The Morning Dispatch: Biden’s Focus Turns to Asia

The president unveils new economic agreements with Asian partners and pledges military support for Taiwan.

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Happy Tuesday! Between Arby’s adding a Wagyu beef burger to its menu and McDonald’s partnering with Kanye West to “reimagine” its packaging, yesterday will be remembered as an inflection point in American fast food history.

Quick Hits: Today’s Top Stories

  • Voters go to the polls today in Georgia, Alabama, Arkansas, and Texas to cast their ballots in the states’ various primary elections and runoffs. Of particular note will be Georgia’s Republican gubernatorial primary between Gov. Brian Kemp and former Sen. David Perdue; Georgia’s Republican secretary of state primary between Brad Raffensperger and Rep. Jody Hice; Alabama’s Republican U.S. Senate primary between Katie Britt, Mike Durant, and Rep. Mo Brooks; and a Democratic U.S. House primary in Texas between Rep. Henry Cuellar and Jessica Cisneros. 

  • In what is believed to be the first war crimes trial since Russia’s invasion began, a Ukrainian court on Monday found a 21-year-old Russian soldier guilty of premeditated murder and violating the “rules and customs of war” after he admitted to fatally shooting a 62-year-old unarmed civilian in the Ukrainian village of Chupakhivka. The soldier, who was sentenced to life in prison, claimed he was following orders from superiors who were concerned the civilian would report their location.

  • After suspending all business activity in Russia in early March, Starbucks announced Monday it will permanently exit the country and “no longer have a brand presence” in the market. The company said it will continue to pay its nearly 2,000 employees in the country for six months while they “transition to new opportunities.” Separately, CNBC reported Monday Airbnb plans to close its domestic business in China and remove all mainland Chinese listings by this summer, while continuing to allow Chinese tourists to book lodging in other countries.

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  1. Patrick J. Conroy

    I strongly agree that we must help defend Twain in the event China invades. We must ensure they have enough weapons and the US Military is at their side when and if the envasion occurs. Not know by many but Twain was a great supporter and supplier of goods during the Viet-Nam war.
    Patrick J. Conroy (USAF Retired)

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    Michael Berkowitz

    QOTD: It seems to me that this deal is better than no deal, but since I haven't read anything that argues otherwise and I know little of such matter, my opinion has almost no weight.

    On the matter of ambiguity regarding Taiwan, I see the advantage laid out by Hal Brands. Your phrasing of the question as whether "it's time" for this, leaves me wondering -- I don't know that the tactic wouldn't have been just as worthwhile over the years. As to Ukraine, I think what we 𝗱𝗼 there will send a signal to the Chinese more that anything we say.

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    Hanna Reinhart

    It’s not “solicited,” it’s elicited. I can’t believe the Dispatch would make that kind of mistake.

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    Citizen60

    I was appalled Obama let China establish a base in the South China Sea without challenge. What was he thinking?! The US must continue to keep those waters free to all.
    The US, even restrained, is the only partner in the Asia/former TPP group that will make China think twice before doing whatever it wants.
    Ukraine has not changed my thinking one bit—Hong Kong has. China won’t live up to its international agreements if it doesn’t want to.

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  5. Brett M

    First the supreme court leak, and now a leak of the president's "lunch with suck-up columnists" menu. Can anyone still be trusted?

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  6. Brett M

    Is this really the end of "click here to see the whole message"? That would be a nice development.

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    David Link

    As Starbucks and McDonald’s leave Russia, does anyone know if they are able to communicate to their employees why that is happening? We know getting real information to Russians is hard to impossible; but do international corporations have means to speak truth to their employees with their final payments? I can’t imagine a more potent kind of messaging.

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  8. SCOTT SMITH

    You lost me at "Biden's Focus"...

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    O.M.G. calling from Vaudeville, AZ

    What the still free Western world needs now is a leader that will drop all pretenses of “strategic ambiguity” with regards to Taiwan and declare you are either with U.S. that it is unalienable all men have a right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, or you are against U.S. If only our deplorable as he is stupid coward P.O.T.U.S. would say this guy Chairman Mao, I mean Xi, “has got to go”…after all , so called President Xi’s Chinese Communist Corona Party only unleashed a world wide plague, oh, and right now is committing genocide…President Xi should be the most wanted man on earth, dead or alive and his evil empire needs to be erased from the face of the earth. Chinese people yearning to breath free we are with you. Take up arms against your oppressor. Surround Taiwan with the Pacific fleet and turn Taiwan into a new, bigger and better Pearl Harbor that no racist regime from Chinas fly boys would dare toast to attacking. And no, to wit, my answer is not been based at all by Stalin, I means Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. I have and always will believe mass murderers and dictators are unworthy of life, liberty or respect. DEATH TO XI! Gotta run on. Thanks for taking my rant Dispatch. Peace through superior mental firepower

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  10. Joe

    It looks like the Southern Baptist had the same child abuse problem as the Catholics. I wonder if the outcomes will be as devastating to the Southern Baptist as they were to the Catholics.

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      cheerio

      there was a certain smugness and condemnation from that sector aimed toward Catholics that well, has met their own sin and karma. I predict more people detaching from organized religion. You really can not trust anyone when it comes to your kids.

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