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Happy Wednesday! Construction is set to begin this year on a residential apartment complex in Los Angeles that will sit atop a Costco—the first such development for the retail giant.
Amenities will include a rooftop pool, a fitness center, and convenient access to the best, inflation-proof hot dog combo in the country.
Quick Hits: Today’s Top Stories
- At least three wildfires forced 30,000 people to evacuate neighborhoods west of downtown Los Angeles and along the Pacific Coast Highway on Tuesday after spreading with ferocity. By late Tuesday the blazes had consumed more than 3,000 acres with no signs of stopping as high winds were expected to continue into Wednesday. At one point gusts reached nearly 100 mph Tuesday night. California officials said more than 13,000 structures were threatened by the fires, and California Gov. Gavin Newsom said early Wednesday that more than 1,400 firefighters were battling the blazes.
- The State Department said Tuesday that the Sudanese Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group and allied militias fighting in the country’s ongoing civil war are committing genocide. “The RSF and allied militias have systematically murdered men and boys—even infants—on an ethnic basis, and deliberately targeted women and girls from certain ethnic groups for rape and other forms of brutal sexual violence,” Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said in a statement announcing the genocide determination and accompanying sanctions on RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan “Hemedti” Dagalo and seven RSF-owned companies based in the United Arab Emirates. The State Department had previously assessed that the RSF had committed crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing and that both the RSF and its belligerent, the Sudanese Armed Forces, had committed war crimes.
- The Treasury Department on Tuesday sanctioned Antal Rogán—a senior official in charge of Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban’s Cabinet office—for corruption, alleging Rogán manipulated the distribution of public contracts to “enrich himself and those loyal to his party” and “orchestrated schemes” enabling himself and his allies to reap the benefits from certain economic sectors. In a rare action targeting a sitting minister of a NATO ally, the sanctions freeze Rogán’s assets in the United States and prohibit U.S. entities, including banks, from doing business with him. Hungary’s foreign minister condemned the sanctions, pledging to “take the necessary legal steps” after President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration.
- A 7.1 magnitude earthquake struck Tibet on Tuesday in an area near the Nepalese border and Mount Everest, killing at least 126 people and injuring 188 more. Rescue efforts remain ongoing to find survivors trapped under debris from more than 1,000 buildings damaged or destroyed in the quake.
- Indonesia joined the BRICS bloc of developing nations on Monday, becoming the coalition’s 10th full member. BRICS—founded by Brazil, Russia, India, and China—has positioned itself as an alternative to the G7, opposing Western political and economic dominance. Indonesia is Southeast Asia’s largest economy and the latest addition to the bloc after Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, and the United Arab Emirates became members last year.
- The Minneapolis City Council approved a federal consent decree on Monday with the Justice Department to reform the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) more than four years after George Floyd was murdered by then-police officer Derek Chauvin. The 170-page agreement stipulates a plethora of reforms addressing racial discrimination, the use of excessive force, and officer accountability. Some of the measures mirror changes the city made in the wake of Floyd’s killing and as part of a settlement with the Minnesota Department of Human Rights. The implementation of the federal agreement, if approved by a federal judge, will be overseen by a court-appointed independent monitor. The consent decree followed a damning Justice Department report released in June 2023 that found widespread patterns of discrimination and excessive force in the police department. Despite agreeing to the decree, the city and the MPD still “do not concede the allegations in the report.”
- U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon on Tuesday temporarily blocked special counsel Jack Smith from publicly releasing his final report on his investigations into Donald Trump. Two of Trump’s former co-defendants in the federal classified documents case filed emergency motions to block the report with both Cannon and the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals—Cannon dismissed the case last summer, but Smith has continued his appeal of the dismissal as it applies to the co-defendants. Cannon’s Tuesday order bars the Justice Department from releasing the report until three days after the appeals court rules on the issue. Trump’s legal team has also been fighting the report’s public release, sending a letter on Monday to Attorney General Merrick Garland demanding he block the report’s release.
- Jean-Marie Le Pen, founder of the French far-right party the National Front, died Tuesday at age 96. Le Pen was a firebrand in French politics for decades known for his nativist and antisemitic views. His daughter Marine Le Pen took control of his party—renamed the National Rally in 2018—and expelled him in 2015 as part of an effort to distance the movement from some of his rhetoric and positions. Le Pen’s health had suffered in recent years following multiple heart attacks and a stroke.
An Iranian Nuclear Crisis
To say that a lot has changed in the Middle East since President-elect Donald Trump last occupied the Oval Office would be an understatement.
Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack on Israel sparked a war that has lasted more than a year, and now Iran and its regional allies are on the back foot. In the Gaza Strip, Israel’s ground operations and air campaigns have cost Hamas tens of thousands of fighters, including the terror group’s top military leaders. In Lebanon, Hezbollah—once believed to be Jerusalem’s most formidable foe—reluctantly agreed to a ceasefire in November after months of intensifying Israeli attacks left its missile arsenal decimated and its longtime leader dead. Days later, Tehran’s key state ally, Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria, fell to rebel forces.
Yet despite the transformed regional landscape, a longstanding challenge remains: Iran’s nuclear program. As Tehran accumulates enriched uranium with an eye toward weaponization, Trump is keeping ...
As a non-paying reader, you are receiving a truncated version of The Morning Dispatch. You can read our 1,190-word item on the incoming Trump administration’s challenge of dealing with Iran in the members-only version of TMD.
Worth Your Time
- Writing for National Review, Yuval Levin outlined what the “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) would need to focus on if it wants to affect serious change. “For all the talk about the DOGE, its basic ambition is still pretty murky,” Levin wrote. “Above all, its champions seem to have in mind dramatically reducing federal spending, sharply curtailing the federal workforce, and fundamentally reforming federal regulatory policy. Only the last of these would be worth the DOGE’s time and attention. The notion that a committee of billionaire tech executives with no political experience is going to massively reduce federal spending by focusing on waste is just the kind of banal delusion that causes Washingtonians to roll their eyes at the whole idea of Musk and Ramaswamy’s endeavor. … A more plausible way to direct the DOGE’s ambition is to aim at the inefficiency our government causes, at least as much as that which it embodies. And this would suggest focusing on federal regulation.”
- Walter Russell Mead argued in his latest Wall Street Journal column that Europe’s geostrategic leadership potential looks pretty bleak. “Sadly, with the exception of the U.S., much of the West is sunk in decline,” Mead wrote. “Europe needs the U.S. more than ever but is less well situated to influence American policy—or to help the U.S. meet our many global challenges—than at any time in decades. … Under the circumstances, it’s easy to understand the schadenfreude with which much of MAGA World regards a weakened and demoralized Europe. … But no matter how satisfying, settling scores isn’t how you make America great again. European decline isn’t good for the U.S. With the axis of revisionists on the prowl, Team Trump will need all the help it can get, and America’s goal must be to resuscitate Europe rather than to dance on its grave.”
Presented Without Comment
Daily Beast: Giuliani Rips Courtroom Sketch Artist: ‘You Made Me Look Like My Dog!’
Also Presented Without Comment
BBC: Trump Jr. Arrives in Greenland After Dad Says U.S. Should Own the Territory
In the Zeitgeist
Peter Yarrow, a member of the folk trio Peter, Paul, and Mary, died Tuesday at age 86. Here’s the group performing their popular cover of John Denver’s “Leaving on a Jet Plane” during an anniversary concert in 1986.
Toeing the Company Line
- In the newsletters: Nick Catoggio broke down Mark Zuckerberg’s pivot on social media censorship and free speech.
- On the podcasts: Jonah Goldberg is joined by Jonathan Rauch on The Remnant to discuss his latest book, Cross Purposes: Christianity’s Broken Bargain with Democracy.
- On the site: Kevin Williamson continues his series on the ATF, examining the agency’s politically minded rulemaking, and Kori Schake argues that we’re not in World War III … yet.
Charlotte Lawson is the editor of The Morning Dispatch, currently based in southern Florida. Prior to joining the company in 2020, she studied history and global security at the University of Virginia. When Charlotte is not keeping up with foreign policy and world affairs, she is probably trying to hone her photography skills.
Grayson Logue is a staff writer for The Dispatch and is based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Prior to joining the company in 2023, he worked in political risk consulting, helping advise Fortune 50 companies. He was also an assistant editor at Providence Magazine and is a graduate student at the University of Edinburgh, pursuing a Master’s degree in history. When Grayson is not writing pieces for the website, he is probably working hard to reduce the number of balls he loses on the golf course.
James P. Sutton is a Morning Dispatch Reporter, based in Washington D.C. Prior to joining the company in 2024, he most recently graduated from University of Oxford with a Master's degree in history. He has also taught high school history in suburban Philadelphia, and interned at National Review and the Foreign Policy Research Institute. When not writing for The Morning Dispatch, he is probably playing racquet sports, reading a history book, or rooting for Bay Area sports teams.
Cole Murphy is a Morning Dispatch Reporter based in Atlanta. Prior to joining the company in 2025, he interned at The Dispatch and worked in business strategy at Home Depot. When Cole is not conributing to TMD, he is probably seeing a movie, listening to indie country music, or having his heart broken by Atlanta sports teams.
