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Quick Hits: Today’s Top Stories
- The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) clashed with a Turkish-backed militia in northern Syria on Wednesday, threatening a U.S.-brokered ceasefire agreement covering the area around the northeastern city of Manbij that was extended to the end of the week. The SDF battled the militia on Tuesday and Wednesday near the city of Kobani, a Kurdish-majority city along the border with Turkey and approximately 37 miles north of Manbij.
- Israel’s military said it had intercepted a missile fired at the country by the Houthis, an Iranian-backed militia in Yemen, after the incoming projectile triggered air raid sirens in and around the central city of Tel Aviv early Thursday morning. Hours later, the Israeli air force carried out strikes against Houthi infrastructure across Yemen in response, hitting targets near the capital of Sa’ana and the Red Sea port of Al Hudaydah. “I warn the leaders of the Houthi terrorist organization: Israel’s long hand will reach you as well,” Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Thursday.
- The Russian military is moving advanced weapons, including air defense systems, from bases in Syria to bases in Libya, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday. The transfer, which includes radars for S-400 and S-300 anti-air systems, comes as the Russian military is evacuating most of its forces from Syria following the fall of dictator Bashar al-Assad. The Libyan bases reportedly receiving the equipment are located in territory controlled by Khalifa Haftar, the Russian-backed strongman who opposes the U.N.-backed government in Tripoli.
- Two Malaysian men were repatriated by the U.S. on Wednesday to their home country from the military prison in Guantánamo Bay. The men, Mohammed Farik bin Amin and Mohammed Nazir bin Lep, were transferred to a Malaysian prison after pleading guilty to charges related to a 2002 terrorist bombing in Bali and agreeing to testify against Encep Nurjaman, who allegedly led the plot to plant two bombs that killed 202 people. On Tuesday, a Kenyan man, Mohammed Abdul Malik Bajabu, was returned to Kenya after being held for 17 years without charge, leaving 15 out of the 27 remaining inmates eligible for transfer having never been charged.
- The Federal Reserve cut interest rates Wednesday by a quarter of a point—the third rate cut this year—bringing the federal funds rate down a whole percentage point from the summer. Officials also projected that they would make only two quarter-point rate cuts in 2025, down from the four cuts predicted in their September projections. The central bank now sees inflation staying above its 2 percent target until 2027. “Inflation has made progress toward the Committee’s 2 percent objective but remains somewhat elevated,” the Federal Open Market Committee said in its policy statement.
- The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to hear TikTok’s challenge to legislation that could ban the popular streaming app’s use in the United States. The court scheduled oral arguments for January 10. TikTok filed an emergency appeal on Monday requesting a pause on the law’s enforcement, which is currently set to begin on January 19, but the Supreme Court said in its order the request is “deferred pending oral argument.”
- The House Ethics Committee secretly voted earlier this month to release its report on an ethics investigation into former Rep. Matt Gaetz, a Republican from Florida, according to unnamed sources cited by CNN. The report will reportedly be released after Congress has finished up its votes this week. In November, the committee voted along party lines not to release the report, which was prompted by allegations that Gaetz had used illegal drugs and paid for sex with underage girls.
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A Cautious Cut
Economists and financial analysts listened carefully to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s press conference Wednesday afternoon. The central bank leader’s words help set market expectations about future interest rates, and after yesterday’s Fed meeting, he signaled that the latest rate cut was a closer call than observers had anticipated.
But for us, the most unexpected new information concerning Powell came in an unconfirmed report from New York Magazine Monday that he’s a fan of Alex Cooper, the host of the “Call Her Daddy” sex and relationships podcast. You never cease to surprise, Jay.
The Fed continued its walkdown of interest rates on Wednesday, but uncertainty looms over future monetary policy under the incoming administration as the central bank tries to wrangle the sticky “last mile” of inflation.
The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) cut the federal funds rates yesterday by 0.25 percent, or 25 basis points, lowering its target range to between 4.25 and 4.5 percent. The move marked ...
As a non-paying reader, you are receiving a truncated version of The Morning Dispatch. Our 1,205-word item on the Fed’s cautious rate cuts is available in the members-only version of TMD.
Worth Your Time
- In Texas Monthly, Loren Steffy explored how Trump’s tariff regime could threaten the economy of the Lone Star State, a system built in large part on trade with Mexico: “For example, an electronic component of a vehicle may be manufactured in Texas, shipped to Mexico to be added into, say, a control board, and then shipped back to Texas for assembly into the finished product. Untangling those interconnections won’t be easy,” he argued. “But perhaps the most concerning aspect of Trump’s threats is that no one knows what exactly he might do. Business hates uncertainty. Leaders like to know they can trust rules and policies so that they can make investments that typically won’t pay off for years. But, given Trump’s mercurial decision-making style, the only certainty about economic policy for the next four years is that it’s going to be uncertain. That could foster an uncomfortable business climate for Texas companies, a higher cost of living for Texas consumers, and a sputtering end to the ‘Texas Miracle.’”
- Writing for the Wall Street Journal, Andriy Yermak—the head of the Office of the Ukrainian president—argued that the fall of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad’s regime is due in no small part to the efforts of Ukraine and the United States. “It’s a direct result of U.S. support for Ukraine in the face of Mr. Putin’s imperial overreach—and a strategic success for Washington and its allies,” he wrote. “With material support from the U.S., Ukraine has withstood the Russian military’s assault and drained Russia’s military and diplomatic resources. … The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine estimates that as of Nov. 1, about 700,000 Russian soldiers have been killed or wounded. The organization also estimates that Russia has lost 9,162 tanks, 18,470 armored vehicles, 28 warships and one submarine. Sanctions imposed on Russia have helped push inflation above 9%, raising the risk of mass bankruptcies throughout the Russian economy. With his military and economy degraded and his attention fixed on Ukraine, Mr. Putin had no choice but to let Syria’s Assad regime fall.”
Presented Without Comment
Barron’s: Trump Demands Lawmakers Rip Up House Speaker’s Compromise Spending Bill
Also Presented Without Comment
Axios: 41% of Young Voters Say UnitedHealthcare CEO Killing “Acceptable”: Poll
Most voters (68%) think the actions of the killer against [Brian] Thompson were unacceptable, while 17% found them acceptable, an Emerson College poll out this week found.
Young voters were far more split: 41% found the killer's actions acceptable, while 40% found them unacceptable, per the poll. About 24% found them "somewhat acceptable" and 17% "completely acceptable.
In the Zeitgeist
For the foodies out there, the New York Times asked its food writers what the best thing they ate in 2024 was. The collected dishes represent a scrumptious smorgasbord of American culinary life that might have had us contemplating a career change if we hadn’t recently re-watched “The Bear.”
https://youtu.be/11Wxhva4u_s?feature=shared
Toeing the Company Line
- In the newsletters: Scott Lincicome critiqued (🔒) the abuse of the “national security” excuse to justify protectionist policy, Jonah Goldberg reminded of the dangers from immanentizing the eschaton, and Nick Catoggio argued (🔒) the vaccine skepticism surrounding the incoming administration is a canary in the coal mine when it comes to degrading social trust.
- On the podcasts: David French and Sarah Isgur are joined by David Lat on Advisory Opinions to discuss the TikTok case and Lat’s reporting on the leak about the next Federalist Society President. And on today’s Remnant, Jonah Goldberg and Musa al-Gharbi dissect the latest Great Awokening.
- On the site: Charlotte Lawson explores the prospects for the Kurds now that militias supported by Turkey have overthrown Assad and Trump is returning to power and Jessica Trisko Darden unpacks the challenges of incorporating women into combat roles in the military.
