Editor's Note: We have ambitious goals for 2026, and they start today with the launch of two upgrades: a more stylish, mobile-optimized design, which you can see below, and an upgraded audio version of TMD, powered by the most advanced AI voice models on the market.We believe the new design will make TMD easier to read no matter what device you're using, and we're really excited about our new, members-only Dispatch Voiced feature, which gives you the option of having an audio version of TMD sent to your podcast player of choice every morning.If you've enjoyed the free version of our newsletter, we hope you'll consider taking the plunge today and becoming a paid member. Not only will you be able to read the whole thing, you'll be able to have the whole thing read to you. And if you have any feedback on our new design, Dispatch Voiced, or anything else, please leave a comment or reply to this email. We work for our readers, and can only do what we do because of your support. And with that, back to the news.—Ross Anderson, Editor of The Morning Dispatch | | Happy Monday! Good news for bargain hunters: Bernie Madoff's bespoke Savile Row suits are currently on eBay for as low as $950—a steal, though admittedly not his biggest. | Quick Hits: Today's Top Stories |  | Iran Violently Cracks Down on Protesters- Iranians continued protesting across the country over the weekend in defiance of the regime and rising inflation, despite the government's crackdown, including reported uses of lethal force and a nationwide internet blackout. According to HRANA, a collection of Iran-oriented human rights groups, 544 people have died during the Iranian protests—including eight children and five non-protesting individuals—though news outlets have yet to independently verify these figures. Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei pledged Friday to "not back down" against rioters who he claimed were seeking "destruction" to "please" Trump.
- President Donald Trump has previously warned the Iranian regime that use of deadly force against protesters would be met with a U.S. military response.
- On Saturday, the New York Times reported that Trump was briefed on the prospective use of air strikes, adding that no final decision has been made, and on Sunday, federal government officials told the Wall Street Journal that Trump would be briefed again on Tuesday to review prospective military strikes and sanctions against Iran.
- On Sunday, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said before the country's legislature that U.S. and Israeli military bases and ships would be "legitimate targets" in response to a prospective attack on Iranian soil or forces.
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| |  | The Justice Department Subpoenas the Federal Reserve- Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said in a video message on Sunday that the Justice Department had served him grand jury subpoenas and was "threatening" to criminally indict the central bank chairman for comments made during his congressional testimony in June, where he had discussed renovation plans for the central bank's headquarters. However, Powell dismissed this as "pretext," stating, "This is about whether the Fed will be able to continue to set interest rates based on evidence and economic conditions—or whether instead monetary policy will be directed by political pressure or intimidation."
- The New York Times reported Sunday that Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C., approved a criminal inquiry into Powell's June remarks in November.
- The investigation is reportedly examining whether Powell lied to Congress in describing the renovation project's scale, which Trump first raised concerns about last July.
- A Justice Department spokesman told newsoutlets later Sunday night that Attorney General Pam Bondi "has instructed her U.S. Attorneys to prioritize investigating any abuse of taxpayer dollars."
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| |  | White House Advances Venezuela Oil Talks- Executives from more than a dozen energy companies—including Chevron, ExxonMobil, and ConocoPhillips—visited the White House on Friday to discuss their potential investment in Venezuela, which Trump said would total at least $100 billion. Later that day, President Trump issued an executive order blocking courts from potentially freezing funds generated through Venezuelan oil profits and held in U.S. Treasury accounts. The order said that the money would be used to help foster "peace, prosperity and stability" in Venezuela.
- Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Reuters on Saturday that he plans to meet the heads of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank next week, adding that the U.S. could lift sanctions around that time to advance oil projects and prospective sales.
- ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods said Venezuela was "uninvestable "during the Friday meeting. On Sunday, Trump told reporters that he was "inclined" to keep the energy company out of Venezuelan oil projects, stating that "they're playing too cute."
- Trump claimed on Truth Social on Friday that he had canceled a second round of "previously expected" attacks on Venezuela, noting that Venezuelan leaders were working with U.S. officials, released "large numbers" of political prisoners, and were "seeking peace."
- According to the New York Times, acting Venezuelan leader Delcy Rodriguez has requested assistance from the U.S. military to locate and return an oil tanker that left the country without the government's approval.
