Today is Friday, Feb. 23, 2024. Let's get caught up.
Keep scrolling for celebrity birthdays and a look back at this date in history. Plus, check out our daily news podcast:
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Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is in Ukraine to meet Zelenskyy as aid hangs in the balance
WASHINGTON — Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is in Ukraine to try to reassure President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other officials that Congress will deliver another round of U.S. aid, even as a package that would provide $60 billion is stalled in the U.S. House.
Schumer’s surprise trip Friday comes at a perilous time for Ukraine. Zelenskyy has said that delays in aid from the U.S. and other Western countries are creating an opening for Russia to make advances on the battlefield, with Ukrainian forces running dangerously low on ammunition and weaponry.
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Lawmakers from both parties have traveled to Europe in the last week to promise that the United States will not desert Ukraine and other European allies. Yet the path ahead is far from certain. The Senate passed a $95 billion package to aid Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan last week, but House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has not yet put forward a plan for passing it in the House.
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US lands on moon for first time in 50 years as Odysseus makes historic touchdown
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — A private lander on Thursday made the first U.S. touchdown on the moon in more than 50 years, but managed just a weak signal back until flight controllers scrambled to gain better contact.
Despite the spotty communication, Intuitive Machines, the company that built and managed the craft, confirmed that it had landed upright. But it did not provide additional details, including whether the lander had reached its intended destination near the moon’s south pole. The company ended its live webcast soon after identifying a lone, weak signal from the lander.
“What we can confirm, without a doubt, is our equipment is on the surface of the moon,” mission director Tim Crain reported as tension built in the company’s Houston control center.
Added Intuitive Machines CEO Steve Altemus: “I know this was a nail-biter, but we are on the surface and we are transmitting. Welcome to the moon.”
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Trump's lawyers call for dismissal of classified documents case, citing presidential immunity
WASHINGTON — Former President Donald Trump's legal team filed multiple motions Thursday night urging a Florida judge to dismiss the criminal case charging him with illegally retaining classified documents, claiming in part that presidential immunity protects him from prosecution — an argument they have already submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court in his election interference case.
Lawyers Christopher Kise and Todd Blanche wrote that the charges "turn on his alleged decision to designate records as personal under the Presidential Records Act (PRA) and to cause the records to be moved from the White House to Mar-a-Lago." Since Trump made this decision while he was still in office, they wrote, it "was an official act, and as such is subject to presidential immunity."
Trump faces dozens of felony counts in federal court in Florida accusing him of illegally hoarding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate and obstructing government efforts to retrieve them. The case is currently set for trial on May 20, but that date could be pushed back.
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MORNING LISTEN
The Streamed & Screened podcast offers more recent programming for your consideration this weekend.
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TODAY IN HISTORY
In 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt signed an agreement with Cuba to lease the area around Guantanamo Bay to the United States.
In 1968, Wilt Chamberlain became the first player to score 25,000 points in the NBA.
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TODAY'S BIRTHDAYS
Celebrity birthdays: Feb. 23
Aziz Ansari
Actor Aziz Ansari is 41.
Dakota Fanning
Actor Dakota Fanning is 30.
Daymond John
TV personality/businessman Daymond John (TV: “Shark Tank”) is 55.
Ed “Too Tall” Jones
Former NFL player Ed “Too Tall” Jones is 73.
Emily Blunt
Actor Emily Blunt is 41.
Fred Biletnikoff
Pro and College Football Hall of Famer Fred Biletnikoff is 81.
Helena Sukova
Former tennis player Helena Sukova is 59.
Howard Jones
Singer Howard Jones is 69.
Jeff Beres
Rock musician Jeff Beres (Sister Hazel) is 53.
Josh Gad
Actor Josh Gad is 43.
Kelly Macdonald
Actor Kelly Macdonald is 48.
Michael Wilton
Rock musician Michael Wilton (Queensryche) is 62.
Niecy Nash
Actor Niecy Nash is 54.
Residente
Rapper Residente (Calle 13) is 46.
