It’s Tuesday, December 3. This is The Front Page, your daily window into the world of The Free Press—and our take on the world at large. Coming up: On Honestly, Haviv Rettig Gur analyzes a dramatic few days in the Middle East; how to quit your smartphone; the rise of the theater kids; and more.
But first: The pardon we were told would never happen.
When Joe Biden pardoned his son Hunter on Sunday night, something we were assured wouldn’t happen—once again—happened. Shocker.
The White House had been asked repeatedly, both before and after the election, whether the president planned to issue such a pardon. The answer was always an emphatic “No.” That, we now know, was a lie—a lie aided by the White House’s most gullible outriders. Like this guy (come for the bad take, stay for the community note):
Even after the White House’s about-face, some won’t acknowledge Biden’s dishonesty. “I would stop calling it a lie,” Whoopi Goldberg complained when one of her co-hosts on The View accused the pardoning president of dishonesty yesterday.
The Hunter pardon is many things. Among them: a shameless use of the already grubby powers of the presidential pardon; a precedent Donald Trump won’t fail to mention whenever he grants clemency to a loyalist in the near future; evidence of the insincerity of Biden and his party’s commitment to democratic norms; and a reminder that the self-styled “grown-ups” are often as bad as the alternative.
But it’s not a surprise. Or, at least, it’s not a surprise for anyone who has read my colleague Eli Lake’s work on the sordid story of Hunter Biden. In his column for The Free Press today, Eli explains why Biden’s pardon is one more episode in the whole sorry saga in which the president has breached democratic norms over and over.
The pardon is the least of it, says Eli. “The government weaponized the justice system to go after Donald Trump, but looked the other way at Hunter’s influence peddling,” he writes. Read Eli’s op-ed in full: “The Real Hunter Biden Scandal.”
From Aleppo to Tehran: A Middle East on Edge
From Ukraine to Lebanon to Gaza, there are many hot wars competing for headlines these days. This week, an audacious offensive by rebels in Syria put that country’s gruesome, 13-year civil war back in the news. In the most serious challenge to the Iran- and Russia-backed Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad in nearly a decade, the rebels—led by Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham—made it all the way to Aleppo. Since then, Syrian and Russian warplanes have pounded the city with strikes. On Monday, Tehran reiterated its support for Assad, with Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi saying Iran would “provide any support needed.”
The Syria situation adds even more volatility to the Middle East. To make sense of the latest developments between Israel and its enemies, Michael Moynihan gave Haviv Rettig Gur a call. Haviv is a senior analyst at The Times of Israel and one of the sharpest observers of events in the region. Listen to their conversation on the latest episode of Honestly by clicking play below, or watch it here.
My Smartphone Was Ruining My Life. So I Quit.
How much time did you spend looking at your phone while you were with your family this past holiday weekend? Be honest.
Probably too much, right? And yet I doubt your smartphone use is quite as crippling as it once was for August Lamm. An artist and influencer who built a following on social media, Lamm hit her rock bottom with smartphone addiction five years ago, when she tried to make herself cry just to capture the perfect picture for Instagram. “I existed almost exclusively online,” writes Lamm in her piece for The Free Press today. “I could appreciate reality only as a source of content—a pleasing image, a compelling story—to share with others.” Until, one day, she decided to change. Read what she did to take back control from technology: “My Smart Phone Was Ruining My Life. So I Quit.”
The Rise of the Theater Kids
For a few days last week, I couldn’t log on to social media without seeing a clip from an interview with Wicked co-stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande. And in almost all of them, they either break down in tears, or start singing, or both. I asked myself: Are these actors okay? I was concerned. And mystified. Until, that is, I read Evan Gardner’s latest Free Press piece. And suddenly it all made sense. If, like me, you’re confused by all things Wicked, allow Evan to explain what’s going on.
