An NCAA Settlement Paves the Way to Pay Student Athletes

Happy Wednesday! We had the great misfortune yesterday of learning that, during renovations of a museum in Guanajuato, Mexico, the arm of one of the collection’s 19th-century mummies came off—so now you get to know about it, too. Have a great day! 

Quick Hits: Today’s Top Stories

• French President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday that Ukrainian forces could use French-provided weapons, including long-range missiles, to attack targets inside Russian territory, after NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg last week urged Western countries to lift restrictions on the use of their weapons. “Ukrainian soil is being attacked from bases in Russia,” he said during a press conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. “So how do we explain to the Ukrainians that we’re going to have to protect these towns … if we tell them you are not allowed to hit the point from which the missiles are fired?” Russian President Vladimir Putin responded Tuesday, threatening “serious consequences” if Western nations allow Kyiv to attack Russian territory. 
• The Georgian parliament on Tuesday finalized the passage of the Russian-inspired “foreign agent bill” that will require organizations receiving more than 20 percent of their funding from abroad to register as a foreign agent. The bill sparked protests and public blowback a few weeks ago that led to the arrests and assaults of dozens of Georgian protesters, as law enforcement turned to tear gas and stun grenades to disperse the crowds. President Salome Zourabichvili vetoed the bill earlier this month, but Georgian Dream, the ruling party, easily overrode her. Ahead of the vote, the U.S. last week imposed travel restrictions on “individuals who are responsible for or complicit in undermining democracy in Georgia, as well as their family members,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday. 
• The Haitian transitional council on Tuesday unanimously appointed Garry Conille as the country’s prime minister, to replace the interim premier, Michel Patrick Boisvert. Conille, who served as prime minister briefly after the 2010 earthquake in the Caribbean country, has spent most of his career as an international aid official. His appointment comes amid escalating gang violence across Haiti, where two American missionaries were killed last week. 
• Israeli tanks rolled through the center of Rafah, the southernmost city in Gaza, on Tuesday, as Israel seeks to eliminate remaining Hamas fighters in the area. The armored vehicles were part of a military incursion into the city designed to be “targeted” and “precise,” said Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari. “There are still Hamas battalions in Rafah,” he said. “A couple of days ago launchers from Rafah fired [missiles] in Tel Aviv.” Hagari added that IDF forces destroyed Hamas tunnels that run underground from Rafah to Egypt. 
• Taiwan’s cabinet on Wednesday rejected legislation the opposition party passed Tuesday that would have limited the authority of newly elected President Lai Ching-te, a member of the Democratic Progressive Party. The changes—which have not yet become law—would grant Taiwanese lawmakers greater power over the budget, including defense spending, and give lawmakers the authority to require individuals, companies, or the military to disclose information the parliament deems relevant and criminalize contempt of parliament. Opponents argue the changes are favorable to China, and tens of thousands of people have protested the reforms in the capital of Taipei. The parliament, led by the Kuomintang (KMT) party, is likely to veto the move by Lai’s cabinet to have the legislature review the measure. 
• The prosecution and defense teams in former President Donald Trump’s New York criminal trial presented their closing arguments in the case on Tuesday at the end of a five-week trial. Todd Blanche, the former president’s lead defense attorney, fiercely denied that Trump intentionally falsified business expense records relating to hush money payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels. Blanche also attempted once more to cast doubt on testimony from one of the prosecution’s key witnesses, former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen. On the other side, Manhattan prosecutors sought to tie the alleged hush money payments to Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and an effort to “hoodwink the American voter.” Those payments “could very well be what got President Trump elected,” said one prosecutor. The jury will deliberate on the 34 counts, with each requiring a unanimous verdict from the jury either to convict or acquit on any one count.
• The Libertarian Party on Sunday nominated Chase Oliver—a 2022 Senate candidate from Georgia—to serve as its presidential nominee after seven rounds of voting at the party’s national convention. Although both former President Donald Trump and independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. spoke at the convention and received votes from Libertarian delegates—Kennedy as an official candidate, Trump as a write-in candidate—neither made it past the first round of voting. Oliver, an anti-war protester and former Democrat, said his strategy is to focus on the youth vote. “We’ve identified young people, and in particular those who are upset with the war going on in Gaza, upset with the immigration crisis, and upset with cost of living,” he told Politico.
• Bill Walton, the UCLA Bruins legend who went on to win two NBA championships with the Portland Trail Blazers and Boston Celtics, died on Monday at the age of 71 after a battle with cancer. Walton struggled with injuries and chronic pain throughout his career, but managed to rack up a number of accolades anyway: Most Valuable Player, two-time All-Star, Sixth Man of the Year, three-time National College Player of the Year, and more. Later in life, he became known as an eccentric but lovable broadcaster.

