It’s Monday, July 20. This is The Front Page, your daily window into the world of The Free Press—and our take on the world at large. Today: the nuns taking New York to court over its new assisted dying law. Is Canada to blame for wildfires that are spreading smoke across the U.S.? The forgotten history of left-wing political violence. And much more.
But first: Michael Doran on the expanding war with Iran.
Iranian ballistic missiles struck a U.S. air base in Jordan on Friday, killing two soldiers and leaving a third missing. (The remains believed to be the missing soldier’s have since been recovered.) Another American service member died Saturday during the disposal of a downed Iranian drone in Iraq. Tehran has since struck Kuwait, Bahrain, and Jordan again, targeting water desalination plants, power facilities, and military bases. The United States is sending additional F-16s and F-35s to the region and launched a new round of strikes on Iran over the weekend.
All signs point to the return of major combat operations. But is that really what is coming next? Michael Doran dissects the latest developments in his piece for us today, a must-read analysis of the war at a pivotal moment.
—The Editors
For 125 years, the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne have cared for the dying poor at Rosary Hill Home, north of New York City—never charging a patient and never accepting a dollar of government money. On Friday, they filed suit against New York State over its new assisted dying law, which would require assisted dying counseling to take place on their premises. For a congregation that believes human life is sacred from beginning to natural end, the new law leaves no room for compromise. Madeleine Long reports on what this case means for the sisters, their patients, and the future of religious healthcare in New York.
Is America ruled by an oligarchy? The provocative question has become a Democratic Party rallying cry, but Tyler Cowen isn’t buying it. He makes the case that most government spending reflects voters’ demands, not billionaires’ agendas. Tyler thinks we’re suffering from “billionaire derangement syndrome,” which is nothing more than a distraction from our real problems. Read Tyler on why blaming billionaires misses the point.
Is political violence really a right-wing problem? The journalist Noah Rothman joins Coleman Hughes on the latest episode of “Conversations with Coleman” to argue that the assumption is not just inaccurate but dangerous. The “National Review” writer and author of “Blood & Progress” says America has forgotten about a century of left-wing political violence. With the trials of Luigi Mangione and the alleged killer of Charlie Kirk approaching, Noah sees the return of that trend.
Last week, wildfire smoke from Canada blanketed much of the United States, turning skies amber and sending millions indoors. Parts of the country recorded air so toxic that experts compared breathing it to smoking a whole pack of cigarettes a day. President Donald Trump called the air “filthy” and threatened Canada with steeper tariffs. But is Canada really to blame? While the wildfires keep burning, Rafaela Siewert talks to foresters, pulmonologists, and fire experts on both sides of the border to find out.
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Spain claimed the 2026 World Cup title Sunday at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, defeating Argentina 1-0 in extra time to deny Lionel Messi a second consecutive championship. Substitute Ferran Torres scored the winning goal after Argentina had a player ejected. It is Spain’s second World Cup trophy and its first since 2010.
Influencer brothers Andrew and Tristan Tate were arrested in Miami on Saturday as part of UK extradition proceedings on rape and sex trafficking charges. British prosecutors announced additional charges the same day, bringing the total number of alleged victims to seven.
An American woman wrongfully held in Iran for nearly a year and a half on espionage charges touched down in San Francisco on Saturday. Earlier last week, President Trump called her release a “gesture of goodwill.”
New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani said his administration is still weighing whether to arrest Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he visits New York for the UN General Assembly in September. “I believe that Prime Minister Netanyahu belongs in The Hague,” Mamdani said. City lawyers are exploring whether he has the authority to detain a sitting foreign leader, though legal experts say the move would face serious obstacles.
A wave of severe weather killed at least eight people across the U.S. over the weekend, including a Utah fire captain, his wife, and three of their sons, all swept away by a flash flood during a family hike. The Northeast is recovering from Saturday flooding that left drivers stranded on highways and led to the cancellation of over 1,000 flights.
Nine people were wounded in a shooting in downtown Tucson, Arizona, early Sunday morning, with police officers opening fire on the suspect. The suspect, whose identity has not been released, was hospitalized in critical condition.
Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey debuted at No. 1 with $124.5 million domestically over the weekend, the biggest live-action movie opening of the year. Demand was so fierce for the film, which was shot entirely on 70-millimeter IMAX, that theaters added 2 a.m., 3 a.m., and 6 a.m. screenings to keep up, nearly all of which sold out. (For more on The Odyssey, read Spencer Klavan’s review.)
Let's get busy defining Shi'a, especially the Twelver sub-cult of Shi'a.
Following a great historical injustice in 632 --- when nascent Islam, not yet a state, chose someone other than the rightful heir to succeed the Prophet Mohammad --- a sizeable minority broke from mainstream Muslims and calling themselves Shi'ites (= followers/partisans) and their beliefs to be the "true" Islam.
Sealing the separation was the battle of Karbala (682) where the Shi'ites were defeated and their leaders killed.
The Sunni-Shi'a conflict remained pronounced, even if not always bloody. Shi'a came to attract about 20% of all Muslims. It gained no governing control anywhere until 1501 when the Safavid dynasty declared Shi'a to be the ruling faith in Persia (= Iran after 1925).
In 2026 Iran, most Shi'a belong to the Twelver sub-cult (Ithna asariyya) known for their extremist views and their total dedication to religious authority also holding supreme political power. They look forward to the return of the "twelfth Imam," (aka "al-Mahdi") who is now in a "Great Occultation," but will return to bring about perfect justice and peace. His return is conditioned on a great all-encompassing, all-settling confrontation between the forces of injustice --- and the Shi'a.
Every believer dying in the struggle for this ending is a "sacred" martyr , as was Hussein at Karbala.
As they see it, there is no losing for Shi'a; just continuing martyrdom.
Yesterday evening, somewhere in the infernal depths, Satan wept and Maradona demanded a VAR review.