The News & Guts Digest: a Serving of the Day’s Top News Stories with a Little Side of Commentary

How Could You Not Love This?

There’s a tendency in broadcast news to save feel-good stories for the end of the show, as if they’re a sweet dessert offered as a reward for learning about the world’s ills…

…Well, we’re turning things upside down today because Philadelphia Eagle Anthony Harris did just about the nicest and coolest thing we’ve heard about it in a long time…

…An 11-year-old girl in Texas lost her father and grandfather over the course of a five week period last Spring. Heartbreakingly, that meant she didn’t have anyone to invite to her church’s father-daughter dance…

…That’s where Harris comes in. The girl’s mother reached out to Harris – the family’s favorite football player because of his “really down to earth” social media presence – and invited him to be the girl’s date…

…Incredibly, Harris said yes. The Washington Post reports, “Harris said he was moved by [the mom’s] invitation and recognized her as ‘a mother doing what she can to provide for her family.’ He wanted to try to make a sad situation better, in some small way.”

…Harris bought the youngster a new dress, new shoes, and paid for professional hairstyling and makeup because he wanted her “to feel like a princess.” The two danced the night away and appear genuinely happy, with ear-to-ear smiles in photos that have gone viral on social media…

….We’d report on the full, amazing details of this life-affirming gesture, but honestly we already cried once today writing this story, so please just check out our full piece…

And Now, War

…For weeks, world leaders, including President Joe Biden, have watched 100,000 Russian troops amass on the border of Ukraine and warned that Vladimir Putin might soon order an invasion…

…The consensus in the intelligence community was that Russia would avoid starting a war during the Olympics. Dignified, we know…

…But that assessment has now changed and the international community is worried that Putin will strike at any moment…Russia certainly seems to be flexing its muscles, holding military exercises in Belarus and the Black Sea this past week…

…A flurry of diplomatic meetings have occurred in recent days to ease tensions, but Biden warned in an NBC News interview last night that “things could go crazy, quickly.”

…What does Russia want, by the way? Essentially, they want to make sure Ukraine never joins NATO….

Some People Steal Toilet Paper From Their Office, Others Classified Information

Over the past week, multiple outlets have reported that Donald Trump left the White House with souvenirs from his time in office, including what he had described as “love letters” from North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un…

…the infamous map of Hurricane Dorian altered by Trump was also among the pilfered items, as was a note Barack Obama left in the White House for his improbable successor. We bet it was gracious…

…Trump World insists this is all much ado about nothing and that he returned the items after a “collaborative and respectful” back and forth with the National Archives…  

… Any working stiff knows that you can’t take the office’s printer cartridges home. Same rule applies to federal employees. Gifts from foreign leaders, documents, model airplanes (Trump took one of his proposed redesign of Air Force One) – all of this is government property that shouldn’t have wound up at Mar-a-Lago…

…Yet, the real issue here is that Trump absconded with ‘Top Secret’ materials. Earlier this week, The Washington Post said some of the documents taken by Trump and subsequently shipped back to the Archives “might be considered classified” and that the Archives asked the DOJ to investigate. (The DOJ basically said “you first,” telling the Archives to refer the matter to their Inspector General.)

… ‘Might be classified?’ What does that mean? Well, we can stop wondering. WaPo confirmed today that some of the documents were clearly marked ‘Top Secret.’ Surely this will get the DOJ’s attention, right? After all, an investigation into Hillary Clinton’s potential mishandling of classified information derailed her 2016 presidential bid and probably altered the course of American history…

…Alas, The Post reports it “remained unclear whether the Justice Department would launch a full-fledged investigation.” It also remains unclear if the DOJ has a backbone…

It’s Good to Be Endangered*

Wolves are back on the endangered species list after a court order overturned a Trump-era policy supported by the Biden administration…

…Trump’s Fish and Wildlife Service agency had determined that the animals were no longer in peril and therefore legal to hunt in greater numbers…

…But a judge on Thursday said that reasoning was faulty and renewed protections for wolves in 44 states (why not all 50? It’s complicated)…

…Hunting groups were not happy. “They’re simply forcing citizens to take matters into their own hands,” said Ed McBroom, a Republican state senator from Michigan’s Upper Peninsula in what feels like a pretty ominous statement…

Also Churning This News Cycle

…”President Joe Biden signed an order Friday to free $7 billion in Afghan assets now frozen in the U.S., splitting the money between humanitarian aid for poverty-stricken Afghanistan and a fund for Sept. 11 victims still seeking relief for the terror attacks that killed thousands and shocked the world,” reports The Associated Press.

…”Pfizer-BioNTech is postponing its rolling application to the Food and Drug Administration to expand the use of its two-dose Covid-19 vaccine for children ages 6 months to 4 years. The move means that vaccines for this age group will not be available in the coming weeks, a setback for parents eager to vaccinate their young children,” reports NBC News.

…”California’s Department of Fair Employment and Housing is suing Elon Musk’s company Tesla over racism and harassment toward Black employees at Tesla’s plant in Fremont, Calif., according to a lawsuit filed by the state this week. The company has called the lawsuit “unfair” reports NPR.

Any Super Bowl Predictions?

…Yes. There will be a huge volume of commercials for gambling apps that years from now will look reckless and irresponsible à la tobacco ads of yesteryear…

…States across the country have legalized online betting. Fine. But we’re concerned that the tech industry’s expertise in hooking us to their products will lead to a wave of financial ruin. Wanna bet on it?