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Recently, while most of the media obsessed over the antics of Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, the nation passed a significant milestone. Medicaid, the federal-state program meant to provide a medical safety net for the poor, turned 50. This anniversary was celebrated by progressives as proof that government-run health care really works. Few of these cheerleaders noted, however, that this once modest program has morphed into a budget-busting behemoth most of whose expenditures go to the middle class. They also neglected to mention the difficulties Medicaid patients face accessing care or that they experience worse health outcomes than the uninsured....

EL. James’s novel Fifty Shades of Grey is now the best selling book in British history, has sold more than 100 million copies globally, and has spawned two sequels, along with an upcoming film adaptation. This success has been surprising, in that the books are unabashedly pornographic, arising out of erotic Twilight fan fiction. Moreover, they are targeted at women, an audience often ignored in discussions on the effects of pornography. Beyond surprise, the series’ success has generated a good deal of alarm, as the book glorifies a sado-masochistic relationship containing rape and sexual violence against women. The series’ popularity...

Fifty Shades of Grey certainly lived up to expectations as moviegoers flocked to see the erotic film over Valentine's weekend. The unconventional romance raked in $93 million in ticket sales in the US alone - the biggest February opening ever. But the tale of billionaire Christian Grey (Jamie Dornan) and his sadomasochistic relationship with college graduate Anastasia Steele (Dakota Johnson) did more than that by scoring over a quarter of a billion dollars internationally.

Resourceful. Mysterious background. Domineering. Dark features. Maybe a little grumpy at a party. Sound familiar? In truth we could be describing anyone from Sherlock Holmes to Indiana Jones, Edward Cullen to Fifty Shades of Grey’s titular S&M-loving CEO, Christian Grey. But in many respects the original difficult-to-understand and jerky-on-the-surface romantic hero sprang from the loins of one undeniable and instantly recognizable source. We speak, of course, of Mr. Darcy— Fitzwilliam to friends.

“Fifty Shades of Grey” sizzled at the box office, setting new records for the highest grossing Presidents Day Weekend opener of all time and ranking among the biggest R-rated debuts in history. The erotic drama performed like a comic book movie, albeit one with much naughtier costumes, picking up $81.7 million from 3,646 locations over the three-day period. That easily trumped the holiday’s previous record-holder, the 2010 debut of the romantic comedy “Valentine’s Day,” which kicked off with $56.3 million.

IN a society where almost every cultural phenomenon ends up interpreted through an ideological lens, the success de scandale of “Fifty Shades of Grey” — the books, the movie, the branded cuffs and whips — has left culture warriors a little bit confused. Is this another transgressive breakthrough — the latest blow to whatever remains of traditional morality, the mainstreaming of a lifestyle long locked away from view? Or is the now-famous story, with its alpha male gazillionaire and his punished female prize, actually a reactionary fairy tale, encouraging submission to the latest version of the patriarchy? The answer, of...

3RD UPDATE, SATURDAY AM: If Fifty Shades Of Grey handcuffs Universal’s very early international weekend estimate of $158.3M, it will become the studio’s 2nd biggest offshore opening frame ever, just behind Fast & Furious 6’s $160.3M. Outside sources whisper that it is likely to climax even higher than that for this five-day session. It is expected to be far-and-away the biggest opening weekend of all-time for an R-rated film overseas, whipping previous title holder The Matrix Revolutions at $117M.

Russell Wilson has had a solid career so far as an NFL quarterback but his career as a movie critic has gotten off to a rocky start. The Seahawks quarterback went to see 50 Shades of Grey on Thursday night and by Friday morning, his review of the movie was in.

Update, Saturday 3:30 AM: In Friday late night grosses, Universal Focus’ Fifty Shades of Grey is poised to hit a February opening day record with industry estimates predicting a first day of $31M for the feature adaptation of E.L. James’ fan femme novel and revised weekend projections standing at $83M for FSS and a potential four-day of $91M. Should Fifty Shades final at its current weekend projections, it is bound to find a place among the top R-rated weekend openings of all-time. 2003’s Matrix Reloaded currently owns the top FSS for an R-Rated film with $91.77M while 2004’s Passion of...

Universal and Focus Features’ Fifty Shades of Grey kicked off its North American release at 2,830 engagements last night, racking up the second-highest Thursday night preview ever with $8.6M. The record holder for an R-rated preview belongs to Warner Bros. The Hangover 2, which made $10.4M in midnight previews before its Memorial Day weekend 2011 release.

