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Exclusive: Biden’s Senate records guarded by university board members with close ties to former VP

Numerous University of Delaware officials refusing to release Joe Biden's Senate records -- despite an earlier promise -- have close personal and financial ties to the former vice president, records reviewed by Fox News show.

One of them, the university’s board chairman, even bought Biden's house in 1996 for a reportedly "top dollar" price, Fox News has learned. The documents suggest a significant conflict of interest as Biden faces increasing pressure to relinquish the documents that could contain information relevant to former aide Tara Reade's sexual assault allegation against him.

In 2012, Biden dropped off 1,875 boxes of “photographs, documents, videotapes, and files” and 415 gigabytes of electronic records to the University of Delaware. The university initially said it expected to make the records “available to the public two years after Biden’s last day in elected public office.” In April 2019, just hours before Biden announced his current presidential bid, the university changed its mind, and said the papers wouldn't be released until either Dec. 31, 2019 or until two years after Biden “retires from public life.” Click here for more on our top story.

Other related developments:

- Progressive host who interviewed Tara Reade rips mainstream media for acting as 'arm' of Biden campaign

- Biden, asked about sexual assault in the military, says survivors should be 'supported,' abusers 'held accountable'

Newsom to close all California beaches, state parks after calling out weekend crowds

California Gov. Gavin Newsom will be closing all beaches and state parks across the state starting Friday to help slow the spread of the coronavirus, according to a memo sent to California police chiefs Wednesday.

The decision comes less than a week after Newsom called out the massive crowds that flocked to Newport Beach in Orange County last weekend during a heatwave. He called the beach crowds an example of "what not to do" for the state to make progress toward easing restrictions in the statewide stay-at-home order.

Many beaches across the state have been closed, but some, such as in Ventura and Orange counties, were open and started to get more visitors as the weather got warmer. Click here for more.

Other coronavirus developments:

- To get all the latest news on coronavirus and more delivered daily to your inbox, sign up here.

- California DA warns 7 'high-risk' sex offenders were freed amid coronavirus releases

- Coronavirus in the US: State-by-state breakdown

- Coronavirus: What you need to know

FBI goals in Michael Flynn probe were 'to get him to lie' and 'get him fired,' handwritten notes suggest

Explosive new internal FBI documents unsealed Wednesday show that top bureau officials discussed their motivations for interviewing then-national security adviser Michael Flynn in the White House in January 2017 -- and openly questioned if their "goal" was "to get him to lie, so we can prosecute him or get him fired."

The handwritten notes -- written by the FBI's former head of counterintelligence Bill Priestap after a meeting with then-FBI Director James Comey and then-FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, Fox News is told -- further suggest that agents planned in the alternative to get Flynn "to admit to breaking the Logan Act" when he spoke to then-Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak during the presidential transition period.

The Logan Act is an obscure statute that has never been used in a criminal prosecution; enacted in 1799 in an era before telephones, it was intended to prevent individuals from falsely claiming to represent the United States government abroad.

In an interview on "Hannity" Wednesday, Sidney Powell, Flynn's lead attorney, said, "It's just absolutely appalling what these agents, and then special counsel operatives, did to General Flynn. It's abuse of their authority at every turn." Click here for more.

Other related developments:

- Andy McCarthy: Bombshell documents prove FBI had 'meticulously planned-out scheme' to set Flynn up

- Hannity: Flynn 'unfairly and unjustly targeted'

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SOME PARTING WORDS

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Fox News First is compiled by Fox News' Bryan Robinson. Thank you for making us your first choice in the morning! Stay healthy, stay safe, and try to be positive - we will get through this coronavirus crisis together. We'll see you in your inbox first thing Friday morning.