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Good morning,

Sorry, Darwin… most male mammals aren’t actually bigger than females. And in some cases, females are heavier.

• A new study suggests that the misconception that male mammals are bigger than females comes from biases found in scientific literature since Charles Darwin’s Descent of Man (1871), and because there is more interest around charismatic species like primates and carnivores.

• Of the 400+ mammalian species looked at, 45% of them had males heavier than females. But 39% were the same weight across sexes and in 16% of the species the females outweighed the males.

  • While gorillas and elephants typically have larger males; both sexes are about the same size for lemurs, horses, and zebras. And about half of bat species have larger females than males.

Jeopardy answer of the day: This bat is approximately 40% larger than its male counterpart. What is the female peninsular tube-nosed bat?

Have a good one!

Mosheh, Jill, & Lauren

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📑 HUR GETS PUSHBACK FROM DEMS & GOP WHEN TESTIFYING ON BIDEN PROBE

Special counsel Robert Hur stood by his decision Tuesday not to charge President Biden for his handling of classified documents, but also reiterated that he did not fully “exonerate” him. His congressional testimony came as he took heat from both Republicans and Democrats before a House committee.

In his report last month, Hur declined to recommend criminal charges, but also said Biden intentionally took papers home with him after his time as VP, and described him as an “elderly man with a poor memory.” Democrats on the committee took issue with that latter assessment, releasing the transcript from Hur’s five-hour interview with Biden to try to contrast with the report.

LAWMAKERS REACT
Hur, who was originally a Trump administration-appointee and is a registered Republican, was accused by GOP members for going too easy on Biden and attacked by Democrats for using the report to help Trump.

• “(Biden) possessed classified documents, he held them in an unsecure area, and he did so knowingly,” Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO) said. “Where is the willfulness missing?”

• Democrats focused on Hur’s decision to comment on Biden’s memory and age, saying it was a “political choice.”

  • Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) went after this special counsel for adding “language that will be useful in a political campaign” even though he decided not to prosecute.” Other Democrats say he wrote the report as an audition for a role in a future Trump administration. Hur denied that.

A LOOK AT THE TRANSCRIPT
According to the Washington Post, the transcript of Biden’s closed-door interview with Hur shows that “the president doesn’t seem as absent-minded as Hur has made him out to be — and Hur doesn’t appear as crass as Biden has portrayed him.”

• Some of the most striking assertions from Hur's report were that Biden didn't remember the year his son died and when exactly he was vice president.

  • However, the full transcript shows Biden DID name the correct month and day that Beau Biden died, though he had trouble with the year.

• Hur also praised Biden’s memory during the initial interview, according to the transcript. At one point he told Biden: “That was very helpful. We have some photographs to show you, but you…appear to have a photographic understanding and recall of (your) house.”

AS FOR DONALD TRUMP
Unlike Biden, former President Trump's classified document probe ended in charges and the criminal case is ongoing. Democratic lawmakers tried to draw comparison to the two president’s yesterday, noting that Trump obstructed the investigation and refused to hand over documents. Trump’s lawyers are trying to get the case dismissed on the grounds of selective prosecution, which special counsel Jack Smith rejects.

• A former Mar-a-Lago employee who unknowingly helped move classified materials went public this week with his story, saying the case is not a “witch hunt” and that Trump was trying to obstruct the federal investigation.

🇭🇹 UN MISSION TO HAITI ON HOLD AS COUNTRY’S LEADER RESIGNS

Haiti’s unelected Prime Minister Ariel Henry resigned as head of the Caribbean nation following days of gang violence directed at his leadership. In response, Kenya, which is set to lead a UN mission to help secure the country, will not send the 1,000 military personnel requested until a new Haitian government is formed.

HOW WE GOT HERE
Henry has been in power (but never elected) since 2021 when the country’s last president was assassinated. He has been traveling and lobbying for a UN-backed security mission to help police fight armed gangs. While he was out of the country, those gangs overtook airports, police stations, and prisons, calling for his resignation. They have overwhelmed the local police and military and now control parts of the country.

• Henry will leave power after a new Haitian presidential council takes shape and an interim prime minister is named (who does not plan to run in the next Haitian elections). Timing TBD.

UNSURE OF WHAT’S NEXT
The news follows an emergency meeting of Caribbean leaders and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken regarding the nation’s unrest. Following the meeting, the US pledged an additional $100 million of financial support for non-US military assistance and $33 million in humanitarian aid. That would be in addition to $100 million the US already set aside for the security mission.

