On today’s show: After a contentious meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy, European leaders rallied around Ukraine and pledged increased economic and military support. ABC News has the details on the new aid and a proposed framework for a peace deal to end the war between Russia and Ukraine. Desmond Butler with the Washington Post reports that Elon Musk – whose DOGE team is trying to cut down on government funding — is himself one of the biggest beneficiaries of taxpayer money, having received at least $38 billion from government contracts over more than 20 years. At the Oscars, ‘Anora’ stunned the movie world by taking home many of the most prestigious awards, NBC News reports. The Hollywood Reporter has a complete list of Sunday’s winners. Plus, Israel halted all humanitarian aid into Gaza on Sunday amid rising ceasefire tensions, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said the measles outbreak is a “call to action for all of us,” and the figure-skating community paid tribute to the victims of the recent midair collision near Washington, D.C. Today’s episode was hosted by Shumita Basu.
Chapter 1: What are the key headlines in the world today?
Good morning. It's Monday, March 3rd. I'm Shamita Basu. This is Apple News Today. On today's show, how government funding helped build Elon Musk's business empire, the big winners from Hollywood's biggest night, and the figure skating community pays tribute to victims of January's mid-air collision.
Chapter 2: How are European leaders supporting Ukraine?
But first, after a disastrous meeting on Friday between President Trump, Vice President Vance, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, European allies rushed to support Ukraine. And by Sunday, the U.K. announced plans to give Ukraine access to nearly $2 billion to bolster its defenses as a first step toward a peace agreement that the U.K. plans to present, along with France, to Trump.
Here's U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Today I'm announcing a new deal which allows Ukraine to use £1.6 billion of UK export finance to buy more than 5,000 air defence missiles.
Starmer also offered a nearly $3 billion loan for Ukraine that would be paid back using profits from sanctioned Russian assets. And he promised Ukraine that European nations would keep aid flowing and keep economic pressure on Russia. He said a, quote, coalition of the willing would commit to defend Ukraine, though he didn't say which nations would be involved.
He did say, however, that Ukraine's participation in peace talks would be non-negotiable.
We agreed that any lasting peace must ensure Ukraine's sovereignty and security. And Ukraine must be at the table.
French President Emmanuel Macron told the newspaper Le Figaro that the peace proposal will include a one-month ceasefire by air, sea, and for energy infrastructure. But he said for now, no European troops will be deployed. And Starmer told the BBC that Trump has agreed to discuss the proposal.
All of this comes after an explosive meeting at the Oval Office on Friday, where Trump and Vance reprimanded Zelensky, at times shouting.
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Chapter 3: What happened in the Oval Office meeting with Trump and Zelensky?
You're not winning. You're not winning this. You have a damn good chance of coming out okay because of us.
Mr. President, we are staying in our country, staying strong from the very beginning of the war. We've been alone, and we are thankful. I said thanks in this cabinet and not only in this cabinet.
We gave you, through this stupid president, $350 billion. We gave you military equipment, and you men are brave, but they had to use our military equipment.
The White House asked Zelensky to leave after the meeting, and the leaders did not end up signing a mineral extraction deal. Zelensky has said, despite the blowup, he is still willing to sign that deal. But Treasury Secretary Scott Besant, who was heavily involved in negotiations, told CBS the agreement is no longer on the table.
Some in Washington are supporting Trump and Vance in the way they handled the exchange, like Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who was in the Oval Office during the meeting and spoke with ABC News on Sunday.
Shouldn't we all be happy that we have a president who's trying to stop wars and prevent them instead of start them? And I just don't get it. I really don't. Other than the fact that it's Donald J. Trump. If this was a Democrat that was doing this, everyone would be saying, well, he's on his way to the Nobel Peace Prize.
But some other Republicans have criticized the president, like Senator Lisa Murkowski, who posted on social media, quote, And Democrats have widely denounced Trump and Vance's conduct. Speaking to CBS yesterday, Senator Mark Kelly called them bullies.
I think Donald Trump was trying to look tough. J.D. Vance was trying to look tough. The only winner in that exchange is Putin, who's a criminal. So it was a sad day for our country. It was a dumpster fire of diplomacy.
Prior to Friday's meeting, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the Pentagon to pause offensive cyber operations against Russia, but didn't offer further explanation as to why. The Washington Post reports a Russian official on Sunday said the Oval Office blowup was seen as a gift to the Kremlin and that the Trump administration's foreign policy now aligns with Russia.
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Chapter 4: How is government funding linked to Elon Musk's business success?
The government has clearly benefited from these partnerships too, Butler points out. But if Musk continues to pursue large-scale cuts, that could hurt other companies trying to follow in his footsteps.
And you could see it as kind of closing the door after you walk through it. If we want to foster other successful companies, maybe the success of these companies should be an example.
