House Passes Parental Rights Bill
Happy Monday! Weâd like to apologize for the panic we sparked on Friday with our joke about ceasing publication of The Morning Dispatchâand thank those of you who believe in us enough to think we could actually be leaving TMD to join the New York Jetsâ offensive line.
The outpouring of shocked and anguished notes we receivedâin the comments, via email, on Twitterâmade us feel like Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn attending their own funeral service. Weâre not going anywhere!
Quick Hits: Todayâs Top Stories
- Russian President Vladimir Putin said Saturday the country is planning to move tactical nuclear weapons into Belarus. Aircraft capable of carrying nuclear weapons are already in the country and facilities for holding the weapons will be completed this summer, Putin said, but he provided no timeline for the actual transfer of the weapons. âWe have not seen any indication that heâs made good on this pledge or moved any nuclear weapons around,â said John Kirby, a National Security Council spokesperson. âWeâve seen nothing that would cause us to change our deterrent posture.â
- Honduras established diplomatic relations with China over the weekend, forcing it to embrace the Chinese Communist Partyâs One-China policy and sever its ties with Taiwan. âTaiwan is an inalienable part of Chinese territory and as of this date, the Honduran Government has informed Taiwan about the severance of diplomatic relations,â the Honduran Foreign Ministry said in a statement, while Taiwanâs foreign minister claimed Honduras had recently sought billions in foreign aid from the island. Following the move, just 13 countries now formally recognize Taiwan as an independent nation.
- Sweden, Finland, Norway, and Denmark announced plans last week to jointly operate their air forcesâapproximately 250 fighter jetsâas one fleet. âThe ultimate goal is to be able to operate seamlessly together as one force by developing a Nordic concept for joint air operations based on already known NATO methodology,â Denmarkâs Defense Command said in a statement. Norway and Denmark are both NATO members and Finland is expected to officially join the alliance in the coming weeks, while Swedenâs bid to join is still being held up by resistance from Turkey and Hungary.
- Large-scale protests broke out across Israel on Sunday after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired the countryâs defense minister, Yoav Gallant, for opposing his governmentâs judicial overhaul plan. Citing the national security threat posed by the âgrowing rift in our society,â Gallant on Saturday had called on the government to âhaltâ the reforms for several weeks. Netanyahu was reportedly poised to suspend the overhaul on Monday amid the demonstrations and a planned general strike, but faced resistance from far-right members of the Israeli parliamentâs governing coalition.
- President Joe Biden declared a state of emergency on Sunday in the aftermath of deadly tornadoes in Mississippi overnight Friday that killed at least 26 people and injured dozens more. The towns of Silver City and Rolling Fork sustained significant damage, with the long path of the tornadoesâcollectively 170 milesâmaking them particularly destructive.
- At least 29 African migrants died this weekend after two boats sank while attempting to make the journey from Tunisia to Italy. Tunisia has become a hub for migrants trying to reach Europe in recent years, but itâs a perilous journey: Five additional boats carrying migrants have sunk over the last week, killing at least seven peopleâincluding childrenâand leaving 67 missing.
- An envelope containing a suspicious white powder arrived  on Friday at the office of Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney investigating Donald Trump over alleged hush-money payments to an adult film star. Although the material was later deemed non-hazardous, a law enforcement source told Fox News the envelope contained a note that read âAlvin â Iâll kill you.â On Friday afternoon, Trump deleted a Truth Social post that included a split-screen image: him holding a baseball bat on one side, and Braggâs face on the other. Pressed by NBC News on Sunday, Trump lawyer Joseph Tacopina said he was not the former presidentâs âsocial media consultantâ and admitted the post was âill-advised.â
- Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois on Sunday endorsed Paul Vallas in Chicagoâs mayoral race, citing his âfocus on safer neighborhoods, improved schools, and economic growth.â Vallas, a former chief executive of Chicago Public Schools, will face off against Brandon Johnson, a Cook County Board member, in a runoff election on April 4.
- DirecTV and Newsmax reached an agreement last week for the satellite television company to carry Newsmax in its content packages, resolving a months-long dispute that Newsmax previously characterized as âpolitical discriminationâ but the companyâs CEO Chris Ruddy admitted Friday was âalways based on financial considerations.â
Republicans Bring âParental Rightsâ Front and Center

In 2022, legislators in Utah passed a law banning âpornographic or indecentâ content in schools. Parents have since used it to challenge books they consider inappropriate, including ones touching on controversial racial, sexual, and gendered themes. Maia Kobabeâs graphic memoir, Gender Queer, is a frequent target.
But late last year, one Utah parent proposed a new candidate for removal. âIncest, onanism, bestiality, prostitution, genital mutilation,â the parent wrote, listing the bookâs supposed content. âItâs pornographic by our new definition.â