Notable: Award-winning author and columnist Mitch Albom was rescued from Haiti late Tuesday, along with 9 others, after being trapped for nearly a week in the orphanage he supports in the country. [Video with more from Albom.]

🎓 COLLEGE ADMISSIONS SEASON HITS ROADBLOCKS

It’s being called the most chaotic, frustrating, and uncertain college-admissions cycle in recent history. Federal financial aid delays, the Supreme Court’s affirmative action ruling, and changes to standardized testing policies have students and administrators struggling.

FED’S AID FAIL
The Biden administration set out to make a simpler, shorter and more streamlined version of the decades-old Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form. The result has been fraught with technical errors, delays in sending universities the proper information, and uncertainty around aid packages for students.

• 29% of high-school seniors submitted the FAFSA as of March 1, that’s compared with 45% at the same time last year.

• Domino effect: Delays in transferring FAFSA data to schools impact when those universities can process the information and get the aid package to families.

  • Some schools are pushing back their May 1 commitment deadline, unsure if students will have enough time to crunch the numbers and compare costs.

RACE FACTORS IN
When the Supreme Court ruled that schools can no longer use race as a factor in admissions, applicants were left to decide if they should include their race or ethnicity in essays; schools are still allowed to consider it as part of someone’s life experience.

• What schools have done: Some schools have included new application questions, but they also needed to change admissions software and advise admissions officers on what to ignore or look for.

SAT & ACT
Schools use terms like test blind, test optional, test recommended, test flexible and test required—causing confusion for some students and raising questions for families about what the schools really prioritize.

• Valerie Velhagen, a school counselor at Eldorado High School in Albuquerque, NM, said families used to ask for SAT tutors, but now "so few people put any effort into prepping for it.”

• Even when a school doesn’t require standardized test scores, scholarship awards sometimes do.

⏳ SPEED READ

🚨NATION

📌 Biden and Trump officially clinch nomination for their parties with Tuesday primary wins (ABC NEWS)

📌 House set to pass bipartisan TikTok bill that would ban the app in US if Chinese owners don't sell (ABC NEWS) Senate appears to be more skeptical of TikTok bill (AXIOS)

📌 Supreme Court extends freeze on controversial Texas immigration law (CNN)

📌 Uvalde police chief announces resignation after report on Robb Elementary School shooting (NBC NEWS)

📌 US to send $300 million in new weapons package for Ukraine (REUTERS)

🌎 AROUND THE WORLD

📌 Andrew Tate can be extradited to face U.K. sex offense allegations, but not yet, Romania court rules (CBS NEWS)

📌 Ukraine knocks out Russian refinery in major attack (REUTERS)

📌 Dual US-Israeli citizen Itay Chen, who was thought to have been one of the 6 Americans still held hostage in Gaza, pronounced dead(CNN)

📌 First humanitarian aid ship leaves Cyprus to Gaza, where hundreds of thousands face starvation (PBS)

📱BUSINESS, SCIENCE & TECH

📌 CDC sends response team to Chicago migrant shelter amid measles outbreak (FOX NEWS)

📌 White House meeting with UnitedHealth CEO over hack, now in 3rd week (REUTERS)

📌 Prices ticked higher in February, but there’s good news at the grocery store (CNN)

📌 Over 1 in 10 high school seniors report using delta-8 THC (diet marijuana) (NBC NEWS)

🎬 SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT

📌 Girls are falling in love with wrestling, the nation’s fastest-growing high school sport (AP)

📌 Lily Gladstone is “feeling the love big time” after Oscars loss (DEADLINE)

📌 Release Date Announced: Beyoncé’s upcoming album is ‘Cowboy Carter’ and Dolly Parton believes she has covered ‘Jolene’ for it (CNN)

📌 Meghan Markle wins defamation lawsuit brought by half-sister Samantha Markle (PEOPLE)

Mo News Podcast: A daily conversation about the news that matters.

🗓 ON THIS DAY: MARCH 13

• ​​1781: Uranus was discovered, becoming the seventh planet of the solar system.

• 1852: The “Uncle Sam” character debuted in Frank Bellew's cartoon published in the NY Lantern Weekly.

• 1999: Cher’s “Believe” began a month-long stay at the top of the Billboard Hot 100. At age 53 she became the oldest woman to reach #1. She is still performing this year at age 77.

• 2013: Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina was elected pope of the Roman Catholic church. He was the first pontiff from the Americas and chose the name Pope Francis I.