Happy Thursday! The British government is considering classifying the wildly dangerous sport of Gloucestershire cheese rolling as part of the country’s “intangible cultural heritage.” Commentator Stephen A. Smith called the venerable sport “absolutely asinine” this week. We’ll let you judge for yourselves.
Quick Hits: Today’s Top Stories
- A panel of judges from the U.S. Court of International Trade on Wednesday blocked multiple tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump on China and other trade partners, finding that the tariffs went beyond the scope of the law he invoked to enact them. In a lawsuit brought by the Liberty Justice Center, the judges ruled that the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act, under which Trump justified tariffs on dozens of countries, did not grant the president “unbounded authority” to impose tariffs. Other tariffs imposed under different authorities, such as those on automobiles and metals, remain in place.
- Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Zelensky met with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Berlin on Wednesday, and Merz committed to increasing German support for Ukraine. Speaking at a joint press conference, Merz said his country would provide more military equipment and funding for domestic Ukrainian weapons production. The German Defense Ministry later clarified that the support would be valued at roughly $5.7 billion and include financing for satellites and the production of long-range weapons systems.
- Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, who recently stepped back from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), on Tuesday criticized the pending legislation that Trump calls his “big beautiful bill.” In an interview with CBS News, Musk said the bill “undermines the work” of DOGE due to its expansion of the federal budget deficit. The statements were his first major criticisms of the Trump administration and came after his decision to refocus on work at his companies following declines in Tesla stock prices and increasing public controversy.
- Four Palestinians died Wednesday as crowds stormed a United Nations food warehouse in Gaza, according to officials at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital. The riot came a day after one person died and dozens were injured at another aid distribution site in the Gaza Strip. According to news reports, 48 people at this first riot suffered gunshot wounds, though it is unclear who did the shooting; the Israeli military reported firing only warning shots, and military contractors at the scene denied opening fire.
- Vladimir Medinsky, who is heading Russia’s negotiations with Ukraine, proposed Wednesday that Russian and Ukrainian officials meet on June 2 in Istanbul for another round of peace talks. Medinsky suggested the two sides exchange their ideas for a peace treaty, while Ukrainian officials are reportedly considering whether to accept the offer. Reuters reported Wednesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s conditions for a peace deal include a written commitment by NATO not to expand eastward, as well as Ukrainian neutrality and the lifting of some Western sanctions.
- Following his criticism earlier this week of Putin for not seriously engaging with the peace process, Trump on Wednesday indicated that he would not impose further sanctions on Russia if he thought a peace deal was likely. “We’re going to find out whether or not he’s tapping us along or not, and if he is, we’ll respond a little bit differently,” the president said. On Tuesday, Trump said that Putin was “playing with fire” by refusing to show that he was committed to serious peace talks with Ukraine.
- Trump on Wednesday nominated Emil Bove, a Justice Department official and one of his former personal attorneys, to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit. In February, Bove spearheaded the Justice Department’s efforts to drop the federal corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams, which prompted a wave of high-profile resignations from the DOJ. That same month, Bove also ordered that the FBI turn over the names of thousands of employees who worked on investigations related to the January 6, 2021, riots at the U.S. Capitol. “He will end the Weaponization of Justice, restore the Rule of Law, and do anything else that is necessary to, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN,” wrote Trump in a social media post announcing the nomination.
Gene Editing Breakthroughs Begin to Bear Fruit
Kyle and Nicole Muldoon faced a parent’s nightmare after their son KJ was born last year. When he was just days old, doctors diagnosed KJ with an incredibly rare genetic disorder known as severe carbamoyl-phosphate synthetase 1 (CPS1) deficiency—a condition where ammonia produced from breaking down proteins builds up in the body at toxic levels. Babies like KJ ...
As a non-paying reader, you are receiving a truncated version of The Morning Dispatch. You can read our 1,490-word item on gene editing breakthroughs in the members-only version of TMD.
Today’s Must-Read
Freshman Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego was a rare bright spot for Democrats in an otherwise bleak 2024. In a year when Donald Trump won all seven battleground states and Democrats lost three Senate seats, Gallego defeated Republican Kari Lake in Arizona by 2.4 points—despite Trump carrying the state by 5.5 points in the presidential race. It’s little wonder, then, that Gallego’s name is routinely tossed around as a plausible 2028 presidential candidate. Just a few weeks after he took office, Gallego landed at No. 6 in a Washington Post article titled “The 12 Democrats who make the most sense for 2028.”
Toeing the Company Line
Same as It Never Was
The right yearns for—and the left wants to escape from—a culture that didn’t exist.
‘No MAGA Left Behind’
Everything is a trial balloon.
The Quiet Realignment
How allies are adapting to American uncertainty.
Dead Man Walking Precedent
Did SCOTUS overrule Humphrey’s Executor?
Worth Your Time
- In The Atlantic, Rose Horowitch reported on the emergence of an unlikely alliance at Johns Hopkins University: a partnership between conservatives and academia. “Johns Hopkins recently unveiled a partnership with the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), a center-right think tank, designed to inject some ideological diversity into the university. Steven Teles, a political scientist who wrote a widely discussed article last year for The Chronicle of Higher Education titled ‘Why Are There So Few Conservative Professors?,’ is one of the faculty members involved with the partnership. The institutions will collaborate on a number of efforts to integrate conservative and heterodox thinkers…Johns Hopkins is part of a growing trend. Several elite red-state public universities have recently established academic centers designed to attract conservative scholars. And institutions that haven’t sought out conservative faculty may soon find new reasons to do so. The Trump administration has demanded that Harvard hire additional conservative professors or risk losing even more of its federal funding. (Even as it made that demand, it insisted that Harvard adopt ‘merit-based admissions policies and cease all preferences based on race, color, national origin, or proxies thereof.’) In response, Harvard’s president said that the university is expanding programs to increase intellectual diversity on campus. The era of DEI for conservatives has begun.”
- A piece in the Economist examines how America, long a magnet for academic talent from around the world, risks losing scientists and researchers to other countries: “Why is America losing its allure? The most straightforward reason is money, or the looming lack of it. Mr Trump’s administration has cancelled thousands of research grants since January, when he took office. Grant Watch, a website, calculates that at least $2.5bn-worth have been rescinded so far, leaving researchers without salaries and unable to pay expenses. Much more could be coming. … Funding is not the only issue. Many scientists, especially those who are citizens of other countries, are beginning to feel intimidated. In the first four months of 2025 at least 1,800 international students or recent grads had their visas revoked without explanation, only to have them restored again in April. Senior scientists report difficulty obtaining visas for incoming researchers, and have advised junior colleagues from overseas not to travel home, lest they be detained on their return.”
Presented Without Comment
Politico: RFK Jr. threatens to bar government scientists from publishing in leading medical journals
Also Presented Without Comment
CBS News: Trump’s pardon attorney discussed pardoning final Jan. 6 defendants—including Oath Keepers’ Stewart Rhodes, lawyer says
In the Zeitgeist
With a series-clinching win over the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Oklahoma City Thunder have become the youngest-ever team to reach the NBA finals, with an average age of 25. That’s…. younger than two-thirds of the TMD team. Here’s a highlight reel of their (gulp) 26-year-old MVP point guard, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Please note that we at The Dispatch hold ourselves, our work, and our commenters to a higher standard than other places on the internet. We welcome comments that foster genuine debate or discussion—including comments critical of us or our work—but responses that include ad hominem attacks on fellow Dispatch members or are intended to stoke fear and anger may be moderated.
With your membership, you only have the ability to comment on The Morning Dispatch articles. Consider upgrading to join the conversation everywhere.