It’s Tuesday, June 2. This is The Front Page, your daily window into the world of The Free Press—and our take on the world at large. Today: Our new series celebrating great Americans. Why the Iran negotiations are stuck. Why Ferrari is making a car no one wants. Why Britain’s ban on Hasan Piker is a mistake. And much more.
But first: Jewish history is hard to find at the British Museum.
Last week, the British Museum—one of the finest museums in the world and an institution with a commitment to “all fields of human knowledge” and “open debate”—postponed a lecture on ancient Israel and Judea because some 25 attendees planned to disrupt it. The decision, writes federal judge Roy K. Altman, violates the most basic principles of free expression. “We don’t close our banks just because some people might rob them. The solution to rule violators is to punish and deter them, not encourage them with victory.”
But the museum’s problems with Jewish history began long before that event. When Altman visited the museum a few years ago, he found artifacts attesting to Jewish indigeneity in Israel displayed without mention of the Jewish connection to the land, some labeled with anachronistic references to Palestine. Read Altman’s deep dive into how one of the world’s great museums is subordinating free inquiry and historical truth to political pressure.
In a second story on free expression and the United Kingdom today, we tackle the decision by the UK government to deny entry to anti-Israel American commentators Hasan Piker and Cenk Uygur. The two Hamas apologists and their defenders blamed Israel for the ban. It’s an absurd if unsurprising claim that only goes to show that censorship like this is self-defeating. Read our full take in our latest editorial.
—The Editors
Introducing: The Great Americans Series
Yesterday we announced the launch of our Great Americans series. With just a month to go until the 250th, we’re bringing you a rundown of some of the greatest Americans to have lived. As we explained in the launch essay, we’re not proposing a definitive list of the country’s greatest patriots. We’re doing something simpler, and more personal: Every weekday between now and July 4, we’re bringing you a writer we love, writing about a great American they love. Leading off: Joseph Epstein—a great in his own right—on the baseball pitcher Sandy Koufax.
Last week, after Texas attorney general Ken Paxton triumphed in the Republican Senate primary, Democrats posted a photo of their candidate, Texas state representative James Talarico, gearing up for the competition. The photo—which featured Talarico in a Texas flag shirt eating some local barbecue—triggered instant, very personal attacks from Republicans. It is a taste of things to come, writes Audrey Fahlberg. She reports on what is set to be a very ugly Senate race, and why this fall’s midterms could be one of the most bruising election cycles in memory.
The fragile ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran has now lasted longer than the major hostilities at the start of the war. Now, the conflict is stuck in a holding pattern. Almost every day starts with the promise of a deal, then ends in disappointment. Why is the standoff lasting so long? And what, if anything, will end it? Aaron MacLean breaks down the stalemate in his latest column.
The Free Press doesn’t generally write about the release of new cars. We don’t have an automobile column. But the introduction of a $640,000 electric Ferrari last week caught our attention. Why? Because it was very ugly—and universally panned. How can a company famous for making beautiful sports cars end up making something no one wants? We asked writer and racecar driver Jack Baruth. The answer, it turns out, is a parable about something bigger than cars.
MORE FROM THE FREE PRESS
THE NEWS
Anthropic filed paperwork for an initial public offering on Monday. The move positions the company, currently valued at $965 billion, in a race with Sam Altman’s OpenAI and Elon Musk’s SpaceX to become the next tech giant to go public.
Florida attorney general James Uthmeier filed a new lawsuit against OpenAI on Monday, alleging that the company knowingly released products that could harm the public. The suit comes less than two weeks after Meta was forced to settle with a school district over its products’ detrimental effects on users, and could signal the next major phase of the legal backlash against Big Tech.
Tina Peters, a former Colorado elections clerk convicted of attempting to overturn the 2020 election, was released from prison on Monday. Peters’ release comes after Colorado governor Jared Polis commuted her sentence, following sustained pressure from the Trump administration.
President Trump is reportedly planning to abandon his $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund for victims of political prosecution. The move comes after two federal judges raised doubts about its legality on Friday, and marks a sharp reversal of President Trump’s position, less than one month after he announced the program. (For more on the fund, read Tanner Nau’s “They Stormed the Capitol. Now They Want Millions.”)
A new study from investment company TIAA and Stanford University shows that Americans’ financial literacy has fallen to a 10-year low. Among the participants, Gen-Z adults struggled the most, answering just 38 percent of the questions correctly. The baby boomers scored the highest, at 54 percent. (For more on Gen Z’s economic woes, read Maya Sulkin’s “Why Gen Z Hates Work.”)
A new clinical trial revealed that daraxonrasib, a pill for treating pancreatic cancer, can keep patients alive for twice as long as otherwise. The discovery marks a scientific breakthrough more than four decades in the making, and could set a new standard for treating one of the world’s most dangerous diseases.
Serena Williams announced her return to tennis on Monday. Williams, a 23-time Grand Slam singles champion, will make her comeback at the Queen’s doubles tournament this summer, nearly four years after retiring from the sport.
Peter Savodnik will be tracking the California primaries all day tomorrow and engaging with subscribers in the Free Press Forum. If you haven’t already, upgrade now and get 20 percent off to chat with Free Press staff and other subscribers about what’s happening in the world.
You should have an article on the murder of Henry Nowak.
Twice as long compared to what?:" keep [pancreatic cancer] patients alive for twice as long as otherwise." Maybe the paywalled article clears it up, but "twice as long" is meaningless. Two weeks vs one? Two months vs one? And so on. Not to mention any question about the treatment side effects on the quality of life . . . especially in the extra time, however long that may be. Americans are not only financially illiterate, they are very nearly completely innumerate.