Biden impeachment setback

Plus Ukraine's Avdiivka dilemma and Greece's same-sex union [View this email in your browser]( [Brand Logo]( Biden bribe bust, Russian advance and big gay Greek wedding news   Good morning, Thank goodness it's Friday. And for many Americans, quitting time today kicks off a three-day Presidents Day weekend. It's a mixed bag for presidents in today's news. President Joe Biden was essentially cleared of dubious bribery allegations, but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has some tough choices to make about defending the ruins of a city Russia has been trying to capture since 2014. In Greece, the prime minister reached across the aisle to bring same-sex marriage to a country where Orthodox Christian leaders hold sway. May your weekend be more relaxing. Peter Weber The Week Digital     Today's POLITICS story FBI informant charged with fabricating Biden bribes What happened? Special counsel David Weiss late Thursday unsealed charges accusing FBI informant Alexander Smirnov of falsely claiming Hunter Biden and his father, President Joe Biden, were each paid $5 million protection bribes by Ukrainian energy company Burisma in 2015 or 2016. Smirnov, 43, was arrested Wednesday at the Las Vegas airport. Weiss is prosecuting Hunter Biden on gun and tax charges. The commentary The indictment is a "stinging setback" for House Republicans who featured Smirnov's "explosive story" in their push to impeach Joe Biden, The New York Times said. It is "rare for the FBI to charge one of its informants with lying," The Washington Post said, but Republicans forced the issue by making Smirnov's claims a "kind of cause célèbre." Who said what? Smirnov "transformed his routine and unextraordinary" 2017 Burisma business contacts "into bribery allegations" against Biden after "expressing bias" against him during the 2020 campaign, the indictment said. "Republicans have built their conspiracies about Hunter and his family on lies told by people with political agendas, not facts," Hunter Biden's lawyer Abbe Lowell said. Now "the air is out of their balloon." What next? House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) said his committee will "continue to follow the facts" to "determine whether articles of impeachment are warranted." Smirnov faces up to 25 years in jail if convicted.   Advertisement by Betterment [Betterment is the automated investing app that puts your money to work](   Today's INTERnational story Russia close to capturing Ukraine's Avdiivka What happened?Ukrainian and U.S. officials said Thursday that after months of brutal fighting, Russia is on the verge of capturing the strategically located, ruined city of Avdiivka. It would be Russia's most significant military victory since Bakhmut last May. Who said what? "Avdiivka is at risk of falling" largely because Ukrainian forces are running out of ammunition, White House spokesperson John Kirby said. And House leaders are keeping the U.S. from sending them the "artillery shells that they desperately need" to fend off Russia's "wave after wave" of cannon fodder. "We value every piece of Ukrainian land, but the highest value and priority for us is the preservation of the life of a Ukrainian soldier," said Ukrainian Gen. Oleksandr Tarnavsky. The commentary "Russia is throwing everything it has at Avdiivka," and it continues to suffer "immense losses," CNN said. "But Moscow appears to be calculating these losses are worth it." What next? Russia's capture of Avdiivka "would not be operationally significant and would likely only offer the Kremlin" propaganda and political victories, the Institute for the Study of War said.     Today's CULTURE Story Greece legalizes same-sex marriage What happened? Greece's parliament late Thursday legalized same-sex marriage in a rare cross-party 176-76 vote, making Greece the first Orthodox Christian country to enshrine marriage equality in law. Same-sex couples now have full parental and adoption rights but can't become parents through surrogacy. Who said what? "Greece is proud to become the 16th EU country to legislate marriage equality," center-right Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on X. "This is a milestone for human rights, reflecting today's Greece — a progressive, and democratic country, passionately committed to European values." The commentaryPolls show Greeks support the marriage reforms "by a narrow margin," The Associated Press said. But the law's approval came only after "weeks of public rancor," The Guardian said. "Orthodox bishops had threatened to excommunicate lawmakers" who voted in favor, and the leader of the far-right Spartans party said the law "would 'open the gates to hell and perversion.'" What next? Mitsotakis' support for the bill, despite "significant opposition" from his party, will allow him to "further encroach on the territory of centrists and liberals," Politico said.   