RSS2 Feed - Date Format

[Toupsx]

Trying to make a RSS feed to implement into a external page not on the forum using external.php

Currently have it done.. see:
http://www.puppycute.com/news.php

[Puppy] Choosing a Breed - Wed, 21 Oct 2009 00:02:41 GMT by Toups
Choosing a dog can be a very exciting time for all involved, yet it is vital for you to get it right. There are a few things which you and your...

Current code:

Is there anyway to change the date output from "Wed, 21 Oct 2009 00:02:41 GMT" to just "Wed, 21 Oct 2009" (removing the 00:00:00 time & timezone?)

Thanks for any/all help.

<?php

// ######################################################
// ## configuration
 // ##
  
 $rss2_file = 'http://www.puppycute.com/forum/external.php?lastpost=true&type=rss2&forumids=4';
     
 // ## configuration end
 // ######################################################
 // ## Do not touch code below!
     
     
 $is_item = false;
 $tag = '';
 $title = '';
 $description = '';
 $link = '';
 $date = '';
 $author = '';
     
 function character_data($parser, $data)
 {
     global $is_item, $tag, $title, $description, $link, $date, $author;
     if ($is_item)
     {
         switch ($tag)
         {
             case "TITLE":
             $title .= $data;
             break;
     
             case "DESCRIPTION":
             $description .= $data;
             break;
     
             case "LINK":
             $link .= $data;
             break;
     
             case "PUBDATE":
             $date .= $data;
             break;
     
             case "DC:CREATOR":
             $author .= $data;
             break;
         }
     }
 }
     
 function begin_element($parser, $name)
 {
     global $is_item, $tag;
     if ($is_item)
     {
         $tag = $name;
     }
     else if ($name == "ITEM")
     {
         $is_item = true;
     }
 }
     
 function end_element($parser, $name)
 {
     global $is_item, $title, $description, $link, $date, $author, $rss2_output;
     if ($name == "ITEM")
     {
         $rss2_output .= "<dt><strong>
<a href='" . trim($link) . "'target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-family: tahoma;font-size:12px;color: #01428B; margin-left: 10px\">" . htmlspecialchars(trim($title)) . "</span></a></strong> - <span style=\"font-family: tahoma;font-size:10px;color: #6086bd\">" . htmlspecialchars(trim($date)) . "</span>  <span style=\"font-family: tahoma;font-size:12px;color: #878686\">" . htmlspecialchars(trim($author)) . "</span><br /><span style=\"font-family: tahoma;font-size:12px;color: #484848; margin-left: 10px\">" . htmlspecialchars(trim($description)) . "</span></dt><br />";
         $title = "";
         $description = "";
         $link = "";
         $date = "";
         $author = "";
         $is_item = false;
     }
 }
     
     
 $parser = xml_parser_create();
     
 xml_set_element_handler($parser, "begin_element", "end_element");
 xml_set_character_data_handler($parser, "character_data");
 $fp = fopen($rss2_file,"r");
     
 while ($data = fread($fp, 4096))
 {
     xml_parse($parser, $data, feof($fp));        
 }
     
 fclose($fp);
 xml_parser_free($parser);
?>

<?php echo $rss2_output;?>