Biden 'Willfully Retained And Disclosed Classified' Docs, But Won't Face Charges
And everything you need to know about the Super Bowl
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Good morning,
On the search for a UFO? Well, the best place to go in the US seems to be the West.
To no surprise, Lincoln County, Nevada, home to the top-secret Air Force base ‘Area 51,’ was the top-spot for reported sightings.
Reports filed by individuals to the National UFO Reporting Center hit 820.9 per 100,000 residents from 2000 to 2023.
Next best places: Nebraska’s Arthur County and Alpine County, California. And if you’re on the East Coast, Hamilton County, New York and North Carolina’s Dare County.
The map is roughly correlated with dark sky locations that are less impacted by light pollution and easier to see... something!
Happy UFO hunting!
Mosheh, Jill, & Lauren
📑 BIDEN FORCEFULLY RESPONDS AFTER SPECIAL COUNSEL REPORT RELEASED
Special counsel Robert Hur found that President Biden willfully retained classified documents after he left the Obama White House in 2017, but that criminal charges were not warranted as the investigation "does not establish Mr. Biden's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt."
The report, which was released yesterday, said Biden’s errors "present serious risks to national security" and that he portrayed himself as an "elderly man with a poor memory."
REWIND TO BIDEN POST-VP
Biden’s personal attorneys found classified documents in the fall of 2022 at his DC office and Delaware home. They alerted the DOJ and invited them in to search his properties for documents. In January 2023, Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Hur — a former Trump-appointed US attorney — as special counsel to oversee the investigation into Biden’s handling of classified documents.
It came just months after the FBI conducted a search of President Trump’s home at Mar-A-Lago and found he was holding onto hundreds of classified documents despite a court subpoena. A separate Special Counsel was appointed in the Trump matter, and has subsequently charged the former president criminally.
THE CASE: The Biden Special Counsel’s report says the materials found included documents about military and foreign policy in Afghanistan that were marked classified and Biden’s handwritten notes on national security and foreign policy issues.
In Feb. 2017, around a month post-vice presidency, Biden told his ghostwriter for a book that he “just found all this classified stuff downstairs." That was significant because it allegedly showed Biden knew about the classified documents as early as 2017. (Biden now claims he meant “private” when he said “classified.”)
The report says that despite the evidence, there may be “innocent explanations for the documents.” Hence, the decision not to charge Biden. The report also finds that a jury would find Biden a “well-meaning man with poor memory,” and it would be “difficult to convince a jury that they should convict him — by then a former president well into his eighties — of a serious felony that requires a mental state of willfulness.” [Other Key Report Highlights ]
BIDEN v. TRUMP
Hur's report explains at length where the facts of the Biden investigation are similar to the Trump matter, and where they are notably different. The report says there are “clear” material distinctions that explain why Trump was charged.
One of the biggest differences: "After being given multiple chances to return classified documents and avoid prosecution, Mr. Trump allegedly did the opposite" while Biden “turned in classified documents to the National Archives and the Department of Justice” and “cooperated with the investigation."
BIDEN RESPONDS:
The president called a last-minute press conference for Thursday night where he forcefully responded to the allegations regarding his memory and age.
The special counsel said that in their 2023 interview, Biden didn’t remember key dates, including when he started and ended his time as VP, nor the year his son died.
Biden responded to the allegation about his son: “How in the hell dare [Hur] raise that… “It wasn’t any of their damn business. … I don’t need anyone to remind me when he passed away.”
He reiterated that he sat for a five hour interview over two days in October, in the 48 hours after Israel was attacked, and he was distracted by international matters.
🏈 BIG SPENDING ON THE BIGGEST NIGHT IN TV
The San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs will face off this Sunday at Super Bowl LVIII (58) in Las Vegas. It's a repeat of 2020 when the Chiefs won 31-20. But this time, the 49ers are slightly favored to win.
Last year's game had the highest viewership ever at 115.1 million. Some analysts expect this year will break that record.
BOTH WANT TO SET RECORDS
If the 49ers win, they would tie with Pittsburgh and New England for the most Super Bowl wins in NFL history. On the other hand, the Chiefs could be the first team to win back-to-back titles since the Patriots in 2004.
MONEY MONEY MONEY: Odds are a betting mechanism. And with this year’s game in Vegas, some anticipate record breaking $23.1 billion in gambling — despite only a small portion of it coming through legal bets.
