by Evette Dionne | Aug 8, 2026 | culture, Opinion, Pop Culture
In 2023, Oscar-nominated actor and singer Ariana Grande recorded a video addressing people concerned about her thin appearance on the set of “Wicked.”
“I think we should be gentler and less comfortable commenting on people’s bodies, no matter what,” she said on TikTok. “We should really work toward not doing that as much. … There are really different ways to look healthy and beautiful.”
In some ways, Grande is right. The bodies of celebrities, especially female celebrities, are constantly under a microscope, with every pound they lose or gain fodder for stories splashed across tabloid covers. In a society as fame-obsessed as ours, the parasocial entitlement that exists between famous people and the broader public must indeed be emotionally and mentally taxing for celebrities, who are often regarded as possessions, not humans. Commentary about the size of their bodies is a particularly nasty feature of that perceived ownership.
It’s hard to ignore Grande’s appearance in recent days.
Yet in light of reporting that she’ll be taking a break from public work, it’s hard to ignore Grande’s recent appearance. While looks can be misleading and may not accurately reflect one’s health, she seems even thinner now than she did more than three years ago. When she shared the video for her latest single, “Petal,” on Instagram, a community note was attached encouraging people navigating eating disorders to seek care. That may feel like overstepping, or another form of body-shaming a famous woman. It shouldn’t be considered problematic, however, to point out the obvious: that Grande is not merely thin.
To be clear, we don’t know if Grande is experiencing any particular medical condition, including an eating disorder.
by Ja'han Jones | Aug 8, 2026 | Opinion
Republicans, members of the so-called “America First” party, claim to be laser-focused on the issues that matter to everyday Americans as the midterm elections approach.
And what does that mean to Ohio Republican Rep. Jim Jordan, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee? Evidently, meddling with South Korea’s effort to stop the spread of disinformation and misinformation online.
CNBC reported Thursday that Jordan led a group of lawmakers in sending a letter to South Korea’s Media and Communications Commission expressing concerns over a new law in the country that punishes large media outlets and publishers for deliberately spreading false information. The context here is that Jordan and the conservative movement — which often relies heavily on misinformation and disinformation to spread their propaganda — have spent several years now targeting people and institutions interested in, and competent in, combatting fake news online.
Jordan and the MAGA movement are currently in lockstep with President Donald Trump, a man who has launched the most brazen assault on free speech, the free press and corporate independence of any president in modern history — if not ever.
And yet CNBC reported Jordan and his fellow Republican lawmakers claimed their concerns are centered on free-speech issues and protections for American companies:
“This amendment serves as a major threat to online speech and expression and would allow the KMCC to punish American companies and their users for exercising their constitutionally protected rights,” the lawmakers, including House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, wrote.
One can easily read that excerpt and presume Jordan and his colleagues are just caping for Trump-aligned social media companies — such as Elon Musk’s X platform and the Mark
by Ja'han Jones | Aug 8, 2026 | Civil Rights, Opinion, White House
$2,358 per person.
It’s a number that shows the impacts of President Donald Trump’s destructive economic agenda and bigoted anti-immigrant agenda in stark relief.
According to a new tool launched by the Economic Policy Institute, that’s the whopping amount American taxpayers are shelling out on average to fund Trump’s mass deportation push.
The progressive think tank’s new “Cost of Deportations Calculator” references the nearly $270 billion that Congress and federal agencies under Trump have already committed to immigration enforcement. The calculator basically shows the tremendous cost of Americans effectively underwriting the president’s depraved war on immigrants. (If you’re interested in getting wonky, check out the methodology here).
On its website, the institute lists various things that this huge pot of money could be going toward instead. For example, the organization estimated the money could fund 931,963 school teachers, more than 1 million firefighters or just under 12 million Americans on Medicaid.
And the calculator also allows users to cycle through all of the nation’s counties to get estimates about the taxpayer burden that Trump’s mass deportation agenda is placing on communities across the country.
Taken together, it’s a powerful tool in that it stands to remind Americans — who have already already shown broad discontent with the GOP’s handling of immigration and the economy — that the Trump regime’s anti-immigrant crusade comes with massive costs.
Human costs, primarily — as the growing death toll well proves. But financial ones, also.
