2.2.2018

We scour 100+ sources so you don't have to. Culture, science, sports, politics, business, and more - all packaged in a 5-minute read below.
 

Pats & Eagles Ready for Super Bowl LII.
The New England Patriots look to defend their title against the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LII this Sunday (6:30pm ET, NBC) in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Both teams enter the championship as top seeds from their conferences - and both with 13-3 regular season records. And while the Patriots are playing in their eighth Super Bowl during the Tom Brady Era (with a 5-2 record), the Eagles haven't won a title since 1960 - before Super Bowls even existed - and are riding the hot arm of Nick Foles who continues in his replacement role of injured QB Carson Wentz. Vegas currently has the Patriots pegged as four point favorites (check out the most off-the-wall prop bets here). Justin Timberlake will provide the halftime entertainment, and history buffs can check out how every starter in the Super Bowl was rated coming out of high school. 

Groundhog Day.
Groundhog Day 2018 is here, and Punxsutawney Phil will emerge from his from burrow and decide if spring is around the corner for the US, or whether we're in for six more weeks of winter (a rare glimpse into Phil's inner circle). The ceremony - at 7:25am ET at Gobbler's Knob in Punxsutawney, PA - was the brainchild of a local newspaper editor in 1887 but has its roots in eastern European traditions that celebrate the midway between the winter solstice and spring equinox. Here's how it works - if the little whistlepig sees his shadow, gets scared, and runs back into his burrow, winter is sticking around - but if he hangs out for a bit, then spring should be here before we know it. Freezing temperatures in much of the US due to a shift in the jet stream has left many hoping Phil brings good news. And if he gets it wrong, don't blame him - he's just a groundhog and we have supercomputers to model weather. 

White House Looks Set to Release FBI Memo. 
White House officials said yesterday President Trump is set to approve the release of a memo written by the House Intelligence Committee. The memo was written by GOP staff and reportedly accuses the FBI of using unverified information to obtain a FISA warrant, allowing them to spy on an American citizen (in this case, a Trump campaign adviser). A competing Democratic staff memo has not been released to this point. As we mentioned yesterday, FBI director Christopher Wray - who Trump nominated in June 2017 - expressed "grave concerns" about missing information in the memo. The FBI Agents Association issued a statement of support for Wray ahead of reports that he may quit if the memo is released. A final decision is expected later today. 
 

> 28 Russian athletes reinstated after lifetime doping ban; 11 may be eligible to compete in Winter Olympics (More)
> Nintendo announces Mario Kart mobile game & Mario movie in the works (More)
> Kate Upton accuses Guess co-founder Paul Marciano of widespread sexual harassment; Guess stock plummets 18% as result (More)
 

> Oklahoma earthquakes linked to how deep fracking wastewater is injected into the ground for disposal (More)
> Alphabet (Google parent company) and Aramco (Saudi national oil company) in talks to build Saudi Arabia tech hub (More)
> New technique allows high-speed 3D printing of structures using living cells (More)
 

> Earnings Season: Amazon beats expectations, quarterly profit reaches $1B (More) | Apple has record profit selling fewer iPhones (More) |  Alphabet (Google Parent) revenue increases, earnings miss on higher costs (More) 
> Former General Electric CEO Jeff Immelt to join Silicon Valley venture capital firm NEA (More)
> Airbnb's CFO steps down to focus on his investment firm; company will no longer plan 2018 IPO (More)

Want to dive deeper in finance? Check out our partner, Finimize, the daily email that everyone in finance secretly reads. Founded by a Forbes '30 under 30’ recipient, Finimize is the perfect 3-minute cheat sheet on the latest financial news - free and without any jargon. We read it each day and think you’d like it too. Sign up here.
 

> Nashville Mayor Megan Barry (D) admits to affair with head of security detail, no plans to resign (More)
> White House removes enforcement powers for Consumer Financial Protection Bureau office that oversees discriminatory lending (paywall) (More)
> Fidel Castro's oldest son commits suicide (More)

New Yorker | Rachel Aviv. After their 13-year-old daughter went brain dead from blood loss during a routine tonsillectomy, the family sued to keep her on a ventilator. The question quickly moved into the courts - what does it legally mean to be dead or alive? (Read)
 

Miami Herald | Staff. Gold is the new cocaine. An amazing five-part series on how drug lords make billions smuggling gold to feed the US jewelry market. (Read) 
 

When Johnny Cash Went to Jail. 

Cardi B, Anthony Hopkins sub for Alexa in Amazon's Super Bowl LII commercial. 

...and Chris Pratt stumps for Michelob Ultra.

...also, Left Shark wants you to know he didn't flub his Super Bowl performance with Katy Perry.

Here's the amount of people older and younger than you.

Canada's national anthem goes gender neutral.

One of those crazy Russian daredevil climbers makes it above the clouds. 

$1 can buy you a house in Italy.

PETA urges Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to go vegan.

United Arab Emirates opens two-mile-long zipline. 

Clickbait: After a six month search, missing tortoise found - 322 meters away (escape velocity of 0.00005 mph). 

Historybook: New Amsterdam (present day New York) becomes a city (1653); First Groundhog Day celebrated (1887); First Groundhog Day celebrated (1887); First Groundhog Day celebrated (1887); HBD Shakira (1977); RIP Gene Kelly (1996); Philip Seymour Hoffman dies of drug overdose (2014).

"YOU SHOULD BE SERIOUS ABOUT WHAT YOU DO BECAUSE THIS IS IT - THIS IS THE ONLY LIFE YOU'VE GOT."
-Philip Seymour Hoffman
 

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