Advertisement by Betterment [Betterment is the automated investing app that puts your money to work](   On this day February 16, 1923 Archaeologist Howard Carter opens the burial chamber of King Tutankhamun’s tomb. Inside, he finds a gilded sarcophagus containing the mummified remains of the ancient Egyptian pharaoh. Tutankhamun’s resting place is widely considered to be the most complete discovery of Egyptian antiquities and the best-preserved example of an Egyptian tomb.     TODAY’S newspaperS ['Trial for Trump, tribulation for DA']( Former President Donald Trump's legal dramas feature prominently on Friday's front pages. In New York, a judge denied Trump's bid to delay his hush-money trial — it will start March 24 — and in Atlanta, it was District Attorney Fani Willis on the witness stand Thursday. "Trial for Trump, tribulation for DA," The Washington Post summarizes. "Willis lashes out at defense lawyers," The Atlanta Journal-Constitution says, while The Wall Street Journal notes her rebuttal centered on her "office romance." ► [See the newspaper front pages](     It's not all bad The robotics team at Diocesan Boys' School in Hong Kong dreamed big to create the world's smallest humanoid robot. At 5.55 inches tall, it's more petite than a standard ballpoint pen. The students used computer-aided design to make a blueprint of the robot, then had a factory custom-make servo motors to "facilitate precise rotation and movement," Interesting Engineering said. The students hope the robot, now a Guinness World Records holder, can be used as a STEAM educational tool.     Under the radar [The moon's exploitation sparks a debate]( While humans are expected to return to the lunar surface on the Artemis III mission as soon as 2026, a series of privately funded lunar trips before then intend to use the moon as a sort of "dumping ground" for a variety of materials, including human remains. The Apollo missions left equipment and landers on the moon, but the idea of using the rock as a sort of waste site does not sit well with everybody. The trouble is there are "no U.S. laws or standards outlining what is acceptable on the celestial body's surface," Reuters said. Among the items proposed for a place on the moon's surface is a two-story Christian cross made of the moon's dirt. "Nobody owns the moon," Justin Park, the entrepreneur who wants to build the lunar cross, told Reuters. The plan to send human remains to the moon as part of the recent Peregrine mission was heavily criticized by the Navajo, who regard the moon as "sacred" and considered the private company's memorial mission "sacrilege," Reuters said. Peregrine, which launched with the human ashes aboard on Jan. 8, failed to land on the moon, but the Navajo have not stopped pursuing lunar regulations. "The unfortunate outcome of the Peregrine mission should not detract from the broader policy discussion we seek to encourage about the treatment of the moon," Justin Ahasteen, the executive director of the Navajo Nation's Washington, D.C., office, said to USA Today.     Tall tale Rockin' horse … A horse named Pretty has turned her stable into a headbanger's ball. Pretty lives at Bogar Farms in Canada, and her groomer, Autumn Purdy, said as soon as the horse hears metal music — especially from her favorite band, Slipknot — she moves her head up and down to the beat. Once the music stops, Pretty does too, and if it changes to country, she turns and shows her backside. Pretty has become a star on TikTok, where fans enjoy watching her headbanging videos.     Later today If you are at all Appel Vision Pro–curious, today's Evening Review has a look at the pros and cons of virtual reality. We also have something of a love letter to Pittsburgh, the multitudinous industrial phoenix of Western Pennsylvania. Thanks for reading, Peter     Morning Report was written and edited by Catherine Garcia, Justin Klawans, Harold Maass and Peter Weber, with illustrations by Stephen Kelly and Julia Wytrazek. Image credits, from top: Tom Williams / CQ-Roll Call Inc. via Getty Images; Scott Peterson / Getty Images; Aris Messinis / AFP via Getty Images; Illustration by Julia Wytrazek / Shutterstock   © Future US, Inc • [theweek.com]( [Unsubscribe from this newsletter]( [Privacy Policy]( The Week is published by Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY, 10036.