- On Sunday, Trump posted on Truth Social that Cuba will no longer receive any oil or money from Venezuela, urging Cuban leaders to strike a deal "BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE."
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| |  | U.S. Strikes Islamic State in Syria- The U.S. launched large-scale air strikes across Syria on Saturday, targeting Islamic State militants and infrastructure in response to an attack last month carried out by an individual inspired by the terrorist cell who killed two U.S. service members and a civilian interpreter. U.S. Central Command spokesman Capt. Timothy Hawkins said on Saturday that fighter jets, gunships, and military drones—from both the U.S. and Jordanian militaries—were used in the strike, and that they collectively fired more than 90 bombs and missiles, targeting at least 35 Islamic State-linked sites.
- The U.S. had launched an earlier strike on Islamic State terrorists on December 19, the first of now two aerial attacks in what the military has termed "Operation Hawkeye Strike."
- On Saturday, Tom Barrack—the U.S. Ambassador to Türkiye and Special Envoy for Syria—met with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa to discuss recent violent clashes with U.S.-backed, Kurdish-led forces in Aleppo (which ended last week with a ceasefire agreement) as well as a "broader path forward" for Syria.
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| |  | Job Growth Underperforms in Latest Report- The U.S. economy added 50,000 nonfarm jobs in December, according to a new report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics released on Friday, falling short of the Dow Jones estimate of 73,000 jobs for the month. December's job gains decreased 12 percent from the prior month, which recorded a downwardly revised total of 56,000 additional jobs, and capped a year in which only 584,000 jobs were created—less than a third of 2024's more than 2 million.
- Job gains were narrow, with restaurants and bars (+27,000) and the health care sector (+21,000) leading growth, while retail (-25,000), construction (-11,000), and manufacturing (-8,000) shed workers.
- The unemployment rate dipped to 4.4 percent in December, down from 4.5 percent in November, but the decline came from a shrinking labor force rather than more robust hiring. The median duration of unemployment rose to 11.4 weeks—a four-year high.
- Average hourly earnings rose 3.8 percent year-over-year, up from 3.6 percent the month prior, keeping wage growth solid even as hiring remains subdued.
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| | U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents detain a man holding a sign during an enforcement operation outside the Whipple Building, an ICE facility in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on January 11, 2026. (Photo by Kerem YUCEL / AFP via Getty Images) | On Wednesday morning, 37-year-old mother Renee Nicole Good dropped her 6-year-old son off at school. By 9:37 a.m., an officer for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) would fire into Good's maroon Honda Pilot, killing her. Her wife was standing outside the vehicle; their dog was in the back seat; her son's stuffed animals were in the glove compartment. The shooting—recorded from multiple angles by several different bystanders—instantly became a major national news story, with clips circulating on social media and politicians and commentators across the political spectrum scrambling to define their version of events. On Wednesday afternoon, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin tweeted that Good had tried "to run over our law enforcement officers in an attempt to kill them—an act of domestic terrorism," and that the officer, "fearing for his life," had "fired defensive shots." Minneapolis' Democratic Mayor Jacob Frey countered that the shooting was a case of "a federal agent recklessly using power that resulted in somebody dying," and in a Wednesday press conference, demanded ICE agents "get the f—k out of Minneapolis." Within hours, two competing narratives had taken hold and calcified into conventional wisdom and a series of talking points. According to President Donald Trump, Good had "violently, willfully, and viciously ran over the ICE Officer," whereas New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Good had been "murdered." According to Minnesota's Democratic Governor Tim Walz, the Department of Homeland Security is a "propaganda machine." Additional footage released later in the week seemed only to bolster both groups' preconceived notions. Law enforcement-involved shootings unfold in seconds and are scrutinized for years—and it's only after an official investigation that the whole story is available to the public. But by analyzing the latest publicly available footage and speaking with law enforcement and use-of-force experts, TMD has attempted to piece together the most complete picture of what happened that fateful Wednesday morning. | | You are receiving the free, truncated version of The Morning Dispatch. To read the full newsletter—and unlock all of our stories, podcasts, community benefits, and our newest feature, Dispatch Voiced, which allows you to listen to our written stories in your own podcast feed—join The Dispatch as a paying member. | | | | | | Ben Connelly | In his first piece for The Dispatch, writer Ben Connelly makes the case that capitalism embodies the vast network of human cooperation that we rely on to survive. Whether in the energy that powers our homes or the food that we eat, modern living is wholly dependent on mutual exchange—and mutually beneficial exchange. "I want to defend the principle of mutual exchange as a matter of fairness," he writes. "Not because I want to make sure I always get what I want, but because I never want to take advantage of another person. … Capitalism is built upon mutually beneficial exchange; such exchanges are mutually beneficial because each party ends up better off after the exchange." | | |  |  MEMBER EXCLUSIVE |
| The Dark Heart of Counterculture | Valerie Pavilonis, Kevin D. Williamson, and Ross Anderson | Hunter S. Thompson's genius, chic tech, and winter landscapes. |
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| |  | | MEMBER EXCLUSIVE |
| Introducing 'Dispatch Voiced' | The Dispatch Staff | Our new, members-only podcast feeds offer audio versions of articles and newsletters. |
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| | | | | Today in America: | - Mississippi authorities arrested a suspect believed to be responsible for a Saturday arson attack on a synagogue.
