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| Good morning, Daily Briefing readers. Kim Potter, a white former Minnesota police officer who fatally shot Black motorist Daunte Wright while yelling "Taser," will be sentenced for manslaughter. IOC president Thomas Bach said he was "very, very disturbed" when he watched Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva's disastrous performance at the Beijing Olympics. And, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will work with world leaders to try and find a solution to the escalating crisis between Russia and Ukraine. |
| It's Steve and Jane, with Friday's news. |
| 🔴 Cal State Chancellor Joseph Castro has resigned, two weeks after a USA TODAY investigation revealed he mishandled years of complaints against a senior administrator while he was president of CSU Fresno. |
| ⚖️ A judge ruled that Donald Trump, Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump have to testify in a civil fraud investigation headed by the New York attorney general, summarily rejecting the ex-president's request to quash subpoenas. |
 | | Trump must turn over documents within 14 days, and he, Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump must appear for depositions within 21 days, said the ruling from state Judge Arthur F. Engoron. | | USA TODAY | |
| 🍼 "Four infant illnesses from three states": Abbott Nutrition is voluntarily recalling three types of infant formula after four babies became sick with bacteria infections after consuming the products. |
| 🏅 Winter Olympics live updates: Team USA lost to Canada in the bronze medal match in men's curling and Eileen Gu won freeski halfpipe gold. |
| 🔴 "He loved on everyone": Hundreds of people gathered to remember Amir Locke as the community grieves another young Black man killed by law enforcement in Minnesota. |
| 🚒 Airport Fire: A wind-driven wildfire that started near the Sierra Nevada mountains in California had burned over 4,000 acres as almost 700 personnel worked to battle the blaze, authorities said. |
| 💰 Federal student loans worth $415 million will be repaid to nearly 16,000 students who were defrauded by for-profit universities, the Department of Education said. |
| 📸 "A dream come true": Puerto Rican Sofía Jirau announced she is the first Victoria's Secret model with Down syndrome. |
 | | Sofía Jirau joins 17 others women in the company's new underwear line and campaign, Love Cloud Collection. | | USA TODAY | |
| 🗞 How well did you pay attention to the news this week? Test your knowledge with our quiz! |
| 🎧 On today's 5 Things podcast, breaking news reporter Grace Hauck talks about ongoing violence against women of Asian descent . You can listen to the podcast every day on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or on your smart speaker. |
| Here's what's happening today: |
Biden, Harris speak with world leaders as Russia-Ukraine crisis deepens |
| A day after the U.S. issued some of its starkest warnings yet about how a Russian invasion of Ukraine might unfold, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will speak to heads of state about the escalating crisis. Biden planned to speak by phone Friday with trans-Atlantic leaders about the Russian military buildup along Ukraine's border and continued efforts at deterrence and diplomacy. Harris will travel to Germany Friday for the Munich Security Conference, a gathering of national security officials from all over the world. The vice president is expected to emphasize U.S. solidarity with NATO and its commitment to Ukraine. While overseas, Harris will meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who made an unexpected appearance at the United Nations Thursday , also will attend. |
Kim Potter to be sentenced for Daunte Wright's manslaughter |
| The former Minnesota police officer who fatally shot Daunte Wright while yelling "Taser" during a traffic-stop-turned-arrest in a Minneapolis suburb will be sentenced Friday. A Minnesota jury found Kim Potter guilty late last year of first- and second-degree manslaughter in the April shooting in Brooklyn Center. The incident happened during the nearby trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd, and sparked days of protests and looting and inflamed nationwide tensions over police violence. The family of Wright, a 20-year-old Black man, are expected to make victim impact statements during sentencing. Attorneys for Wright's family have asked for the "strongest and most just sentence possible" for Potter, a veteran officer who had been with the police department for 26 years. |
 | | Brooklyn Center, MN, USA; Community members pay their respects at a memorial after the fatal shooting of Daunte Wright. Officer Kim Potter, 48, fatally shot Wright during a traffic stop April 11, 2021. | | Jasper Colt, Jasper Colt-USA TODAY | |
Just for subscribers: |
| 👨💻 Cyber attacks and disinformation are everyday tactics for Putin's Russia. Is that the future of war? |
| ⛸ Kamila Valieva was failed by the adults in her life – and it showed in her Olympic meltdown | Opinion. |
| 🔵 Opinion: Why is Biden now less popular than Trump? He's earned it. |
| 💬 The first Black superhero to get his own comic book: Fifty years after Luke Cage's debut, the Marvel hero remains "a breakthrough in media representation." |
| ⛷ Mikaela Shiffrin surprised the world with her third "Did Not Finish." But people didn't just react to her loss with sadness or surprise; they also spewed anger and hate. |
| These articles are for USA TODAY subscribers. You can sign up here. Here is all of our subscriber content. |
Gu shines, Team USA stumbles in Winter Olympics action Friday |
