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 | | | Texas now bans most abortions | | The Texas law banning most abortions has gone into effect, Louisiana recovers from Ida and more to start your Wednesday. | | |
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| Happy Wednesday, Daily Briefing readers! And welcome to the first day of September! A Texas law banning most abortions went into effect early this morning as the Supreme Court has not yet weighed in. Also in the news, Ida continues on its path while the Gulf Coast continues to deal with the devastation left behind. |
| Steve is here with Wednesday's news. |
| 🌎 New this morning: Gannett pledged to mirror newsroom diversity with the communities we cover. This is how we are doing. |
| Looking more specifically at USA TODAY, the publication's newsroom is now majority female and also has seen gains in Black, Hispanic and Asian American journalists. |
| 💰 "War rarely goes as planned": A new report from researchers at Brown University tallies the trillions of dollars the U.S. spent in Afghanistan and other conflicts stemming from the Sept. 11, 2011 attacks. |
| 🚁 "Search and rescue operations are ongoing": Military officials said a U.S. Navy helicopter crashed Tuesday in the ocean off Southern California during a routine flight from an aircraft carrier. |
| ⚖ "Britney Spears will not be extorted": The singer and her new attorney say her father is trying to get about $2 million in payments before stepping down from the conservatorship that controls her life and money. |
| 🎶 Wiped out: The Bonnaroo 2021 music festival in Tennessee has been canceled after getting "waterlogged" and flooded by Hurricane Ida. |
| 🧻 Here we go again: Shoppers are panic-buying toilet paper and emptying shelves at some stores across the U.S. |
| 🎧 On today's 5 Things podcast, hear the latest on a controversial Texas abortion law, ahead of a possible Supreme Court decision. You can listen to the podcast every day on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or on your smart speaker. |
| What else is happening today: |
Ida continues on its path, bringing heavy floods |
| Ida, now a tropical depression, is expected to bring heavy rain and possible flooding from the Tennessee and Ohio valleys up through the Mid-Atlantic states and Southern New England on Wednesday. The death toll from Hurricane Ida's direct hit into the Gulf Coast rose to at least four Tuesday after a highway collapsed in Mississippi, and flooding remained a threat as remnants of the monster storm swept across the Southeast. Power remained out Tuesday to more than 1 million homes and businesses in Louisiana, and the lack of electricity combined with steamy late-summer weather to make for miserable conditions for the hundreds of thousands of Louisianans trying to recover. In addition, Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport canceled all commercial flights for a third day Tuesday, and over 200 cancellations have already been reported for Wednesday, according to FlightAware.com. |
| 🌐 How to help: Want to donate or volunteer to assist those affected by Hurricane Ida? Here's how. |
Texas law banning most abortions has gone into effect |
| A controversial Texas abortion law took effect at midnight local time Wednesday, but the Supreme Court has yet to act on an emergency appeal from abortion providers and abortion rights advocates to put the law on hold. The Texas law, signed by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott in May, bans abortions when a fetal heartbeat is detected, which can occur at six weeks – often before many women know they are pregnant. What makes the Texas law different is its unusual enforcement scheme. Rather than have officials responsible for enforcing the law, private citizens are authorized to sue abortion providers and anyone involved in facilitating abortions. Under the law, anyone who successfully sues another person would be entitled to at least $10,000. |
| 🔵 From the USA TODAY Editorial Board: Texas abortion law is an un-American infringement of rights |
Newsmakers in their own words: Biden defends Afghanistan withdrawal |
 | | President Joe Biden addresses the nation on Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2021, following the end of the American mission to Afghanistan. | | USA TODAY photo and graphic | |
| A defiant President Joe Biden capped the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan by aggressively defending on Tuesday both his decision to end military operations and his handling of the evacuation that left some Americans behind. |
| He blamed former President Donald Trump for making a deal with the Taliban that Biden said made the militants the strongest they've been since the U.S. invaded 20 years ago. |
| And to critics who say the evacuation could've happened earlier and more orderly, Biden said, "I respectfully disagree." |
More on the end of the war in Afghanistan |
| 🌏 "We will get you out, we will honor your service": The White House responds to the plea of an interpreter who helped rescue then-Sen. Joe Biden but is still stuck in Afghanistan. |
| 🌏 "To correct erroneous reports": After viral images and reports to the contrary, the Pentagon is disputing claims that it did not evacuate all dogs that worked with the United States during operations in Afghanistan. |
| 🌏 A position that proved disastrous, officials say: Both the Biden and Trump administrations didn't miss the ISIS-K threat – they ignored it. |
Caldor Fire spreads, jumps highway in California |
