It’s Monday, May 5. 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 strange politics of Harvey Weinstein’s retrial; Harvard is spraying perfume on a sewer, says Rabbi David Wolpe; another study finds weak evidence to support “gender-affirming care”; 60 Minutes gets an Emmy nod for its controversial Kamala interview; and more.
But first: Warren Buffett’s amazing run.
Whenever I’ve attended a Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting or read the letter to shareholders its CEO and chairman Warren Buffett writes every year, I’ve always been struck by how sensible he sounds. On the stage of the Omaha arena where the annual meeting is held, he and his partner Charlie Munger (who died in 2023 at the age of 99) crack plenty of jokes, but they also offer the kind of practical investing advice you’d think everyone would follow.
Buy undervalued companies. Focus on long-term growth, not short-term stock fluctuations. (“Our favorite holding period is forever,” he likes to say.) Be patient and disciplined. You get the idea.
At Saturday’s annual meeting, the 94-year-old Buffett dropped a bombshell, announcing that he will step down as CEO at the end of the year. Maxwell Meyer reports on the announcement in his story for The Free Press today, and offers a smart appreciation of what Buffett has wrought during the 60 years he transformed Berkshire Hathaway from a declining Massachusetts textile business into one of the greatest conglomerates—and greatest investment vehicles—the world has ever seen.
What’s always struck me about American investors is how few of us follow that sensible advice Buffett doles out, even though it has made him a billionaire many times over. Are we patient? No. Disciplined? No. Do we focus on the long term? Hell no—we’re always chasing hot stocks. Buffett, bless him, has been telling us how to do it right for 60 years. Maybe it’s time we finally listen. Read Maxwell’s story and you’ll see what I mean.
—Joe Nocera
On Saturday there was an earthquake in Omaha. Okay, not really. But it was a seismic financial shift of the world: After 60 years, Warren Buffett will step down as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway at the end of 2025.
The online right have taken the Democratic ex-king of Hollywood as their martyr—and the left have only themselves to blame. Kat Rosenfield explains the strange new politics of Harvey Weinstein’s retrial.
A rigorous new U.S. study comes to the same conclusion as many other countries: The medical case for pediatric transitions is alarmingly weak. Why are so many in the legacy press determined to ignore the growing concern?
Earlier this year, Frannie Block reported on how school district officials in Evanston, Illinois, turned a child’s ‘cry for help’ into a hate crime. Two middle schoolers were labeled racists, and one family was driven out of town. Now that school district is under investigation for racial bias by Trump’s Department of Education.
A ballistic missile fired by the Houthis hit the grounds of Ben Gurion Airport in Israel on Sunday. “Whoever harms us, we will strike them sevenfold,” said Israeli defense minister Israel Katz after the attack.
“I’ll be an eight-year president,” said Donald Trump when asked about the idea he might try to extend his stay in the White House beyond the legal limit. “I’ll be a two-term president. I always thought that was very important,” he added.
In the same interview, Trump indicated his willingness to lower tariffs on goods from China. “At some point, I’m going to lower them, because otherwise, you could never do business with them, and they want to do business very much,” he said. Trump has placed 145 percent tariffs on Chinese imports.
A company that makes a Signal clone widely used by U.S. government officials has been hacked, according to 404 Media. Stolen information from the company includes customers’ messages, though no cabinet members’ messages are believed to have been taken.
Pakistan test-fired a ballistic missile Saturday, saying it was to ensure the “operational readiness” of its troops. It is the latest move in the standoff between nuclear neighbors India and Pakistan since last month’s militant attack that killed 26 tourists in the Indian region of Kashmir.
Ukraine says it destroyed a Russian fighter jet using a seaborne drone in the Black Sea. “This is the first time in the world that a combat aircraft has been destroyed by a marine drone,” Ukrainian officials said in a statement. The strike comes as America is moving a Patriot missile system from Israel to Ukraine.
Driverless trucks have arrived on U.S. roads. Self-driving transportation start-up Aurora just launched the country’s first commercial autonomous truck route, hauling freight between Dallas and Houston without a human driver on board.
I like the new “Just the facts, Mam” portion of TFP.
Read Lionel Shriver's scathing article on "The trans nonsense must stop" in the Spectator.