It’s Monday, June 30. This is The Front Page, your daily window into the world of The Free Press—and our take on the world at large. Today: Arthur Brooks on the secret to a fulfilling life; Jed Rubenfeld on a blockbuster Supreme Court decision; Olivia Reingold on how New York’s political establishment is scrambling to stop Zohran Mamdani; River Page on the revisionist history of Pride Month; and much more.
But first: The ideological insurgency against the Jewish people.
Glastonbury is a music festival organized by hippie farmers in the southwest of England. For years it’s been a place people go to camp, drink too much cider, and listen to music. At least, that was roughly the deal when I skipped school to attend 18 years ago. But if the footage out of Somerset this weekend is anything to go by, moments at this year’s festival resembled a hate rally.
In a performance on Saturday afternoon, the front man of the punk duo Bob Vylan led the crowd in anti-Israel chants. Among them: “From the river to the sea,” and perhaps most disturbingly: “Death, death to the IDF.” Thousands in the crowd joined in. This was on one of the festival’s main stages, and broadcast live on the BBC.
The presence of a performer like this, chanting things like this, with thousands joining in, at a mainstream festival is deeply troubling. And the incident was quickly condemned by British prime minister Keir Starmer. But if you think these were just the hateful chants of a few bad apples, you’re missing the point, says Ayaan Hirsi Ali. They are part of something much bigger, much scarier, she argues: a movement that wants to cleanse the culture. First, of Israel. Then, of Jews. Then, of the rest of us.
—Oliver Wiseman
On Friday, the Supreme Court delivered a blockbuster ruling in a case about birthright citizenship. However, the judgment didn’t tackle that contentious issue. Instead, it took aim at nationwide injunctions, and slammed the brakes on the main tool courts had used to stymie the Trump agenda. The president declared a “monumental victory for the Constitution.” Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson called it “an existential threat to the rule of law.” What’s the truth behind the hyperbole? Read Jed Rubenfeld’s latest to find out.
Vote totals due Tuesday are likely to show that the 33-year-old socialist mayoral candidate has a wide lead over his Democratic rivals. Now the question becomes: Who will emerge as the “stop Mamdani” candidate? Andrew Cuomo, who was humiliated in the primary; Eric Adams, the unpopular incumbent; or also-ran Republican Curtis Sliwa? They are all deeply flawed options—but ones under feverish discussion by the city’s political elite. Olivia Reingold reports.
As Pride Month wraps, River Page takes aim at revisionist history pushing a flimsy theory about the origin of the gay-rights movement. The truth, writes River, is that we have gay rights today because thousands of ordinary people were brave enough to live openly, not because a trans woman of color threw a brick at a bar.
Conversations with Coleman: Arthur Brooks on the Secret to a Fulfilling Life
What does it actually mean to build a “good” and “happy” life in 2025?
That’s the question Coleman Hughes brought to Arthur Brooks for the latest episode of Conversations with Coleman. Arthur is the preeminent scholar of human happiness today. He does something fairly unique in his work: He combines hard data, moral clarity, and lived experience to help people navigate meaning, purpose, and even their dating lives. Arthur and Coleman discuss the state of human progress, how income affects happiness, and if it’s true that liberals are unhappier than conservatives.
Coleman says of the episode: “I didn’t expect this to turn into a kind of therapy session. . . but in the best way, it did.”
Hit the play button below to listen to this episode, and make sure you follow Conversations with Coleman wherever you get your podcasts.
Republican senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina announced he won’t seek reelection, just hours after voting against advancing Trump’s big, beautiful bill and drawing the president’s ire. Citing frustration with “political theater” and a desire to prioritize family, Tillis said the decision was “not a hard choice.” His departure sets up a high-stakes race in a key battleground state.
Senate clerks completed a nearly 16-hour reading of the 940-page GOP tax and spending bill on Sunday. There will now be 20 hours of debate in the Senate before a vote, with a flurry of amendments expected before the legislation, if passed, returns to the House. A new Congressional Budget Office analysis finds the Senate GOP’s tax and spending bill would add at least $3.3 trillion to the national debt—nearly $1 trillion more than the House version of the bill.
One critic of the bill is former DOGE chief Elon Musk. He called the legislation “utterly insane.” He said in a post on X that “the latest Senate draft bill will destroy millions of jobs in America and cause immense strategic harm to our country.”
Under pressure from fellow Western Republicans, Senator Mike Lee withdrew his proposal to sell off millions of acres of public land, backing down to avoid tanking the GOP’s megabill. For what’s at stake, read our piece: “Will Trump Keep Public Lands in Public Hands?”
The U.S. immigration system is buckling under Trump’s intensified crackdown, with over 56,000 detainees crammed into facilities designed for a capacity of 41,000. Detainees report squalid conditions and medical neglect. The administration is now seeking $45 billion to build more facilities.
Russia launched its largest aerial assault on Ukraine since the war began, firing 537 drones and missiles on Saturday night, according to Ukrainian officials. Ukraine shot down or jammed most, but the attack struck multiple regions and prompted a NATO air response to protect Polish airspace.
Israel has ordered evacuations from northern Gaza as it expands military operations, and as Trump urges a ceasefire deal. “Make the deal in Gaza. Get the hostages back,” Trump said in a late-night post on Saturday.
Thank you for the report on Nigeria. Thank you.
Last Days prophecy, Satan is still hard at work opposing God’s plan. The impetus he is using to rally hatred against the Jewish people today is a powerful anti-Israel (and pro-Palestinian) deception, wrapped in false humanitarian claims and causes. Understand: Deception is a hallmark of the Last Days (Matthew 24:11). For the minuscule size of the country, the lack of natural resources, or strategic seaport, one has to question why Israel is always at the center of world controversy—her existence continually hanging in the balance.
We see Israel at the epicenter of a boiling cauldron of increasingly violent factions rising up within the vast Arab lands surrounding her. The world has been told, and has almost mindlessly accepted, claims that all unrest in the Middle East is Israel’s fault—that if the Jews would give the Land “back to the Palestinians,” there would be peace in the world, and terrorism would end. Nothing could be further from the truth.
The stage is set to draw all nations into a final cataclysmic showdown in the Middle East; the nations may think it is against Israel, but they will find out it is against her God.
“Moreover, in that day I will make Jerusalem a massive stone for all the people. All who try to lift it will be cut to pieces. Nevertheless, all the nations of the earth will be gathered together against her” (Zechariah 12:3).