Good morning! Ding, dong, the season is done. Congratulations to the Kansas City Chiefs and everyone who’s sick of football. It’s finally over…until Dwayne Johnson’s upstart league, the UFL, begins its season on March 30.

And a very happy 215th birthday to Abraham Lincoln. RIP to a real one.

2024

😲 In shocking twist, Trump comments draw controversy

NATO: The defining characteristic of NATO is the mutual defense pact. But former President Donald Trump said the U.S. should not defend NATO countries that don’t spend enough on defense.

• NATO members are supposed to spend 2% of GDP on defense

• Most countries do not hit that target

• But 2% is a guideline, not a requirement

• All NATO members contribute to the organization’s central budget but maintain their own militaries

D.C. takeover: Trump also recently vowed a federal takeover of Washington, D.C.’s government if he wins the election. Crime in the capital has risen dramatically in recent years, even as it subsides in many other cities. And D.C. is ultimately a subsidiary of the federal government.

• It elects its own mayor and council, but that power comes from Congress and can be taken away by Congress

• D.C. only gained that power in 1974 via a policy called “home rule”

• Congress still has the power to block local laws passed by the D.C. council

The president used to appoint the entirety of D.C.’s government. Trump wants that power back, and says “We’re not going to have any more crime and it’s going to look beautiful.” But Eleanor Holmes Norton, the District’s nonvoting delegate to Congress, said the city’s problems would be fixed by more autonomy, not less.

Haley: Trump’s last remaining primary opponent, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, again challenged him to a debate after Trump brought up her husband. At a campaign event on Saturday, Trump said “Where is he? He’s gone. He knew. He knew.” Michael Haley is currently deployed to Africa with the Army National Guard.

WORLD

🌍 Tunnels in Gaza, evacuations in Rafah

Israel's military claims to have discovered another network of tunnels in Gaza dug by Hamas. Some of them run under the United Nations Relief and Works Agency headquarters.

This comes as countries around the world freeze funding to the agency over concerns that it employs Hamas operatives. Israel claims the new tunnels are proof of this, but Palestine says the entire story is false.

Rafah: Since the war began in October, more than a million Palestinians have fled to the city of Rafah on the Egyptian border. Now the Israeli military has begun strikes there. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel has a detailed plan to give civilians safe passage out of the city. He believes Rafah contains the “last bastion” of Hamas and that “victory is within reach.”

Funds: The U.S. Senate is one step closer to passing $95 billion in foreign aid (including cash for Israel and Ukraine). A procedural vote yesterday likely means they vote on actual passage in a few days. Run for Congress and you too can work on Super Bowl Sunday.

POLITICS

🔵 Hillary Clinton did the Biden camp no favors when she called his age a “legitimate issue.” But she did pair that with some timeless advice: lean into it. Clinton said Biden should talk about his age more, joke about it, and (most importantly) emphasize the experience that it brings.

🔴 After toying with an independent presidential bid, former Gov. Larry Hogan announced a run for the open Senate seat in Maryland. Hogan's a good recruit for Republicans. From 2015 to 2023, he was a very popular Republican governor in a very Democratic state. This situation isn't uncommon. Governors can remain above the fray and avoid hot-button national issues. But Senators can't. And Republicans haven’t won an open Senate seat in Maryland since 1970. The political graveyard is littered with popular former minority party governors who got obliterated running for Senate.

⚪ The special election to fill the U.S. House seat of expelled New York Rep. George Santos is tomorrow. Democrat Tom Suozzi held this seat from 2017 to 2023. He left Congress for a failed run for governor and was replaced by Santos. He'll face Republican (and Ethiopian immigrant) county legislator Mazi Pilip. This is anyone’s game, but bad weather tomorrow could hurt voter turnout. That gives an edge to the candidate with more early votes (which is usually the Dem).

🔴 In useless but (very) mildly interesting political news, a guy named Phil Heimlich is running for Congress in Ohio. This isn’t notable at all if not for the fact that his dad, Dr. Henry Heimlich, created the Heimlich maneuver (which was only invented in 1974 but seems like it should be way older).

TRIVIA

We’ve got another sports-politics crossover today. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell’s dad was U.S. Senator Charles Goodell. Which state did Charles Goodell represent in the Senate?

Hint: This state has multiple NFL teams.

WORLD

🇵🇭 Philippines: Controversial former President Rodrigo Duterte is calling for his home region of Mindanao (and surrounding areas) to secede from the rest of the Philippines. The area in question holds about one-fourth of the country’s population. The national government says it will meet any secession attempt with "resolute force."

🇭🇺 Hungary: President Katalin Novak resigned on Saturday after controversially pardoning a man convicted of sex crimes. Important to note here is that the president of Hungary is not the head of government, but a mostly ceremonial role. The main man is still controversial Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.

🇫🇮 Finland: Former Prime Minister Alex Stubb was just elected the country’s next president. Most power rests with the prime minister. But, unlike many countries with both positions, Finland’s president is actually important. Stubb will head up his country’s foreign and defense policy at a critical time, as Russia’s war in Ukraine rages. Finland joined NATO last year. It has a huge military and shares a long border with Russia.

BRIEFS

• Weeks after hiding his previous hospitalization, Defense Sec. Lloyd Austen is (openly) back in the hospital

• The rights to half of Michael Jackson’s music just sold for $600 million

• President Biden is not happy with the performance of Attorney General Merrick Garland after the damaging special counsel report

• A startup called Brilliant Labs promises working, AI-enabled smart glasses for $349

• Founder and former CEO Jeff Bezos notified the SEC that he sold $2 billion in Amazon stock

• Some French cheeses are on the “verge of extinction” due to collapsing microbial diversity

• Apple is reportedly working on foldable iPhones, but working out the kinks could take years

• Rep. Mike Gallagher (R), chair of the House China Committee, will not seek reelection this year

• The 15-year-old Venezuelan migrant who (allegedly) shot a Brazilian tourist in Times Square has been charged as an adult with attempted murder

• Elon Musk’s Neuralink moves incorporation from Delaware to Nevada after a Delaware court hit his Tesla cash

QUOTE

SNACKS

🕵️ Spies: Some conservatives are allegedly convinced Taylor Swift is a CIA asset. That’s obviously ridiculous. But some celebs in the past actually were spies.

🎹 Music: A pipe organ in Germany is playing a 639-year-long song. It began in 2001 and just changed chords for the first time in two years.

🐔 Wings: How did nuggets boneless wings become so popular?

ANSWER

After serving in the House from 1959 to 1968, Republican Charles Goodell represented New York in the Senate from 1968 to 1971. Gov. Nelson Rockefeller appointed him to the Senate seat left vacant after the assassination of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy. Two years in, he lost a three-way race for a full six-year term to James Buckley — a member of New York's Conservative Party.