It’s Tuesday, February 10. This is The Front Page, your daily window into the world of The Free Press—and our take on the world at large. Today: Dr. Mark Hyman takes on the corporate interests making America unhealthy. Natan Sharansky examines the moral cost of Jimmy Lai’s prison sentence. Gabe Kaminsky investigates a suspicious dark money donation linked to Kamala Harris.
But first: River Page heads to Florida to meet a very online candidate for governor.
To his critics, Florida gubernatorial candidate James Fishback is a con man, an antisemite, a racist, a brain-rotted Groyper, and perhaps most damningly of all for the office he seeks, a legal resident of Washington, D.C.
Despite all of this, plus a litany of legal and financial troubles, the 31-year-old Republican and former financial analyst has built a remarkable, cult-like following on social media where he feuds with OnlyFans models, calls his black primary opponent a “slave,” defends followers of Nick Fuentes, and pledges that when he is governor he will not let “jesters” and “foids” (women) “spike our collective cortisol.”
When I interviewed Fishback at a campaign event in Coral Gables recently, I found a group of around 200 adoring spectators waiting for him, mostly young men—a sizable crowd given that the event was at a brewery and had been announced only a few days earlier. I also found a candidate with a unique smorgasbord of politics: a mix of quasi-leftist anti-corporate messaging about affordability, revanchist culture warring, and many, many criticisms of Israel—all of which are striking a chord with disaffected and increasingly radicalized young men.
Fishback probably won’t win—he might not even make it on the ballot for reasons I describe in my article. But the candidate who can’t stop shitposting isn’t a joke. His ideas and the boys who love them might be the future of the party, whether people like it or not.
—River Page
Kids today are fatter than ever. In his new book, Food Fix Uncensored, out today, Dr. Mark Hyman argues that Big Food’s powerful lobbyists—and the politicians who do their bidding—are to blame. Hyman’s proposed solutions are radical, but nothing less, he writes, is required to reduce the scourge of childhood obesity.
And for more on how America became so unhealthy, watch Dr. Hyman’s interview with Rafaela Siewert. They discuss everything from how our food supply chain has been warped by special interests to the biggest questions in health today: Ozempic, biohacking trends, RFK Jr.’s new food pyramid, and how to live your healthiest life:
In liberal America, “I’ve Had It” podcast host Jennifer Welch is something of a torch-bearer for the left. Like many a Democratic podcaster, she can’t stand Trump and his MAGA followers. But there’s one group of people she hates even more: evangelical Christians. Read Bonnie Kristian on the profane progressive who garnered seven-figure social media followings smearing the faith of millions as “white trash, magical thinking, dumb people bullshit.”
Yesterday, Chinese dissident Jimmy Lai was sentenced to 20 years in prison by a Hong Kong court—effectively a life sentence, since he is 78. But so far, there have been no protests on college campuses, editorials in mainstream media, or celebrity messages in support of him. Natan Sharansky, a friend of Lai’s, wonders: Will the free world fulfill its duty toward Jimmy Lai? Or will it be silent on one of the most consequential moral issues of our time?
Like many other nonprofits, the left-leaning Bright Future Fund submitted its annual tax return for 2024 to the Internal Revenue Service last November. Just two days later, it quietly went out of business. Now, two pages of its nearly 7,000-page tax return reveal that $37.5 million in dark money was donated to the fund under shady circumstances. Gabe Kaminsky investigates the suspicious donation, the nonprofit that disappeared, and what it all means for the shadowy world of Democratic fundraising.
New York City nurses struck a deal yesterday with some hospitals to end a strike that involved 15,000 healthcare workers, according to the nurses’ union. If the union approves the deal, which includes raises of about 12 percent over three years, the striking nurses will return to work within three days.
The social media app Discord announced yesterday that it will begin requiring age verification on its platform, including a face scan, starting next month. The platform has drawn controversy for allegedly enabling mass shooters and failing to take down content published by foreign terrorist organizations.
Ghislaine Maxwell, longtime partner of Jeffrey Epstein, remained mum during her virtual deposition yesterday before the House Oversight Committee, where she invoked her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination in response to every question. Former president Bill Clinton and his wife, former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, will appear before the committee on February 26 and 27 as part of the panel’s investigation into Epstein’s criminal activities.
San Francisco public schools were closed yesterday for nearly 50,000 students as teachers went on strike for the first time since 1979. The educators are demanding a 9 percent raise over two years, more affordable healthcare, and smaller classroom sizes, which the school district says it cannot afford.
Some 40 percent of immigrants arrested by ICE over the past year had no criminal charges or convictions, according to an internal Department of Homeland Security document obtained by CBS News. Of the 60 percent who had been charged with a crime, only around 14 percent had a violent criminal record. Statistics from the document also showed that 2 percent of ICE arrests in the same time period involved people with alleged gang affiliations.
A high-profile social media addiction trial began yesterday in California state court, testing whether YouTube and Instagram can be held responsible for causing depression and suicidal ideation. The plaintiff, a 20-year-old woman identified by her initials KGM, alleges the apps addicted her at a young age and contributed to severe mental anguish.
OpenAI will begin testing ads in ChatGPT for users in the free and “Go” tiers of the service, the company announced yesterday. The AI giant said its ads will be “visually separated” from the chatbot’s answers and “optimized based on what’s most helpful to you.”
Actress Catherine O’Hara died of a pulmonary embolism and had been living with rectal cancer for months, according to her death certificate, which TMZ published yesterday. O’Hara, who was known for starring roles in Home Alone, Beetlejuice, and Schitt’s Creek, died last month at age 71.
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So James think someone (allegedly) tried to set his house on fire. By setting the lawn on fire. Okaaaaaaayyy... It wasn't just a hot butt flipped out the window maybe.
You would think a charlatan would appreciate the free media exposure.
Oh, and he thought that 500 people showing up at his HOME wouldn't be an issue. What, his house rents out as a venue?
Here's a clue, Jenny - Most Americans "have HAD it" with the looneys on the left. *AND* There Are More Of Us. (geez, I love Star Wars!!)
I'm guessing you haven't read up on the Constitution lately.... go figure. Give it a try, and give it a rest.