Now to the Oscars. The biggest winner last night was Anora, a film about a sex worker who impulsively marries the son of a Russian oligarch. It was awarded five Oscars, including the marquee prize of the evening Best Picture. Director Sean Baker accepted the award.
One last thing. I want to thank the Academy for recognizing a truly independent film. This film was made on the blood, sweat and tears of incredible indie artists and long live independent film. Yeah. OK, thanks.
The dramedy had only a $6 million budget. And Baker told NPR it was a major feat to get that funding because the cast was made up of mostly, in his words, quote, unknown Russians and Armenians, plus American actress Mikey Madison. When Baker was shopping the project around, potential funders asked him to find more recognizable names. But Baker told NPR he chose to stick to his guns.
He took home the Oscar for Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Editing, becoming the first person ever to win four Oscars in one night for a single movie. But perhaps the biggest shock of the night was Madison, who's 25 years old, winning Best Actress for her role in the film.
I grew up in Los Angeles, but Hollywood always felt so far away from me. So to be here standing in this room today is really incredible.
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Chapter 5: What role did government contracts play in Tesla and SpaceX's early years?
Madison, who is one of the youngest actresses to win the prize, beat out favorite Demi Moore, whose performance in The Substance was widely celebrated in the run-up to the Oscars. One of the other big winners was No Other Land, which took home the prize for Best Documentary.
The film was directed by a collective of Palestinian and Israeli activists, and it documents Israel's demolition of Palestinian homes in the occupied West Bank to make room for a tank training ground. While accepting the award, directors Basil Adra, a Palestinian activist, and Yuval Abraham, an Israeli journalist, directly addressed Israel's war in Gaza.
We call on the world to take serious actions to stop the injustice and to stop the ethnic cleansing of Palestinian people.
We made this film, Palestinians and Israelis, because together our voices are stronger. We see each other. The atrocious destruction of Gaza and its people, which must end. The Israeli hostages brutally taken in the crime of October 7th, which must be freed.
No Other Land was the highest-grossing Oscar-nominated documentary of the year, but if our American listeners are not more familiar with it, that's because it was never distributed in the United States. The filmmakers only managed to self-distribute to just a few theaters.
It was a darling of the international film festival circuit, but Abraham told Variety, because the film is very critical of Israeli policies, it struggled to get pickup in the U.S., where he says there is, quote, less space for this kind of criticism.
His and Azra's speech was arguably the most political moment of the night, where the policies of the Trump administration and politics in general were largely left out of the conversation. The night's other big acting prizes went to Zoe Saldana for her performance in Amelia Perez. The Netflix film was nominated for 13 awards, the most of any other movie, but only took home two.
Kieran Culkin won for his supporting role in A Real Pain. And Adrian Brody took home Best Actor for The Brutalist. Before we let you go, a few other stories we're following. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu halted all humanitarian aid going into Gaza on Sunday as phase one of the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas came to an end.
Negotiations for phase two of the deal, aimed at ending the war and negotiating the release of all the remaining surviving hostages in Gaza, had just started. The White House in a statement said they support Israel's decision and said Hamas was no longer interested in a negotiated ceasefire.
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Chapter 6: Why does Elon Musk now oppose subsidies that benefited his companies?
Hamas said it's ready to continue ceasefire negotiations and called Israel's blocking of aid, quote, a war crime and a blatant coup against the agreement. Meanwhile, on Sunday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio used emergency authorities to send $4 billion in weapons to Israel.
The New York Times reports it's the second time in a month the administration bypassed rules requiring congressional approval to send arms to Israel. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says the measles outbreak in Texas is a call to action and that the MMR vaccine is crucial.
Writing in an opinion piece for Fox News, Kennedy acknowledged that many of Texas's current cases are affecting kids who were not vaccinated against measles, mumps and rubella. And he said while these vaccines are a personal choice, they can protect not only individual children from measles, but also contribute to widespread immunity.
And just over a month after the fatal collision between an Army helicopter and American Airlines plane over the Potomac River, members of the figure skating community remembered those who were lost on that flight with a tribute show in Washington, D.C.
Among the people who died that day were 11 young figure skaters, four coaches, and 13 of their family members who were returning from a training camp in Kansas. The tribute show featured some of the most legendary names in the sport and was co-hosted by Olympic champions Brian Boitano and Christy Yamaguchi.
While it is important to mourn the lost lives, it's also important to celebrate them.
And we'll celebrate through the language that we know best, skating.
In all, more than 40 current and retired Team USA skaters participated, each starting their routine by placing a white rose on a rinkside table. The sold-out show also raised funds to support the victims' families, first responders, and U.S. figure skating.
NBC's local station reports another big theme of the night was aviation safety reform, with a message up on the Jumbotron asking Congress to pass bipartisan safety legislation to prevent future tragedies. You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app. And if you're already listening in the news app right now, we've got a narrated article coming up next.
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