It’s Tuesday, February 3. This is The Front Page, your daily window into the world of The Free Press—and our take on the world at large. Today: Nellie Bowles does the news, live. Is Trump’s best friend in Europe about to lose? The problem with therapy. And much more.
But first: The Iranian who would be king.
Iran is back in Donald Trump’s sights. Weeks after the president threatened to punish the regime’s leaders for slaughtering protesters, Trump now appears poised to follow through, having deployed a “massive armada” to stand by in the region.
White House Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff will meet with Iranian leaders Friday to discuss a last-ditch deal to avoid a clash. But Trump is demanding steep concessions that the mullahs aren’t likely to stomach: an end to Iran’s nuclear energy and ballistic missile programs, the end of support to terrorist groups, and no more attacks on protesters. Instead of pleading for peace, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned Monday that a U.S. attack would set off a regional war.
Naturally, many Iranians’ eyes have turned overseas toward Reza Pahlavi, the son of the shah and heir to the Peacock Throne. Pahlavi has spent decades in exile on American soil, but he has urged on the protests from afar as the regime begins to falter. He believes he could return to Tehran as a transitional leader to succeed Khamenei, guiding the country toward democracy.
Yet is Pahlavi the man to lead Iran, even temporarily? Free Press writer Eli Lake spoke with friends and advisers of Pahlavi to understand the complicated, even flawed, man who finds himself at the heart of the most important story in the world.
—Mene Ukueberuwa
Therapy is more popular than ever. But is it making Americans any happier? In his latest column, Arthur Brooks dissects the problem with therapy culture, and explains what you can do to take your happiness into your own hands.
Gavin Newsom is emerging as the de facto leader of the Democratic Party. He leads the polls among 2028 contenders, has just published a book, and was just called “embarrassingly handsome” by Vogue. But can Newsom really be his party’s savior? Ruy Teixeira has his doubts.
In his nearly 16 years in power, Hungarian leader Viktor Orbán has remade his country, been the bête noire of the European establishment, and emerged as Trump’s best friend on the continent. But is he about to finally be unseated? Charles Lane travels to Hungary to report on the race that could set off a political earthquake in Europe.
In the 2024 election, President Trump won the White House in large part due to his promise to close the borders. Now, public opinion is swinging in the other direction on the issue, with voters turned off by Trump’s deportation strategy. Why can’t Washington seem to find the middle ground on immigration? And what should that look like? Today, Joe Nocera goes in search of answers to those questions.
When you lose your partner of half a century, it’s natural to feel sadness, loneliness, and loss. But what no one prepares you for is the anger you’ll feel, writes Michael Friedman. In the latest installment of Ancient Wisdom, Friedman describes the harsh reality of losing his wife—and the battle of piecing together a brand-new identity without the person you love most in the world.
Live: Nellie Bowles Does the News
It’s only February, and the news cycle has not stopped since the beginning of the year. So we thought, why not get Nellie Bowles to help us make sense of it all?
Today at 12 p.m. ET, the Free Press co-founder and Queen of TGIF sits down with Suzy Weiss, Will Rahn, and Mene Ukueberuwa to talk news, politics, and culture in a livestream for paying subscribers only. If you’re already signed up, click here to mark your calendar.
Not a subscriber yet? Gain access to the livestream by becoming one today:
A partial government shutdown began Saturday, after Democratic lawmakers objected to renewed funding of the departments of Defense, Homeland Security, and more. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson predicted an end by Tuesday, but so far a resolution is still out of sight.
Former president and First Lady Bill and Hillary Clinton agreed Monday evening to testify before Congress about the Epstein files. The Clintons’ decision comes as House Republicans were planning a vote to hold the two in contempt for their refusal to appear this week.
In this weekend’s release of over three million documents in the Epstein files, the names of at least 43 victims were accidentally revealed. The Justice Department is required to redact all names, and has since begun removing and reuploading the files to preserve the victims’ privacy.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX acquired his AI company xAI on Monday. The deal brings the companies’ combined value to over $1 trillion, and will likely help further Musk’s aspirations of building data centers in space.
At least 12 people were killed after a Russian drone struck a bus in Ukraine on Sunday, authorities said. A separate attack on a maternity hospital injured six. The strikes come days after President Trump claimed that the countries had reached an aerial ceasefire.
The Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt reopened on Monday after 20 months. The opening of the only passage between the two countries marks a key advancement in the Gaza ceasefire plan.
Erfan Soltani, an Iranian anti-government protester who reportedly faced a death sentence, has been released from prison on bail. Soltani’s release comes amid President Trump’s threat of a military strike against Iran.
U.S. officials have reportedly told Iran that they are ready to negotiate a deal between the two countries. The recent communication shows a continued interest in diplomacy, even as the U.S. has not ruled out a strike on the country.
Arizona police are searching for the 84-year-old mother of Today show host Savannah Guthrie, Nancy Guthrie, who was first reported missing on Sunday. She has no cognitive ailments, and local police now believe she was abducted.
In the traditional Groundhog Day ceremony in Pennsylvania, Punxsutawney Phil predicted six more weeks of winter on Monday morning. As freezing temperatures continue to sweep the country, Phil is likely not alone in his analysis.
Laura Delano was sent to therapy as a young teen and by her mid twenties, she dared to ask the question too many do not ask: are all these antidepressants and other psychiatric drugs making depression worse?
She realized that the focus was always on the self and after a decade, she knew it was enough: https://open.substack.com/pub/lizlasorte/p/unshrunk-a-story-of-psychiatric-treatment?r=76q58&utm_medium=ios&shareImageVariant=overlay
The government is partially shut down? I hadn’t noticed.