Today at Ms. | August 6, 2026 - 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.
__________
Documentary ‘State of Firsts’ Follows Sarah McBride’s Historic Journey to Congress
By Sofia Gonzalez | A new documentary, State of Firsts , released during Pride Month, chronicles Rep. Sarah McBride (D-Del.)’s historic path to Congress amid growing anti-transgender rhetoric. It is now showing in select theaters across the country.
Directed by trans filmmaker Chase Joynt, the documentary offers a behind-the-scenes look at McBride’s journey to becoming the first openly transgender elected official in the U.S. Congress.
To read more, please visit: [link removed]
__________
War on Women Report: Hegseth Blocks Promotions of Women in Navy; Trump Finally Pays E. Jean Carroll; Colorado Police Pray With Abortion Clinic Harassers
By Ava Slocum and Genevieve Bonner Davis | MAGA Republicans are back in the White House, and Project 2025 is their guide: the right-wing plan to turn back the clock on women’s rights, remove abortion access, and force women into roles as wives and mothers in the “ideal, natural family structure."
We know an empowered female electorate is essential to democracy. That’s why day after day, we stay vigilant in our goals to dismantle patriarchy at every turn. We are watching, and we refuse to go back. This is the War on Women Report.
Since our last report:
—Celebrity women are 3.5 times more likely than men to be deepfaked.
—The Department of Health and Human Services abruptly canceled $68 million in federal grants under the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program.
—Planned Parenthood clinics regained access to millions of dollars in essential federal funding. The temporary ban was originally approved in July 2025 as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The denial of federal funding over the past year forced Planned Parenthood to close nearly 30 health centers nationwide, impacting roughly 40,000 patients. Despite regaining an estimated $800 million in annual federal funding, ongoing financial uncertainty at both the state and federal levels means the shuttered clinics will not reopen.
—Maine U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner has suspended his campaign after a former girlfriend accused him of raping her nearly five years ago.
—For the first time in a decade, no active-duty women naval officers will be promoted to admiral this year.
—Police officers in Boulder, Colo., were photographed pausing to pray with antiabortion protestors harassing the RISE Collective, an all-trimester abortion clinic, after concerned RISE Collective staff alerted the police of the protestors’ presence.
—Abortion-rights organizers in Idaho have been working to collect signatures for a proposed ballot measure that would restore abortion rights in the state, revoking Idaho’s total ban. On July 2, volunteers gathered in Boise to turn in over 110,000 signatures they collected for the initiative (called the Reproductive Freedom and Privacy Act). About one-quarter are from registered Republicans, demonstrating support for abortion rights is widespread even in deep red states.
… and more.
To read more, please visit: [link removed]
__________
A Jim Crow-Era Voter Suppression Tool Is Back: Mass Voter Challenges
By Sean Morales-Doyle | In March 2025, two members of the DOGE team communicated with a political advocacy group that was seeking to “find evidence of voter fraud and to overturn election results in certain States.” The group was trying to match Social Security records with copies of voter files that it had acquired. One of the DOGE team members even signed a “Voter Data Agreement” with the group. While it’s still unclear whether DOGE members shared any personal Social Security data, the revelation raised a scary prospect: The federal government might collaborate with election deniers seeking to block American voters from the ballot box.
Most states have laws that allow voters to challenge other voters’ eligibility. Baseless mass challenges to hundreds or thousands of voters at a time are a growing problem. They threaten voters. They swamp overburdened election officials with unnecessary work. And they fuel mistrust in our elections.
To read more, please visit: [link removed]
__________
Tune in for a new episode of Ms. magazine's podcast, On the Issues with Michele Goodwin, at MsMagazine.com, ([link removed]) Apple Podcasts ([link removed]) or wherever you listen to podcasts.
In this special episode of On The Issues, Dr. Michele Goodwin records live before a packed audience in Washington, D.C. at Georgetown University to review and analyze the Supreme Court’s 2025-2026 term. This Supreme Court’s term included major decisions related to birthright citizenship, immigration, tariffs, voting rights, and the reach of presidential authority.
With guests:
Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of Berkeley Law
Mark Joseph Stern, senior writer at Slate
Jamelle Bowie, columnist at The New York Times
Moira Donegan, a columnist at The Guardian
Sherrilyn Ifill, professor of Law at Howard Law School and former CEO and president of the Legal Defense Fund
Chris Geidner, legal editor at Law Dork
[link removed] We hope you'll listen, subscribe, rate and review today!
__________
[link removed]
Keep Ms. strong and fiercely independent! [link removed]
[link removed] | [link removed] | [link removed]
Enjoy this newsletter? Forward to a friend!
Was this email forwarded to you by a friend? Subscribe: [link removed]
Ms. Magazine
1600 Wilson Boulevard
Suite 801
Arlington, VA 22209
United States
Manage your email subscriptions here: [link removed]
If you believe you received this message in error or wish to no longer receive email from us, please
unsubscribe: [link removed] .
