Turning Point USA clearly saw Bad Bunny‘s Super Bowl halftime booking as an affront to the nation that needed to be met by an alternative event for conservative viewers, but the “All-American Halftime Show” opted not to offer much in the way of provocation in return. Rather than come off as a protest event, the 35-minute program offered a set of mild, largely non-political performances that could have been mistaken for a vintage CMT or Nashville Network special — even from Kid Rock, who was on his very best behavior during a quick two-song appearance.

Bad Bunny? Never mentioned, or even alluded to… which was the case for anything else that might have raised much of an eyebrow or a stir, in a show that could have aired at just about any time in the 21st century, aside from the closing montage of Charlie Kirk imagery.

Without an announcer to offer context, there was no indication of where the performances were being broadcast from, or if they were taking place in real time. According to sources, the show was pre-taped in Atlanta.

Brantley Gilbert was up first, followed by fellow country artists Gabby Barrett and Lee Brice, before Kid Rock closed things out in an enclosed setting where a crowd of what looked to be about a hundred fans stood cheering on either side of a huge thrust ramp that extended across the studio floor.

Politics were limited to Brice singing “Real American,” which extols a place where “everything’s made in the USA,” and Brice premiering a brand new song, “Country Nowadays,” in which he complains about seeing “a picture of a flag up in flames while people cheer,” along with making the statement, “little boys ain’t little girls.”

Brice said, “Charlie gave people mics so they could say what’s on their mind. This is what’s on mine.” The chorus of his new song: “Say I’m some right-wing devil ’cause I was down-south-Jesus-raised / It ain’t easy being country in this country nowadays.”

Four Black men stood on stage to introduce the main attraction — “Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome our brother, Robert Ritchie” — in a fleeting show of people of color.

Kid Rock started with some literal firepower, at least in the pyro department, as he sang an inoffensive version of his venerable rap hit “Bawitaba.” Much of the performance appeared to be pre-recorded, as he only raised the mic to his mouth for about half of the lyrics, if that, as widely noted on social media. But he seemed to be fully on-mic as he sang the closing ballad, “Till You Can’t,” a cover of a sentimental country hit from a few years back by Cody Johnson.

In his only spoken remarks, Kid Rock introduced “Till You Can’t” by saying that he was awakened one night with the Johnson song in his head and felt there was “a verse that still needed to be written for this song.” He then sang his self-penned addition, which was effectively an evangelical altar call: “There’s a book sitting in your house somewhere that could use some dusting off / There’s a man who died for all our sins hanging from the cross / You can give your life to Jesus and he’ll give you a second chance / Till you can’t.”

At song’s end, the camera moved over to big-screen photos of the late Charlie Kirk and his widow, Erika Kirk, who is now in charge of TPUSA, followed by a fade to darkness and closing credit that still did not offer many hints where the performance was taking place.

The show began with Gilbert’s guitarists offering “The Star Spangled Banner” in the tradition of Jimi Hendrix, before the singer himself emerged and led the band in a style closer to hard rock than classic country, as has been his custom. Barrett stuck closer to a Carrie Underwood style of country, starting with her breakout hit “I Hope” and following it with “One of the Good Ones.” Brice sang his hit “Drinking Class,” which includes the chorus “If you gotta label me, then label me proud / ‘Cause I belong to the drinking class,” a hit that conflates patriotic self-esteem with “rowdy” bar behavior and alcohol consumption.

A snafu arose when TPUSA announced on its X feed that the show would not be broadcast there, and viewers should turn their attention to the org’s YouTube channel. There, viewership was shown as peaking at just over 5 million when Kid Rock came on at 9:35 p.m. ET. With the third quarter of the Super Bowl having already begun after Bad Bunny’s shorter halftime performance and while Kid Rock was still on, YouTube viewers for the “All-American Halftime Show” dipped slightly to 4.4 million by the time the headliner finished.

The show was also available on other platforms and networks, like OAN, which was late to jump into the feed amid its nightly news program. There was no immediate estimate of overall viewership.

Although references to the big show in California and its lead performer were nil, Kid Rock had earlier described what he saw as the intent for the program. “We plan to play great songs for folks who love America. We’re approaching this show like David and Goliath. Competing with the pro football machine and a global pop superstar is almost impossible…or is it?” He continued, referencing Bad Bunny: “He’s said he’s having a dance party, wearing a dress, and singing in Spanish? Cool. We plan to play great songs for folks who love America.” 

