It’s Wednesday, June 25. This is The Front Page, your daily window into the world of The Free Press—and our take on the world at large. Today: World War III didn’t happen. A threat to the constitutional right to hunt?
But first: New York City Democrats choose socialist Zohran Mamdani for mayor.
I first heard the name Zohran Mamdani from my colleague, Free Press reporter Olivia Reingold. It was late March, and she thought this 33-year-old long-shot mayoral candidate was worth writing about.
In her first story, I learned that his proposals include government-run grocery stores, rent freezes, and free buses. Mamdani’s housing plan alone would cost $100 billion—only slightly less than the entire size of this year’s city budget.
Then there are Mamdani’s views on the police (“We don’t need an investigation to know that the NYPD is racist, anti-queer & a major threat to public safety. What we need is to #DefundTheNYPD,” he posted on X in 2020); Israel (“apartheid”); Benjamin Netanyahu (“As Mayor I would have Netanyahu arrested if he came to New York”); and Islamist radicalism (he refuses to condemn the phrase globalize the intifada).
So how did Zohran Mamdani do it? How did this socialist beat Andrew Cuomo, the former governor, to win the Democratic primary for mayor of New York City?
It’s an astonishing political story—one with enormous consequences for the city and the Democratic Party. Olivia spent yesterday in the 100-degree heat reporting it out. And that’s today’s lead story.
Olivia spent the evening at what was supposed to be Cuomo’s victory party, speaking to his donors and supporters as the results trickled in. By the end of the night, Cuomo had given a concession speech.
To see it yourself, watch the video report she put together:
Olivia will also be hosting a Free Press livestream today at 11 a.m. with senior editor Will Rahn to break down the vote and tell you everything you need to know about the man who may be New York City’s next mayor. Watch here or on our homepage.
This livestream is available to paying subscribers only. If you’re not already a paid subscriber, please click below to become one.
—Bari
Before U.S. bombers struck Iran, Tucker Carlson and other MAGA influencers were making dire predictions about the consequences of such a move. But contrary to their claims, World War III did not break out. And those who thought it might have are at odds with the voters—and the facts.
Republicans are at war. No, not over Iran, but public land. In Washington, Senator Mike Lee is spearheading an effort to sell off up to three million acres of that land. And the backlash from conservative environmentalists, hunters, and conservationists has been severe. One person against the move is best-selling author and host of “The MeatEater Podcast” Steven Rinella. He explains why in his piece for The Free Press today.
Carnivorous podcasters aren’t the only ones worried about losing public lands. Senator Lee also faces opposition from the skies. Literally. (Okay, not quite.) Today in The Free Press, Rachel Dickinson has a dispatch from Boise, Idaho, where she talks to falconers furious at what they see as a threat to their constitutional right to hunt.
Fred Smith, the founder of FedEx, died Saturday at the age of 80. Rick Brooks, who used to report on the company at The Wall Street Journal, remembers a great American entrepreneur who often joked that he earned his business degree from the Marines.
Donald Trump landed in the Netherlands on Tuesday for a meeting with NATO leaders. The group is expected to agree to increase NATO’s defense spending requirements to 5 percent of its GDP—a significant boost from the current 2 percent target that many member countries already fail to meet. Ahead of the meeting, Trump published messages from NATO secretary-general and former Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte. “It was not easy but we’ve got them all signed onto 5 percent!” Rutte wrote. “Europe is going to pay in a BIG way, as they should, and it will be your win.”
On Monday, the Supreme Court ruled that the Trump administration can resume deporting foreigners to “third countries” with which they have no previous ties, lifting a district court injunction. The Supreme Court’s three liberal justices dissented, including Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who said the majority was “rewarding lawlessness.”
China has unveiled a mosquito-size drone built for military and civilian use, with flapping wings and spindly legs for stealth landings. Developed by a university, the tiny device is barely the size of a human fingernail and is part of a wider push by Beijing for high-tech micro weapons.
U.S. officials have warned that Iran may retaliate for the recent bombing of its nuclear sites with cyberattacks designed to cause lasting damage or significant psychological impact. “Low-level cyberattacks against U.S. networks by pro-Iranian hacktivists are likely, and cyber actors affiliated with the Iranian government may conduct attacks against U.S. networks,” the Department of Homeland Security warned Sunday.
Nearly two million student loan borrowers are at risk of docked pay this summer as defaults surge post-pandemic. More than six million federal borrowers are more than 90 days overdue, according to TransUnion. The Education Department is restarting collections after a pandemic-era freeze.
Harvard is weighing a potential truce with the Trump administration after months of legal battles—but fears any deal might look like appeasement. America’s oldest and wealthiest university took a stand against the administration earlier this year, lost billions of dollars in funding, and is now in a protracted legal battle over its ability to enroll foreign students.
Big banks are scrambling to stay out of GOP crosshairs as Republican-led states crack down on “woke” business practices. JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, and others have met with officials in Texas and Oklahoma to defend against the idea that they have boycotted industries such as firearms and fossil fuels.
Rep. Al Green, a Democrat from Texas, filed articles of impeachment against President Trump, accusing him of abusing presidential powers by launching strikes on Iran without congressional approval. The resolution calls Trump “an authoritarian president” and cites his broader record as a threat to American democracy. More than 125 House Democrats joined with Republicans to block the move.
If I were a NYC Jew, I’d be more concerned about him localizing the intifada than globalizing it.
Sonia Sotomayor continues to prove she is the worst and stupidest Supreme Court justice in decades, perhaps centuries.
Her desire to avoid "rewarding lawlessness" should be rectified by "rewarding lawlessness".
You can't make this shit up.