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Happy Monday! After a pair of truly heartbreaking losses yesterday by the Detroit Lions and the Baltimore Ravens, the Super Bowl LVIII matchup is set. The happiest people this morning? San Francisco 49ers fans, Kansas City Chiefs fans, and NFL executives drooling over the marketing possibilities of Taylor Swift rooting on her boyfriend during the biggest game of the year.
Quick Hits: Today’s Top Stories
- Three U.S. service members were killed and dozens more were injured over the weekend when an Iranian-backed militia—likely in Syria—launched a drone strike against a U.S. military installation in northeast Jordan near the Syrian border. President Joe Biden said Sunday that the U.S. would respond. “These service members embodied the very best of our nation: Unwavering in their bravery. Unflinching in their duty. Unbending in their commitment to our country—risking their own safety for the safety of their fellow Americans, and our allies and partners with whom we stand in the fight against terrorism,” he said. “[H]ave no doubt—we will hold all those responsible to account at a time and in a manner [of] our choosing.” While Iran-affiliated militias in the Middle East have launched more than 150 attacks on U.S. and allied troops in the region since Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel, this is the first attack that has resulted in the deaths of U.S. troops.
- The U.S., U.K., and Germany are among at least 11 countries that announced over the weekend that they were pausing funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) after allegations emerged that 12 of the U.N. agency’s workers participated in Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel. Of the 12 staff members, nine have been fired, one is confirmed dead, and the identities of two have yet to be confirmed, according to U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres. The pause in funding only affects new obligations after January 24, not money allocated prior to that date, according to the State Department. The countries pausing their funding said they will wait for the outcome of the U.N.’s investigation into the agency to make final decisions about supporting the agency in the future.
- Yemen’s Houthi rebels fired at the USS Carney, a U.S. Navy destroyer, in the Gulf of Aden on Friday—the first time a U.S. warship has been directly targeted since the Iranian-backed group began attacking ships in the Red Sea in October. “The missile was successfully shot down by USS Carney,” U.S. Central Command said. “There were no injuries or damage reported.” The U.S. conducted a strike on a Houthi anti-ship missile ready to launch on Saturday, the latest in a series of strikes on the Iran-backed militia.
- Ukrainian security services said Saturday that they suspect five people—including some high-ranking members of the defense ministry—of involvement in a plot to embezzle $40 million in state funds meant as payment for 100,000 mortar shells that were never provided. The allegations are part of an ongoing struggle with military graft as the war in Ukraine approaches the end of its second year.
- The Biden administration informed key lawmakers on Friday of its intent to sell Turkey $23 billion in updated F-16 fighter jets and Greece as many as 40 F-35 stealth fighters. The four leaders of the Senate Foreign Relations and House Foreign Affairs committees said they would not block the sales, effectively greenlighting the deal. The sale to Turkey had become functionally contingent on its decision to allow Sweden to join NATO, which Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan approved last week.
- A New York jury awarded writer E. Jean Carroll a total of $83.3 million in damages—$18.3 million in compensatory damages and $65 million in punitive damages—from former President Donald Trump in her defamation case against him for statements he made denying that he raped her several decades ago. Carroll recently won a civil suit against Trump based on those allegations, with the jury awarding her $5 million. Trump, who left the courtroom before the verdict was read, will likely appeal the decision.
- The Justice Department found that former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo sexually harassed 13 women employed by the state’s executive office and that his staff retaliated against at least four of the women he harassed. The findings emerged as part of a settlement between the DOJ and New York, which requires additional reforms from the governor’s office, including expanded independent reporting processes. Cuomo, who maintains he did not harass anyone, resigned in 2021 after New York Attorney General Letitia James found the governor had sexually harassed 11 women, some of whom were not state employees.
- Italian tennis player Jannik Sinner came from two sets behind Daniil Medvedev to win the Australian Open on Sunday, the 22 year old’s first Grand Slam title. In the women’s final, Belarussian Aryna Sabalenka defended her title on Saturday, defeating China’s Zheng Qinwen in straight sets and becoming the first woman in a decade to win two consecutive Australian Open titles.
Turning Down the Gas
The U.S. officially became the number-one global exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in 2023, surpassing Qatar and Australia and shipping out 91.2 million metric tons of the energy source across the globe. Growth has been explosive in the eight years since the U.S. began exporting LNG, but a new rule out of Washington could dampen those numbers.
The Biden administration announced on Friday that it would pause all approvals of pending applications for liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports in the name of achieving President Joe Biden’s climate goals. The move was cheered by environmental advocates and many of Biden’s allies on the left, while Republicans and industry groups warned the pause could hurt both the U.S. economy and European allies who have come to rely on American LNG amid the ongoing war in Ukraine. In an election year, Biden appears to be gambling that additional action on climate will light a fire under disaffected young voters upset with ...
As a non-paying reader, you are receiving a truncated version of The Morning Dispatch. Our full 1,300-word story on the Biden administration’s pause on new LNG exports is available in the members-only version of TMD.
Worth Your Time
- In a visually rich explainer complete with detailed maps, David Sacks of the Council on Foreign Relations broke down why China would have a difficult time invading Taiwan, should it choose to do so. “China is investing huge sums to develop the capability to bring Taiwan under its control by force, if need be,” Sacks wrote. “At the same time, invading Taiwan or mounting a successful blockade would be the most complex military operation in modern history, and China’s military has not fought a major war in more than seven decades. To invade Taiwan, China would have to conduct an extraordinarily complex military operation, synchronizing air, land, and sea power as well as electronic and cyberwarfare. The Taiwan Strait, over ninety miles wide, is incredibly choppy, and due to two monsoon seasons and other extreme weather events, a seaborne invasion is only viable a few months out of the year. Transporting hundreds of thousands of soldiers across the Taiwan Strait would take weeks and require thousands of ships. Each crossing would take hours, allowing Taiwan to target the ships, mass troops on potential landing sites, and erect barriers. Taiwan has inherent advantages that will make an invasion difficult, expensive, and uncertain. Still, the Taiwanese people’s will to fight and resist will likely prove more decisive than mountains, ports, roads, or the ocean. If China conducts the operation with little opposition, it can probably navigate and overcome those obstacles. However, if confronted with millions of people determined to repel an invasion, China will face a much tougher task.”
Presented Without Comment
Business Insider: Judge in Trump Defamation Trial Advises Jurors to ‘Never Disclose That You Were on This Jury’
Also Presented Without Comment
The Hill: [Liz] Cheney Recirculates [GOP Rep. Elise] Stefanik Jan. 6 Statement After She Reportedly Deletes It
Also Also Presented Without Comment
Axios: Rep. Nancy Mace Faces GOP Primary Challenge From Ex-Chief of Staff
Toeing the Company Line
- Reminder: The Dispatch is hiring! If you—or someone you know—might be interested in any of the reporting, editing, or internship opportunities we just posted, we hope you’ll check them out.
- In the latest edition of The Dispatch Monthly Mailbag, Luis responded to member questions about growing up in Mexico City, his Great Books education, his fastest mile time, and Dispatch karaoke.
- In the newsletters: The Dispatch Politics team followed up on the RNC’s abortive effort to make Trump the “presumptive nominee,” Jonah argued Trump simply isn’t the fighter he says he is, Nick tried to make sense of (🔒) the GOP’s incendiary reaction to the Supreme Court’s decision to allow Border Protection agents to cut concertina wire in Texas, and Chris dug into (🔒) why GDP growth might be a better barometer for Biden’s popularity than approval numbers.
- On the podcasts: Sarah was joined by Jonah, Steve, Drucker, and John on The Dispatch Podcast roundtable to discuss the state of the GOP primary, and Jonah recalls debating Ezra Klein on this weekend’s episode of The Remnant. On today’s episode of The Dispatch Podcast, Jamie is joined by AG Hamilton—a popular but pseudonymous Twitter user—to talk about the forces driving Trump’s continued dominance.
- On the site over the weekend: Philip Wallach described the lessons on avoiding “legislative logjams” Speaker Mike Johnson could learn from former Speaker Sam Rayburn, and Hannah Anderson reflected on parallel abuses of power in church and state.
- On the site today: Kevin Corinth makes the case against the child tax credit, and Thomas Harvey and Thomas Koenig argue that doing away with the Chevron doctrine won’t magically fix Congress.
James Scimecca is the editorial partnerships manager at The Dispatch, and is based in Washington, D.C. Prior to joining the company in 2023, he served as the director of communications at the Empire Center for Public Policy. When James is not busy generating shareholder revenue, he can usually be found running along the Potomac River, cooking up a new recipe, or scoping out a new karaoke bar.
Mary Trimble is a former editor of The Morning Dispatch.
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