Happy Thursday! We were yesterday years old when we discovered that the Mongolian government sets up a large ceremonial yurt—complete with elaborate furniture and a very plush-looking rug—inside the state palace when dignitaries come to town. No, really.
Quick Hits: Today’s Top Stories
- The Department of Justice on Wednesday indicted two Russian-state media employees, alleging the pair schemed to disseminate Russian government propaganda through an online media company headquartered in Tennessee. The indictment alleges the Moscow-based pair—who work for RT, formerly Russia Today, and were charged with violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act and money laundering—funneled $10 million to the company, which the indictment does not name but is reportedly Tenet Media. The company supported a network of right-wing social media influencers—including Benny Johnson and Tim Pool, also not named in the indictment—who created social media content that advanced Russian talking points. Johnson and Pool maintain they were not complicit in the scheme, with Pool tweeting, “Should these allegations prove true, I as well as the other personalities and commentators were deceived and are victims.”
- Also on Wednesday, the Treasury Department sanctioned 10 Russian individuals—including the editor-in-chief of RT and other RT employees—and two entities for alleged efforts to influence the U.S. presidential election. The DOJ also seized 32 internet domains traced back to “Doppelganger,” a deception campaign directed by Russian President Vladimir Putin that allegedly uses artificial intelligence technology to spread intentionally false information and, more specifically, the DOJ alleged, to influence election results. “An internal planning document created by the Kremlin states that a goal of the campaign is to secure Russia’s preferred outcome in the election,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement. “The sites we are seizing today were filled with Russian government propaganda that had been created by the Kremlin to reduce international support for Ukraine, bolster pro-Russian policies and interests, and influence voters in the United States and other countries.”
- A 14-year-old shooter opened fire at a high school in Barrow County, Georgia, on Wednesday, killing four people—two students and two teachers—and injuring at least nine others, some of whom are in critical condition. Law enforcement officials said they detained the male student at the school after he surrendered shortly after opening fire in a school hallway. He will be charged as an adult for murder. Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith said in a press conference that investigators have not yet identified the motive of the shooter, or determined if his attack was premeditated or specifically targeted the victims. The FBI’s Atlanta Field Office said in a statement on Wednesday it had interviewed the gunman last year related to anonymous tips about his online threats to attack a school.
- Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba submitted his resignation on Wednesday, the latest of several Ukrainian cabinet-level changes in recent days. On Tuesday, Ukraine’s ministers of justice, the environment, and strategic industries, two deputy prime ministers, and State Property Fund director all submitted their resignations—though Ukraine’s parliament on Wednesday refused to accept the resignations of the State Property Fund director and one deputy prime minister. While the motives for this cabinet reshuffle remain unclear, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hinted at leadership changes on Tuesday. “We need a new level of simultaneous information work—cultural and diplomatic—and we need a new level of relations with the global Ukrainian community,” Zelensky said in a video message. “Now is the time to give new strength to Ukraine’s governmental institutions, and I am grateful to everyone who will help.”
- Meanwhile, Ukrainian authorities said on Wednesday that a Russian airstrike in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv killed seven people, including children, and left at least 30 others injured. Most of those killed were part of a single family—a mother and her three daughters, ages 21, 18, and 7 years old. According to Zelensky, Russia deployed drones and missiles, which struck civilian schools, medical centers, and residential buildings in the city only about 40 miles from the border with Poland, prompting Polish authorities to scramble fighter jets in the bordering region.
- A South Korean media network reported on Wednesday that North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un ordered the executions of 20 to 30 North Korean government officials late last month, reportedly blaming them for mass floods that wreaked havoc in northwestern parts of the country along its border with China and charging them with corruption and dereliction of duty. A state-owned North Korean media agency reported in late July that, in an emergency meeting to address the floods, Kim “proposed to strictly punish those who severely neglected their responsible duties … a practice that cannot be pardoned.”
- The Labor Department on Wednesday reported fewer job openings than economists had expected in July: There were 7.67 million available posts in the U.S. in July, 273,000 fewer open positions than in the month prior and the lowest reported figure since January 2021. Meanwhile, total job separations—which include quits, layoffs, discharges, and other separations—increased by 336,000 in July to 5.4 million in total, a monthly increase of 6.6 percent. The report—indicative of a cooling jobs market—is likely to further cement Federal Reserve officials’ decision to lower rates at their meeting later this month.
- Axios reported on Wednesday that senior U.S. and Israeli government officials met virtually on Wednesday to discuss de-escalation tactics in the Middle East in an effort to prevent an all-out war between Israel and the Iran-backed, Lebanese-based terrorist organization, Hezbollah. The hour-long meeting—led by U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan—included a discussion of strategies to lower the temperature both in the event of a Gaza ceasefire agreement and in the absence of one. Israel and Hezbollah had exchanged intense fire just over a week ago, while the U.S. has bolstered its military presence in the region in recent weeks.
