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Happy Wednesday! The owner of KFC recently announced plans to move the popular fast food chain’s headquarters from Louisville, Kentucky, to Plano, Texas. We’re all for low corporate taxes, but “TFC” just doesn’t have the same ring to it.
Quick Hits: Today’s Top Stories
- Secretary of State Marco Rubio indicated Tuesday that the United States and Russia had agreed to restaff their respective embassies. His announcement followed the first day of high-level talks between Russian and American officials in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, aimed at ending the war in Ukraine and improving U.S.-Russia cooperation. The State Department laid out plans to pursue “historic economic and investment opportunities” with Russia after the fighting has ceased and alluded to the possibility of lifting sanctions on the country. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, meanwhile, reportedly postponed a planned trip to Saudi Arabia to avoid giving the negotiations—to which he said he initially hadn’t been invited—“legitimacy.”
- A Hamas negotiator on Tuesday announced plans to return the bodies of four murdered hostages to Israel on Thursday, including Shiri Bibas and her two young boys, Ariel and Kfir. Terrorists abducted the mother and children from their Nir Oz home on October 7, 2023, along with Shiri’s husband Yarden, who was separated from his family during the attack and released this month as part of the ongoing U.S.-brokered, three-phase ceasefire deal. Israel has yet to confirm the remaining family members’ deaths, but expressed “grave concerns” about their status last month. Kfir was the youngest abductee at just 9 months old at the time of his kidnapping. Hamas also said Tuesday that it would free the six remaining living hostages slated for release in the first stage of the deal on Saturday.
- Multiple outlets reported Tuesday that Michelle King, acting commissioner of the Social Security Administration, has stepped down over the Department of Government Efficiency’s efforts to access sensitive government records. Elon Musk’s commission has in recent weeks accessed the Treasury Department’s payment system and is now attempting to obtain sensitive taxpayer data at the Internal Revenue Service as part of DOGE’s ostensible push to audit the federal government. With King’s departure, the White House reportedly appointed SSA employee Leland Dudek to take over as acting commissioner of the independent agency.
- Postmaster General Louis DeJoy announced plans on Tuesday to resign from his position atop the U.S. Postal Service, though he didn’t specify the date of his departure. DeJoy’s announcement followed reports that the Trump administration was looking into candidates to replace him, though the postmaster general is typically chosen by an independent governing board. President Donald Trump had also floated the possibility of privatizing the federal agency, which lost $9.5 billion in the 2024 fiscal year.
- Jim Jones, the head of the Food and Drug Administration’s food division, resigned from his post on Monday in response to the Trump administration’s sweeping layoffs. Of the 2,000 employees in his division, 89 people—including new staffers hired to investigate the risk of chemicals in the food industry—were affected by cuts that Jones described as “indiscriminate” in a resignation letter. “The secretary’s comments impugning the integrity of the food staff, asserting they are corrupt based on falsities, is a disservice to everyone,” he added of newly confirmed Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s past attacks on the FDA.
- The Senate voted 51-45 along party lines on Tuesday to confirm Howard Lutnick as commerce secretary. The former CEO of investment firm Cantor Fitzgerald, Lutnick will be tasked with managing 50,000 employees as he seeks to implement President Trump’s protectionist trade priorities. As a nominee, the billionaire signaled his support for tariffs and limited regulations on artificial intelligence development.
- U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported Tuesday that immigration authorities apprehended some 29,000 people trying to illegally cross the U.S.-Mexico border in January—the lowest level since May 2020. The agency also noted that illegal crossings between January 21 and January 31 had dropped 85 percent year-over-year. The largest number of monthly migrant apprehensions to date came in December 2023, at 230,000 arrests, and has steadily decreased since.
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The ‘Pandemic Potential’ of H5N1
When the January consumer price index report dropped last week, it came with more bad news for breakfast lovers: a record high for egg prices, which hit $4.95 for a dozen. Grocery stores across the country have begun imposing purchase limits, while criminals are carrying out egg heists. And according to our own Scott Lincicome’s totally scientific scale, we’re currently at EGGCON 3—not yet an egg-istential crisis but still concerning.
The culprit? A now-yearslong outbreak of the H5N1 strain of avian influenza virus, which has forced farmers to kill tens of millions of infected and exposed birds. The flu made the jump to dairy cows last spring, and the first human death in the United States from the virus occurred last month.
While health authorities maintain that the bird flu currently represents a low risk to people, researchers warn the extended duration of the outbreak increases the potential of the virus mutating and leading to widespread human-to-human transmission. Meanwhile, the Trump administration has signaled a forthcoming change in ...
As a non-paying reader, you are receiving a truncated version of The Morning Dispatch. You can read our 1,541-word item on the bird flu outbreak in the members-only version of TMD.
Worth Your Time
- In a stunning portrait of human progress, Charles C. Mann compared the lives of average middle-class Americans today to those of 18th-century elites. Take Thomas Jefferson, for example: “Jefferson lived in a world of horse-drawn carriages, blazing fireplaces, and yellow fever. But what most separates our day from his is not our automobiles, airplanes, and high-rise apartments — it is that today vast systems provide abundant food, water, energy, and health to most people. … In Jefferson’s time, not even the president of the United States had what we have,” Mann wrote in the New Atlantis. “Jefferson believed that an informed citizenry was necessary to democratic self-rule — a mandate that extends all the way out to understanding the systems that envelop us. It’s easy to see why he believed this: Voters who understand how we are entwined with these systems will support maintaining and expanding them for our children and grandchildren. … Water, food, energy, public health — these embody a gloriously egalitarian and democratic vision of our society. Americans may fight over red and blue, but everyone benefits in the same way from the electric grid. Water troubles and food contamination are afflictions for rich and poor alike. These systems are powerful reminders of our common purpose as a society — a source of inspiration when one seems badly needed.”
Presented Without Comment
New York Times: Bannon Calls Musk a ‘Parasitic Illegal Immigrant’
Also Also Presented Without Comment
NBC News: Trump Says Ukraine ‘Should Have Never Started It’ in Comments About War With Russia
In the Zeitgeist
Almost exactly 56 years ago to the day, Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan met in Nashville, Tennessee, to record a duet of “Girl from the North Country.” We personally think the harmonies make it the best version of the iconic song.
Toeing the Company Line
- In the newsletters: Nick Catoggio considered conservatism, nationalism, and patriotism in today’s America.
- On the podcasts: Victoria Holmes interviewed Ryan Holiday on how to stay optimistic in a cynical world on The Skiff (🔒). And on today’s Remnant, Bret Stephens joins Jonah Goldberg to discuss Trump’s first month in office, efforts to push Ukraine toward a one-sided ceasefire, and more.
- On the site: Jonah argues that nothing good can come from Trump’s invocation of Napoleon, Kevin Williamson criticizes the administration’s moves on Ukraine, and Paul Matzko makes the case that Trump is Nixon 2.0.
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.
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