Detractors have noted the alternative halftime show’s inability to draw any current country hitmakers — the country performers on hand all had their runs of hits in the 2010s, except Barrett, who had her smash in 2020 — with some wondering where Jason Aldean, the most popular musician friend of President Trump, was. Aldean did at least come up for a mention, as Gilbert noted that his life was changed when Aldean recorded a song he co-wrote, the pioneering country-rap hybrid “Red Dirt Anthem,” which he then sang and rapped.

Iran is prepared to pursue diplomacy while remaining ready to defend itself if challenged, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Sunday, arguing that Tehran’s strength lies in its ability to stand firm against pressure.

“We are a man of diplomacy, we are also a man of war; not in the sense that we seek war, but … we are ready to fight so that no one dares to fight us,” he said, according to Press TV, Iran’s state-run English-language broadcaster.

Araghchi made the remarks in Tehran at the National Congress on the Islamic Republic’s Foreign Policy, two days after Iran and the United States held nuclear talks in Oman.

Fox News previously reported that negotiations between Iranian and U.S. officials in Muscat, the capital, were held face-to-face, marking the first such meetings since U.S. strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites in June.

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Iran’s Foreign Ministry described the talks as “intensive and lengthy” in a post on X, saying the meetings allowed both sides to present their positions and concerns.

“It was a good start, but its continuation depends on consultations in our respective capitals and deciding on how to proceed,” the government account said.

It added there was broad agreement on continuing the negotiations, though decisions on timing, format and the next round will be made following consultations in the two capitals, with Oman continuing to serve as the intermediary.

US MILITARY SHOOTS DOWN IRANIAN DRONE APPROACHING USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN IN ARABIAN SEA, OFFICIAL SAYS

Araghchi said Sunday that Iran views its nuclear program as a legitimate right and is seeking recognition of that position through negotiations.

“I believe the secret of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s power lies in its ability to stand against bullying, domination and pressures from others,” he said, according to Press TV.

“They fear our atomic bomb, while we are not pursuing an atomic bomb. Our atomic bomb is the power to say no to the great powers,” the top diplomat added. “The secret of the Islamic Republic’s power is to say no to the powers.”

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President Donald Trump has expanded the U.S. military presence in the Middle East, deploying the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group and the USS Michael Murphy, a guided-missile destroyer.

Other U.S. naval assets, including the USS Bulkeley, USS Roosevelt, USS Delbert D. Black, USS McFaul, USS Mitscher, USS Spruance and USS Frank E. Petersen Jr., are positioned across key waterways surrounding Iran, from the eastern Mediterranean and Red Sea to the Persian Gulf, Gulf of Oman and Arabian Sea.

Jeffrey Epstein pressured a media tycoon he did business with to quash coverage of allegations of his sexual abuse of girls, according to documents released by the United States Department of Justice.

Epstein leveraged close personal and professional ties with the Canadian-American billionaire Mortimer Zuckerman to try to influence the New York Daily News’s coverage of allegations against him after his 2008 conviction for soliciting a minor for prostitution, the documents show.

After Epstein reached out to Zuckerman, the then-owner of the Daily News, the tabloid first delayed its coverage of the allegations and then omitted details that the late financier had specifically requested be left out, according to the documents.

In an email dated October 9, 2009, Epstein shared a “proposed answer” to questions from the newspaper with Zuckerman that disputed allegations made against him and his girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell, who is currently serving a 20-year sentence for child sex trafficking.

The allegations, which had been put to Epstein and Maxwell by then-Daily News journalist George Rush, included accusations that the pair had subjected a minor known as “Jane Doe No 102” to routine sexual abuse and had engaged in threesomes with “various underage girls”.

The allegations also included claims that Maxwell kept a computer database of “hundreds of girls and oversaw the schedule of girls who came to Epstein’s homes”.

In the proposed response that he shared with Zuckerman, Epstein said “no sex occurred” with Jane Doe No 102 and she had admitted in a deposition to being an “escort, call girl, and a massage parlor worker since the age of 15”.

“All of the adult establishments in which she admitted working require proof of age. Rc the rest of the questions,” Epstein’s email to Zuckerman said.

“These are all malicious fabrications designed to get Mr Edwards clients more money than they normally receive though she did testify under oath that she made as much as 2000 per day,” the email said, referring to Bradley J Edwards, a Florida-based lawyer who has represented many of Epstein’s accusers.

Later that day, Zuckerman told Epstein in an email that the Daily News was “doing major editing over huge objections” and he would “c copy asap”.

“take ghislaine out. if possible,” Epstein responded in an email a few minutes later.