- A federal district judge blocked Trump from withholding federal election funding to select states that do not update voter registration forms and electoral processes, ruling that the president overstepped his authority because "the Constitution assigns no authority to the president over federal election administration."
- A separate federal district judge issued a preliminary injunction temporarily blocking the Trump administration from withholding federal funding for child care services to five Democratic-led states.
- The Department of Homeland Security announced it was reviewing cases for refugees residing in Minnesota, stating it would prioritize vetting about 5,600 refugees who have yet to obtain green cards.
- Los Angeles officials said that a U-Haul truck drove into a crowd of anti-Iranian regime protesters, which resulted in no deaths or hospitalizations. Federal and local officials are investigating the incident.
- Bob Weir, the guitarist and founding band member of the Grateful Dead, died at the age of 78.
| Around the World: | - German officials are reportedly proposing to establish a North Atlantic Treaty Organization mission to jointly monitor and undertake other security goals in the Arctic Region.
- Hamas terrorist leaders said that they would dismantle their ruling authority in Gaza once a Palestinian-led government assumes power in the region.
- The U.K. government announced it was working to develop ground-launched ballistic missiles—capable of traveling more than 300 miles—for Ukraine.
- The Nicaraguan government said it was releasing "dozens" of prisoners following U.S. demands that the country release 60 people who "remain unjustly detained or disappeared."
- China, Iran, and Russia began joint naval drills off the coast of South Africa, describing the operations as a BRICS Plus initiative designed to protect the intergovernmental group's "shipping and maritime economic activities."
- The secretary-general for the primary Yemen-based separatist group, the Southern Transitional Council, announced plans to dismantle, though the organization's spokesman refuted the claim. One day earlier, the group's leader fled the country for Abu Dhabi.
| On the Money: | - Trump called for new regulations to cap credit card interest rates at 10 percent for one year.
- Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that Argentina has "fully repaid" the U.S. for a currency swap line, with local Argentine media reporting that the country's government used $2.5 billion of a total $20 billion made available.
- Government regulators in both Malaysia and Indonesia temporarily suspended Grok—the AI chatbot developed by the social media company, X—after they determined that the company failed to fix concerns regarding AI-generated, nonconsensual, sexually explicit content.
- The airline Allegiant reached a deal to acquire its low-budget rival, Sun Country Airlines, for $1.5 billion.
| Worth Your Time: | - "Protests Won't Bring Down The Iranian Regime" (Badlands)
- Amid Trump's pressure to acquire Greenland, Dispatch contributing writer Jamie Kirchick argues that Denmark has been one of the U.S.'s oldest and best allies. (The New York Times)
- Josh Barro on Zohran Mamdani's deregulatory strategy for housing construction, and his opposite approach for regulating landlords. (Very Serious)
- Noah Smith on the need to revitalize the U.S. high-tech manufacturing industry. (Noahpinion)
- Lakshya Jain dives into the numbers behind American youth loneliness. (The Argument)
- The greatest game of football ever played, according to at least one morning editor. (YouTube)
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