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MORE THAN A MAGAZINE, A MOVEMENT
Today at Ms. | October 16, 2025
With Today at Ms. —a daily newsletter from the team here at Ms. magazine—our top stories are delivered straight to your inbox every afternoon, so you’ll be informed and ready to fight back.
Hegseth’s Call to ‘Toughness’ Sparks Concerns About Military Sexual Violence [[link removed]]
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(Andrew Harnik / Getty Images)
By Adrienne Spires | Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth recently vowed to enforce “tough” new rules of engagement for the U.S. military, declaring there would be “no more walking on eggshells.” Critics say his rhetoric risks normalizing aggression and sexual violence both within the ranks and in combat.
Hegseth, a member of a Christian nationalist church that promotes patriarchy, also called for past infractions by so-called “tough” leaders to be expunged. Sexual assault in the military remains pervasive: the Department of Defense reported 8,195 cases in 2024, and estimates suggest nearly a quarter of active-duty women experience sexual assault during their service.
Historically, rape has been used as a weapon of war, from ancient Israel to World War II, and it continues today in conflicts abroad and at home. Experts warn that leadership matters—policies and rhetoric that prioritize violent masculinity put survivors at serious risk.
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Technical Difficulties: How Social Media Is Impacting the Landscape of Misinformation About Reproductive Health [[link removed]]
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(Jena Ardell / Getty Images)
By Margot Fahnestock | There’s a lot of unreliable information circulating about birth control—and it’s doing real harm.
The Trump administration is mischaracterizing contraceptives as abortifacients and using that false claim to justify plans to destroy nearly $10 million worth of birth control. For now, the supplies sit in a Belgian warehouse, their fate uncertain.
Meanwhile, social media is flooded with misleading videos about hormonal contraception, watched billions of times. This wave of misinformation is helping drive a decline in contraceptive use among young women that can’t be explained by access alone.
We know from experience that accurate, engaging storytelling can counter these lies—shows like East Los High have proven it—and the same approach could transform TikTok and other short-form platforms.
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A Bizarro Take on the 14th Amendment for the Voting Rights Act [[link removed]]
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(Michael S. Williamson / The Washington Post via Getty Images)
By Kareem Crayton | In Louisiana v. Callais , the Supreme Court has invited argument on whether Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act is unconstitutional. Put another way, the Court will tell us whether this civil rights landmark and its decades of progress in securing the right to vote are to be reaffirmed or cast aside.
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[link removed] [[link removed]] Tune in for a new episode of Ms. magazine's podcast, On the Issues with Michele Goodwin on
Apple Podcasts [[link removed]] + Spotify [[link removed]] .
This last Supreme Court term was harrowing—from momentous merits decisions about the First Amendment, parental rights, trans rights and more, to the stream of shocking “shadow docket” decisions and its enabling of many of the Trump administration’s executive actions. What does the 2025-2026 term have in store for our nation? What do we think will advance through the Court? What do we think will come up, when it comes to the shadow docket? And perhaps most importantly, how will the Court choose to mediate the Trump administration’s continued onslaught of executive actions?
We hope you'll listen, subscribe, rate and review today!
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