It may have been touted as the steamiest thing in Hollywood - but movie critics rounded on Fifty Shades of Grey for being too light on the sex. In a barrage of reviews published on Tuesday night, most of those who sat down with the raunchy adaptation ahead of its 13 February release date lamented its 'run-of-the-mill' lovemaking. One critic pointed out that sex only makes up 15 minutes of the two-hour runtime. Another pointed out that there are no visible genitals, no orgasms - and not that much nudity.

Adapting a worldwide phenomenon like Fifty Shades of Grey into a film can be a huge risk. There are millions of fans to appease, an author’s own vision to consider, and a taboo subject to navigate for the masses. But for director Sam Taylor-Johnson, all of those risks motivated her. “I knew it was going to be an enormous challenge,” Taylor-Johnson told The Daily Beast. It’s only her second feature film—her first being 2008’s Nowhere Boy, which chronicled the early life of John Lennon—and the subject was relatively unfamiliar territory for her. “But that’s partly why I did it.”

Fifty Shades will definitely be a film trilogy. Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Free - the sequels to literary phenomenon Fifty Shades Of Grey - have also been given the go ahead for the big screen. Jamie Dornan, who plays the eponymous kinky multi-millionaire businessman Christian Grey, will reprise his role in both films.

Fans of Fifty Shades Of Grey, you've been warned: leave those whips and riding crops at home on your way to the movies next week. AMC, Regal Entertainment and Cinemark have banned movie goers from bringing naughty props to the cinema in anticipation of the hotly awaited world premiere of Fifty Shades Of Grey. The film adaptation of EL James' steamy best-selling erotic romance starring Jamie Dornan as Christian Grey and Dakota Johnson as Anastasia Steele hits the big screen on Valentine’s Day, February 14.

Attention Target shoppers, check out the display of bondage gear in aisle 12! The nation’s second biggest general merchandise retailer is raising shoppers’ eyebrows – and possibly their wrists above their heads – by carrying a line of Fifty Shades of Grey sex gear. Items from “The Official Pleasure Collection” include the Fifty Shades Yours and Mine Vibrating Silicone Love Ring (“the silicone ring stretches to accommodate his girth,” the description assures) and the No Peeking Soft Twin Blindfold Set (“take it in turns to sink into submission”).

It's one of the most talked-about movies of the year. But fans hoping to see Fifty Shades of Grey in Malaysia will be left disappointed, as the on-screen adaptation of the book has been deemed unacceptable for viewing. The racy flick was due to have its official cinema release in the Southeast Asian country on February 12, but that has now been cancelled.

Nine days before the bow of Universal’s Fifty Shades Of Grey, insiders are predicting that the film is on track to open to $60M over four days, with a huge bounce on Valentine’s Day. Given how the studio specifically positioned the film over the holiday to capitalize on the mega date night, the question among insiders is whether Fifty Shades is a couples’ film or a girls night (a la when Warner Bros released Sex And The City to $57M in late May 2008). One rival distribution chief believes that young women will hook their boyfriends into seeing Fifty Shades...

Fifty Shades of Grey is set to feature more sex on screen than the 100 raunchiest films released in 2014 put together, making it the most erotic mainstream movie in a decade. The film, which premieres on Valentine's Day features a dozen sex scenes, which make up 20 minutes of its total 100-minute running time. This follows an interview with actor Jamie Dornan, who plays main man Christian Grey, where he says he 'does not believe it is pornographic or even erotic.'

A Philadelphia mother wants her son’s high school teacher fired after he bought the teen the novel Fifty Shades of Grey for in-class reading. Maya Ladson says she was shocked to find a copy of the racy read in her 14-year-old’s book bag back on March 9. That shock turned to outrage when she found out how he got the book. “The minute I found out about it, it raised concern,” the mother told NBC10.com Thursday. “This is not OK to me. This is major.” Ladson's son, who is a 9th grade student at Eastern University Academy Charter School in...

Stress, anger and worry fade after the landmark birthday when we begin experiencing greater daily joy than younger adults, it is claimed. Despite increased risk of death and disease, it seems that people worry less and that they ignore the negatives and accentuate the positives. Dr Arthur Stone, a psychologist of Stony Brook University, New York, said the findings were "striking". "You would think as chronic illness threatens life would get worse but that is not the case because people don't focus on the threats," he said. "They focus on the good things in life like family and friends." A...