Moon Sniper, Sports Illustrated, and a Massive Cabbage

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Russian oil depot hit in Ukrainian drone attack. 

Four oil tanks with a total capacity of 1.6 million gallons caught fire after munitions from a Ukrainian drone struck the depot in the Russian city of Klintsy, located about 40 miles from Ukraine's border. Russian forces had brought down two other drones over other parts of the region. The Russia-Ukraine war hits two years Feb. 24.

S&P 500 closes at an all-time high Friday.

The S&P 500 rose 1.2% to 4839.81, surpassing both a previous intraday record and closing high from January 2022. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.1% and the Nasdaq Composite rose 1.7%. Optimism around artificial intelligence has helped drive gains in technology stocks, including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Nvidia, and AMD. 

Sports Illustrated to lay off most of its staff.

Arena Group, which bought the publishing rights to the 70-year-old sports publication from Authentic Brands Group, said Friday it would be laying off staff that work on the Sports Illustrated brand because it had failed to make a $3.75M licensing payment to ABG. It is unclear if ABG will allow the Arena Group to renegotiate its licensing deal.  

Alec Baldwin charged again with involuntary manslaughter.

A grand jury in New Mexico indicted the actor Friday on one charge of involuntary manslaughter for the 2021 shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins while on the set of the film "Rust." An involuntary manslaughter conviction in New Mexico carries a sentence of up to 18 months in prison.

March for Life demonstration returns to the US Capitol.

Tens of thousands of people attended the annual March for Life in Washington, DC, Friday. The event is the country's largest pro-life demonstration and is the second one since the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, returning the issue of abortion to state legislatures. 

North Korea claims to test underwater nuclear drone.

North Korean state media said the test of the nuclear-capable underwater weapons system was in response to this week's joint military drills between the US, Japan, and South Korea. The new test of the drone, dubbed "Haeil," or tsunami, was conducted off in the country's eastern waters.     

Home sales in 2023 drop to lowest level in 28 years.

Sales of previously owned homes in 2023 dropped 19% year-over-year to 4.09 million, the lowest full-year level since 1995, according to new data from the National Association of Realtors. The median price of a home sold in 2023 was $389,800 (a record high), while the median price of a home sold in December was $382,600, a year-over-year increase of 4.4%.

Shawn Barber, world champion pole vaulter, dies at 29.

Barber died this week from medical complications after being ill for some time. He finished 10th while competing for Canada at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and won three NCAA Division I pole vault championships while at the University of Akron.