Why the Comey Indictment Will Backfire. Ben Shapiro on How to Fix Our Institutions. Plus. . .

It’s Wednesday, April 29. This is The Front Page, your daily window into the world of The Free Press—and our take on the world at large. Today: Eli Lake on the problems with the Comey indictment. Will Rahn talks to the retired Navy admiral who is convinced that aliens are real. Emmet Penney has the details of the Trump administration’s plans to make nuclear power great again. Rafaela Siewert talks to Rachel Goldberg-Polin. And much more.

But first: Ben Shapiro on how to fix American institutions.

There was once a time in American society when fierce political differences didn’t preclude a shared moral foundation. Our core, foundational ideas—that violence is bad, that freedom of speech is paramount—were unquestionable, baked into the ethos of our nation.

It’s getting harder to argue that we still live in that kind of society. As we’ve written in recent days and weeks, the divisive tenor of public discourse seems to be reaching a fever pitch—with increasingly severe consequences.

The latest reminder of that came this weekend at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.

How did this climate take shape?

Ben Shapiro’s answer is simple: “Our institutions are failing.” In his piece today, adapted from a recent speech at the University of Austin, he explains how plummeting trust in what were once the foundational pillars of American life—church, government, academia, science—is at the root of our social unraveling.

Read Ben’s essay for his view on what went wrong—and what Americans can do to fix it.

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THE NEWS

According to The New York Times, the U.S. Mint bought gold from drug cartels and sold it as “American.” (Peter Macdiarmid via Getty Images)

• A New York Times investigation revealed this week that the U.S. Mint’s “100 percent American” gold coins may actually contain gold sourced from cartel-controlled mines in Colombia. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says he will investigate.

• The United Arab Emirates announced Tuesday it is exiting OPEC after more than 50 years in what will likely be a blow to the powerful alliance of big oil producers. The departure comes amid souring relations between the UAE and Saudi Arabia, and will make it tougher for OPEC to control output and prices.

• Per new Gallup data, 55 percent of Americans say their financial situation is worsening. That’s the largest percentage in the last 25 years, including during the 2008 financial crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic.

• The cheapest cars in America may soon vanish from showrooms. Foreign automakers including Nissan, Hyundai, and Toyota have privately warned the Trump administration they may withdraw their most affordable models from the U.S. market if the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, a trade deal favoring foreign car production in North America, is not renewed or materially weakened. Trump’s tariffs charge 25 percent on the non-U.S. content of vehicles that previously qualified as duty-free, making entry-level models unprofitable.

• The Justice Department announced criminal charges Tuesday against Dr. Anthony Fauci’s former top aide at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), accusing him of suppressing information about the origins of the coronavirus pandemic. The indictment alleges David Morens boasted he had “learned the tricks” to disappear emails and skirt public information disclosures from a friend who ran the NIH FOIA office.

• Amid tensions between the U.S. and UK over the war in Iran, King Charles urged cooperation before Congress, calling the story of the two nations “a story of reconciliation, renewal, and remarkable partnership.” A loud bipartisan round of applause erupted when Charles mentioned “the principle that executive power is subject to checks and balances.”