A Brave New World for College Sports

If you spend as much time online as your Morning Dispatchers do, then you’ve surely run across tweets suggesting that “the European mind cannot comprehend” some—usually admittedly bizarre—aspects of American culture.

We tend to think that a settlement last week in several antitrust lawsuits against the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) may fall under the umbrella of “things that would confound our friends across the pond.” The deal—which still needs a judge’s approval but would resolve three outstanding cases—muddles, yet again, college athletes’ status in a multimillion-dollar business that has no corollary in the Old Country. (Their loss, frankly.) The landmark settlement looks poised to kill—perhaps once and for all—the amateurism model that has defined …

As a non-paying reader, you are receiving a truncated version of The Morning Dispatch. Our full 1,738-word story on the next chapter in college athletics is available in the members-only version of TMD.

Worth Your Time

• For Undark, Amy Maxmen tracked the puzzling progression of the bird flu in cattle on Texas dairy farms. “In early February, dairy farmers in the Texas Panhandle began to notice sick cattle,” she reported. “The buzz soon reached Darren Turley, executive director of the Texas Association of Dairymen: ‘They said there is something moving from herd to herd.’ Nearly 60 days passed before veterinarians identified the culprit: a highly pathogenic strain of the bird flu virus, H5N1. Had it been detected sooner, the outbreak might have been swiftly contained. Now it has spread to at least eight other states, and it will be hard to eliminate. At the moment, the bird flu hasn’t adapted to spread from person to person through the air like the seasonal flu. That’s what it would take to give liftoff to another pandemic. This lucky fact could change, however, as the virus mutates within each cow it infects. Those mutations are random, but more cows provide more chances of stumbling on ones that pose a grave risk to humans. Why did it take so long to recognize the virus on high-tech farms in the world’s richest country? Because even though H5N1 has circulated for nearly three decades, its arrival in dairy cattle was most unexpected. … ‘One thing you learn in agriculture is that Mother Nature is unpredictable and can be devastating,’ Turley said. ‘Just when you think you have figured it out, Mother Nature tells you you do not.’”

Presented Without Comment

Associated Press: Biden Campaign Sends Allies [Robert] De Niro and First Responders to Trump’s NY Trial to Put Focus On Jan. 6

“I don’t mean to scare you. No, wait, maybe I do mean to scare you,” De Niro told reporters. “If Trump returns to the White House, you can kiss these freedoms goodbye that we all take for granted.”

…

“We New Yorkers used to tolerate him when he was just another crappy real estate hustler masquerading as a big shot,” De Niro said. “I love this city. I don’t want to destroy it. Donald Trump wants to destroy not only the city but the country, and, eventually, he could destroy the world.”

Also Presented Without Comment

House Speaker Mike Johnson on Louisiana radio: 

“I spend half my day as Speaker of the House. The other half is as a mental health counselor.” 

Also Also Presented Without Comment

Times of Israel: Nikki Haley Writes ‘Finish Them’ On IDF Shell While Touring Lebanon Border

In the Zeitgeist 

We enjoy sports because it can be a healthy outlet for our tribalistic passions—and few could evoke more passionate fervor from players and fans alike than Major League Baseball (MLB) umpire Ángel Hernández … it just wasn’t always healthy. But the worst umpire in the sport has finally made the right call: He announced his retirement.  

In honor of Hernandez’s retirement, we thought we’d share his best moments in the MLB (highlight reels aren’t just reserved for the players): 

Toeing the Company Line

• What’s up with the Russian space weapons? What did John see at the Libertarian convention? Is journalism doing alright? Steve was joined by Mary, John, Drucker, and special guest and NewsNation host Leland Vittert to discuss all that and more on last night’s episode of Dispatch Live (🔒). Members who missed the conversation can catch a rerun—either video or audio-only—by clicking here. 
• In the newsletters: Nick explored (🔒) the Biden campaign’s potentially doomed efforts to make Trump’s behavior the center of the race.
• On the podcasts: In a GLoP Culture Podcast x The Remnant crossover, Jonah and Rob Long discuss pop culture and offer hot takes on improv.
• On the site: Jonah reminds us that the country’s economic struggles have been much worse in the past and Danielle Pletka details how the International Criminal Court set itself up for trouble by requesting indictments for Benjamin Netanyahu and others.