“the very first plaintiff, deposed admitted in a sworn videotaped statement that she lied and was an escort , call girl since age 15. SHE took the fifth. over 40 times.. its crazy.. thanks for you help.”

“Please call me asap,” Zuckerman wrote to Epstein several hours later, before asking Epstein to call him again later that night.

The Daily News ultimately published an article on December 19, 2009, that described Epstein reaching a settlement with his accuser for an undisclosed amount of money.

The article noted that Epstein was facing “more than a dozen” lawsuits from women who accused him of sexually abusing them but made no mention of Maxwell or the allegations against her.

Zuckerman, a staunch supporter of Israel who served as head of the America-Israel Friendship League and the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, has never been accused of any involvement in Epstein’s crimes.

Rush, who left the Daily News in 2010, confirmed that Epstein had tried to “cajole” Zuckerman, the current owner of US News & World Report, into burying or shaping the story to Epstein’s liking.

Rush said the Daily News decided to delay publication after Epstein offered the newspaper an interview.

“Unfortunately, Epstein immediately insisted that the interview be off the record. He also used the conversation to make remorseless claims that he was a victim of overzealous prosecutors and shyster lawyers,” Rush told Al Jazeera.

Rush said Zuckerman, who sold the Daily News in 2017, never suggested that the newspaper cancel the story altogether or publish coverage that was favourable to Epstein.

“I do recall being advised to leave Ghislaine Maxwell out of the story,” Rush said.

“At the time, the paper’s lawyers had libel concerns, and I saw it as a necessary compromise.”

Rush said he had objected to the efforts to interfere in his story but the episode did not cause a “newsroom furore”.

“Most people hadn’t heard of Epstein at that point. I didn’t like Epstein and Maxwell trying to appeal to the owner,” he said.

“But I was relieved that the story wasn’t killed, just delayed, and hopeful that Epstein might say something quotable in the interview. It speaks to Epstein’s arrogance that he thought he had the power to get Mort to do his bidding.”

Zuckerman’s personal assistant and the Zuckerman STEM Leadership Program, an initiative founded by the billionaire to fund scientific collaboration between the US and Israel, did not reply to requests for comment from Al Jazeera.

Ties for two decades

Zuckerman’s ties to Epstein stretch back more than 20 years.

In 2005, Zuckerman, who also owned The Atlantic magazine from 1984 to 1999, worked with Epstein on the short-lived relaunch of the gossip-and-entertainment magazine Radar.

After a US congressional panel in September released a scrapbook prepared for Epstein’s 50th birthday in 2003, Zuckerman was among a slew of high-profile names revealed to have sent the financier their well-wishes.

But the latest tranche of files from the 2019 prosecution of Epstein, released last week by US authorities, show that Zuckerman’s relationship with the sex offender was much closer than previously believed.

In 2008, Zuckerman sought Epstein’s advice on his plans for passing on his estate, sharing sensitive details about his financial affairs in the process, including a copy of his will and an evaluation of his assets that put his net worth at $1.9bn.

In 2013, Epstein drafted several agreements to provide Zuckerman with “analysing, evaluating, planning and other services” related to the billionaire’s plans for passing on his wealth.

Epstein proposed a fee of $30m in a proposal drafted in June 2013 before offering his services for $21m in a revised proposal that December, according to the documents.

In correspondence around this period, Zuckerman appeared to hold Epstein’s claimed expertise in high regard.

“Your questions have been critical to my growing understanding of how much lies ahead before my finances are properly organized,” Zuckerman wrote to Epstein in an email dated October 12, 2013, after the financier had earlier claimed to have identified “wild errors” in Zuckerman’s accounting of his finances.

“You have been an invaluable friend and In the most constructive way a provocateur I am completely grateful and am now beginning to focus, in on the issues you have raised. With appreciation from a hesitant amateur   Mort.”

It is not clear whether Zuckerman ultimately signed the agreement proposed by Epstein.

Zuckerman and Epstein communicated regularly, and the two men arranged numerous dinners and other meetings over the years, according to the documents, including at the financier’s Manhattan home.

“Mort is now booked for tonight at 8:30…i am being asked if you could see him this weekend…please advise,” Lesley Groff, Epstein’s personal assistant, wrote on May 5, 2015, in one of many emails detailing appointments.

While Zuckerman turned to Epstein for financial advice, he also appeared to regard him as a friend.

“Hi there. You are very special. And a great friend. Mort,” Zuckerman wrote to Epstein in an email dated August 24, 2014.