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Daily Briefing: 'Lies,' drama, champagne and caviar

Nicole Fallert   Paste BN

Georgia prosecutors bringing a case against former President Donald Trump will continue to defend themselves Friday. Also in the news: Health officials say four patients died after their oxygen ran out in southern Gaza's main hospital after Israel troops stormed and seized the facility. Iowa's Caitlin Clark's all-time point total is a whopping 3,569 points. 

🙋🏼‍♀️ I'm Nicole Fallert, Daily Briefing author. This satellite will crash back to Earth this month.

Here is the news to know Friday.

Takeaways from Fani Willis fight in Trump Georgia case

After fighting for weeks to quash a subpoena requiring her to testify, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis dramatically entered a Georgia courtroom on Thursday. She said she wanted set the record straight about her relationship with her top prosecutor on the case, Nathan Wade.

Donald Trump's defense is seeking to have Willis, Wade and the entire DA’s office thrown off the election fraud case against Trump and the prosecution dismissed outright. No decisions are expected this week.

  • "You’re confused. You think I’m on trial. These people are on trial for trying to steal an election in 2020": Willis said she wanted to put an end to “the lies” about the timing and details of her affair with Wade, the little-known private lawyer she hired to oversee the sprawling case in November 2021.
  • But a key eyewitness − Robin Yeartie, a former Willis friend and DA's office employee − gave bombshell testimony that the romantic affair between Willis and Wade actually began years earlier than both of them said it did in sworn affidavits recently.
  • If Yeartie's testimony is true, efforts to disqualify Willis, Wade and potentially the entire DA’s office could gain significant traction because it would mean that their affair was already underway when Willis hired Wade.

New details on the Kansas City Chiefs parade shooting emerge as community mourns

A personal dispute between several people erupted in gunfire at a packed celebration of the Kansas City Chiefs' Super Bowl victory, injuring over 20 people and killing a mother of two, authorities said. Community members gathered Thursday night to mourn the celebration-turned-tragedy. Nearly 1 million people were estimated to have been in downtown Kansas City Wednesday when gunshots sent scores of people running for cover. Twenty-two people ages 8-47 were wounded by the gunfire. Kansas City police told Paste BN that officers detained three juveniles but have released one who they determined wasn’t involved. And now, gun safety advocates are pushing for legislative action.

More news to know now

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Another judgment day for Donald Trump

Donald Trump faces a possible nine-figure calamity Friday when a judge is expected to release his decision in the former president’s contentious New York civil fraud trial. New York Attorney General Letitia James is seeking $370 million in penalties after Judge Arthur Engoron ruled last year that Trump had over-inflated the value of his real estate holdings – including the size of his own Trump Tower penthouse apartment – in order to get favorable bank loan terms. Without evidence, Trump has attacked the proceedings as a politically motivated hit job.

Israeli gunfire, shelling bring chaos to Gaza hospital

Israeli troops charged Thursday into Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza in a dramatic raid searching for the remains of hostages held by Hamas and pursuing its fighters. Gaza health officials described a “massive incursion” punctuated by gunfire at Gaza's largest still-functioning medical facility, which also houses thousands displaced by the war. Israeli officials said the operation acted on "credible intelligence" that Hamas had held hostages at the Khan Younis medical complex. Read more

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Caitlin Clark does it!

Just 132 seconds into the game vs. Michigan on Thursday, Caitlin Clark, the senior from Iowa, surpassed former Washington All-American Kelsey Plum to move into first place in the NCAA scoring record book. She didn't stop there, though, finishing the night with a school-record (and personal best) 49 points in Iowa's 106-89 win over Michigan. She is on pace to break Pete Maravich’s record of 3,667 points, set from 1967-70 when he played at LSU. And given how many games she has left this season, it’s possible Clark will set a scoring mark so high, no one will come close to reaching it. Read more

Photo of the day: A sandy 'Dune: Part 2' premiere

After more than two years of anticipation, the epic sci-fi drama "Dune" is back with a sequel — meaning more giant sandworms, desert battles and (hopefully) screen time for Zendaya. See all the photos from the press tour, starting the world premiere Thursday in London.

Nicole Fallert is a newsletter writer at Paste BN, sign up for the email here. Want to send Nicole a note? Shoot her an email at NFallert@usatoday.com or follow along with her musings on Twitter. Support journalism like this – subscribe to Paste BN here.

Associated Press contributed reporting.

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