COMMERCIALS
With all eyes on the game, the Super Bowl commands the most expensive advertising on TV. This year, it’s about $7 million for 30 seconds of ad time.
That’s a lot more than at the first Super Bowl in 1967 when commercials went for $42,000.
The money comes back: In 2022, the average Super Bowl advertiser saw a return of $4.60 for every dollar spent.
Snack brands will be making the biggest showing in ads this weekend — think Oreo, Drumstick ice cream, and candy companies.
Ads to look out for: Beer maker Anheuser-Busch is going for nostalgia; Snoop Dogg, Martha Stewart and Willie Nelson join forces in a BIC lighter ad; and Drumstick is going for laughs with its Super Bowl debut.
Over 40% of ads last year featured at least one celebrity, nearly six times more than in 2010.
🎶 HALFTIME SHOW
Usher is the headliner this year, but in an interview with Billboard, he said there will be special guests.
"It will definitely be an event…. And I've considered new songs. But you know, it's 12 to 15 minutes. So it's really hard to determine what moment matters more than others, especially with a new song. But there's the dance, the wardrobe, the lighting, how long you stay in a song, the fact that the audience may sing along … It's a lot. So I'm trying my hardest not to overthink it."
Potential Guests: Usher has collaborated with many artists during his career including Lil John, Ludacris, Beyoncé, Justin Bieber and Alicia Keys.
THE SWIFT FACTOR
In an interview ahead of the big game, Chief’s tight end Travis Kelce seemed to indicate that his girlfriend Taylor Swift may NOT make it to the Super Bowl. Swift is currently performing in Tokyo, Japan as part of the international leg of her Eras Tour.
He said: “She’s just working on entertaining them, making sure she’s ready for her performances and everything, but the Super Bowl, we’ll worry about if she can make it.”
She finishes her final show on Saturday in Tokyo, which is 17 hours ahead of Las Vegas. You do the math…
HOW TO WATCH
Kickoff for Super Bowl LVIII at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas is set for 6:30 p.m. ET on CBS and Paramount+.
⏳ SPEED READ
🚨NATION
📌 Feds offer up to $10 million reward for info on Hive ransomware hackers (CBS NEWS)
📌 The Biden administration is considering executive action to deter illegal migration at the southern border (NBC NEWS)
📌 5 Marines confirmed dead after their helicopter crashed in Southern California (CNN)
📌 Foreign aid package for Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan finally breaks through Senate logjam (AXIOS)
🌎 AROUND THE WORLD
📌 Putin rants about history, Ukraine in Tucker Carlson interview (INDEPENDENT)
📌 Brazil's ex-leader Bolsonaro surrenders passport over coup probe (BBC)
📌 Icelandic volcano is erupting AGAIN (CBS NEWS)
📌 Israel backing off hostage talks unless Hamas drops ‘delusional’ demands (TIMES OF ISRAEL)
📌 Pakistanis wait for election results amid internet blackout and voting irregularities (NPR)
📱BUSINESS, SCIENCE & TECH
📌 FCC bans the use of AI-generated voices in unsolicited robocalls (VERGE)
📌 ‘Super El Niño’ is here, but La Niña looks likely (CNN)
📌 Hottest January on record pushes 12-month global average temps over 1.5 degree threshold for first time ever (CBS NEWS)
📌 TikTok sued by former executive alleging gender discrimination (AXIOS)
🎬 SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT
📌 Anthony Fauci memoir, "On Call," coming June 18 (AXIOS)
📌 Paris Olympics medals are monumental: They’re embedded with pieces of the Eiffel Tower (NBC NEWS)
📌 Donna Kelce doesn’t think she’ll be in a Super Bowl suite with Taylor Swift — here’s why (CNN)
📌 Disney's hit animation to get surprise cinema sequel this year (BBC)
🎉 CHEERS TO THE FREAKIN’ WKND
What we’re watching: Mosheh: Super Bowl LVIII (the game); Jill: Super Bowl commercials, the halftime show, and any potential Taylor Swift cameos.
What we’re reading: Mosheh: “Putin’s Exiles”~ Paul Starobin; Jill: Ugly Love~ Colleen Hoover
What we’re eating: Mosheh: Shawarma during his trip to Israel. [Mosh will be doing special reporting while he’s there. Head over to Mo News Premium on Instagram to get premium and behind-the-scenes access]; Jill: Mini hot dogs, nachos, pizza, aka Super Bowl party staples