| Early in the day Friday at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, Eileen Gu delivered a medal-winning performance, whereas Team USA saw its struggles. Gu, an American-born skier competing for her mother's native China, soared to freeskiing gold in the women's halfpipe , giving her medals in all three of her events – two golds and one silver – and making her one of the biggest stars of these Olympics. As for the U.S., for the first time since freeskiing was added to the Olympic program, an American woman did not medal in the event. Elsewhere, Team USA also failed to medal in men's curling after losing two consecutive matches, first to Great Britain and then the bronze medal match to Canada on Friday. Later in the day in figure skating, the pairs short program begins, even though much of the attention is still focused on the stunning developments from the women's free skate as gold-medal favorite, Russia's Kamila Valieva, 15, stumbled throughout her performance and finished out of medal contention. |
Newsmakers in their own words: IOC's Bach comments on Valieva situation |
 | | IOC president Thomas Bach speaks during the Opening Ceremony of the Winter Olympic Games in Beijing in February 2022. | | USA TODAY Sports photo and graphic | |
| In his first comments about the situation, International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach said Friday he was struck by the pressure that Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva, 15, must have been feeling. He said he struggled to watch her battle through her program and repeatedly try to compose herself. |
| He also ripped members of her inner circle who did not visibly support her after her skate, noting the "tremendous coldness." |
| Valieva has faced scrutiny over the past week after testing positive for a banned heart medication. She was provisionally suspended by the Russian Anti-Doping Agency, then reinstated by a disciplinary panel, then cleared to compete by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. |
| ⛸ How it all unfolded: After a disastrous performance, Kamila Valieva fell to fourth, while her Russian teammate won the gold medal. |
| ⛸ Column from Nancy Armour: The clubbiness of the IOC makes its awful handling of Valieva case even worse. |
| ⛸ Who is Eteri Tutberidze? This is what we know about the coach behind Kamila Valieva and other top Russian figure skaters. |
| ⛸ Photos: This is the heartbreaking moment Kamila Valieva came off the ice in 12 images. |
 | | Kamila Valieva and her coaches react to a disappointing skate in the women's figure skating free program at the Beijing Olympics. | | Robert Deutsch, USA TODAY Sports | |
Mask mandates continue to get lifted |
| In a surprise announcement Thursday, New Mexico Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham lifted the state's mask mandate for indoor public spaces. The elimination of the mandate includes the state's schools, though individual districts will have the choice whether to maintain masking. More than half of the state's K-12 students will have the option of not wearing masks to school Friday. Until now, New Mexico and Hawaii had been the only states that had yet to set a date for lifting their mandates. As in other states, coronavirus infections in New Mexico have declined. In another notable move, vaccinated guests Friday will no longer need to mask up indoors across most of Walt Disney World in Florida and Disneyland in California. Face coverings will still be required for guests ages 2 and up on enclosed Disney transportation, like shuttles and monorails. Disneyland was more explicit, requiring masks for all unvaccinated guests ages 2 and up. |
ICYMI: Some of our top stories yesterday |
| ⛸ "It was so difficult, all of it": Brian Boitano and Ashley Wagner were haunted watching women's figure skating in Beijing. |
| 🚨 Former Los Angeles Angels communications director Eric Kay was convicted on charges that he distributed a fentanyl-laced opioid to Tyler Skaggs that resulted in the 2019 death of the pitcher. |
| 🏂 U.S medalist Julia Marino says she withdrew from the Winter Olympics big air event after the IOC forced her to cover the logo on her snowboard. |
| 💰 Social security full retirement age stops changing in 2022. Here's what you need to know. |
Amazon Prime just got more expensive |
| If you're thinking of joining Amazon Prime today, it will cost you more than yesterday . Earlier this month, the e-commerce giant announced the price for an annual membership will go up $20, from $119 to $139, and the monthly fee will go up $2, from $12.99 to $14.99. For new members, the price change takes effect Friday. For current Prime members, the new price will apply after March 25 on the date of their next renewal. The company said that the increase is due to "continued expansion of Prime member benefits as well as the rise in wages and transportation costs." Prime benefits include free delivery, Prime Video streaming and Whole Foods discounts. |
📸 Photo of the day: The faces of working hard at the Olympics 📸 |
 | | Nathan Chen (USA) competes in the team figure skating men's short program event. | | Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports | |
| For almost four years, Nathan Chen has been the most dominant male figure skater in the world. He's won national and world championships. He's broken records. Over a span of more than 1,300 days, he did not lose a single competition. |
| All that had been missing in this marvelous stretch was an Olympic gold medal. Then, earlier in the Beijing Olympics, he overcame a loss at the 2018 Games and won that too. |
| And as he skated to victory, you could see how much hard work he was putting into his craft in the many photos captured of his face. |
| He's not the only one. The Winter Olympics certainly are tough. Click here to see it on the faces of the world's greatest athletes. |
| Contributing: The Associated Press |
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