Happy Monday! A pair of hikers in the Czech Republic’s Krkonoše Mountains recently stumbled upon an aluminum can filled with jewelry and gold coins worth an estimated $680,000. If your wallet is already feeling the effects of tariffs, it sounds like treasure hunting might be a viable side hustle.
Quick Hits: Today’s Top Stories
- The Iranian-backed, Yemen-based Houthi rebels successfully launched a ballistic missile into Israel on Sunday, hitting a parking lot near the country’s main airport and injuring eight people. Israel’s air defenses were unsuccessful in intercepting the incoming projectile despite “several attempts,” according to the Israeli military, which typically thwarts around 95 percent of missiles launched at Israel by the terrorist group. On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged to hold both the Houthis and their Iranian sponsors responsible for the attack. Meanwhile, U.S. fighter jets reportedly carried out some 10 airstrikes in and around Yemen’s capital of Sanaa overnight.
- The Israeli army has started calling up tens of thousands of reservists in preparation for expanded operations in the Gaza Strip, military officials said Sunday. After a U.S.-brokered ceasefire and hostage release deal collapsed in mid-March, Israel resumed more limited incursions into the Strip. Israeli officials have said the current phase of the war is intended to pressure Hamas into another hostage deal, but Netanyahu indicated Thursday that destroying the terrorist group—not freeing the abductees—is the “supreme objective” of the ongoing fighting.
- Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of the center-left Labor Party won a second term in the country’s general elections on Saturday. The day saw a significant defeat for the conservative Liberal Party in Australia, which was initially in the lead. However, voters began associating party leader Peter Dutton with President Trump as he criticized “wokeness” and advocated for significantly tougher immigration policies. The election marks the first time in 21 years that an incumbent has won reelection in Australia.
- U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell on Friday struck down President Trump’s executive order targeting law firm Perkins Coie, saying it was “not a legitimate use of the powers of the U.S. government or an American President.” The Trump administration singled out the law firm over its work with Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in 2016 and its involvement in the Steele dossier. Among other penalties, the order banned Perkins Coie employees from federal buildings, revoked their security clearances, and required agencies to end government contracts with Perkins Coie clients. So far, nine law firms have cut deals with the Trump administration to avoid retaliation for their political associations, while three others have sued the administration, with judges issuing rulings to temporarily block the orders from taking effect.
- Trump signed an executive order late Thursday ordering the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to cut funding for NPR and PBS, calling the two media organizations “biased” and “partisan.” NPR states that only 1 percent of its budget comes from federal funding, while PBS receives 15 percent of its budget from the federal government, with federal dollars making up 40 to 50 percent of funding for certain stations in rural areas. In a statement, the CEOs of NPR and PBS said that they will fight the order “using all means available.”
- The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the largest lobbying group in the U.S. that often favors economic policies enacted by Republicans, sent a letter on Thursday to several Trump administration officials asking for relief for businesses struggling to absorb the effects of Trump’s tariffs. Chamber President and CEO Suzanne P. Clark asked the administration for tariff exclusions on any “small business importer” in the U.S. that do not have the “margin or capital reserves” to absorb the tariffs’ high costs; for exclusions on products that cannot be produced in the U.S. such as bananas and coffee; and for a process for companies to be granted exclusions if the tariffs will result in widespread job losses. “The Chamber asks that the administration take immediate action to save America’s small business and stave off a recession,” Clark said in the letter.
Terror Attack Sparks New Tensions Between India and Pakistan
In the last few years, Kashmir, the majority-Muslim region lying on the border between Pakistan and India and known for its agricultural output and textiles, has become a tourist attraction for many Indians seeking to enjoy its stunning mountains and valleys.
But on April 22, the tourism industry became the source of one of the deadliest terror attacks in recent Indian history ...
As a non-paying reader, you are receiving a truncated version of The Morning Dispatch. You can read our 1,747-word item on new tensions between India and Pakistan in the members-only version of TMD.
Today’s Must-Read
Andrew Tate is certainly a grotesque figure. He’s an alleged sex trafficker and peddler of Stone Age views about women. Yet, the media meltdown over Tate’s supposed hypnotism of young boys is misplaced. For all the recent controversy about Tate, there’s some evidence that fewer men genuinely respect him than media reports would have you think. In early April, a Discord server called Men’s Human Rights ran a poll for its members to gauge support for Tate. Perhaps surprisingly, nearly half of the 75 respondents said he was a “scumbag harming boys,” an additional 12 percent said they “lean negative” on him and 14 percent called him “evil,” citing sex trafficking charges brought against him. Just 6 per cent said they viewed Tate as “really helpful” or “lean positive.”
Toeing the Company Line
Protecting Life Means Protecting Death
Assisted suicide takes advantage of the already-vulnerable.
The Last Waltz
How much personnel chaos will Trump 2.0 deliver?
Stickin’ It to The (Strong)Man
The classical roots of Donald Trump’s thuggish incompetence.
What RFK Jr. Gets Wrong About Autism
The HHS secretary’s statements about the prevalence of autism and its causes contradict current scientific consensus.
Neither Here Nor There
An elite coastal college has its benefits for rural students. But the tradeoffs are real.
How Do You Heal From Porn?
The effects of porn are well-documented. But how do you kick the habit?
Assessing Claims About the Pentagon’s Women, Peace, and Security Program
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called the 2017 program a ‘Biden initiative.’
‘Donald Trump Is FDR’
‘I've never seen in my lifetime a president accomplish so much of what he promised so quickly and so effectively.’
Worth Your Time
- Legendary investor Warren Buffett announced Sunday at the age of 94 that he plans to step down as chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway. In light of the news, Jason Zweig penned a piece for the Wall Street Journal exploring why there will never be another quite like Buffett. “Expertise is rooted in pattern recognition, and Buffett has seen every conceivable pattern. Given what I know about his work habits, I estimate—conservatively, I believe—that Buffett has read more than 100,000 financial statements in his more-than-seven-decade career. And his memory is almost supernatural,” he wrote. “Years ago, winding up a phone interview with Buffett, I mentioned a book I was reading. He exclaimed that he had also read it—more than a half-century earlier. As he began describing a passage, I grabbed the book, found the page and realized to my astonishment that Buffett recalled almost every sentence verbatim. His unparalleled exposure to financial information, combined with his prodigious memory, made Buffett into a human form of artificial intelligence. He could answer almost any query out of his own internal database. That has given him an unparalleled ability to identify the kernel of significance in any new bit of information—and a durable advantage over other investors.”
Presented Without Comment
NBC News: Trump, Asked if He Has to ‘Uphold the Constitution,’ Says, ‘I Don’t Know'
In the Zeitgeist
As you might know, yesterday was Star Wars day—May the Fourth be with you. In honor of the holiday, the Star Wars YouTube channel put out a tribute to the beloved film franchise.
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