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by MS NOW | Aug 8, 2026 | Letter to the editor, Opinion
MS NOW welcomes letters from readers who want to respond to our journalism, add context, raise a thoughtful disagreement or share a perspective that may help other readers better understand an issue. Please review our submission guidelines. Then use this form to send us your letter.
To the editor:
Regarding the Aug. 5 letters to the editor, “What Abdul El-Sayed’s primary win really signals,” and related coverage:
Abdul El-Sayed is just one example. It has become increasingly clear that the national political parties are not listening to what the people are trying to tell them. The fact that so many citizens of this country, regardless of age, race, gender, education or other characterization want to be able to afford to eat, pay rent, see a doctor and have to work only one job to do those things seems to elude those who would choose our leaders for us.
I have not donated to a political party in quite a while. Instead, I watch who is pushing for the things I want or need to live a decent life, and I donate directly to them. That the Democratic Party has not been able to figure this out may be why Democrats are losing their impact in politics and can’t raise the money they want.
Here is some advice: Open your eyes and ears, and listen to the people. It’s no surprise that democratic socialists are gaining steam. I may not agree with all of their tenets, but I do agree that the people of this country deserve much more than the crumbs we have been getting from establishment politicians.
Diana CareyTacoma, Washington
To send a letter to the editor, review our submission guidelines and use this form.
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by MS NOW | Aug 7, 2026 | Letter to the editor, Opinion
MS NOW welcomes letters from readers who want to respond to our journalism, add context, raise a thoughtful disagreement or share a perspective that may help other readers better understand an issue. Please review our submission guidelines. Then use this form to send us your letter.
To the editor:
Regarding the Aug. 5 news story “Moldy showers and no soap: Military families are outraged by conditions on USS Lincoln”:
Priya Sridhar’s reporting raises two important questions: Do the Marines described in the article receive combat pay, and what rotation schedule applies during continuous deployment at sea? Those answers matter because compensation, relief and support shape how long deployments affect service members and their families.
In 1967, I spent 90 days on ship duty in the Caribbean while serving in the Marines. At the time, Marine detachments were regularly afloat in the Caribbean and the Mediterranean. Enlisted Marines slept below decks in hammocks or cots, with no private space beyond their duffel bags. When we pulled into port every seven to 10 days, Marines were eager to go ashore, stretch their legs, breathe fresh air and call home. We had no phone service, and calling home from port was expensive. The difficult conditions weighed heavily on morale, including in one serious case that required a Marine to be sent back to Camp Lejeune for care.
That experience makes me wonder how Marines aboard the Lincoln are rotated and supported during extended deployments. In my day, Marines were allowed on deck only for physical training. Their few diversions were meals, an occasional movie and mail call, which became a major event whenever letters arrived. Tension sometimes surfaced between sailors and Marines, a reminder
by Leslie Morgan Steiner | Aug 7, 2026 | Criminal Justice, Opinion
At 26, I should have been preparing to walk across the stage at Wharton business school holding an MBA diploma. Instead, I was standing on my own in a Philadelphia courtroom about to ask a judge for a piece of paper that could save my life.
Doom was my dominant emotion. When I told the judge that my husband — also a Wharton MBA candidate — held a loaded gun to my head and savagely beat me more times than I could remember, I knew the judge would likely believe my husband, not me.
When I saw Ohio Rep. Max Miller’s livestream video denying allegations that he abused his ex-wife Emily Moreno and their daughter, I felt my body go on alert.
Because standing across from me in court was my husband — a tall, blond, athletic Irish American in his early 30s, a magna cum laude Ivy League graduate, a former Wall Street investment banker, the first member of his family to graduate from college.
They say abusers are charming. Somehow this implies that if you were smart enough, you would see the invisible warning on their forehead stating, “I AM CHARMING AND CREDIBLE SO THAT I CAN KILL YOU ONE DAY WITH IMPUNITY.”
I wasn’t that smart. No one really is. He had fooled me and I knew he would fool the judge. No one would believe me, I thought. I was sure the next time, he would make good on his threats to destroy me.
This all happened long ago. This past Sunday, when I saw Ohio Rep. Max Miller’s livestream video denying allegations that he abused his ex-wife Emily Moreno and their daughter, I felt my body go on alert. Miller has denied allegations of abuse that include throwing hot water at Moreno, holding a gun to her head and possibly fracturing his 2 1/2-year-old daughter’s collarbone. Yet watching him
