and calculations. There are often obstacles to getting help, and America's schools have long struggled to identify...

College Hit With Suit by Notable Football Player

First person with Down syndrome to score in NCAA college football game sues for discrimination

(Newser) - An Ohio man who was the first person with Down syndrome to play and score a point in a college football game is now suing the school, its president, and several staffers. Caden Cox alleges he was the target of disability discrimination, retaliation, and assault during his time at Hocking...

Debate Organizers Thrown by Candidate's Wheelchair

Paul Hinds, running for reelection on Denver's City Council, says he had to crawl onto debate stage

(Newser) - A debate this week in Denver for a City Council seat is making headlines not for the debate itself, but for what one candidate calls his "humiliating" experience as he tried to participate. The Denver Post reports that the event was held Monday at Cleo Parker Robinson Dance, a...

The World’s First Disabled Astronaut Has Been Selected

European Space Agency chose former Paralympic sprinter John McFall

(Newser) - A British man who lost his right leg in a motorcycle accident when he was 19 is going to become the world's first disabled astronaut—or "parastronaut," as the European Space Agency terms it. John McFall, 41, became a Paralympic sprinter after the accident and later trained...

One Theory on the Big Jump in Workers With Disabilities

Fed report suggests long COVID is the driver

(Newser) - Take a look at Axios' chart of how many disabled Americans are in the US workforce, and you'll see a decade where the number mostly fell between 4 million and 5 million. But since 2020 it's been a steady climb from just below 5 million to 5.73...

Doctors Given Anonymity Talk About Patients With Disabilities

One of the study authors found the responses 'shocking'

(Newser) - They "don’t want to come across as horrible people," said Dr. Lisa Iezzoni, a professor of medicine at Harvard, in explaining part of her motivation for granting physicians anonymity as part of her latest study. It's a fair point. The doctors were being asked about how...

Using Tech to Help With a Disability Isn't Cheating

Stigma may remain for issues that aren't visible, writer says, especially among politicians

(Newser) - The nation generally tries to accommodate Americans with disabilities—just as the law says. Some measures, often involving technology, make it possible for people to do their job, or enter a building. But that principle was steamrolled during an NBC News interview last week with Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman,...

Singapore Decides This Disabled Man Must Hang

Nagaenthran K. Dharmalingam, whose IQ is 69, loses final appeal over drug smuggling

(Newser) - A Malaysian man with a mental disability lost a final legal appeal Tuesday against his death sentence in Singapore and faces execution soon, a lawyer and rights activists said. Nagaenthran K. Dharmalingam has been on death row for more than a decade for trying to smuggle less than 1.5...

After Paralysis During Game, He's Credited With Naming ADA

Kent Waldrep, strong advocate for people with disabilities, dies at 67

(Newser) - Back in 1974, Kent Waldrep got tackled while running the ball for Texas Christian University and ended up paralyzed from the chest down for life, per AL.com . He died last month at age 67, and his obituaries are focused not so much on what happened during that game against...

Health Officials Slam 'Irresponsible' Workarounds on Mask Rules

Doctors, religious and community leaders, school officials, others helping parents circumvent masking

(Newser) - An Oregon school superintendent is telling parents they can get their children out of wearing masks by citing federal disability law. A pastor at a California megachurch is offering religious exemptions for anyone morally conflicted over vaccine requirements. And Louisiana's attorney general has posted sample letters on his office'...

Jeopardy! Apologizes After Medical Clue Causes Outrage

The show called the term outdated and inaccurate

(Newser) - This Latin phrase acknowledging an error translates to "my fault." What is mea culpa? Jeopardy! had to offer one, with an apology, after using an unusual and outdated term for a serious condition. The clue was "Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome is also known as Grinch syndrome because...

Hathaway Apologizes for 'Pain' Her Character Is Causing

People with limb differences are pushing back on how characters are depicted in 'The Witches'

(Newser) - Anne Hathaway newest movie, The Witches, based on Roald Dahl's dark fantasy novel from the '80s, came out on HBO Max last month. But it hasn't been receiving the reaction Hathaway and Warner Bros. had hoped for. The main problem: Hathaway's character and the other "...

Witches Movie Angers People With Real-Life Hand Condition

'What sort of message does this give?'

(Newser) - People with disabilities say they're extremely disappointed with moviemakers who gave the scary, evil witches in a new adaptation of The Witches features that strongly resemble a real disability. In Roald Dahl's book, the witches are described as having "thin curvy claws" instead of fingernails, but the...

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