The Hostages Return Home

“On Saturday, in Tel Aviv’s Hostages Square (rumored soon to be renamed Returning Square—it sounds better in Hebrew), I stood in a line of strangers waiting to hug Dani Miran, father of hostage Omri Miran,” Yael Bar Tur writes. “Dani was beaming. I said something about miracles, but he corrected me: ‘I don’t believe in miracles. I believe in the power of our people.’”

The Israeli hostages have finally been returned, and there have been many moments like the one Bar Tur describes—happiness so infectious that it can’t be contained. But it’s a range of emotions, too, as the situation is more complex than what social media might suggest.

Read her moving piece here.

In August, Illinois governor J. B. Pritzker signed legislation that would retroactively raise the pension payouts of some Chicago firefighters and police officers, leaving the city with less than 20 percent of the funding it needs to meet its obligations. And the boost can never be reversed or lowered thanks to state law.

“With this move, Illinois’ political leadership class has revealed its own bankruptcy,” Aaron M. Renn writes. “They will not make any credible effort to fix the state’s financial problems. It’s not even obvious that they want to.”

Read more about Chicago’s financial woes here.

Democrats and Republicans alike have been criticizing nonprofit hospitals for abusing their tax-exempt status. For instance, in 2023, NYU Langone netted $1.3 billion before factoring in tax savings, and its CEO took home about $23 million that year. And yet it charges more than twice as much as other hospitals nearby for routine procedures.

“These hospitals receive hundreds of millions in tax-deductible charitable donations each year,” Devorah Goldman observes, noting that the Right and the Left have an opportunity to join forces on the issue.

Read more about it here.

Step inside Canterbury Cathedral in England right now, and you’ll see that it’s covered in graffiti. This graffiti wasn’t spontaneous, though—it was commissioned. The appalling choice represents “the Church of England’s flattery of, and groveling to, the underclass,” Theodore Dalrymple writes.

Read more here.

In When in Doubt, Stop the Bout, historian Mike Silver offers suggestions for making boxing safer. Some of them are compelling—like eliminating most 12-round fights—while others, like introducing dozens of preliminary fights, seem less realistic.

Tackling the question of boxing safety “amounts to a quixotic pursuit in 2025,” Carlos Acevedo argues. Indeed, boxing never was and never will be safe. “There is no way to regulate the overreaching desires of young men and women who risk everything for the brief transit of sporting glory,” he writes.

Read his review.

“I read Rob’s book and it was sad and illuminating and joyous. I’ll read Ed’s and I’ll bet it will be the same. These guys can change the world.”

Photo credit: Alexi J. Rosenfeld / Stringer / Getty Images News via Getty Images