| | You're reading The Morning Dispatch, our flagship daily newsletter explaining all the news you need to know today in fewer than 10 minutes. To unlock the full version, become a Dispatch member today. | | | Happy Friday! The team at SCOTUSblog will be live-blogging the Supreme Court's possible announcement of opinions, beginning at 9:30 a.m. EST this morning. You can also catch Steve Hayes on Washington Week on PBS tonight at 8 p.m. ET and on Meet the Press on NBC News on Sunday at 10 a.m. ET. | | Quick Hits: Today's Top Stories | - Minnesota state officials claim they've been shut out of the investigation into the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Renee Good by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer, which occurred in Minneapolis on Wednesday. Minnesota's Bureau of Criminal Apprehension stated yesterday that, while the FBI initially agreed to work jointly with state officials on the investigation, it subsequently reversed course and has denied the state government's access to case documents and materials. During a White House press conference, Vice President J.D. Vance defended ICE and put the responsibility on Good, stating her death was "a tragedy of her own making." Citing government documents, the New York Times reported Thursday that the Trump administration plans to deploy at least 100 more federal agents to Minnesota. In a separate incident on Thursday, U.S. Border Patrol agents shot and wounded two people in a vehicle in Portland, Oregon, a move that the Homeland Security Department (DHS) said was self-defense. According to the DHS, the federal agents intervened to detain the vehicle's passenger, an alleged Tren de Aragua gang member affiliate linked to a recent shooting, when the driver "weaponized his vehicle and attempted to run over the law enforcement agents," prompting the officials to fire at the car.
- Venezuelan National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez—the brother of acting Venezuelan leader Delcy Rodríguez—announced Thursday that the government would release a "significant number" of Venezuelan and foreign prisoners, with Venezuelan officials beginning to do so later that day. The freed prisoners included five Spanish nationals, among them Venezuelan-Spanish lawyer and human rights activist Rocío San Miguel, and multiple Venezuelan opposition figures. President Donald Trump said in a Fox News interview on Thursday that he plans to meet with Venezuelan opposition leader and 2025 Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado next week, stating that he is looking "forward to saying hello to her." To learn more about the current leadership of Venezuela, read yesterday's TMD.
- Protests across Iran continued to intensify on Thursday, prompting the Iranian regime to continue its crackdown on the unrest and cut off internet and phone access nationwide. In a rare move, Iran's state-run television channel reported on the ongoing anti-government protests, claiming that U.S. and Israeli "terrorist agents" were behind the violence. Footage from Tehran showed protesters chanting for Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to be replaced by Reza Pahlavi, the son of the deposed shah of Iran. On Wednesday, Pahlavi publicly called for Iranian protesters to unite in the streets at 8 p.m. local time on Thursday and today. To learn more about the protests in Iran, read Wednesday's TMD.
- Russia launched a newly developed hypersonic ballistic missile—capable of carrying nuclear weapons—at the Ukrainian city of Lviv in overnight attacks on Wednesday, only the second confirmed time that the weapon has been used in the war. Last night, Russian strikes in Kyiv killed four people and injured 10 others, targeting residential buildings and critical infrastructure. Meanwhile, Russian aerial attacks on the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro have left about 500,000 people without heat or electricity as of Thursday evening. To learn more about the state of the war, read today's TMD piece.
- The Syrian government on Thursday announced a ceasefire in the city of Aleppo, following further clashes between Syrian government soldiers and the Kurdish-led, U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces. U.S. officials had been pushing both sides to negotiate a truce, while Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar on Thursday criticized the Syrian government's attacks on Kurdish forces in Aleppo as "grave and dangerous." According to one Syrian government official, tens of thousands of civilians have fled the northern city, and 4,000 others were seeking safety in shelters.
| | Cease and Assist | | | | Volodymyr Zelensky President of Ukraine attends a Press Conference during the 'Coalition Of The Willing' meeting at Elysee Palace on January 6, 2026 in Paris, France. (Photo by Tom Nicholson/Getty Images) | In February 2022, Vladimir Putin announced a "special military operation," which he expected to swiftly decapitate Ukraine's government and bring the independent nation back under Moscow's control. Almost four years later, Ukraine has lost territory, has no clear way to make battlefield advances, and is negotiating with a mercurial White House—but still stands. And this week in Paris, Ukraine secured its most concrete Western security commitments yet. On Tuesday evening, representatives of the U.S., Ukraine, and the "Coalition of the Willing"—35 mostly European countries cooperating on security assistance to Ukraine—issued the Paris Declaration, committing to "a system of politically and legally binding guarantees that will be activated once a ceasefire enters into force." Many details are still to be fleshed out, but it represents the most concrete set of provisions yet for what a postwar settlement would look like, with five key components: | - Participation in a U.S.-led "ceasefire monitoring and verification mechanism,"
- Long-term support for Ukraine's military,
- Binding commitments to aid Ukraine in the event of more Russian aggression,
- Long-term defense cooperation, and
- A multinational force of European troops stationed in Ukraine.
