Midday rundown: Biden’s beach house searched, Tom Brady retires

RAY BOGAN: THE PRESIDENT’S BEACH HOUSE IS SEARCHED FOR CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS AND TOM BRADY IS RETIRING, FOR REAL THIS TIME. 

THIS IS STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS. UNBIASED. STRAIGHT FACTS.

JUSTICE DEPARTMENT SEARCHES BIDEN BEACH HOUSE

THE INVESTIGATION INTO PRESIDENT BIDEN’S HANDLING OF CLASSIFIED INFORMATION CONTINUES. THE PRESIDENT’S LAWYER SAYS THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT IS SEARCHING HIS BEACH HOUSE IN REHOBOTH, DELAWARE TODAY. 

ATTORNEY BOB BAUER SAID THE SEARCH IS BEING CONDUCTED WITH THE PRESIDENT’S FULL SUPPORT AND COOPERATION. BAUER SAYS HE’LL RELEASE MORE INFORMATION WHEN IT’S OVER. 

THIS IS BEING PUBLICIZED, JUST AS IT WAS REVEALED THAT AN FBI SEARCH OF THE PENN-BIDEN CENTER IN NOVEMBER WAS KEPT SECRET. THE WHITE HOUSE DID NOT DISCLOSE THE INFORMATION AND THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT DID NOT INCLUDE IT IN A TIMELINE THEY RELEASED WHEN THE SPECIAL COUNSEL WAS ANNOUNCED. 

PRESIDENT BIDEN TRYING TO LIMIT CREDIT CARD FEES

MEANWHILE, PRESIDENT BIDEN’S ADMINISTRATION IS TRYING TO REDUCE CREDIT CARD LATE FEES AND THE AMOUNT COMPANIES LIKE GOOGLE AND APPLE CHARGE IN THEIR APP STORES. 

THE ADMINISTRATION WANTS TO CAP CREDIT CARD LATE FEES AT $8.00. SOME ARE CURRENTLY AS HIGH AS $41.00. 

THE DIRECTOR OF THE NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL SAID THAT COULD SAVE CONSUMERS AS MUCH AS 9 BILLION DOLLARS A YEAR. BUT THIS PROPOSAL HAS TO GO THROUGH A FORMAL RULEMAKING PROCESS AND MIGHT NOT TAKE EFFECT UNTIL 2024. 

AS FOR APPS, THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE SAYS GOOGLE AND APPLE’S PRACTICES HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO INFLATE PRICES AND REDUCE INNOVATION. 

SO THE NATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS INFORMATION ADMINISTRATION IS SUGGESTING SOME CHANGES. THEY SAY IT SHOULD BE EASIER FOR USERS TO CHOOSE THEIR OWN APPS AS DEFAULTS, THEY SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO USE ALTERNATIVE MOBILE APP STORES AND IT SHOULD BE EASIER TO HIDE OR DELETE PRE-INSTALLED APPS. 

TOM BRADY RETIRING ‘FOR GOOD’

TOM BRADY IS RETIRING, AND HE SAYS THIS TIME IT’S FOR GOOD. 

TOM BRADY | NFL QUARTERBACK: “Thank you so much to every single one of you for supporting me – my family, my friends, my teammates, my competitors. I could go on forever. There’s too many. Thank you guys for allowing me to live my absolute dream. I wouldn’t change a thing. Love you all.”

BRADY IS WIDELY CONSIDERED TO BE THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME. HE PLAYED 23 SEASONS WITH THE NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS AND TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS AND WON SEVEN SUPER BOWLS. IT WAS AN EXTRAORDINARY CAREER THAT STARTED AS THE 199TH PICK IN THE 2000 NFL DRAFT. 

NIKKI HALEY RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT

FORMER SOUTH CAROLINA GOVERNOR AND UN AMBASSADOR NIKKI HALEY IS GOING TO ANNOUNCE SHE’S RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT ON FEBRUARY 15. SHE’S EXPECTED TO DECLARE HER CANDIDACY DURING AN EVENT IN CHARLESTON. 

ONCE SHE MAKES IT OFFICIAL, SHE WILL BE THE ONLY PERSON IN THE RACE CHALLENGING HER FORMER BOSS DONALD TRUMP FOR THE REPUBLICAN NOMINATION.

BUT SENATE MAJORITY LEADER MITCH MCCONNELL HAS SAID HE EXPECTS THE G-O-P PRIMARY TO BE QUITE CROWDED. OTHER POSSIBLE CANDIDATES INCLUDE FLORIDA GOVERNOR RON DESANTIS, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT MIKE PENCE, AND SOUTH CAROLINA SENATOR TIM SCOTT. 

POLICE FIND MONKEYS BELONGING TO DALLAS ZOO

POLICE HAVE FOUND THE TWO MONKEYS FROM THE DALLAS ZOO THAT WERE MISSING AT AN ABANDONED HOME. THE ENCLOSURE FOR THE EMPEROR TAMARIN MONKEYS WAS CUT, AND POLICE GOT A TIP THAT THEY WERE AT THE HOME IN A SUBURB SOUTH OF THE CITY. 

BOTH ANIMALS WERE SAFE AND BROUGHT BACK TO THE ZOO SO THEY COULD BE CHECKED BY A VET. 

THERE’S BEEN A STRING OF INCIDENTS AT THE ZOO IN RECENT WEEKS. ON JANUARY 13TH, ZOO KEEPERS ARRIVED TO FIND THAT A CLOUDED LEOPARD WAS MISSING. IT WAS LATER FOUND NEAR IT’S ENCLOSURE BUT THERE WAS A VERY SIMILAR CUT IN THE FENCE. AND ON JANUARY 21ST AN ENDANGERED VULTURE WAS FOUND DEAD. 

POLICE SAY THEY AREN’T SURE IF THE INCIDENTS ARE RELATED. 

ROCK & ROLL HALL OF FAME NOMINEES ANNOUNCED

THE ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME IN CLEVELAND HAS ANNOUNCED THIS YEARS NOMINEES. THERE ARE 14, INCLUDING MISSY ELLIOTT, SHERYL CROW, IRON MAIDEN AND CYNDI LAUPER. THAT MAKES FOR ONE ECLECTIC MIX OF COUNTRY, ROCK, HIP-HOP AND HEAVY METAL. 

TO BE ELIGIBLE, THE ARTIST OR BAND MUST HAVE RELEASED THEIR FIRST COMMERCIAL ALBUM AT LEAST 25 YEARS AGO. MORE THAN 1,000 ARTISTS, MUSIC HISTORIANS AND MUSIC-INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALS WILL VOTE. THE RESULTS WILL BE ANNOUNCED IN MAY AND THERE WILL BE A CEREMONY THIS FALL.