Good morning, Welcome to MS NOW's Sunday Spotlight, where you can find a selection of the week's most interesting and important stories. The Trump administration wants hundreds of billions of dollars to fight in Iran. Meanwhile, immigration agents are targeting a group that was previously protected, a new coin will feature a familiar face and there may be even less competition in local TV news. Plus, the action hero who was more than his flat public persona. Don't forget to check out more top columns and videos from the week below. |
Billions and billions: The Department of Defense is considering asking Congress for up to $200 billion more in funding to pay for its war in Iran. That's on top of the $1.5 trillion that the Trump administration is seeking for the DOD in next year's budget, even as the Pentagon has been struggling to figure out how to spend the 50% increase in Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's request for fiscal 2027, argues Hayes Brown. It's also slightly more than the United States has given to Ukraine over four years of war with Russia. Approving the spending would amount to tacit approval of the war, Brown argues. Read more. |
"Americans at heart": Twelve days after his youngest daughter was born prematurely, Juan Chavez Velasco was on his way to visit her in the hospital when immigration agents picked him up, reports Laura Barrón-López. The case fits a troubling pattern of Immigration and Customs Enforcement targeting Dreamers — people who were brought to the U.S. as children illegally but have lived in America ever since — and letting their renewals under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program expire unanswered. Read more. |
Mint condition: Members of a federal arts commission voted this week to create a 24-carat commemorative gold coin featuring Trump and to make it "as large as possible" — up to 3 inches in diameter. Trump personally approved the proposed design, which features him leaning over the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office, writes Julianne McShane. The commission has previously approved the design of a $1 coin with Trump's face, though an independent citizens advisory committee objected to putting a sitting president on a coin. Read more. |
Anti-trustworthy: The Trump administration approved Nexstar's $6.2 billion takeover of a rival TV station owner Thursday. The merger would put the new company in 132 out of the 210 TV markets in the U.S., reports Sydney Carruth. The approval by the Federal Communication Commission and the Justice Department came just one day after eight state attorneys general filed an antitrust suit to stop it. Trump urged the FCC to approve the merger on social media, saying it was needed to create "more competition against THE ENEMY, the Fake News National TV Networks." Read more. |
The real Chuck Norris: Later in his career, Chuck Norris became something of a caricature: a stoic hero in movies and TV who solved problems with a swift roundhouse kick, the face of a thousand memes and a far-right columnist. That unfortunately obscures the role that he played when he was younger in bringing martial arts to the American mainstream, argues Ryan Teague Beckwith. With a chain of karate studios, a string of celebrity students and his onscreen work with Bruce Lee, Norris made martial arts more accessible. Read more. |
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Speaking in the Oval Office Monday, Trump noted that Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-Calif., has dyslexia with his usual lack of understanding. "Honestly, I'm all for people with learning disabilities, but not for my president. I think a president should not have learning disabilities," he said. The insult made reporter Eric Garcia think back to his own time in elementary school, as he struggled with dyspraxia, and the hurtful remarks that other students made. It also fits with a pattern of other Trump remarks dating back to 2015, when he mocked a disabled reporter. But Newsom's rhetoric on the issue is also problematic, as it often ignores the real challenges that students face in favor of glib and patronizing comments. Read the column here. — Ryan Teague Beckwith, newsletter editor |
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Symone Sanders Townsend and Eugene Daniels analyze how culture and politics collide in their original podcast, "Clock It with Symone & Eugene." This week, they observe the fallout of the war in the Middle East, which has widened to include Iran's soccer team, the price of gas all over the world, and the Director of the National Counterterrorism Center. Then, podcast host Sam Sanders joins to talk about Oscars wins and losses. Listen now and subscribe to MS NOW Premium on Apple Podcasts for ad-free listening and bonus content. You can also watch the full interview on YouTube. |
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