Happy Tuesday! The bad man is finally gone.

Quick Hits: Today’s Top Stories

• President Joe Biden announced his reelection campaign Tuesday morning with the release of a 3-minute video making the case that he is a unifying leader successfully winning the “battle for the soul of the country” against “MAGA extremists.” 
• Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced the negotiation of a temporary nationwide ceasefire in Sudan, beginning Monday at midnight and lasting 72 hours—though previous attempts at a ceasefire have swiftly collapsed. Blinken said the U.S. would also stand up a committee to negotiate a “durable end” to the fighting between supporters of two rival generals that has killed more than 400 people since it began last week. 
• The Wall Street Journal reported Monday Iran is supplying Russia with large amounts of artillery and other ammunition via the Caspian Sea. According to documents reviewed by the Journal, Iran has allegedly shipped more than 300,000 artillery shells and more than a million rounds of ammunition to Russia over the last six months, boosting Moscow’s efforts in Ukraine. The U.S. and its allies have reportedly been searching for ways to disrupt the shipments, but doing so would require the cooperation of the former Soviet Republics that border the Caspian Sea.
• In a letter to local law enforcement giving officers time to prepare for any unrest, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis indicated Monday any potential indictment of former President Donald Trump or his allies would be announced between July 11 and September 1, 2023. Trump and several of his associates have been under investigation in Georgia for two years in connection with their efforts to subvert the 2020 election results in the state. 
• Trump picked up two more high-profile endorsements on Monday, from former Rep. Lee Zeldin of New York and Sen. Steve Daines of Montana. Zeldin—who ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2022—had appeared with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in recent months, while Daines is leading the National Republican Senatorial Committee for the 2024 cycle.
• The White House announced Monday that Susan Rice, President Joe Biden’s domestic policy adviser, is stepping down. Rice, who had previously served as former President Barack Obama’s national security adviser and ambassador to the United Nations, will remain in the role until late May, and Axios reports Neera Tanden—Biden’s staff secretary and senior adviser—is being considered as Rice’s potential successor.

‘Please Get [Him] Fired. Seriously.’

At the Heritage Foundation’s 50th Anniversary Gala over the weekend, Heritage President Kevin Roberts jokingly made what turned out to be an exceptionally well-timed job offer to a certain primetime cable news host. “If things go south at Fox News, there’s always a job for you at Heritage,” he told Tucker Carlson.

The political world was rocked Monday morning when Fox News announced in a terse, 65-word statement that it was parting ways with the network’s most popular anchor. “We thank [Tucker] for his service to the network as a host and prior to that as a contributor,” the press release read. “Mr. Carlson’s last program was Friday, April 21st.”

Although the statement described the separation as mutually agreed upon, the timing makes clear it was anything but. 

Monkeying with Mortgage Fees

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s plan to help people with lower credit scores afford houses has only three problems, according to financial analysts: It improperly prices loans, it stiffs people with high credit scores, and it won’t work. Other than that, sounds good.

In a bid to expand opportunities for prospective first-time homeowners with limited financial resources, the FHFA has embraced cross-subsidization of mortgage risks—lowering fees for buyers with lower credit scores while raising them for those with higher credit scores. It’s not an unprecedented step, but economists argue it’ll drive up home prices for lower-income buyers, leaving them no better off.

Worth Your Time

• When Russia invaded Ukraine, the head of the Wagner paramilitary group came to inmates around Russia with a pitch: “Freedom in exchange for six months of paid military service under Wagner’s command,” James Marson reports for the Wall Street Journal. Over the past year, tens of thousands of inmates have taken the deal—including former cop and convicted killer Yevgeny Nuzhin. On his second night on the front lines in Bakhmut, Nuzhin surrendered to the Ukrainians. “He later told the Journal he had planned to do that all along,” Marson writes. “Weeks later, Ukrainian military intelligence, which is in charge of prisoner exchanges, agreed to take custody of Mr. Nuzhin. Some of Maj. Harkaviy’s soldiers escorted Mr. Nuzhin to Dnipro, a nearby city, and handed him over [to the Russians]. ‘I’m alive. Everything’s OK. Everything will be all right,’ Mr. Nuzhin said on Nov. 1. On Nov. 13, Mr. Nuzhin was in another video posted on Telegram by a channel close to Wagner. It was captioned, ‘Hammer of Vengeance.’ Mr. Nuzhin appears to be kneeling with his head taped to a brick post. He identifies himself and says that he had wanted to switch sides in the war. Then, a man standing behind him delivers a sledgehammer blow to his head. Mr. Nuzhin collapses to the floor, and the man delivers a second blow. The Journal couldn’t verify the authenticity of the video.”

‘Who Needs a Glove?’

Presented Without Comment

Also Presented Without Comment

Toeing the Company Line

• The Dispatch Book Club (🔒) is taking its talents to Dispatch Live (🔒) at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT tonight! If you read Bill Bryson’s One Summer: America 1927—or even if you didn’t—be sure to tune in for Sarah, Kevin, Grayson, and Haley’s discussion of the book. And come with questions! 
• In the newsletters: Kevin applies the lessons (🔒) of Draco to the modern abortion debate, the Dispatch Politics team reports on the Heritage Foundation’s 50th anniversary conference, and Nick warns that (🔒) Tucker Carlson’s ignominious departure from Fox News could actually be bad news for the country in the long term. 
• On the podcasts:  Sarah and David break down all the latest Supreme Court action, including a Justice Alito dissent and upcoming tech cases. 

• On the site today: Kevin argues that a mild winter hasn’t solved Europe’s long-term energy crisis, Alec reports on what fashion trends tell us about the economy, former Dispatch contributor Klon Kitchen writes that the Federal Trade Commission is undermining U.S. interests in Europe, and Leah Libresco Sargeant analyzes the failures of government aid programs to babies and new parents.