The Morning Dispatch: January 6, Not So Spontaneous

'We basically were just following what he said.'

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Happy Wednesday! We’re glad the 23-year-old American tourist who fell into Mount Vesuvius trying to take a selfie is okay, and we hope he learned a valuable lesson.

Quick Hits: Today’s Top Stories

  • After being blocked from leaving the country at least twice on Monday, embattled Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa successfully fled to the Maldives yesterday, effectively ending the decades-long Rajapaksa family dynasty in the South Asian country of 22 million. Protesters frustrated with deteriorating economic conditions have occupied the presidential palace for days, and it’s unclear whether the public will accept the unity government currently being assembled.

  • U.S. Central Command announced yesterday the military conducted a drone strike in northwestern Syria on Tuesday, killing Maher al-Agal—the Islamic State’s highest-ranking official in Syria—and seriously injuring one of his associates. CENTCOM claimed the strike resulted in no civilian casualties, and President Joe Biden heralded the strike’s execution, saying it demonstrates the United States “does not require thousands of troops in combat missions to identify and eliminate threats to our country.”

  • The Senate voted 48-46 on Tuesday to confirm Steven Dettelbach as Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, with Republican Sens. Rob Portman and Susan Collins joining all present Democrats in supporting the former federal prosecutor from Ohio. The ATF had been without a Senate-confirmed leader since 2015.

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  1. Gene

    Took a while for corroborated to emerge.

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    Pat Riot

    This whole fiasco by the Republican media complex with respect to the 10 year-old rape victim's abortion is a preview to how lost Republicans are going to be putting forth a *policy agenda* rather than just crapping on what Democrats are doing.

    For the first time in modern history, Republicans have to *defend* a *massive* change to US law and to US consumer behavior. You have successfully "changed the culture" **at the point of a gun** just like you wanted.

    In this case, they are calling a *direct and obvious* outcome of their desired law, "fake news".

    Get it straight, Republicans: the correct response to this story is not to call this fake news. It's to say it's what you *desire* because the girl has a *person* inside of her that cannot be terminated, and she should therefore be *forced* to give birth. If you don't *defend* your new policy then you are going to sound awful strange the next time you say, "I only voted for Trump because I wanted those abortion laws".


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    SusanC

    I am disappointed in The Dispatch today. Instead of fact checking/holding back on commenting on the child rape/abortion story, since, after all, a 10 year old girl subjected to such horrors deserves to be treated as an actual person, deserving of endless grace and protection, you questioned and cheapened her tragedy and used it as a partisan chess piece. 10 years old is such a beautiful, innocent age; it’s awful that this one had to not only endure hideous trauma but also have her story used as a political football.

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    Cecil Bothwell

    https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/13/us/ohio-10-year-old-girl-columbus-man-charged-indiana-abortion/index.html

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    Scarlette Tarte

    Well it looks like the story was better sourced than we thought about the 10 year old girl. A man was just arrested today in the case. A suspect has just been arrested.

    No exceptions for rape in Ohio. The Ohio attorney general is now saying "it's true".

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    1. Pohl

      I think the AG was alluding to the exceptions for medical emergencies in the Ohio law, not for rape.

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  6. Peter.Rimshnick

    Your fake rapist was just arrested, the story was true

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  7. William A Cirignani

    David, the rapist of the ten year old girl was indicted today. I hope you make clear that the story is true.

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    Jacki F.

    WOW. "In the days after Dobbs was handed down, a tragic story began circulating the internet, of a 10-year-old rape victim in Ohio who had to travel to Indianapolis to terminate her pregnancy. President Joe Biden cited it when signing an executive order last week, and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem was asked about it on CNN. But there’s little evidence backing up the account." Boy you guys fell for the bait from "Speaking with Fox News, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said his office hasn’t heard “a whisper” of evidence to support the story." How's them crow feathers tasting, Dispatch Staff??? Boy I am SO disappointed in y'all. Take your pick here: https://www.google.com/search?q=10+year+old+girl+raped+in+ohio&rlz=1C5CHFA_enUS858US858&oq=10+year+old+girl+raped+in+ohio&aqs=chrome..69i57.5638j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

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      Jean-Christophe Jouffrey

      Dear Jacki F.,

      There is a morality in the story of Goldilocks for the media: the porridge which is too hot is always bad, contrarily to what many think the story that is still warm, might seem the right one, but with "news", it is the cold porridge which is always the best. 🐻🐻🐻👱‍♀️🥣🥣🥣

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    Jean-Christophe Jouffrey

    Dear Morning Dispatchers,

    given some of the reactions to your description of the December 18th meeting, you might have learned something which I could have told you a long time ago: some of your readers are literalists and do not have a way to recognize irony. 😊

    PS: well done!

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    Jean-Christophe Jouffrey

    Dear Morning Dispatchers,

    The only selfie that I have ever taken is the one you can see on the top left of my comment: Just a few seconds before swimming across that river which was blocking my way in Ghana.

    I learned later that there were no crocodiles or hippos in it.

    I was glad.

    As I do not like to take risks, I kept my head and mouth well above the water in order to make certain that I would not swallow any of it, and none of the various animalcules which were probably in it. 😉

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    1. Pohl

      Were you fleeing for your life? I would not swim infested water unless it saved me a short hike.

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        Jean-Christophe Jouffrey

        Dear Pohl,

        I had decided that I would reach the sea on foot, and this river stood in my way, after a hike that had lasted already for most of the day, and I had tried to go around it already for a couple of hours. 😉

        I tend to get through things that stand in my way, when going around them seems futile. 😊

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