Biden's dramatic, secret trip to Ukraine
President Joe Biden made his first visit to Ukraine since Russia launched its invasion a year ago this week. And earthquake-shattered Turkey was rocked by another massive tremor.
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🧟♀️ But first, it's 'like a Stephen King movie': It's too early to say for sure whether Florida will get hit by a massive blob of destructive seaweed this summer, but it's out there in the ocean... growing.
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Biden makes surprise trip to Ukraine
While most of the United States was sleeping, Biden arrived in Kyiv, Ukraine, around 8 a.m. local time Monday. The dramatic display of solidarity was the culmination of months of planning – and a final decision came in an Oval Office meeting Friday to move forward with a secret trip to the war-torn nation ahead of the one-year anniversary of Russia's invasion. There are few, if any, examples of U.S. presidents traveling to an active war zone where there is no U.S. troop presence. So, how did they pull off the extraordinarily risky mission? Find out more.
👉 'Americans stand with you': Biden walks streets of Kyiv, meets Zelenskyy.
- Live updates: Japan rolls out aid and Putin faces 'people's court.'
- They counted the days until they could return to Ukraine. Now, they're not sure they'll go back.
US sees worst weekend for gun violence of the year so far
Nine children were shot at a Georgia gas station.
Six people were killed in a Mississippi town.
Eleven people were shot in Memphis, Tennessee.
Five people were injured near a parade in New Orleans.
Six people were shot on a Chicago expressway.
That's just half of the reported mass shooting violence over the weekend.
There were 10 mass shootings from Feb. 17 through Feb. 19 – the most of any weekend so far this year, according to data from the Gun Violence Archive. That’s considering all shootings from Friday to Sunday in which four or more people were shot, not including the shooter or shooters. Keep reading.
- 'There's no way we're ready': Michigan State students return to class a week after shooting.
What everyone's talking about
- Elite, white New Orleans: Mardi Gras has not freed itself from vestiges of racism.
- 150 feral cattle to be shot from sky in New Mexico national forest.
- Rebel Wilson gets engaged to girlfriend in matching sweaters.
- More airline passengers are getting bumped. Know your rights if it happens to you.
- Why the New York Times was criticized for its reporting on trans issues.
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Another quake strikes shattered Turkey
Just two weeks after the region was devastated by massive earthquakes and strong aftershocks, a 6.3 magnitude earthquake rocked Turkey’s Hatay province Monday, injuring or trapping people inside already-damaged buildings. While official damage or injury reports were not immediately available from the scene, the mayor of Hatay said multiple buildings collapsed and Syria’s state news agency reported at least six people were injured by falling debris in Aleppo. Live updates.
Art fair visitor accidentally destroys Jeff Koons balloon dog sculpture
More balloon drama! At least this one isn't suspected to be a spy. It's just broken. A balloon sculpture by famous artist Jeff Koons, valued at more than $40,000, was reduced to scraps when an art fair attendee accidentally knocked it over. Koons’ piece "Balloon Dog (Blue)" was on display at a contemporary art fair in Miami, when an (unnamed) art collector accidentally kicked the pedestal, which was enough to cause the porcelain sculpture to fall and shatter. Koons' animal figures are some of the most well-known, expensive sculptures in the contemporary art world. Keep reading.
A break from the news
- 🛍 Presidents Day is here: Shop the best Amazon deals now on Apple, Lego, Winix and Waterpik.
- 🏺 Have your antiques appraised by 'Antiques Roadshow' during this river cruise.
- 🤔 How is your Emoji-nal intelligence? A guide to the melting face emoji, other misused symbols.
Laura L. Davis is an Audience Editor at Paste BN. Send her an email at laura@usatoday.com or follow along with her adventures – and misadventures – on Twitter. Support quality journalism like this? Subscribe to Paste BN here.
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