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Minnesota Vice. Is There Anyone Trump Can’t Fire? Plus. . .
It’s Tuesday, December 9. This is The Front Page, your daily window into the world of The Free Press—and our take on the world at large. Today: Will the Supreme Court let Trump fire whoever he wants? The woman who got a PhD—and was abused online for it. Should assisted suicide be legal? Why you shouldn’t feel guilty for not playing with your kids. And much more.
But first: What’s the matter with Minnesota?
How could this happen? That is a question we have been asking ever since the Minnesota fraud scheme landed in the headlines recently.
The basic facts are shocking. A Minneapolis nonprofit group called Feeding Our Future was supposed to feed children during the Covid pandemic but is now at the center of a sprawling fraud investigation that has uncovered more than $250 million of plunder. Dozens of people with ties to the Somali community in Minneapolis and neighboring St. Paul billed the state for services they never provided, sometimes spending the money they received on cars, houses, trips, and other luxuries. If that wasn’t bad enough, we learned last month that some of the cash siphoned off from the Land of 10,000 Lakes might have ended up in the hands of Islamist terrorists in Somalia.
One answer to our big question comes from Dave Kansas, who grew up in Minnesota, left for much of his newspaper career, and now lives in St. Paul. Many things in the state have changed—and not for the best, Dave writes.
Ayaan Hirsi Ali was born in Mogadishu, not Minneapolis, and she writes that it wasn’t hard to predict what happened. The Somali community has clustered with the same social logic that governs life where she grew up. Click below to read both of the stories.
—Rick Brooks
Should We Legalize Medical Aid in Dying?New York is considering legalizing assisted suicide, and it has ignited a fierce debate over morality, bodily autonomy, and what we owe patients with terminal illness. Two medical ethicists, Dr. Lydia Dugdale and David Hoffman, face off over what’s at stake in the future of medical aid in dying.
This Week on Tough Love with Abigail ShrierThe latest reader question for Tough Love just arrived! This week, Abigail is going to answer a question from a man who is trying to decide if his marriage is worth working on. Or should he cut his losses? Read his note here, and if you want to make sure that Abigail’s reply goes straight into your inbox every week, click here! Her answer will land on Thursday afternoon.
A Thai soldier wounded by gunfire from Cambodian troops is taken to the hospital by helicopter for medical treatment in Thailand on December 8, 2025. (Royal Thai Army/Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)Thailand launched air strikes against Cambodia along their disputed border, killing at least four people. The strikes jeopardize a Trump-brokered peace plan from October, with both nations accusing each other of launching attacks and violating the ceasefire.
The Trump administration unveiled a $12 billion package to pay farmers suffering from low crop prices and the president’s tariffs, which have slowed foreign purchases. Soybeans have been hit especially hard by Trump’s trade war with China, though purchases have risen since an October deal.
President Trump will sign an executive order this week aimed at blocking state-level artificial intelligence regulations. The order also will establish “ONE RULE,” he announced. “You can’t expect a company to get 50 Approvals every time they want to do something. THAT WILL NEVER WORK!”
A member of Zohran Mamdani’s transition team is under congressional investigation for allegedly teaching illegal immigrants how to avoid cooperating with ICE, The Washington Free Beacon reported. Wayne Ho was appointed last month to the incoming New York City mayor’s social services committee. (Read more about Mamdani’s radical transition team.)
A public library book ban in a Texas county will be allowed to stand after the Supreme Court declined to hear the case. Officials in Llano County removed 17 books they deemed objectionable, including ones covering race and LGBT issues. The ban was upheld by an appeals court, which rejected the argument that it violated the First Amendment.
Trump’s approval rating has plummeted among young voters, according to a new Yale Youth Poll. For example, those between the ages of 30 and 34 disapprove of the president’s job performance by 36 percentage points. That was a big shift from a similar survey last spring.
Congress plans to withhold a quarter of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s travel budget until the Pentagon turns over unedited videos of air strikes on suspected drug smuggling boats in the Caribbean Sea. The provision is included in the final draft of the annual defense spending bill, which the House and Senate are expected to pass during the next week.
It’s happening! We’re kicking off Free Press Meetups in five cities: Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, St. Louis, and little Shelburne, Vermont! No panels, no guests, no scripts—just free-flowing conversation with fellow Free Press readers over drinks, snacks, and good energy. Come for the passionate conversations, stay to meet a new friend, intellectual sparring partner, or romantic interest.
