Good morning. It's Friday, Feb. 26, and we've rounded up our most popular stories of the month—just scroll on down to the Etcetera section. Have feedback? Let us know at hello@join1440.com.

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NEED TO KNOW

Charges, then Suicide

Former US Olympic gymnastics coach John Geddert was found dead by suicide yesterday, just hours after he was charged with physical, sexual, and emotional abuse of his athletes. Earlier yesterday, Michigan officials unveiled 24 felony counts against Geddert, including 20 counts of human trafficking and forced labor, two counts of sexual assault, and one count of racketeering. 

The final charge, lying to a police officer, was linked to Geddert's relationship with the convicted sex criminal Larry Nassar, a former USA Gymnastics team doctor sentenced to life in prison following hundreds of allegations of sexual abuse. Geddert allegedly knew about Nassar's abuse—much of which took place in Geddert's gym—but lied to investigators during a 2016 probe. USA Gymnastics ultimately suspended Geddert after complaints about him arose during Nassar's trial. 

Geddert was head coach of the 2012 "Fierce Five" women's gymnastics team that won gold. Read accounts of Geddert's behavior here.

First Vote on Third Stimulus

The US House is expected to vote today on President Joe Biden's $1.9T stimulus package. The proposal appears likely to pass via budget reconciliation, a process that allows certain fiscal legislation to avoid the 60-vote threshold in the Senate—meaning it could pass in the evenly divided Senate, with Vice President Kamala Harris casting the deciding vote. The current bill includes $1,400 direct checks for many Americans; see details here.

The package would be the third major stimulus to counter the effect of the pandemic, following March's $2.2T CARES Act and a $900B add-on to the 2021 appropriations bill (among other smaller boosts). To date, the federal government has disbursed roughly $3T in aid, along with $2.8T in Federal Reserve lending and other programs. Some have argued the $1.9T price tag is high, given an improving economy; see a breakdown of what's been spent so far.

A final version of the bill is expected to be approved by mid-March.

In related news, a push to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour will not be included in the bill. The Senate parliamentarian found yesterday it did not meet the requirements for the budget reconciliation process. 

Khashoggi Report

A declassified report from the US intelligence community is expected to single out Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for the 2018 death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The report is the most forceful assertion to date of bin Salman's role in the killing, concluding he approved and likely ordered the killing. 

Khashoggi, a Saudi dissident and vocal critic of the government, was killed in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Turkish officials recovered evidence suggesting his body was dismembered and secretly disposed of by Saudi intelligence officers (overview here). After initial denials, Saudi Arabia admitted to the plot, convicting eight unidentified people involved—though bin Salman never admitted direct responsibility for the murder.

At the time of his death, Khashoggi was living in the US and working for The Washington Post (see retrospective, $$). He was visiting the consulate to obtain a marriage certificate. 

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IN THE KNOW

Sports, Entertainment, & Culture

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> Netflix tops all studios with 42 nominations for Sunday’s 2021 Golden Globes (8 pm ET, NBC) including a film-leading six for “Mank” (More) | See predictions for top film and TV categories (More) | Netflix to spend $500M this year to produce new content in South Korea (More)

> Brisbane, Australia tapped by International Olympic Committee as preferred host for 2032 Summer Olympics (More)

> Lady Gaga offers $500K reward for the return of her two French bulldogs after a thief shot her dog walker and stole the dogs; dog walker in stable condition (More) 

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Science & Technology

> NASA's Perseverance rover sends back first high-definition, 360-degree panorama of Martian surface (More) | Astronomers produce the most detailed map of supermassive black holes; 25,000 black holes spotted in just 4% of the Northern Hemisphere's sky (More)

> Twitter announces Super Follows feature, allowing users to charge followers to see certain tweets; platform also planning Communities, allowing users to organize into groups (More)

> Advanced X-ray imaging creates the first 3D map of the hearing nerve in the inner ear, showing where various sound frequencies are captured (More)

Business & Markets

> US stock markets slide (S&P 500 -2.5%, Dow -1.8%, Nasdaq -3.5%) as bond yields continue rise (More) | Airbnb and DoorDash surpass revenue expectations in first earnings announcements post-initial public offering (More)

> Cryptocurrency trading giant Coinbase files for direct listing IPO; company has 43 million users and $1.3B in 2020 revenues, is profitable, and was recently valued near $100B in recent secondary share sales (More)

> AT&T sells 30% minority stake in DirecTV business to private equity giant TPG, valuing the unit at $16B (More)

Politics & World Affairs

> CPAC kicks off, the largest annual conservative meeting in the US; former President Donald Trump to speak Sunday (More) | Manhattan prosecutors obtain Trump tax documents dating back to 2011, following court order (More)

> US airstrikes hit eastern Syria, targeting facilities allegedly hosting Iran-backed militia groups; militants believed to be involved in attacks on US forces in Iraq (More)

> House passes the Equality Act; bill would bar discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity under the 1964 Civil Rights Act (More) | Former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm confirmed as secretary of energy in bipartisan 64-35 Senate vote (More) | See Biden cabinet tracker (More)

WEEKEND READS

Getting Their Due

FiveThirtyEight | Staff. Major League Baseball is finally officially recognizing the stars of the Negro Leagues—see a visualization of their accomplishments here. (Read)

The Murder Chicago Didn't Want to Solve

ProPublica | Mick Dumke. Some believe the 1963 shooting of Black politician Ben Lewis was a professional hit. Was it also intentionally turned into a cold case? (Read)

Costs of War

USA Today | Staff. This new analysis breaks down how America's global military presence has expanded since 1950, including an unprecedented breadth of counterterrorism operations. (Read)

'Dr. Lecter, My Name Is Clarice Starling'

Vanity Fair | Tananarive Due. Marking the film's 30th anniversary, Jodie Foster and Sir Anthony Hopkins discuss the legacy of "The Silence of the Lambs." (Read)

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ETCETERA—BEST OF FEBRUARY 2021

Editor's note: More than 1 million monthly clicks can't be wrong. Here are the most popular stories we ran in February. Enjoy!

(2/9/21) A pair of sharks top the year's best underwater photos.

(2/12/21) The dark origins of Valentine's Day.

(2/24/21) Check out this stunning new photo of Jupiter.

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(2/5/21) The wealthiest person in every US state.

(2/3/21) Beautiful shots of Scotland in the winter.

(2/3/21) The pained legacy of the 15th Amendment.

(2/11/21) This mysterious purple flower gets 78 million views a day.

(2/3/21) The most inspirational Dr. Seuss quotes.

(2/24/21) Niagara visitors treated to rainbows and a frozen waterfall.

(2/1/21) Scientists now know why wombats poop cubes.

(2/1/21) Drone video of a washout of California's Highway 1.

(2/25/21) The secret NASA code on Perseverance's parachute has been cracked.

(2/24/21) Clickbait: Tennessee deer found with hairy eyeballs.

(2/4/21) Bonus Clickbait: Birds named by people who hate birds.

Historybook: Fashion designer Levi Strauss born (1829); Grand Canyon National Park established (1919); Musician Johnny Cash born (1932); HBD musician Erykah Badu (1971); World Trade Center bombing kills six, injures more than 1,000 (1993).

"Success is having to worry about every damn thing in the world, except money."

- Johnny Cash

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