Donald Trump issued a stark warning to Hamas in a post on social media Monday. “If the hostages are not released prior to January 20, 2025, the date I proudly assume Office as President of the United States, there will be ALL HELL TO PAY in the Middle East, and for those in charge who perpetrated these atrocities against Humanity. Those responsible will be hit harder than anybody has been hit in the long and storied History of the United States of America. RELEASE THE HOSTAGES NOW!” Biden’s latest intervention on the conflict? He purchased a copy of anti-Israel tract The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine: A History of Settler-Colonialism and Resistance 1917–2017 from a bookstore in Nantucket.
Omer Neutra, an American Israeli dual citizen thought to be among the living hostages in Gaza, actually died during the October 7, 2023 attack, the Israeli military said on Monday. The military did not say why it chose to announce Neutra’s death now, or when it became aware of his passing. “Our hearts are shattered with this devastating news,” Neutra’s family said in a statement Monday morning. Hamas is still holding three Americans, and four bodies of U.S. citizens, including Neutra’s.
Jury deliberations could begin as soon as today in the trial of Daniel Penny, the former Marine who allegedly killed Jordan Neely, a homeless man, on the New York City subway. Closing arguments began yesterday and once the prosecution gives its final remarks, the jury will decide whether Penny is guilty of manslaughter. Previously in the trial, a medical examiner who testified for the defense stated that Neely likely died due to “the combined effects of sickle cell crisis, the schizophrenia, the struggle and restraint and the synthetic marijuana”—rather than by chokehold as the medical examiner claimed. Penny faces up to 15 years in prison. For a minute-by-minute account of what happened the day Penny met Neely on the subway, watch our exclusive video.
Is Enron back? Twenty-three years after the company dissolved into oblivion in the wake of one of the great accounting scandals of the modern age, the company—or, more likely, someone pretending to be the company—has created a website, issued a press release, and bought billboards promising to solve “the global energy crisis.” Then again, maybe it’s just hoping to sell some T-shirts. According to CNN, the company that owns the Enron trademark is The College Company, the brains behind the “Birds Aren’t Real” mock conspiracy theory. And though its website claims it will unveil something special in seven days, for now all you can do on the Enron site is buy merch. Anyone for an Enron hoodie? Only $118 before tax.
Biden jetted off to Angola Sunday night to tout a U.S.-backed railway initiative linking three countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Now in the twilight days of his presidency, Biden is taking a rather carefree approach to governing—from calling Trump’s supporters “garbage,” to wandering off into the Amazon, to authorizing the launch of long-range missiles that could escalate the war in Ukraine, to breaking a campaign promise with the pardon of his son Hunter. Hakuna matata, Mr. President!
Georgians are recovering after a fourth night of protests over the government’s suspension of negotiations to join the European Union. Police have deployed tear gas and water cannons against the protesters—more than 200 of whom have been arrested. Georgia’s governing party, Georgian Dream, halted talks with Brussels after the European Parliament rejected the results of the country’s election in October, citing alleged irregularities. Meanwhile, Georgian Dream has accused the EU of “blackmail.”
Belgian prostitutes will receive full employment rights, including maternity leave, social security, and pensions, under a new law that went into effect on December 1. “I had to work while I was nine months pregnant,” says Sophie, who will be granted maternity leave under the new law. “I was having sex with clients one week before giving birth.” The bill also includes provisions granting the right to refuse a client without workplace retaliation and mandating employment contracts for all prostitutes working in brothels.
Bible sales are up 22 percent through the end of October, compared to the same period last year. One bookseller tells The Wall Street Journal that her customers are “looking for hope with the world the way it is, and the Bible is what they’re reaching for.”
One more thing. . .
Tech investor Marc Andreessen’s recent appearance on Joe Rogan’s podcast generated headlines—most of them relating to his claim that dozens of tech executives have been quietly “debanked” during the Biden administration. If you’re interested in this disturbing new form of punishment and want to know more, look no further than Rupa Subramanya’s definitive investigation for The Free Press, published in October. Here’s Rupa on “The Debanking of America.”
CORRECTION: A previous version of this newsletter incorrectly identified Aleppo as the capital city of Syria. Damascus is the capital. This has been updated. The Free Press regrets the error.
Oliver Wiseman is a writer and editor at The Free Press. Follow him on X @ollywiseman.
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