Get Tickets Now
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By Bari WeissIt’s Tuesday, December 9. This is The Front Page, your daily window into the world of The Free Press—and our take on the world at large. Today: Will the Supreme Court let Trump fire whoever he wants? The woman who got a PhD—and was abused online for it. Should assisted suicide be legal? Why you shouldn’t feel guilty for not playing with your kids. And much more.
But first: What’s the matter with Minnesota?
How could this happen? That is a question we have been asking ever since the Minnesota fraud scheme landed in the headlines recently.
The basic facts are shocking. A Minneapolis nonprofit group called Feeding Our Future was supposed to feed children during the Covid pandemic but is now at the center of a sprawling fraud investigation that has uncovered more than $250 million of plunder. Dozens of people with ties to the Somali community in Minneapolis and neighboring St. Paul billed the state for services they never provided, sometimes spending the money they received on cars, houses, trips, and other luxuries. If that wasn’t bad enough, we learned last month that some of the cash siphoned off from the Land of 10,000 Lakes might have ended up in the hands of Islamist terrorists in Somalia.
One answer to our big question comes from Dave Kansas, who grew up in Minnesota, left for much of his newspaper career, and now lives in St. Paul. Many things in the state have changed—and not for the best, Dave writes.
Ayaan Hirsi Ali was born in Mogadishu, not Minneapolis, and she writes that it wasn’t hard to predict what happened. The Somali community has clustered with the same social logic that governs life where she grew up. Click below to read both of the stories.
—Rick Brooks
Should We Legalize Medical Aid in Dying?New York is considering legalizing assisted suicide, and it has ignited a fierce debate over morality, bodily autonomy, and what we owe patients with terminal illness. Two medical ethicists, Dr. Lydia Dugdale and David Hoffman, face off over what’s at stake in the future of medical aid in dying.
This Week on Tough Love with Abigail ShrierThe latest reader question for Tough Love just arrived! This week, Abigail is going to answer a question from a man who is trying to decide if his marriage is worth working on. Or should he cut his losses? Read his note here, and if you want to make sure that Abigail’s reply goes straight into your inbox every week, click here! Her answer will land on Thursday afternoon.
A Thai soldier wounded by gunfire from Cambodian troops is taken to the hospital by helicopter for medical treatment in Thailand on December 8, 2025. (Royal Thai Army/Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)Thailand launched air strikes against Cambodia along their disputed border, killing at least four people. The strikes jeopardize a Trump-brokered peace plan from October, with both nations accusing each other of launching attacks and violating the ceasefire.
The Trump administration unveiled a $12 billion package to pay farmers suffering from low crop prices and the president’s tariffs, which have slowed foreign purchases. Soybeans have been hit especially hard by Trump’s trade war with China, though purchases have risen since an October deal.
President Trump will sign an executive order this week aimed at blocking state-level artificial intelligence regulations. The order also will establish “ONE RULE,” he announced. “You can’t expect a company to get 50 Approvals every time they want to do something. THAT WILL NEVER WORK!”
A member of Zohran Mamdani’s transition team is under congressional investigation for allegedly teaching illegal immigrants how to avoid cooperating with ICE, The Washington Free Beacon reported. Wayne Ho was appointed last month to the incoming New York City mayor’s social services committee. (Read more about Mamdani’s radical transition team.)
A public library book ban in a Texas county will be allowed to stand after the Supreme Court declined to hear the case. Officials in Llano County removed 17 books they deemed objectionable, including ones covering race and LGBT issues. The ban was upheld by an appeals court, which rejected the argument that it violated the First Amendment.
Trump’s approval rating has plummeted among young voters, according to a new Yale Youth Poll. For example, those between the ages of 30 and 34 disapprove of the president’s job performance by 36 percentage points. That was a big shift from a similar survey last spring.
Congress plans to withhold a quarter of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s travel budget until the Pentagon turns over unedited videos of air strikes on suspected drug smuggling boats in the Caribbean Sea. The provision is included in the final draft of the annual defense spending bill, which the House and Senate are expected to pass during the next week.
It’s happening! We’re kicking off Free Press Meetups in five cities: Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, St. Louis, and little Shelburne, Vermont! No panels, no guests, no scripts—just free-flowing conversation with fellow Free Press readers over drinks, snacks, and good energy. Come for the passionate conversations, stay to meet a new friend, intellectual sparring partner, or romantic interest.
Get Tickets Now