It’s Thursday, March 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 Dubai expats sheltering in luxury. Europeans get mugged by climate reality. Newsom misses the point in Iran. And much more.
But first: If the Iranian regime falls, what comes next?
President Donald Trump hasn’t eased his campaign to batter Iran’s regime into submission. Iran “has no navy, it’s been knocked out. They have no air force, that’s been knocked out. They have no air detection, that’s been knocked out,” Trump declared from the Oval Office, less than 100 hours into the fighting.
Yet few U.S. reports so far have captured how Iranians opposed to the regime are responding amid the rubble and twisted steel. Even a battered regime will likely cling to power until its remains are pushed out by an organized force.
For early signs of resistance, look to the Kurds. The minority group in Iran’s mountainous northwest has clashed with the regime since before the 1979 revolution reached its end. Last month, five Kurdish groups committed to fight the regime, and now they’re organizing under the cover of U.S.-Israeli air power. Jay Solomon reports on whether these fighters could push out the regime—or plunge Iran into civil war:
Iran’s Persian majority lacks much organized resistance because their rulers have killed, jailed, or cast out would-be opposition leaders. Now millions are looking to those exiled and imprisoned men to emerge and command their nation. Amy Kellogg profiles some of the brightest lights, from the former prime minister who stood up to the hard-liners, to Reza Pahlavi, the deposed crown prince who could restore the shah’s throne.
With the internet and cellular networks knocked out across much of Iran, it’s difficult for dissidents to rally, or even know what’s going on in the war. For decades, the U.S. had a tool tailor-made for this purpose—until the Trump administration began to dismantle it last year. What motivated Trump to gut radio services like Voice of America, which could draw millions of Iranians toward America’s mission? Read Frannie Block’s investigation to find out.
—Mene Ukueberuwa
The night sky of the city of Dubai has been scattered with Iranian missiles since the U.S.-Israeli operation began last Saturday. The Emirati city has attracted thousands of Western expats, enthralled by luxury and glitz—and many of the ones River Page talked to are refusing to leave. “During war,” one said, “we can go to the mall, we can go to the beach, we can go shopping. Like, I have a massage coming to my house.”
Shilo Brooks sits down with New York City public defender Ben Schatz to talk about the novel True Grit—and the nature of justice in America. Schatz co-founded an organization that provides books to people in prison, offering a glimpse into the world of reading while they serve their time. Schatz provides a passionate critique of our current justice system, all while discussing this great novel, True Grit.
Europe’s grand green experiment is running headlong into economic reality. Bjorn Lomborg traces how soaring energy costs, industrial backlash, and geopolitical shocks, like the Russian invasion of Ukraine, woke the continent up. Once committed to a net-zero consensus, Europe is now being reshaped by realities of unaffordability, insecurity, and political risk.
The Iran war is America’s answer to nearly a half-century of hostility from the Islamic Republic. Yet to progressives such as California governor Gavin Newsom, the conflict is merely one more chance to knock Israel and President Trump. Peter Savodnik picks apart Newsom’s tone-deaf critiques, and asks why many Democrats can’t see the war for what it is.
One out of 20 deaths in Canada is now caused by medically assisted suicide. Almost 17,000 Canadians were provided medical assistance in dying (MAID) in 2024, with over 200 in Ontario alone receiving it the day after their request. Rupa Subramanya details how the once-novel form of healthcare is quickly becoming an efficient industry for doctors and hospitals.
Neal Pollack started smoking weed daily in his 30s, eventually not wanting to watch TV, shop for groceries, or even drive, without being stoned. Then, at age 47, he realized he had turned into a “red, blubbering old man,” a bad father who acted erratically in public. He speaks to Maya Sulkin on “Confessions” about how he changed his mind about marijuana, and why the country should too.
WATCH: The Future of War Is Being Shaped in Iran
Join us at noon ET for a live taping of a Free Press podcast, School of War, hosted by Aaron MacLean, the FP’s newest columnist (read more about that here) and national security analyst for CBS News. MacLean is a Marine veteran and former professor at the U.S. Naval Academy. Today, he will host General Frank McKenzie (retired) to discuss the ongoing operation in Iran and the implications it has for the future of warfare. You don’t want to miss this.
MORE FROM THE FREE PRESS
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THE NEWS
A United States Navy submarine sank an Iranian ship in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Sri Lanka Tuesday night, the first sinking of an enemy ship by a U.S. submarine since World War II. The U.S. has destroyed 20 Iranian naval ships since the operation began last week, according to Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman General Dan Caine.
Legendary college football coach Lou Holtz died yesterday at the age of 89. Holtz led the Notre Dame Fighting Irish to a 1988 national title, one of 249 victories in his 33-year coaching career. He later became a college football analyst for CBS and ESPN. Holtz was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor, in 2020.
The Texas Republican Senate primary is heading to a runoff, after incumbent John Cornyn and the state’s attorney general Ken Paxton both failed to pass the 50 percent threshold in Tuesday’s Senate primary election. President Trump announced his intention to offer an endorsement “soon,” calling on the candidate who is not endorsed to immediately drop out.
The Senate blocked a measure that would curtail President Trump’s authority to continue the war in Iran. The 53–47 vote was almost completely down party lines, except for Rand Paul (R-KY) voting for the restrictions and John Fetterman (D-PA) voting against the measure. A similar measure is up for debate in the House of Representatives, but is not expected to pass.
The U.S. government’s civilian workforce shrank by 12 percent between September 2024 and January 2026, according to government data published on Wednesday. The Treasury Department lost 24 percent of its workforce, and the Department of Health and Human Services’ workforce was cut 20 percent. The Department of Homeland Security was the only department to gain staff—it grew by less than 1 percent.
An Iranian ballistic missile heading toward Turkish airspace was shot down by NATO air defenses in the eastern Mediterranean, Turkey’s defense ministry announced on Wednesday. “NATO stands firmly with all allies, including Turkey, as Iran continues its indiscriminate attacks across the region,” a NATO spokeswoman said.
Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem testified in front of the House Judiciary Committee, fielding questions over the administration’s immigration crackdown and her tenure at DHS. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) chastised Noem’s “smear campaign” of two Americans she referred to as domestic terrorists after their deaths at the hands of federal agents in Minneapolis, while Republicans offered support for the secretary’s record.
Trump’s plan makes sense snd Paxton might make a good replacement once Bondi runs out of gas. He seems immune to hostile press.
"So far, it has yet to make a clear case for why we are in Iran. (That should be self-evident, but still.)"
Hey it is only Thursday!
The hilariously snarky, sometimes brilliant, and sometimes intentionally dimwitted (see above" doesn't come until Friday.
Anyone who can't understand that eliminating Iran's nuclear program is the mission is beyond understanding any explanation that might be given by anyone in the administration.