Recessing: The release of the 30th anniversary edition of The Heritage Foundation’s Index of Economic Freedom marks a grim milestone: the United States received its lowest grade in the history of the Index, falling to 25th place. A cocktail of misguided, social justice-minded economic policies led to the loss of economic freedom and prosperity in the U.S. 

• The top four nations in the 2024 Index—Singapore, Switzerland, Ireland, and Taiwan—outperformed other countries in the rule of law, government size, regulatory efficiency, and open markets.
• “The findings of the 2024 index are resounding: conserving and further enhancing the institutions of economic freedom is the key to true human empowerment and development,” said Anthony Kim, research fellow and editor of the Index. 

Read the new Index of Economic Freedom here. 

Disaster: The millions of illegal immigrants crossing into the U.S. each year is not only costing taxpayers billions, it's creating even more education barriers for children who are still playing catch-up from the catastrophic COVID-19 shutdowns. 

• “Public schools must enroll minors regardless of immigration status,” write Heritage research associates Madison Marino and Matthew Kuckelman, and directors Lindsey Burke and Lora Ries.  

Read more here. 

Bookshelf: Want to be a Christian warrior in today’s culture, hear from de-transitioners, and understand modern Marxism? Order these Heritage-penned books today! 

Fight the Good Fight: How an Alliance of Faith and Reason Can Win the Culture War, by Jay Richards and James Robison; Detrans: True Stories of Escaping the Gender Ideology Cult, by Mary Margaret Olohan; Next Gen Marxism: What It Is and How to Combat It, by Mike Gonzalez and Katharine Cornell Gorka 

Gutted: President Biden’s unprecedented freeze of U.S. dollar reserves of Russia’s central bank has jeopardized the American dollar’s hard-won reserve status.

• Heritage economic experts EJ Antoni and Peter St. Onge break it down here.  

CBDC: In a video short, St. Onge explains how "central bank digital currency,” which would replace the dollar with a programmable, traceable, trackable, and taxable digital token, could ruin America. Watch it here. 

Stay Alert: We’ve seen some great wins on “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI) recently. But the fight is far from over.  

• The main problem? “DEI bureaucracies are no longer necessary for its propagation,” write legal fellows Jack Fitzhenry and GianCarlo Canaparo. 
• A critical mass of professors and administrators adhere to DEI tenets—and use their majority to silence dissenters. 

Read more here.  

The Heritage Foundation’s High School Fellowship equips high school students to defend their values before the Left can get hold of them. Students will engage in the national conservative conversation, participate in real-life policy projects, and connect with influential leaders. 

Location: The Heritage Foundation, Washington, D.C. 

Dates: June 24–29 

Housing: Students will stay in nearby accommodations and attend training at Heritage’s headquarters. 

Cost: Every accepted student will receive a full scholarship covering travel, housing, meals, course materials, and tour activities. 

If you’re a high school student ready to take your conservative leadership to the next level, apply for the Heritage High School Fellowship today.  

• Electric Vehicle Enthusiasm Loses Power—Diana Furchtgott-Roth 
• Chinese Hackers Infiltrating America’s Critical Infrastructure—Miles Pollard 
• Yes, America Is the Biggest Military Donor to Ukraine—Wilson Beaver 
• Mayorkas Had 3 Years to Secure Our Border. Americans Deserve a Real Senate Impeachment Trial—Lora Ries  
• Alabama Embryo Ruling Brings Much-Needed Regulation to Fertility Industry—Emma Waters 
• America Must Remedy Its Dangerous Lack of Munitions Planning—Wilson Beaver and Jim Fein 
• Bad Math, Bad Research: The Truth About Abortion and Rape-Related Pregnancy—Jonathan Abbamonte 
• Biden’s Justice Department Is Suing Tennessee for Protecting Its Citizens from HIV-Positive Prostitutes—Zach Smith 
• Liz Truss Knows How to Save America—Nile Gardiner, Ph.D. 
• Empowering Families: Giving Every Military Child the Chance at a Top Education—Crystal Bonham 
• How All Americans Are Paying for San Francisco’s Pork-Barrel Spending—David Ditch 
• Supreme Court to Settle 22-Year Conflict Over Abortion Drugs—Thomas Jipping 

Google had to pull back its Gemini AI tool after users found it to be wildly and embarrassingly “woke.” Kara Frederick, director of the Tech Policy Center, explains what happened and why, on Fox News. Watch the clip here.