Happy Tuesday! Despite our eagle eyes and best efforts, sometimes your intrepid TMD reporters need to crowdsource some sleuthing. After a video showing Kate Middleton shopping at a farm market in Windsor popped up online—her first public sighting since January amid wild speculation over her situation—some on Twitter argued that the woman in question was in fact not the reemerged royal. So we’re asking you, loyal readers: Was that really the Princess of Wales out for a stroll?
Quick Hits: Today’s Top Stories
- The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) raided Shifa Hospital in Gaza City early on Monday, following intelligence reporting that senior Hamas officials were once again utilizing the building. “Hamas tried to reestablish its base in the hospital and use it as a shelter for terrorists on the run,” IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari said yesterday. “We will not allow this and will attack and continue to attack any place Hamas tries to reestablish its grip.” More than 200 terrorist suspects were arrested for questioning and more than 20 Hamas gunmen were killed during the fighting, according to Israeli officials. One IDF soldier was killed in the mission. Also on Monday, President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke by phone for the first time in a month—and Biden reportedly warned Netanyahu against a military incursion into Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost city. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters after the call that Israel agreed to send a team to Washington, D.C., to discuss plans and concerns for a Rafah mission in the coming days.
- North Korea fired three short-range ballistic missiles on Monday in a test launch that coincided with Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to Seoul, South Korea, for a summit on advancing democracy. The barrage—which saw the missiles land in the sea off of North Korea’s east coast, just outside of Japan’s exclusive economic zone—was the first in nearly two months, and was swiftly condemned by U.S., South Korean, and Japanese officials.
- Pakistan launched airstrikes against Taliban targets in Afghanistan Monday, in retaliation for an attack Saturday in which an explosive-laden truck and suicide bombers killed at least seven Pakistani soldiers. The Taliban said that Monday’s attack killed five women and three children, and their forces fired at Pakistani forces along the northern border in retaliation.
- Former President Donald Trump’s lawyers said Monday that their client could not obtain a $454 million bond to guarantee payment of the New York civil fraud judgment against him. In their filing Monday, the former president’s lawyers said it’d be “impossible” to secure such a bond after 30 surety companies rejected his request for the amount. The legal team asked instead that Trump be allowed to post a $100 million bond as he appeals the case.
- Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, acting in his capacity as circuit justice for the D.C. Circuit, on Monday turned down former Trump aide Peter Navarro’s request to delay a jail sentence set to begin this afternoon. Navarro, who sought to remain out of prison while appealing his case, was sentenced to four months in prison after he was convicted last year of criminal contempt of Congress when he refused a subpoena by the House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack.
Settling the Sellers’ Market
The National Association of Realtors (NAR) announced a landmark settlement Friday that would resolve more than a dozen lawsuits brought by home sellers contesting the trade group’s real estate commission practices. The settlement involves not only compensation to sellers—to the tune of $418 million—but also policy changes that could lower agent commissions, open up competition, and decrease housing costs.
For your millennial and Gen Z Morning Dispatchers who have all but given up on the prospect of home ownership in the near future, the settlement came as welcome news. But the effects on housing costs will likely be modest against ...
As a non-paying reader, you are receiving a truncated version of The Morning Dispatch. Our full 1,198-word story on the NAR landmark settlement is available in the members-only version of TMD.
Worth Your Time
- Writing for The Atlantic, Graeme Wood reported on a question plaguing Ukrainian defense officials: What if Russian forces have been using U.S. private satellite images to plan their airstrikes on Ukraine? “The Ukrainians say they monitor flyovers by Russia’s own satellites,” he wrote. “But until recently, they assumed that the satellites of allies would not be available for Russia’s advantage. ‘Before about six months ago, we couldn’t imagine that private companies would be selling satellite imagery in sensitive areas,’ [a] Ukrainian military official told me. But ‘it has become hard to believe that [these coincidences] are random.’ Russian satellite capabilities are limited, and Ukraine’s are too. Anyone who has seen the social-media footage of ragtag infantrymen huddled in trenches is aware that this war is being fought by two poor countries. But with subterfuge, even poor countries can try to rent the services of rich ones—or, more precisely, the services of the private companies that operate within the rich ones’ borders.”
Presented Without Comment
In a podcast interview released on Monday, former Deputy Assistant to the President of the United States Sebastian Gorka asked former President Donald Trump why “the Democrats hate Bibi Netanyahu,” in light of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s speech last week calling to replace the Israeli prime minister.
Trump: “I actually think they hate Israel. … Any Jewish person that votes for Democrats hates their religion, they hate everything about Israel, and they should be ashamed of themselves, because Israel will be destroyed.”
Also Presented Without Comment
New York Times: [Former Trump Adviser Paul] Manafort in Talks to Return for the Republican National Convention
Toeing the Company Line
- It’s Tuesday, which means Dispatch Live (🔒) returns tonight at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT! The team will discuss the news of the week and, of course, take plenty of viewer questions. Keep an eye out for an email later today with information on how to tune in.
- In the newsletters: Kevin compared (🔒) two contemporary studies in genocide, the Dispatch Politics team checked in on the GOP Senate primary in Ohio, and Nick considered the weight (🔒) of former Vice President Mike Pence’s refusal to endorse his former boss.
- On the podcasts: Sarah and David discussed Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s opinion in Lindke v. Freed and consider the test for state action on social media on the latest Advisory Opinions.
- On the site today: Chris breaks down Murthy v. Missouri and considers how both progressives and nationalists keep running afoul of the First Amendment. Plus, Paul Matzko and Jennifer Huddleston argue that there are better ways to keep TikTok in check than forcing a sale or banning it.
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