| Firefighters scrambled Wednesday to keep a growing California wildfire from reaching a resort city at the southern tip of Lake Tahoe after evacuation orders were expanded to neighboring Nevada. Thick smoke from the Caldor Fire enveloped the city of South Lake Tahoe, which was all but deserted during a summer week usually bustling with tourists. The National Weather Service warned that critical weather conditions through Wednesday could include extremely low humidity and gusts up to 30 mph. The blaze jumped Highway 89 in California and moved north on a ridge into Meyers in South Lake Tahoe Monday, according to a USA TODAY Network reporter. As of Wednesday morning, the Caldor Fire has grown to over 310 square miles, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. The Caldor Fire is one of 83 large fires and complexes burning across the West, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. |
What else people are reading: |
| 🔵 Verbal shots fired: California Rep. Kevin McCarthy warns a Republican majority "will not forget" if a group of telecommunications companies turn over phone records to committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection. |
| 🔴 "Yeah, it's mutual. But he's no longer head coach": Bishop Sycamore high school, the much-maligned Columbus, Ohio-based hinstitution, and head football coach Roy Johnson have parted ways after a recent avalanche of bad publicity. |
| 🔵 Yet another departure: Just weeks after former co-host Carrie Ann Inaba also left, Elaine Welteroth is exiting CBS' "The Talk." |
| 🔵 Taking major steps: Italy has tightened entry requirements on American tourists and has added a self-isolation mandate for the unvaccinated who travel there. |
| 🔵 "Effective immediately": Former host Mike Richards has been fired as 'Jeopardy!' and 'Wheel of Fortune' executive producer amid a recent controversy over his past disparaging comments. |
 | | Mike Richards was selected as the permanent syndicated host of "Jeopardy!," but stepped down after controversy. | | Jeopardy Productions, Inc | |
Post-Trump, Ukraine leader Zelensky to push Biden for US support |
| The Ukrainian leader who found himself ensnarled in former President Donald Trump's first impeachment will meet a new U.S. president Wednesday, seeking increased military aid and backing for his country's bid for NATO membership. The White House says the meeting between President Joe Biden and President Volodymyr Zelensky is aimed at showing support for Ukraine's sovereignty in the face of Russia's seizure of Crimea and backing of armed separatists. Biden also intends to encourage Zelensky's efforts to tackle corruption and reassure him that the U.S will help protect Ukraine's energy security. In advance of the sit-down, the Biden administration said Tuesday it was committing up to $60 million in new military aid to Ukraine. The administration said in a notification to Congress that the aid package was necessary because of a "major increase in Russian military activity along its border" and other provocations. |
Patriots shock the NFL on cutdown day with release of Cam Newton |
| The New England Patriots made the news of the day on Tuesday when they released former National Football League MVP quarterback Cam Newton. The move paves the way for rookie Mac Jones, a first-round pick out of Alabama, to start at quarterback when the Patriots' regular season opens Sept. 12 against the Miami Dolphins. More on the move: |
| 🏈 Column from Mike Jones: This is why Mac Jones was the right QB choice for the Patriots. |
| 🏈 What could be next for Cam Newton? These 9 NFL teams make sense. |
| 🏈 NFL roster cut tracker: Knowing which big-name players were released will help determine where someone like Cam Newton may end up. |
 | | Former New England Patriots quarterback Cam Newton (1) is shown during the first half of an NFL preseason football game against the New York Giants in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on Sunday, Aug. 29, 2021, file photo. | | The Associated Press | |
Star-studded Venice Film Festival opens with caution during pandemic |
| Venice's central place in the history of battling pandemics provides a relevant backdrop to this year's Venice Film Festival, which opens Wednesday . Pablo Larrain's "Spencer," starring Kristen Stewart as Princess Diana, and Ridley Scott's medieval drama "The Last Duel," featuring Matt Damon, Ben Affleck and Adam Driver, are among the major movies that will be unveiled during the event. Precautions at the festival include a huge barricade once again sealing off public access to the red carpet and limited chances for fans to catch VIP water taxi arrivals on the Lido. More than 10 testing stations have been set up for staff and festival-goers, who must show proof of a negative test, vaccination or having recently recovered from COVID-19 to enter screenings. Masks are also required indoors. |
ICYMI: Some of our top stories published Tuesday |
| 🚗 The rankings are out! These are the 23 highest quality new cars, trucks and SUVs of 2021, according to J.D. Power. |
| 🎬 Seeing double? So, did "The Rock": Dwayne Johnson hilariously reacts to his 'way cooler' lookalike police officer. |
| 🎾 "A very magical place he goes": Alexander Zverev is the latest player to question Stefanos Tsitsipas' bathroom breaks at the US Open. |
📸 Photo of the day: Ida leaves behind significant damage in Louisiana📸 |
 | | Hurricane Ida leaves destruction behind near Grand Isle, LA. Monday, Aug. 30, 2021. | | SCOTT CLAUSE/USA TODAY Network | |
| Damage from Hurricane Ida is still being assessed after it made landfall last weekend. One area that saw extensive damage was Grand Isle, a fishing community in southeastern Louisiana, also known as the Cajun Riviera. Boats were flipped over and left sideways in the water and along roads. Roofs of many lake houses were swept away by the storm's strong winds and rain. |
| Head here for more photos of the damage Ida did to the Gulf Coast. |
| The Daily Briefing is free, but several stories we link to in this edition are subscriber-only. Please support our journalism and become a USA TODAY digital subscriber today. |
| Contributing: The Associated Press |
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