Gymnasts vs. FBI, Kavanaugh Murder Plot, Walmart Heir Buys Broncos

Your Daily Debrief

June 9th, 2022

Good morning, and happy Thursday! Today is National Donald Duck Day (yes, it’s a thing), and here’s what we have for you:

Today’s Highlights

Over 90 gymnasts seek $1 billion from the FBI for failing to stop Larry Nassar
Armed man plotting to murder Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh arrested near the Justice’s home
Group led by Walmart heir agrees to buy the Denver Broncos for a record $4.65 billion

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Over 90 gymnasts seek $1 billion from the FBI for failing to stop Larry Nassar

Dozens of gymnasts are seeking a total of over $1 billion in damages from the FBI for failing to stop convicted former USA Gymnastics national team doctor Larry Nassar when the agency first received sexual assault allegations against him.

According to California law firm Manly, Stewart & Finaldi, the group of approximately 90 claimants includes Simone Biles, Aly Raisman and McKayla Maroney–all Olympic gold medalists–as well as Maggie Nichols, former University of Michigan gymnast Samantha Roy, and former gymnast Kaylee Lorincz.

The Justice Department wrote in a 2021 investigation that the FBI made “fundamental” errors in its investigation of the sexual abuse allegations against Nassar, and failed to treat the case with the “utmost seriousness.” According to the report, the FBI took months to open a formal investigation into Nassar after the agency was first notified of his misconduct in 2015, and during that time, dozens of other girls and women reported being molested by the doctor.

Nassar–who is currently serving a prison sentence of up to 175 years–was accused of molesting hundreds of girls and women, including many members of the 2012 and 2016 United States Olympic women’s gymnastics teams. In a statement, Samantha Roy said: “If the F.B.I. had simply done its job, Nassar would have been stopped before he ever had the chance to abuse hundreds of girls, including me.”

Armed man plotting to murder Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh arrested near the Justice’s home

An armed man carrying a handgun, a knife, pepper spray and burglary tools was arrested near Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s Maryland home and told police that he “wanted to kill” the Supreme Court Justice.

Court records identified the man as Nicholas John Roske of Simi Valley, California. According to an affidavit filed by FBI Special Agent Ian Montijo, Roske told detectives after being apprehended that he was “angry” over the Supreme Court potentially overturning the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, as well as the mass shooting that took place at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas on May 24th.

Roske had “decided that he would kill [Kavanaugh] after finding the Justice’s Montgomery County address on the Internet,” Montijo wrote in the affidavit, adding that, “Roske further indicated that he had purchased a Glock pistol and other items for the purpose of breaking into the Justice’s residence and killing the Justice as well as himself.”

Roske, 26, is being charged with one charge of attempted murder of a Supreme Court Justice, and is next due in court on June 22nd. If convicted, he faces a maximum prison sentence of 20 years.

Group led by Walmart heir agrees to buy the Denver Broncos for a record $4.65 billion

The Walton-Penner family has entered into an agreement with the Pat Bowlen Trust to purchase the Denver Broncos franchise.

The deal–which values the NFL team at $4.65 billion, according to sources familiar with the matter–will be a record for an American sports franchise. Previously, the highest-ever sum paid for an American sports franchise was $2.475 billion, when hedge fund manager Steve Cohen purchased the New York Mets in 2020.

Members of the acquiring group include Walmart heir and former chairman Rob Walton, who Forbes estimates holds a net worth of $57.9 billion (as of June 8th, 2022). Other individuals involved in the deal are Walton’s daughter, Carrie Walton Penner and her husband, Greg Penner; Mellody Hobson, co-CEO of Ariel Investments and chairperson of the Starbucks Corporation, and an unnamed director at JP Morgan Chase.

It is expected that the deal will take between 60 to 90 days to close. In order for it to complete, the sale requires the approval of the National Football League’s finance committee, as well as at least twenty-four “yes” votes by NFL owners.

Around the Globe

Sir David Attenborough received the Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George–his second knighthood–for his services to television broadcasting and environmental conservation
At least 21 people died and 87 were injured when a train derailed near the Iranian town of Tabas, roughly 340 miles southeast of Tehran
Scientists found microplastics in freshly-fallen snow in Antarctica for the first time, with polyethylene terephthalate (used in soft-drink bottles and clothing) found in 79% of the samples

On the Homefront

Washington, D.C. lawmakers unanimously approved a bill that would ban employers from firing workers for marijuana use
Former President Donald Trump and his two children Ivanka and Donald Trump, Jr. will be questioned under oath by the New York attorney general’s office next month regarding his family’s business practices
House passes legislation called the “Protecting Our Kids Act” that consists of seven separate provisions aimed at addressing gun violence in America

Glitz and Games

Ozark and Inventing Anna actress Julie Garner was chosen to portray Madonna in an upcoming biopic on the singer directed by Madonna herself
Incarcerated former movie producer Harvey Weinstein was charged by U.K. police with two counts of “indecent assault” against a woman in Britain
The Boston Celtics beat the Golden State Warriors with a final score of 116-100 in Game 3 of the NBA Finals

Money Moves

Major indexes in the stock market slid in the second half of trading to close down (Dow -0.81%, Nasdaq -0.73%, S&P 500 -1.08%)
Securities and Exchange Commission considers requiring brokerage houses to route buy and sell orders from retail investors into auctions as part of an effort to increase transparency and market competition
Deloitte is exploring splitting the auditing and consulting arms of its business; it would be the second of the “Big Four” accounting firms to do so, following Ernst and Young

Tip & Tricks

Bump This: Check out this Brain Food playlist on Spotify to help you focus and kick it into gear…just one more day until Friday!
Look Out: The $10 billion James Webb Space Telescope was hit by a micrometeoroid but is “still performing at a level that exceeds all mission requirements,” per NASA
Game On: Check out this first look of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II coming on October 28th
Say What: Ford CEO Jim Farley says the company is “not trolling” Tesla by including free adapters to charge dead Teslas in its new electric F-150 Lightning pickups
Hot Goss: Nick Cannon says he has been “f***ing like crazy” on a podcast and hints that he’s expecting his ninth child to be born this year
Life Hack: You can place a wooden spoon across a boiling pot to keep it from boiling over; the wood destabilizes bubbles when they come into contact with its surface, which makes the boiling water retreat

Question of the day

Would you rather be transported permanently 200 years into the future or 200 years into the past?⁠ Tell us what you think here:

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Looking Back…

On June 9th, 1973, American racehorse Secretariat won the Belmont Stakes by an unprecedented 31 lengths to capture the Triple Crown; he earlier had won the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes.