Monday, February 9, 2026

The game was meh but the show was super

The Super Bowl itself may have been a defensive dud, but the halftime show gave Americans plenty to talk about. ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌  ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ 

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The Short List

Mon Feb 9 2026

 

Phaedra Trethan National Correspondent

@wordsbyphaedra

👋🏼 Hello! I'm Phaedra Trethan , stuffed from too much Super Bowl food but still feeling the joy from Bad Bunny's halftime performance. 🎵 🐰 🎶

In Monday's news:

There was a football game yesterday. And a show in the middle of it. You might have heard. 🏈 🐰
Italy leads the medal count (for now), but the Olympics have had no shortage of thrilling moments (and some heartbreaking ones) for Team USA. 🥇
Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell, serving 20 years in prison for her role in a sex-trafficking ring, refused to testify to Congress.

But first: Who won the Puppy Bowl ? Only every single human who watched it. 🐶 🩷

Super Bowl, Super Show 🏈 🎶 🐰

The game itself was a defensive masterclass by the Seattle Seahawks, a huge disappointment for the New England Patriots or a big ol' snoozefest for both teams, depending on your perspective (and perhaps your geography).

But the halftime show by Bad Bunny – with cameos by Lady Gaga, Ricky Martin, Cardi B and even Pedro Pascal – was electrifying: an energetic love letter to Puerto Rican culture, Latin music and even a call for American unity. We were there for all of it:

How Seahawks QB Sam Darnold smiled all the way to a Super Bowl win. 😁
Seattle's "Dark Side" defense meant lights out for the Patriots. 🚫
Rashid Shaheed set a Super Bowl record. Why the Seahawks wideout's achievement might have escaped notice. 🤔
Even as he called for unity, Bad Bunny was a divisive figure for the halftime show.
Photos: On the field for the halftime show. 📸
Turning Point USA offered a halftime alternative. How many people watched? What we know.

20260209_VPC_BAD BUNNY PERFORMANCE DRAWS MIXED REACTIONS_THUMB.00_00_00_03.Still004.jpg

Bad Bunny Super Bowl 60 halftime performance

Reuters / Apple Music

Heroes and heartbreak in Italy 🥇 💔

The Olympics are in full swing in Milan and Cortina, Italy. Team USA has seen its share of triumph but also a bit of bitter disappointment.

Team USA's skiers are celebrating Breezy Johnson's gold medal even as they wait on an update about Lindsey Vonn, who crashed 13 seconds out of the gate on Sunday. ⛷️
Watch: Which American athletes have the best shot at bringing home gold medals? 🏅
Scott Hamilton talks about what it's like to win his sport's biggest prize. ⛸️
Photos: The agony of defeat... or just a nasty spill on snow and ice. 🫣
Is this the end for Lindsey Vonn? What her dad says. 💔

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Mikaela Shiffrin, left, and Breezy Johnson celebrate winning the gold medal in team combined during the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships in Saalbach, Austria on Feb. 11, 2025.

Alain Grosclaude, Agence Zoom via Getty Images

Real quick

The agonizing ordeal for the family of 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie enters its 10th day. The latest.
A cause of death has been revealed for beloved actress Catherine O'Hara.
A toddler was held in ICE custody and denied medication, according to a lawsuit.
The company that operates about 180 Eddie Bauer stores across the United States has filed for bankruptcy.

'Who is she protecting?' Ghislaine Maxwell pleads the Fifth

Jeffrey Epstein's accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell refused to cooperate with a House committee seeking more information on the late accused sex trafficker's possible co-conspirators. Maxwell, serving a 20-year sentence for her role in soliciting minors for sex, invoked her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, leading one prominent Democrat to ask, "Who is she protecting?"

Meanwhile, lawmakers are looking at millions of pages of unredacted documents relating to the late financier.

Oz urges vaccinations amid measles outbreaks

Health officials in Washington are warning people who attended the March For Life last month that they may have been exposed to measles, a highly contagious but easily preventable illness.

DC Health said three people infected with measles visited sites throughout the city between Jan. 21 and Feb. 2, including the annual march, which draws millions of anti-abortion advocates.

Meanwhile, Dr. Mehmet Oz, who leads the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, is urging Americans who aren't already vaccinated to " take the vaccine, please," adding, "We have a solution for our problem."

Hand washing kills germs. But how long does it take to do the job?

Health Usa Kennedy

Dr. Mehmet Oz, the administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, speaks at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, on Feb. 2, 2026.

Al Drago/Reuters

A break from the news

"Toxic obsession, forbidden lust and gothic sauciness"? Now that's a review! 🎞️
The only thing I love more than a spot of tea is a big cup o'joe. It's nice to know they're helping keep my brain healthy. 🫖 ☕️ 🧠
Great Valentine's Day gifts for him? We're watching... 🩷

Phaedra Trethan is a national correspondent at USA TODAY. She'd love to hear from readers about The Short List, story ideas from across the nation and your favorite Super Bowl commercial. (She lol'd at Colin Jost and Michael Che.) Email her at ptrethan@usatoday.com.

News out of Maryland

One person was shot Monday afternoon at Thomas S. Wootton High School in Rockville, Maryland. The school remains on lockdown.

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Want to pay less tax in 2026? Here are 4 powerful strategies.

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Members of the Religious Liberty Commission listed as Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks at the group's inaugural meeting at the Museum of the Bible in Washington on Monday, June 16, 2025.
 

Multifaith groups sue Trump's Religious Liberty Commission over lack of diversity

The complaint said the commission lacks the perspective of those "who face some of the most pernicious discrimination."

Two juvenile wood storks sport still yellow beaks at the Wakodahatchee Wetlands in Delray Beach, Florida in May 2025..
 

Wood storks have rebounded and are no longer 'endangered'

Forty years ago, wood stork populations in Florida were plummeting. But federal and private efforts have made a dramatic difference, officials say.

Afternoon clouds build over the Gulf of Mexico in this 2023 photo taken from near Fort Myers Beach, Florida.
 

Trump calls it the 'Gulf of America,' but what about locals, tourists?

It's been a year since President Trump renamed the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America. We asked people along its shores what they actually call it.

Hundreds marched during a "ICE Out of the Super Bowl Protest" during Super Bowl LX in Santa Clara, Calif., on Feb. 8, 2026. The protest occurred less than two miles from the big game at Levi's Stadium, capping off a weeklong slew of demonstrations in the Bay Area.
 

'No ICE,' protesters chanted near the Super Bowl without issue

Hundreds of people protested against ICE and President Trump's immigration policies near Levi's Stadium during Super Bowl LX.

Tibetan spiritual leader, the 14th Dalai Lama, reacts on the day he attends his 90th birthday celebration at the Tsuglagkhang, also known as the Dalai Lama Temple complex, in the northern town of Dharamshala, India, July 6, 2025. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis
 

Dalai Lama says he never met Jeffrey Epstein

The Dalai Lama, a Tibetan spiritual leader, said he never interacted Jeffrey Epstein, following what he called attempts to connect him to the late sex offender.

Writer Jean Carroll and then-presidential nominee Donald Trump shown in a 2024 court sketch as he asked a federal appeals court to overturn a $5 million jury verdict finding him liable for sexually assaulting and defaming Carroll.
 

'Deeply damaging': Trump's Supreme Court push to toss E. Jean Carroll case

Despite frequently filing his own lawsuits, President Trump told the Supreme Court a suit against him by E. Jean Carroll is a damaging distraction.

In this photo illustration, gold coins are displayed at Witter Coins on October 07, 2025, in San Francisco, Calif. Investors (Photo Illustration by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
 

How to invest in gold. Here's USA TODAY's guide for beginners.

Want to invest in gold but think it's too expensive? Learn how to invest and avoid pitfalls. Investment options include ETFs and physical gold.

A Puerto Rican flag waves among thousands of people attending the inauguration day of the 55th edition of the annual San Sebastian Street Festival in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico, Jan. 16, 2025.
 

Puerto Rico is at a crossroads. What you should know before booking.

A tourism boon in Puerto Rico has local hotspots facing challenges of cultural dilution and environmental strain.

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