Good morning and welcome to your weekday morning roundup of the top stories you need to know.
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What's going on today:
- Bill Gates crafted a public image as a likable, nerdy do-gooder. Office affairs, 'uncomfortable' workplace behavior, and Epstein ties exposed cracks in his facade.
- Matt Gaetz deflects accusations he paid for 'naughty favors,' says the corruption actually lies in legislative earmarks. "I'm being falsely accused of exchanging money for naughty favors," Gaetz said at a summit over the weekend. "Yet, Congress has reinstituted a process that legalizes the corrupt act of exchanging money for favors, through earmarks, and everybody knows that that's the corruption." FYI, earmarks are legal.
- Over the weekend, Israeli forces decimated a building that housed the Gaza offices of the Associated Press and Al-Jazeera. The IDF gave journalists an hour to physically clear out of the building before razing the high-rise. The IDF claimed the building was being used by Hamas, though reps for both media companies said there is no evidence of any Hamas presence.
- The '80s teen stars are at it again. Ricky Schroder, former basic cable child star and fiscal supporter of Kenosha shooter Kyle Rittenhouse, decided to use his considerable platform to berate a Costco employee for wearing a mask. It did not go the way he thought it would go.
- Bitcoin prices slump after Elon Musk says Tesla might dump its holdings of the crypto. Or maybe not. This is Elon Musk we're talking about, after all.
That's all for now. See you tomorrow.