| Daniel Fried, the former assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, told TMD that the involvement of President Donald Trump's representatives—including White House special envoy Steve Witkoff, Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, and NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe Alexus Grynkewich, a U.S. Air Force general—signaled that the administration is taking the process seriously. "Since he is participating, and since his senior people are participating, you can't automatically dismiss it as meaningless," Fried said. Additionally, Zelensky said yesterday that an agreement outlining security guarantee arrangements between the U.S. and Ukraine is "essentially ready" to receive official approval from Trump. | | | You are receiving the free, truncated version of The Morning Dispatch. To read the full newsletter—and unlock all of our stories, podcasts, and community benefits—join The Dispatch as a paying member. | | | | Today's Must-Read | | | | | | | | | | Matthew Harwood | | Arriving in Philadelphia as a broke, typhus-ridden nobody, Thomas Paine found his voice fast, publishing Common Sense in January 1776 and helping turn colonial grievance into a readable, comprehensive argument for independence. "Maybe Paine had the temerity to write such stirring and nakedly seditious words because he had nothing to lose," Matthew Harwood, vice president of communications at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, writes. "Before coming to America, Paine was a failed corset maker and excise officer with minimal formal education whose first wife died in childbirth, along with their child. He had to sell his belongings to avoid debtor's prison before skipping London for Philadelphia. As eminent historian of the American Revolution Bernard Bailyn wrote, 'One had to be a fool or a fanatic in early January 1776 to advocate American independence.'" And though Paine remains in "the popular wilderness," Harwood explains that "if that 37-year-old immigrant never had set sail for Philadelphia in the fall of 1774, we might not be here at all." | | | | | | Toeing the Company Line | | | | | | Rory Johnston | | Rebuilding the country's battered industry will take time—and capital. | | | | | | | | | Jordan McGillis | | The numbers depend on who you ask. | | | | | | | | | John McCormack | | Most congressional Republicans deny they've been hurt by a tariff policy that seems to be the party's biggest self-inflicted political wound. | | | | | | | | | Jeremiah Johnson | | Poorly trained armed men acting with impunity will lead to tragedy. | | | | | | | | | In Other News | | Today in America: | - Police are still searching for suspects involved in a Wednesday shooting that killed two people and injured six others in the parking lot of a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints meetinghouse in Salt Lake City on Wednesday.
- A federal district judge disqualified acting U.S. attorney John Sarcone III, ruling his appointment was invalid, and quashed subpoenas his office issued to New York Attorney General Letitia James.
- White House National Security Council officials reportedly met with Danish ambassador Jesper Møller Sørensen and Greenland's chief representative to the U.S., Jacob Isbosethsen, amid Trump's threats to take over Greenland.
- In a 230-196 vote, the House passed a three-year extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies, with 17 Republicans joining Democrats. The bill is unlikely to pass in the Senate.
- Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania announced his 2026 re-election campaign.
- Trump spoke on the phone with Colombian President Gustavo Petro about drug trafficking and "other disagreements that we have had." Trump posted that he "appreciated his call and tone."
| | Around the World: | - Taiwan's National Security Bureau said that Chinese cyberattacks on the island's central infrastructure, including hospitals and banks, averaged 2.63 million per day in 2025.
- France and Russia agreed to a prisoner swap, with Russian authorities releasing French researcher Laurent Vinatier in exchange for Russian professional basketball player Daniil Kasatkin, who is wanted in the U.S. for alleged involvement in cyberhacking and ransomware schemes.
- Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva vetoed a bill that would have reduced sentences for former President Jair Bolsonaro and others convicted in the January 2023 coup attempt.
- Lebanon's army said it completed the first phase of an operation to disarm Hezbollah, claiming to have completed its objectives in southern Lebanon.
| | On the Money: | - Nvidia is requiring Chinese buyers of its H200 AI chips to pay in full up front, amid concerns that the Chinese government may restrict sales.
- China is investigating Meta's acquisition of Singapore-based AI agent developer Manus, which was founded by Chinese engineers and formerly owned by a Chinese parent company.
- The U.S. is reportedly considering making critical mineral investments in Amaroq, a mining company operating in Greenland, according to CEO Eldur Ólafsson.
- Scott Bessent urged the Federal Reserve to issue further interest rate cuts, claiming it to be "the only ingredient missing for even stronger economic growth."
| | Worth Your Time: | - "The Front-Runner"—by a friend of TMD, Helen Lewis. (The Atlantic)
- Peter Coy argues that Americans should be able to buy Chinese electric cars. (Economics for Everyone)
- Saloni Dattani on the past, present, and future of vaccine development. (Works in Progress)
- Caoimhe O'Neill on teenage dart player, Luke Littler, who might be "the greatest athlete in the world right now." (The Athletic)
- Out today: Greenland 2: Migration in cinemas, People We Meet on Vacation on Netflix, Coldwater on Paramount+, and new music from Zach Bryan, The Kid LAROI, Dirk Maassen, and Alter Bridge everywhere good music is found.
| | Presented Without Comment | Politico: Trump May Have Accidentally Pardoned the Jan. 6 Pipe Bomber | | Also Presented Without Comment | New York Post: Thief Snatched 'Beloved' Walrus Penis From Famed NJ Restaurant Donkey's Place — and Owner Needs Help Getting It Back | | Also Also Presented Without Comment | KTLA: Disappointed Bear Finally 'Evicted' From Southern California Home | | Let Us Know | Have any thoughts or questions about today's newsletter? Become a member to unlock commenting privileges and access to a members-only email address. We read every submission, and answer questions in the following edition of TMD. | | | | | | | Sent to: ignoble.experiment@arconati.us You received this email because you signed up for The Dispatch. To stop receiving this type of email, unsubscribe here. Opt out from all emails here. © 2026 The Dispatch, PO Box 33337, Washington, DC 20033, United States | | | | | |
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