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Leave it to Queen Latifah to turn a major career milestone into a full-on family affair. The legendary musician, actress, producer, and entrepreneur hosted the 2026 American Music Awards on Monday, May 25, 2026, and she did not come alone. Latifah brought her partner, Eboni Nichols, and their 6-year-old son, Rebel, to the show, making it one of the sweetest moments on the red carpet for the night.  

This year’s AMAs carried extra special significance. The year 2026 marks 30 years since Latifah first took hosting duties at the show, and she returned to welcome audiences to what remains the world’s largest fan-voted awards show. Only a legend gets to celebrate that kind of anniversary on that kind of stage, and she wore every one of those 30 years like a crown. 

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – MAY 25: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY) (L-R) Eboni Nichols and Queen Latifah attend the 52nd American Music Awards at MGM Grand Garden Arena on May 25, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada.(Photo by David Becker/Getty Images)

The family outing took on an even warmer dimension with the addition of a very special guest. Kaayia James Union Wade, the 7-year-old daughter of Gabrielle Union and NBA legend Dwyane Wade, joined the group for the evening. Formerly known to millions of fans online as the “Shady Baby,” Union Wade has already built her own cultural footprint, charming the internet with her unshakeable confidence. Seeing her step into a night this big, surrounded by people who clearly adore her, was a reminder that this next generation is already something special. And she was not the only young star making her presence felt.

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – MAY 25: EDITORIAL USE ONLY Teyana Taylor, Iman “Junie” Tayla Shumpert Jr., and Rue Rose Shumpert attend the 52nd American Music Awards at MGM Grand Garden Arena on May 25, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic)

Queen Latifah Teyana Taylor

The post Queen Latifah Made The American Music Awards A Family Affair appeared first on Essence.

Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented Tuesday from their colleagues’ refusal to let Florida mount a lawsuit that one of its targets described as a “political stunt” announced on Fox News.

The Republican-led state sought to sue Washington state and California for allegedly “defying federal law by providing commercial driver’s licenses to illegal aliens who cannot read English,” as Thomas’ dissent for the duo put it.

He recounted that Florida alleged the two Democratic-led states created conditions for “the disturbing phenomenon of illegal-alien truck drivers causing fatal accidents on the road.”

Although Thomas and Alito arguably are two of the most right-wing justices, and their framing of the case sympathized with Florida’s stance, their objection was formally procedural rather than politically ideological. This case wasn’t a typical appeal that a losing party takes from a lower court loss but rather an attempt to invoke the court’s “original jurisdiction” to hear lawsuits between states initiated at the high court.

“I respectfully dissent from the Court’s denial of Florida’s motion because we cannot refuse to hear suits between States,” Thomas wrote Tuesday, lamenting that the majority “declines to even hear Florida’s claims, even though it has nowhere else to bring them.” He and Alito have made similar objections before, such as when the high court rejected Missouri’s bid to intervene in Donald Trump’s hush money prosecution in 2024.

Successfully opposing Florida’s suit, California and Washington called it both procedurally and substantively lacking.

In its opposition brief, California officials said that the red state had failed “to satisfy the basic prerequisites” for its complaint and that its underlying claims “are also patently meritless.” The West Coast state said Florida’s claims “turn on its unfounded assumption” that California’s motor vehicle agency doesn’t verify applicants’ legal presence in the U.S. or test for English-language proficiency before issuing commercial driver’s licenses. “But that is incorrect,” California officials said, maintaining that their state law requires verifying legal presence and English proficiency and that the state “in fact does so.”

Washington officials called the failed filing “a political stunt, not a real claim.” Its opposition brief said Florida’s attorney general announced the lawsuit on Sean Hannity’s Fox News show, “issuing a press release modeled on a boxing fight card proclaiming: ‘Attorney General James Uthmeier is taking California Governor Gavin Newsom to the U.S. Supreme Court,’ and ‘Florida Leads With Support for the Trump Administration.’”