Free Speech Is Under Threat on College Campuses
‘We’re Not Weird’
In Pennsylvania last week, voters were greeted with a barrage of mailers suggesting former President Donald Trump was not a crusading conservative, but rather a sensitive moderate.
The mailers emphasized, in bold, that Trump “did not write and does not support Project 2025.” Instead, eliminating taxes on social security, letting each state decide its own abortion policy, and making tips exempt from taxes were part of his “real common sense agenda.”
The ads were paid for by the Republican Federal Committee of Pennsylvania, but the messaging encapsulates one of the central, if underrated, themes of the Trump campaign itself: the struggle between conservative policy wonks and a candidate whose instincts often pull in the other direction. Trump’s policy proposals often play second fiddle to his grievance-of-the-day or -week, making it difficult …
As a non-paying reader, you are receiving a truncated version of The Morning Dispatch. Our 1,777-word item on the Trump campaign’s policy proposals is available in the members-only version of TMD.
Worth Your Time
- Hersh Goldberg-Polin, a 23-year-old Israeli-American, was among the six hostages murdered in Gaza by Hamas last week. Writing in National Review, Michael M. Rosen reflected on what Hersh’s life as an American in Israel had meant to him. “The Goldberg-Polins had made the move—they had ‘made aliyah,’ or ascended, to the Holy Land—several years earlier, when Hersh and his sisters were roughly the ages of our kids, and they had adjusted remarkably well to a new culture, language, and climate,” he wrote. “These impressions would later be reinforced by other experiences with Hersh and family, whether dancing raucously at bat mitzvah parties or sharing the exhilaration of a Hapoel Jerusalem basketball game, where Hersh enthusiastically joined the boisterous section of superfans who chanted and jumped around throughout the match. He made friends across the Jewish-Arab divide and in numerous cultures and countries through soccer and basketball networks; he sought coexistence in his own charismatic way. He was proof positive that you could love Israel fiercely and also love peace.”
- For the GOP, might the ingredient for long-term success be its defeat in the 2024 election? “The best possible outcome in November for the future of the Republican Party is for former President Donald Trump to lose and lose soundly,” Jonathan Martin wrote for Politico. “Trump will never concede defeat, no matter how thorough his loss. Yet the more decisively Vice President Kamala Harris wins the popular vote and electoral college the less political oxygen he’ll have to reprise his 2020 antics; and, importantly, the faster Republicans can begin building a post-Trump party,” Martin continued. “For most Republicans who’ve not converted to the Church of MAGA, this scenario is barely even provocative. In fact, asking around with Republicans last week, the most fervent private debate I came across in the party was how best to accelerate Trump’s exit to the 19th Hole. … Yes, moving past Trump in the aftermath of another defeat will hardly be easy. But it’s essential if Republicans want to become a viable national party once more.”
Presented Without Comment
CNN: Liz Cheney Says She Is Voting For Harris For President
“As a conservative, as someone who believes in and cares about the Constitution, I have thought deeply about this, and because of the danger that Donald Trump poses, not only am I not voting for Donald Trump, but I will be voting for Kamala Harris,” the former Wyoming congresswoman said Wednesday.
Also Presented Without Comment
New York Post: Embattled Georgia DA Fani Willis Showed Up to Site of Daughter’s Arrest With Prosecutor Lover Long After Pair Claimed Affair Ended, Bodycam Footage Shows
Also Also Presented Without Comment
NBC News: Christmas in October? Venezuela’s Leader Moves Holiday to Boost Support After Disputed Election
In the Zeitgeist
Only weeks after winning the gold in women’s soccer at the 2024 Paris Olympic games as a breakout rookie star, Washington Spirit midfielder Croix Bethune suffered a season-ending injury, sustained as she was throwing a ball. But not a soccer ball—a baseball.
Apparently, Bethune tore her meniscus while throwing an otherwise very normal-looking—if high and outside—ceremonial first pitch during a Washington Nationals game last week.
Toeing the Company Line
- In the newsletters: The Dispatch Politics crew covered Turning Point Action’s attempts to boost the Trump campaign’s ground game and Nick argued that Tucker Carlson is taking advantage of the right’s leadership vacuum.
- On the podcasts: On the latest episode of The Remnant, a road-tripping Jonah answers listener questions about the business side of The Dispatch, his intellectual journey, and van life. On Advisory Opinions, Sarah and David engage in some fantasy football trash talk before turning to free speech, social media algorithms, and Section 230.
- On the site: Tommy Sheppard marks the 250th anniversary of the First Continental Congress, and Valerie Wirtschafter explains the real threats artificial intelligence poses to the election.
Let Us Know
How much of the agenda outlined above do you believe Donald Trump would pursue in a second term if he is elected in November?
Please note that we at The Dispatch hold ourselves, our work, and our commenters to a higher standard than other places on the internet. We welcome comments that foster genuine debate or discussion—including comments critical of us or our work—but responses that include ad hominem attacks on fellow Dispatch members or are intended to stoke fear and anger may be moderated.