| | | | | By Cole Murphy, Peter Gattuso, Charlotte Lawson, and Ross Anderson | Happy Tuesday! Before we get to the news, a quick note from Executive Editor Declan Garvey: We're thrilled to welcome Ross Anderson to The Dispatch as the next editor of TMD. Ross has been in our orbit for years—he first wrote for us in 2021—but he officially started at The Dispatch yesterday after stints at The Spectator, New York Sun, and Tablet, and working as a researcher for Dispatch contributing writer Jesse Singal. He's based in London, and we look forward to him working his love of technology, culture, and cats into the newsletter. Because she is back in the U.S. and no longer has the time zone advantage that came with living in Tel Aviv, Charlotte Lawson is going to shift to the editing desk full-time, helping us bolster our national security and foreign policy coverage. Charlotte did a terrific job helming TMD since January, stepping up at a key moment and ensuring that our coverage of the Trump administration's early days and an increasingly chaotic world order was accurate, balanced, and accessible. We're excited for her to bring her talents to the rest of the work we're doing here at The Dispatch. You'll see both Ross and Charlotte's bylines on TMD the next few days as we make the transition, but keep an eye out for some additions and improvements to the newsletter coming soon! | Quick Hits: Today's Top Stories | - Texas Republican lawmakers voted to issue civil arrest warrants on Monday for state House Democratic legislators who departed the state to stall a GOP-led redistricting bill. While Republicans hold a majority in the state legislature, by leaving the state, Democrats prevented the quorum necessary to hold votes in the House. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott said he deployed the Texas Department of Public Safety—a state force with no jurisdiction outside Texas' borders—to "arrest and return every derelict House Democrat to the Texas Capitol." In a separate statement, Abbott added that Democratic lawmakers "forfeited their seats and are facing potential felony charges."
- Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov on Monday publicly responded to President Donald Trump's decision to reposition two nuclear submarines to "appropriate regions" on Friday. "We believe everyone should be very careful about nuclear rhetoric," Peskov said, adding, "We do not think there is talk of any escalation." He added that Russian President Vladimir Putin is prepared to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky if the "necessary work is done at the expert level and the necessary distance has been covered." White House special envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to travel to Russia on Wednesday or Thursday for a final attempt to secure a ceasefire before Trump's August 8 deadline, after which Trump has said Moscow can expect new sanctions if a deal has not been struck.
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will reportedly push his security Cabinet to approve a major military offensive into Gaza with the aim of achieving "a full occupation" of the Strip, several news outlets reported on Monday. The decision has reportedly split members of the Cabinet, with Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir and Mossad chief David Barnea among the officials pushing for continued ceasefire and hostage deal negotiations. An Israeli official told CNN that Netanyahu was now seeking to free the remaining 50 Israeli hostages through the "military defeat" of Hamas, adding that the prime minister supports "the entry of humanitarian aid into areas outside the combat zones and, as much as possible, into areas not under Hamas control."
- The Israeli Cabinet on Monday voted unanimously to remove Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara from her position, Justice Minister Yariv Levin announced. Israel's Supreme Court issued an injunction to temporarily block the move until courts rule on the legality of firing Baharav-Miara, who is prosecuting Prime Minister Netanyahu for corruption. Prior to her dismissal, the high court advised the Cabinet against making the move, warning it would intervene through an injunction if the firing went ahead. Responding to the move in a letter to State Attorney Amit Aisman, Baharav-Miara dismissed the firing as "unlawful," vowing to continue her job "impartially, professionally, and honestly."
- Trump on Monday announced plans to raise tariffs on Indian goods, a move he threatened last week in response to the country's purchases of Russian oil. Indian Foreign Ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal said Friday that New Delhi's relationship with foreign nations "should not be seen from the prism of a third country," and, on Saturday, news outlets reported that India would not reduce its Russian oil purchases. In response, Trump vowed to "substantially" increase tariffs on Indian products, without specifying a certain rate, and added that India doesn't "care how many people in Ukraine are being killed by the Russian War Machine."
- The European Union on Monday announced a six-month suspension of its planned retaliatory tariffs on the American goods, which were set to take effect on Thursday. An EU spokesman said the delay will allow further discussions on the U.S.-EU trade deal announced on July 27 that set a 15 percent tariff rate for most European imports to the United States. The specific terms of the agreement have not yet been determined.
- A gunman stormed an orphanage outside the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince early Sunday morning, kidnapping nine people, including an Irish missionary, multiple employees, and a 3-year-old child. Local officials said the gunman did not open fire and that the abductions were "planned." The nation of Haiti, particularly the area of Port-au-Prince, has for years been overrun by gang violence. The orphanage's parent organization, Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos International, stated it was not making public specific details, citing "the evolving nature of this incident."
- GOP Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina on Monday officially announced her candidacy for the state's 2026 governor's race, after hinting at the move last week. Mace—who, in the direct aftermath of the January 6, 2021, Capitol riots, criticized Trump for promoting "clearly unconstitutional theories that risk the stability of our nation" in a joint statement with other Republican House members—has in recent years remodeled herself as a reliable ally of the president, describing herself on Sunday as "Trump in high heels." She joins fellow GOP Rep. Ralph Norman, state Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, and state Attorney General Alan Wilson in the crowded Republican primary race.
| Turmoil at the BLS | | President Donald Trump speaks to journalists at Lehigh Valley International Airport in Allentown, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images) | Back in April, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released its nonfarm payroll numbers for March—a strong 228,000 increase in jobs that clocked in far above estimates. "GREAT JOB NUMBERS," Trump said on Truth Social. "WE CAN'T LOSE!!!" Oh, how times have changed. On August 1, the bureau published its monthly jobs report for July, assessing that the U.S. economy added 73,000 new positions—significantly lower than the already tepid 100,000 Dow Jones estimate. In a striking change, the May and June numbers were also revised down by a combined 258,000 jobs. This time, Trump was not so pleased. Following the report's release, the president accused BLS Commissioner Erika McEntarfer of skewing the agency's data to undermine him politically and ordered her dismissal, effective immediately. Despite Trump's insistence that McEntarfer manipulated payroll data, the White House produced no evidence indicating that the BLS numbers were inaccurate. The Trump administration is now moving toward selecting a new bureau head, with White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett saying in an interview with NBC News' Meet the Press that Trump "wants his own people there." | As a non-paying reader, you are receiving a truncated version of The Morning Dispatch. You can read our full item in the members-only version of TMD. | | Today's Must-Read | | | | John McCormack | How exactly redistricting might play out nationwide in 2026 and beyond remains unclear. One of the remarkable political developments of the Trump era is that Republicans no longer have a big structural advantage in House races. The old Republican coalition used to be much more efficient in winning purple suburban districts, and that's a big reason House Republicans were able to hold onto their majority in 2012 even as President Barack Obama won the national popular vote by 4 points. But the new populist GOP under Trump is weaker in the suburbs and stronger in rural districts and urban districts. The problem for Republicans is that there's no advantage in the U.S. House for running up the score in red rural districts or losing by a smaller margin in blue urban districts. |
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| | Toeing the Company Line | | | Kevin D. Williamson | Little numbers add up to big changes over time. |
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| | | Nick Catoggio | From fake news to fake jobs reports. |
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| | | Gil Guerra | After gradually consolidating power, El Salvador's leader has taken new steps to govern in perpetuity. |
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| | | Sarah Isgur and David French | Who even reviews applications these days? |
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