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It’s Monday, September 15. This is The Front Page, your daily window into the world of The Free Press—and our take on the world at large.
Today: How to fix America.
Is there a way back? That was the question Free Press columnist Matthew Continetti posed in the hours after Charlie Kirk’s assassination last Wednesday.
What occurred to Matt in the immediate aftermath of that tragedy, and what has only grown clearer since then, was this: “Kirk’s death feels like a watershed. It is the most stunning evidence we have to date that America is becoming two nations, divided not only by politics but by culture, lifestyle, psychology, and epistemology.”
Where to start with a problem so big? It’s one thing to say we need to lower the temperature, as so many have in the days since Kirk’s death, but how do we actually do that? How do we bring America back from the brink?
Like you, those are the questions we’ve been asking in these dark days. And like you, we’ve been reaching out to some of the people we trust most to find out what they think.
Today, we offer you their answers.
Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent arrives in Madrid ahead of trade talks with Chinese vice premier He Lifeng on September 14, 2025. (Thomas Coex/AFP via Getty Images)Officials from the United States and China met in Madrid Sunday for a fourth round of trade talks. According to the Treasury Department, the agenda included “national security, economic and trade issues of mutual interest, including TikTok and cooperating on money-laundering networks that threaten both the United States and China.”
China launched two anti-dumping probes into U.S. semiconductor manufacturers on Saturday. The move came after the U.S. on Friday imposed additional restrictions on 23 Chinese companies on national security grounds.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio landed in Israel Sunday for meetings about the war in Gaza. Secretary Rubio began his visit with a trip to the Western Wall with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
New reporting shows that Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook described her property as a second home in at least two documents. The documents contradict President Trump’s claims that Cook misrepresented her second home as a primary residence and, by doing so, committed mortgage fraud.
President Trump said Saturday that he will increase sanctions on Russia only if all NATO countries agree to impose high tariffs on China. “China has a strong control, and even grip, over Russia, and these powerful Tariffs will break that grip,” President Trump posted on Truth Social. “If NATO does as I say, the WAR will end quickly. . . . If not, you are just wasting my time, and the time, energy, and money of the United States.”
President Trump announced Friday that he plans to send the National Guard to Memphis to combat crime. The move follows similar use of the National Guard in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., and comes amid his increasing threats of sending them to Chicago as well. “And by the way, we’ll bring in the military too, if we need it,” President Trump added.
An Australian regulator approved the world’s first-ever vaccine designed to save koalas from chlamydia. “Some individual colonies are edging closer to local extinction every day,” said Professor Peter Timms, who led the research. The new vaccine reduced the mortality rate in wild populations by 65 percent.
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By Bari WeissIt’s Monday, September 15. This is The Front Page, your daily window into the world of The Free Press—and our take on the world at large.
Today: How to fix America.
Is there a way back? That was the question Free Press columnist Matthew Continetti posed in the hours after Charlie Kirk’s assassination last Wednesday.
What occurred to Matt in the immediate aftermath of that tragedy, and what has only grown clearer since then, was this: “Kirk’s death feels like a watershed. It is the most stunning evidence we have to date that America is becoming two nations, divided not only by politics but by culture, lifestyle, psychology, and epistemology.”
Where to start with a problem so big? It’s one thing to say we need to lower the temperature, as so many have in the days since Kirk’s death, but how do we actually do that? How do we bring America back from the brink?
Like you, those are the questions we’ve been asking in these dark days. And like you, we’ve been reaching out to some of the people we trust most to find out what they think.
Today, we offer you their answers.
Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent arrives in Madrid ahead of trade talks with Chinese vice premier He Lifeng on September 14, 2025. (Thomas Coex/AFP via Getty Images)Officials from the United States and China met in Madrid Sunday for a fourth round of trade talks. According to the Treasury Department, the agenda included “national security, economic and trade issues of mutual interest, including TikTok and cooperating on money-laundering networks that threaten both the United States and China.”
China launched two anti-dumping probes into U.S. semiconductor manufacturers on Saturday. The move came after the U.S. on Friday imposed additional restrictions on 23 Chinese companies on national security grounds.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio landed in Israel Sunday for meetings about the war in Gaza. Secretary Rubio began his visit with a trip to the Western Wall with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
New reporting shows that Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook described her property as a second home in at least two documents. The documents contradict President Trump’s claims that Cook misrepresented her second home as a primary residence and, by doing so, committed mortgage fraud.
President Trump said Saturday that he will increase sanctions on Russia only if all NATO countries agree to impose high tariffs on China. “China has a strong control, and even grip, over Russia, and these powerful Tariffs will break that grip,” President Trump posted on Truth Social. “If NATO does as I say, the WAR will end quickly. . . . If not, you are just wasting my time, and the time, energy, and money of the United States.”
President Trump announced Friday that he plans to send the National Guard to Memphis to combat crime. The move follows similar use of the National Guard in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., and comes amid his increasing threats of sending them to Chicago as well. “And by the way, we’ll bring in the military too, if we need it,” President Trump added.
An Australian regulator approved the world’s first-ever vaccine designed to save koalas from chlamydia. “Some individual colonies are edging closer to local extinction every day,” said Professor Peter Timms, who led the research. The new vaccine reduced the mortality rate in wild populations by 65 percent.