Today is Monday, Feb. 24, the 55th day of 2025. There are 310 days left in the year.
Today in history:
On Feb. 24, 1981, a jury in White Plains, New York, found Jean Harris guilty of second-degree murder in the fatal shooting of “Scarsdale Diet” author Dr. Herman Tarnower. (Sentenced to 15 years to life in prison, Harris was granted clemency by New York Gov. Mario Cuomo in December 1992.)
Also on this date:
In 1803, in its landmark Marbury v. Madison decision, the U.S. Supreme Court established judicial review of the constitutionality of laws and statutes.
In 1868, the U.S. House of Representatives impeached President Andrew Johnson by a vote of 126-47 following his attempted dismissal of Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton; Johnson was later acquitted by the Senate by a single vote.
In 1942, the SS Struma, a charter ship attempting to carry nearly 800 Jewish refugees from Romania to British-mandated Palestine, was torpedoed by a Soviet submarine in the Black Sea; all but one of the refugees died.
In 1988, in a ruling that expanded legal protections for parody and satire, the Supreme Court unanimously overturned a $200,000 award that the Rev. Jerry Falwell had won against Hustler magazine and its publisher, Larry Flynt.
In 1991, the United States began ground operations in the Gulf War by entering Iraqi-held Kuwait.
In 2008, Cuba’s parliament named Raul Castro president, ending nearly 50 years of rule by his brother Fidel.
In 2011, Discovery, the world’s most traveled spaceship, thundered into orbit for the final time, heading toward the International Space Station on a journey marking the beginning of the end of the shuttle era.
In 2022, Russia began a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, launching airstrikes on cities and military bases and sending troops and tanks from multiple directions.
Today’s birthdays: Actor Dominic Chianese is 94. Nike co-founder Phil Knight is 87. Actor Barry Bostwick is 80. Actor Edward James Olmos is 78. Musician George Thorogood is 75. Baseball Hall of Famer Eddie Murray is 69. Actor Billy Zane is 59. Boxing Hall of Famer Floyd Mayweather Jr. is 48. Tennis Hall of Famer Lleyton Hewitt is 44. Actor Daniel Kaluuya is 36.
