DOJ appoints Special Prosecutor on Biden docs; Hunter Biden meets Kevin McCarthy's mom; NY Nurses strike ends; Russia to the rescue in space; Cancer deaths down; Paul Ryan calls Donald Trump a loser
Lisa Marie Presley has cardiac arrest; In-N-Out Burger heads east; no pain, no gain debunked; Ben Affleck works at DD; Apple CEO requests pay cut
Good Friday morning. TGIF!
My take: Simply put it has been such a quiet news day. I am going to wish you a wonderful weekend.
Now to your “1 to…”
Garland appoints special counsel to investigate Biden docs: Attorney General Merrick Garland on Thursday appointed a special counsel to investigate the presence of documents with classified markings found at President Joe Biden’s home in Wilmington, Delaware, and at an office in Washington. The announcement followed Biden’s acknowledgement Thursday morning that a document with classified markings from his time as vice president was found in his personal library, along with other classified documents found in his garage. Garland said Biden’s lawyers informed the Justice Department Thursday morning of the discovery of a classified document at Biden’s home, after FBI agents first retrieved other documents from the garage in December. It was disclosed on Monday that sensitive documents were found at the office of his former institute in Washington.
Who is Robert Hur, special counsel in Biden documents case? Hur served as U.S. attorney in Maryland from 2018 to 2021, winning unanimous Senate approval after Trump nominated him. Prior to that, Hur was principal associate attorney general under Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. He is also a former partner at the Washington law firm King & Spalding, where FBI Director Christopher Wray was once also a partner.
DeSantis fields growing criticism from fellow 2024 Republicans: Potential Republican presidential candidates and their allies are stepping up attacks on Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as he emerges as the early front-runner for the GOP’s 2024 nomination. In recent days, DeSantis has found himself on the receiving end of criticism from fellow GOP heavy hitters, like South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem and New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu. He’s also rankled former President Trump, who’s running for the White House once again and sees DeSantis as perhaps his biggest obstacle to securing the GOP nod.
'He's a proven loser': Paul Ryan on Trump's future in the Republican Party.
What Hunter Biden told Kevin McCarthy’s mom at White House state dinner: Hunter Biden walked up to the mother of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy at the White House state dinner honoring French President Emmanuel Macron last month and told the 82-year-old she looked “beautiful,” according to a report.
President Biden’s son was among the first of the guests to arrive at the lavish function, and among the few other early arrivals were McCarthy (R-Calif.) and his mother, Roberta, according to a New York Times report Wednesday. Despite the California Republican’s vows to investigate Hunter and his father, the first son and his wife approached McCarthy and his mother, and the two men shook hands, according to the news outlet. “Mrs. McCarthy, you look beautiful,” Hunter Biden told Roberta McCarthy, a person who was present told the New York Times.
Ro Khanna says he’s looking at the Senate. His allies are talking about the White House: The California Democrat has been paying consultants and firms with ties to New Hampshire, Nevada and Iowa.
Spy agencies report hundreds more UFO sightings since 2021: Many of the over 500 “unidentified aerial phenomena” appear to perform maneuvers that are highly advanced.
Illinois becomes latest US state to ban assault weapons: Nine states as well as D.C. prohibit the sale or possession of assault weapons.
Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders bans use of term ‘Latinx’ in state documents: Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed an executive order this week barring the use of the term “Latinx” in official state documents, saying the government should use “ethnically appropriate language.” Sanders, a Republican who gained national recognition as White House press secretary in the Trump administration, signed several orders involving government regulations Tuesday during her first day as governor. “The government has a responsibility to respect its citizens and use ethnically appropriate language, particularly when referring to ethnic minorities,” the executive order read.
New York City nurses strike ends: The New York State Nurses Association reached tentative contract agreements overnight with Mount Sinai Hospital and Montefiore Medical Center.
US Navy veteran released from Russian custody: An American Navy veteran who has been detained in Russia for nearly a year was released from Russian custody on Thursday, his family’s spokesperson told CNN, after months of negotiations spearheaded by former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson. Taylor Dudley, 35, of Lansing, Michigan, was detained by Russian border patrol police in April 2022 after crossing from Poland into Kaliningrad, a Russian exclave which is territory governed by Moscow between Poland and Lithuania. He was in Poland attending a music festival, and it is not clear why he crossed the border. Dudley’s detention – which the US government had not deemed as “wrongful,” or based on arbitrary and discriminatory motivations – had not been widely publicized before Thursday because his family wanted the negotiations for his release to remain private.
Rescue planned for ISS crew whose ride home was hit by micrometeoroid: 'Space is not a safe place': Russian space agency Roscosmos plans to launch a replacement spacecraft to the ISS so two cosmonauts and one NASA astronaut can get home safely.
Supreme Court allows New York gun law to remain in effect: The Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed a New York gun control law that was enacted in the wake of the high court's landmark ruling in June that dramatically expanded the right to bear arms outside the home to remain in effect while a legal challenge against it continues. The justices kept on hold a federal judge's ruling that invalidated various provisions of the law. An appeals court had previously blocked the ruling pending further litigation. The decision suggests the justices will wait before intervening as lower courts interpret its June ruling, which for the first time found that individuals have a right to bear arms outside their own homes under the Constitution's Second Amendment.
NASA satellite discovers second Earth-sized planet in habitable zone: NASA previously discovered three planets in the same system.
Cancer deaths down 33 percent in 30 years: Cancer deaths in the U.S. have decreased by 33 percent over the past three decades, according to a new study from the American Cancer Society. The study — published on Thursday in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians — estimated that this has resulted in about 3.8 million fewer deaths.
Sam Bankman-Fried says he didn't steal FTX funds: In a blog post published Thursday, the former FTX CEO tried to explain the collapse of his crypto empire and reiterated that he thinks the company could still be saved.
In-N-Out Burger to plant first flag in the East — but you have to go to this state.
Apple CEO Tim Cook requests and receives a 40% pay cut after shareholder vote:
Apple CEO Tim Cook received a pay cut in 2023 to $49 million, the company said in an SEC filing. In last year’s say-on-pay vote, 64% of shareholders approved of Cook’s compensation, down from 95% that approved it for Apple’s 2020 fiscal year.
Priscilla Presley arrives at LA hospital after Lisa Marie’s cardiac arrest: Priscilla Presley rushed to her daughter Lisa Marie Presley’s side after the 54-year-old reportedly went into cardiac arrest Thursday. The widow of rock icon Elvis Presley was photographed arriving at a local hospital in Los Angeles after Lisa Marie suffered a medical emergency at her home in Calabasas, Calif., earlier in the day.
Ben Affleck worked the Dunkin' drive-through in Medford; JLo also spotted.
No pain, no gain? Science debunks yet another exercise myth: You don’t have to “feel the burn” to see improvements to your health and well-being.
Top 9 benefits of exercise (and how much to do).
That’s a wrap for the week. Sorry about the small edition. Thanks so much for reading. Have a great weekend unless you have something else to do. See you on Tuesday morning unless news breaks.