Instagram Teen Accounts default teens into automatic protections for who can contact them and the content they can see.
It’s Monday, November 17. This is The Front Page, your daily window into the world of The Free Press—and our take on the world at large. Today: New York’s abandoned apartments. Scott Galloway’s advice to young men. Does sending in the National Guard even work? Kathleen Stock on Margaret Atwood’s blind spots. And more.
But first: DJT vs. MTG.
Washington was fixated on one big fight over the weekend: the bust-up between President Donald Trump and a politician who has long been one of his most stalwart supporters, Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. In a series of social media posts, Trump proclaimed he was done with Marjorie “Traitor” Greene, who he denounced as a “raving lunatic” while declaring his support for any Republican willing to challenge her in a primary.
The reason for the rupture: Jeffrey Epstein. The ghost of that erstwhile friend and convicted sex offender continues to haunt Trump. In our first story today, Eli Lake argues it is a mistake of Trump’s own making. His administration promised to release the Epstein files, then abruptly changed its tune this summer. As Eli explains, the fight over this scandal has become a major test of the president’s power. Why are the Epstein files threatening to trigger a MAGA crack-up—and will Trump survive it? Read Eli on Donald Trump vs. MTG for answers.
And what of those rich and powerful Epstein friends? Joe Nocera took a deep dive into the thousands of emails released over the last few days that show that the disgraced financier, despite his 2008 conviction for sex crimes, remained close to the international elite almost up until his death. They make for shocking reading, says Joe.
“Most of the stories about the Epstein emails have focused on the question of whether Trump had any involvement in Epstein’s crimes,” Joe writes. “I can understand that. But I urge you also to read the emails that have nothing to do with Trump. They portray a callousness, a heartlessness—and yes, an immorality—that is repugnant.” Read Joe on the emails from the rich and famous that left him wanting to take a shower.
—Will Rahn
“Freeze the rent.” That was one of the headline pledges that helped Zohran Mamdani win the New York City mayor’s race. Don’t be fooled by the promise of affordability, writes landlord and author Matt Miller. He explains why current rent stabilization policies mean that some 50,000 apartments sit empty, driving up the price and shorting the supply: “They become ghosts. It’s like they don’t exist at all.” Read his firsthand account of why the current system doesn’t work—and how the incoming mayor’s proposal will make things worse.
One of the defining domestic policies of the Trump administration this year has been the deployment of the National Guard to major U.S. cities, including Chicago, LA, and Washington, D.C. The legality of these moves is fiercely contested, and the Supreme Court is expected to weigh in any day now. But another question that matters too has been overlooked: Do these deployments actually work in fighting crime? Charles Fain Lehman looks at the evidence.
Margaret Atwood has a reputation for uncanny prescience about the direction of humankind. Her dystopian novel The Handmaid’s Tale, for example, was seen by some on the left as a forecast of coming theocratic authoritarianism under Trump. But, as Kathleen Stock discovers in Atwood’s new memoir, she is no predictive savant. In fact, the famous novelist is constantly blindsided by real people in the real world.
Scott Galloway wrote his new book for “young men who I think need a code.” It’s part memoir, part self-help book, and Will Rahn says it’s full of “good, time-honored advice for the basement-dwelling, porn-addled young men of 2025.” Will spoke to Scott about his book, why he’s so worried about young men, and how to help them.
On Conversations with Coleman: Was Trump’s Election Really About Race? with Astead Herndon
Astead Herndon doesn’t trust polling. Instead, the award-winning political journalist has spent his career traveling the country to speak with real American voters—and the story he’s found is so much more complex than the numbers let on. On his podcast this week, Coleman Hughes sits down with Herndon to reflect on the past decade of voters’ choices and what they reveal about the nation’s identity. They debate how much of Trump’s rise was driven by racism, analyze why more black voters have been trending rightward, and discuss what to make of New York City’s incoming socialist mayor. Press the play button below to listen to their conversation, or catch the episode wherever you get your podcasts.
Immigration raids began in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Saturday. The weekend’s crackdown comes just as the Trump administration decided to pull the National Guard out of Portland and Chicago, following a series of legal challenges.
A new document released by the Trump administration shows that only 16 of the more than 600 people detained by ICE in Chicago have been identified as a “high public safety risk” because of their alleged criminal histories. The list was released as part of an ongoing court case that could result in the release of many detainees on Friday.
Flight restrictions imposed during the government shutdown ended this morning, the Department of Transportation announced, citing improved air traffic controller staffing. The Federal Aviation Administration had planned to cut air traffic by 10 percent at 40 airports if the shutdown continued past last Friday.
A total of 83 people have been killed by U.S. military strikes on alleged drug boats after the Pentagon conducted the 21st such attack on Saturday in the Eastern Pacific, killing three “narcoterrorists.” The United Kingdom stopped sharing drug vessel–related intelligence with the U.S. over the strikes, and Colombia briefly threatened to do the same.
U.S. bonds are on pace for their best year since 2020, with the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index returning around 6.7 percent in 2025. The upward swing comes as the Federal Reserve has been cutting interest rates, and inflation pressure continues to cool.
Pennsylvania senator John Fetterman announced Saturday that he had returned home from the hospital after falling last week. “20 stitches later and a full recovery, I’m back home with @giselefetterman and the kids,” the senator posted on X, tagging his wife. (Read John Fetterman in The Free Press on the aftermath of the stroke that almost killed him in 2022: “I Should Have Quit.”)
President Trump pardoned January 6 participant Daniel Edwin Wilson for the second time on Friday. Wilson had already been pardoned but was in prison on a separate gun charge.
Two teenagers in New York built an online affordable housing portal for the city. Noticing a lack of citywide housing resources, Beckett Zahedi and Derrick Webster Jr. took it upon themselves to make their own. “I basically spent the first two months of summer in my room, learning from YouTube and AI,” said Zahedi.
The Washington Commanders took on the Miami Dolphins in the NFL’s first-ever matchup in Spain on Sunday. This season has now featured games in Brazil, the United Kingdom, and Germany, as the league continues to push for international influence.
A man who packed parakeets into his pants while crossing the U.S.-Mexico border was officially indicted on smuggling charges Friday. Authorities found Jesse Martinez, 35, with heavily sedated birds in his underwear in October; he now faces up to 20 years in prison.
End the "Epstein" circus games. Please.
The old of any gender always, all the way back to Biblical times, "liked" the young of the other gender.
Why ignore the classics of world literature?
Recently (?) we made the practice illegal.
Good.
But will the practice disappear? Will human nature change?
Calm down. You said they were attacking Hamas who were on Israel land.