Plus: U.S. Olympic Hockey Players React After Trump's Locker Room Comment Sparks Backlash

Good evening,

Players on the U.S. men’s and women’s Olympic hockey teams — which both won gold medals in Milan Cortina — are publicly pushing back on President Trump’s recent remarks about the women’s team, which received backlash.

REFRESHER: Trump phoned the men’s hockey team after their 2-1 win against Canada and invited them to his State of the Union address. In that conversation, he joked he would also have to invite the women’s team – or risk impeachment. Several players laughed.
- All but five players on the men's team joined Tuesday’s State of the Union, while the women’s team declined the invitation because of scheduling conflicts.
One of the men’s team players, Jeremy Swayman, told reporters Wednesday that the group “should have reacted differently” to Trump’s weekend remarks. “We have so much respect for the women’s team, and to share that gold medal with them is something that we’re forever grateful for.” He also called the White House visit “an incredible honor.”
- Meanwhile, Hilary Knight, the women’s team captain, called Trump’s comments “a distasteful joke” on Wednesday, but emphasized that the focus should remain on what both the women’s and men’s teams have accomplished.

The men’s team received a bipartisan standing ovation during the State of the Union address. Trump said the women’s team will also be visiting the White House soon, but a date is TBD.

Mo News Team

🚨 ONE IMPORTANT THING

Epstein Probe Expands: Hillary Clinton Testifies, Lawmakers Weigh Next Steps

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told lawmakers Thursday that she had no knowledge of Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes, and that she does not remember meeting him. “I never flew on his plane or visited his island home or offices,” she told House Oversight Committee members in a closed-door hearing in Chappaqua, New York, where the Clintons have a home. Former President Bill Clinton is set to talk to lawmakers on Friday.

HOW WE GOT HERE: The pair only agreed to talk after a House panel voted in January to recommend holding them in criminal contempt of Congress for initially refusing to comply with subpoenas.
INSIDE THE DEPOSITION: Clinton described the questioning as getting “quite unusual” during a press conference late Thursday. “I started being asked about UFOs and a series of questions about Pizzagate – one of the most vile, bogus conspiracy theories that was propagated on the internet.”

CLINTONS V. TRUMP
Hillary Clinton released the transcript of her opening statement to the committee on X Thursday morning, which called on lawmakers to ask Trump “under oath about the tens of thousands of times he shows up in the Epstein files.” She accused the administration of a cover-up and called Congress’s investigation a “fishing expedition.”

BIG PICTURE: Neither the Clintons nor Trump are accused of visiting Epstein’s notorious island or engaging in any illegal activity. Records indicate that both Bill Clinton and Trump flew on Epstein’s private plane several times, years before Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 to soliciting prostitution from a minor.

Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA), the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, said Thursday: "We have said from day one that we want to talk to former President Bill Clinton, and the other person we want to talk to is current President Donald Trump.”

MORE TO COME?
House Oversight Chair James Comer (R-KY) said Thursday that he is not ruling out subpoenaing Trump’s Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to testify as part of the panel’s Epstein probe. Lutnick claimed last year that his ties to Epstein ended in 2005, but Justice Department records show he met with the convicted sex offender for lunch in 2012 on Epstein’s island — the centerpiece of the trafficking allegations — with his family.

Comer also said Thursday that lawmakers are “looking into” an NPR report on more than 50 pages of unreleased documents — including FBI interviews and notes tied to a woman who accused the president of sexually assaulting her when she was a teenager in the 1980s. The Justice Department said Wednesday that it would publish any documents “found to have been improperly tagged” as privileged or confidential, that are legally required to be made public by the Epstein Files Transparency Act.

PUBLIC FALLOUT CONTINUES
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates apologized to his Gates Foundation staff during a town hall Tuesday for his Epstein ties. He denied involvement in Epstein’s crimes, but acknowledged having two affairs with Russian women, who he said were not Epstein victims. “I did nothing illicit. I saw nothing illicit,” he said, according to a recording reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.

