In The NEWS

Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
> Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy to step down at end of 2025 after leading the film production company behind "Star Wars" franchise since 2012 (More)

> Chris Jasper, Isley Brothers member and Rock & Roll Hall of Famer, dies at age 73 (More) | Larry Dolan, longtime owner of the Cleveland Guardians, dies at 94 (More)

> More than 1,000 British musicians, including Kate Bush and Cat Stevens, release a silent album to protest proposed changes to UK law that may allow AI models to be trained on copyrighted material (More)

Science & Technology
> Death toll from unidentified illness in the Congo rises to at least 50 over the past month; outbreak began after three children fell sick after eating a bat (More) | What are zoonotic diseases? (1440 Topics)

> Second Intuitive Machines lunar launch window opens this evening; company made history last year with the first controlled landing of a device on the moon by a private company (More)

> Researchers develop self-destructing bacteria for potential use in tuberculosis vaccines; disease kills an estimated 1 million people each year globally (More)


Business & Markets
> US stock markets close mixed (S&P 500 -0.5%, Dow +0.4%, Nasdaq -1.4%) (More) | US consumer confidence index in February registers largest monthly drop since 2021 (More)

> Hims & Hers shares close down 22% a day after the telehealth company releases Q4 results, prompting concerns over its weight-loss drug business's impact on margins (More) | Tesla shares close down 8.4% after reporting its European sales fell 45% year over year in January; company falls below $1T market cap (More)

> Perplexity AI reportedly launching $50M venture fund to back early-stage AI startups (More) | Everything you need to know about venture capital (1440 Topics)


Politics & World Affairs
> The US, Ukraine agree on deal to jointly develop Ukrainian natural resources; agreement is reportedly step toward a ceasefire deal with Russia (More) | House passes budget bill in 217-215 vote, sets up reconciliation with Senate plan (More) | White House to take over access to press pool from White House Correspondents' Association (More)

> US Supreme Court orders new trial for Oklahoma death row inmate Richard Glossip, finding prosecutors in the original 1998 trial failed to correct false testimony (More)

> Vatican officials say Pope Francis remains in critical but stable condition following weekend respiratory crisis, has performed some duties from hospital (More) | See previous write-up (More)

SOURCE:  1440 NEWS