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The post Thomas and Alito dissent from refusal to let Florida sue California over driver’s licenses appeared first on MS NOW.

By India Espy-Jones ·

The post Ms. Lauryn Hill’s Beauty & Style Evolution appeared first on Essence.

The Supreme Court is siding with President Donald Trump’s administration in a lawsuit over speech restrictions on immigration judges that raised questions about the rights of federal workers

Nasa plans to send hopping drones and roving vehicles to the Moon as part of plans for a permanent Moon base.

Sens. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) and Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) are pressing top intelligence officials to focus their efforts on assessing China’s AI capabilities in the face of new advancements in the technology. In a letter shared first with The Hill, the pair wrote to Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, National Cyber…

NASA announced plans for three uncrewed missions to the moon this year that will serve as early steps toward building a permanent base on the lunar surface.

The Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) advisory committee on vaccines this week will consider whether to change the COVID-19 vaccine to target the XFG subvariant for the upcoming 2026-2027 respiratory viral season. The Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) for the FDA will meet Thursday to discuss whether COVID-19 vaccines should target the…

Russell Crowe is calling out coverage that was critical of his efficient interactions with autograph seekers outside a Paris hotel as ‘clickbait.’

Matters of adolescent identity and child welfare loom compellingly large in new festival-premièred films from Marine Atlan, Jordan Firstman, and Cristian Mungiu.

Democratic Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, slammed Jeff Bezos on MS NOW after the billionaire suggested raising his taxes would do little to help the average American.

During an interview with CNBC’s “Squawk Box” last week, the founder and executive chairman of Amazon said the government could “double the taxes” he pays and “it’s not going to help that teacher in Queens.” Bezos also accused politicians who have called for raising taxes on the wealthy of “picking a villain and pointing fingers.”

During a joint appearance on Monday’s “All In,” Platner and Sanders responded to the billionaire’s comment.

“I think it’s abject nonsense,” Platner said. “I think that’s what somebody says when they don’t want to see their taxes go up.”

“There’s absolutely no question that if we target the wealth where it has been hoarded, frankly, for decades at this point, and we pull it back into our system and put it into social programs like healthcare, like childcare, like paying teachers what they are worth, we will absolutely improve the lives of working Americans and, quite frankly, improve our society as a whole,” he added.

Platner said it was Bezos who was pointing fingers, accusing him of promoting “propaganda” that’s “meant to protect himself and protect his crony friends.”

“We’re going to come after them for it,” Platner vowed. The Senate candidate has pledged that if elected, he would end “free rides for the billionaire class” and would push for a wealth tax on the country’s top income earners.

Sanders, who has endorsed Platner in his bid to take down incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins, also slammed Bezos’ response, telling MS NOW it’s time for the “wealthiest people in this country, the billionaire class, to start paying their fair share of taxes.”

“What I know is that today we have more income and wealth inequality than we have ever had in the history of this country, much worse than the so-called Gilded Age,” Sanders said. “Meanwhile, the effective tax rate of billionaires is lower than that of a nurse or a truck driver.”

The Vermont independent, who is currently on his nationwide Fighting Oligarchy Tour, also mentioned a piece of legislation he introduced earlier this year, the “Make Billionaires Pay Their Fair Share Act,” which would impose a 5% annual wealth tax on individuals with a net worth exceeding $1 billion.

With the funds raised from that tax, Sanders said the government could do “enormous things for the American people,” including providing more Americans with healthcare and childcare. 

“The point is, there is so much inequality right now that taxes on billionaires can transform life for the working class of this country, which is right now struggling to pay the bills,” Sanders said.

You can watch Sanders and Platner’s full interview in the clip at the top of the page.

The post Sanders, Platner break down Bezos’ ‘nonsense’ objection to billionaire tax hikes appeared first on MS NOW.

The U.S. men’s national team unveiled its roster as the United States prepares to play co-host for the World Cup. Former USMNT Captain Carlos Bocanegra discusses the team’s construction and what this World Cup means for soccer in America.