Recently released Epstein files include photos of Gates with women whose faces are redacted. Gates said Epstein asked him to pose with his assistants.
- Gates said he first met Epstein in 2011, three years after Epstein’s guilty plea, and admitted he did not thoroughly vet him beforehand.
Gates noted that his ex-wife, Melinda French Gates, expressed concerns about Epstein around 2013, but the two continued to meet.
- Melinda said earlier this month that her ex-husband needs to answer for his behavior. The two finalized their divorce in 2021 after 27 years of marriage.

Gates’s apology comes as high-profile billionaires and executives continue to resign in recent weeks, following the recent Epstein Files document releases.

Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers said Wednesday that he will retire from his role as a tenured professor at Harvard University after emails showed he communicated with Epstein as recently as 2019. Harvard called his departure a resignation, after the school’s former president was placed on leave in November when emails were made public.
Recent resignations have also included Thomas Pritzker, chairman of Hyatt Hotels who resigned from the company last week, and Peter Attia, a wellness influencer who stepped down from his role at CBS News this week.

We covered a longer list of high-profile names — from former Prince Andrew to the head of one of the largest law firms in the U.S. — in this newsletter.

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⏳ THE SPEED READ

🚨NATION

“Nearly blind” refugee found dead in Buffalo after Border Patrol release, mayor says (CBS)
Florida lawmakers intensify calls for Cuba regime change after deadly speedboat confrontation (POLITICO)
Mamdani makes unannounced trip to meet Trump in Washington (GUARDIAN), brings mock newspaper to try to win him over (MO NEWS)
Trump administration officials in court to defend prosecution against Kilmar Abrego Garcia as case sits on shaky ground (CNN)
NYPD arrests social media influencer in Washington Square Park snowball fight (GOTHAMIST)

🌎 AROUND THE WORLD

U.S.-Iran nuclear talks were “positive,” senior U.S. official says (AXIOS)
Jimmy Lai’s fraud conviction overturned by Hong Kong court in rare legal win for activist (GUARDIAN)
Kenyan police arrest man accused of recruiting fighters for Russia’s war in Ukraine (AP)
Danish PM calls snap election amid Greenland momentum (DW)
Hungary accuses Ukraine of ‘oil blockade,’ deploys soldiers to key energy facilities (CNBC)

📱BUSINESS, SCIENCE & TECH

Paramount Wins Bidding War for Warner Discovery After Netflix Drops Out (WSJ)
Mortgage rate dips below 6% for the first time since 2022 (AXIOS)
Instagram now alerts parents if their teen searches for suicide or self-harm content (TECHCRUNCH)
Google launches Nano Banana 2, updating its viral AI image generator (CNBC)
California seal-watching tours canceled due to bird flu outbreak (THE HILL)

🎬 SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT

“Heated Rivalry” Season 2 is coming “as soon as humanly possible,” says creator Jacob Tierney (CBS)
Singer D4vd is target of investigation in LA over murder of teen found dead in his car (GUARDIAN)
Judge scolds Shia LaBeouf and orders him to rehab after Mardi Gras arrest (AP)
Netflix’s ‘Dynasty: The Murdochs’ trailer reveals the real-life ‘Succession’ fight to control Fox News (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER)
Max Scherzer’s 8-year-old daughter wrote letter to Blue Jays in December asking team to re-sign her dad (YAHOO SPORTS)

ICYMI FROM THE 📲

In case you missed it… An Italian exchange student in the U.S. went viral after trying the chain restaurant Olive Garden for the first time. 🥖

Alessandro, a high school student from Italy living in Texas, posted videos to TikTok on Monday of him reluctantly visiting an Olive Garden with his host family.
He sampled a variety of fried foods — from mozzarella sticks to calamari — as well as Olive Garden’s classic breadsticks and Alfredo sauce.

“I feel like I’m betraying Italy,” said Alessandro, who also called the food “Molto Buono” (very tasty!).