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| A late-night court filing from the Justice Department sheds new light on efforts to retrieve documents from Mar-a-Lago. A reformulated COVID-19 booster shot is about to drop. And as kids head back to school, will there be enough teachers? |
| 👋 Hey! Laura Davis here. It's time for Wednesday's news. |
| But first, food fight!!!!!! 🍅🍅🍅🍅 Thousands of people took to the streets in Buñol, Spain, hurling nearly 27,000 pounds of over-ripe tomatoes for "Tomatina," the "world's largest food fight," which marked its 75th anniversary this year. The best photos from the 'Tomatina' street fight. |
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| 🌤 What's the weather up to in your neck of the woods? Check your local forecast here. |
Secret documents on the Mar-a-Lago floor |
| An extraordinary Justice Department court filing late Tuesday night regarding the search of Donald Trump's Florida estate explains in the strongest terms yet – short of actually filing charges – a potential case for obstruction of justice against the former president and his aides, according to legal experts. An expert look. |
| • | What was in the filing? In response to Trump's request for a special master to oversee the review of seized records, the DOJ accused the former president's team of concealing and moving documents in an effort to impede the investigation, possibly implicating them in a scheme to shield hundreds of classified documents from investigators for a year and half after he left office. | | • | 'Not a pretty picture for anybody': A striking photograph was included in the government's filing that showed clearly marked classified documents strewn across the floor of Trump's office. "Donald Trump has drawn a bull's-eye on himself," said David Weinstein, a former Florida federal prosecutor, referring to the photo. | |
| 👉 DOJ photo annotated: What can we see? What does it mean? |
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 | | This image contained in a court filing by the Department of Justice on Aug. 30, 2022, and redacted by in part by the FBI, shows a photo of documents seized during the Aug. 8 search by the FBI of former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. The Justice Department says it has uncovered efforts to obstruct its investigation into the discovery of classified records at former President Donald Trump's Florida estate. | | Department of Justice via AP | |
Is there a teacher shortage? |
| Students across America are heading back to school — but are there enough teachers to meet them there? Stories abound of districts having difficulty filling job openings, with some cities reporting hundreds of vacancies. But it's difficult to tell how many school districts are actually impacted. Here's what the data say in each state. |
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| 🍎 Help for the shortages: The Biden administration will try to address teacher shortages by partnering with several major job-search companies, plus other moves that aim to boost a profession increasingly under attack. Here's an exclusive look at the White House's efforts. |
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 | | First lady Jill Biden, second from right, speaks during a meeting with, from left, American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education President Lynn Gangon, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, and Labor Secretary Marty Walsh, during a meeting on ways to support schools in an effort to address teacher shortages as the new school year begins. | | Susan Walsh | |
What everyone's talking about |
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FDA paves the way for revamped COVID-19 booster shot |
| Get ready to roll up your sleeve again. The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday paved the way for a new COVID-19 booster that could be available within days. |
| What we know: |
| • | Variants in the crosshairs: The FDA gave emergency authorization to a "bivalent" vaccine that targets both the original virus and the BA.4 and BA.5 variants that now dominate the world. | | • | Who can get boosted? The Pfizer-BioNTech booster was approved for ages 12 and up, while Moderna's vaccine is authorized for adults only. Both were authorized for use at least two months after any previous COVID-19 shots. | | • | Here's what's next: A CDC advisory committee will meet Thursday to discuss who should receive the boosters. The CDC director will also need to sign off before the boosters become available. Stay tuned! | |
 | | Shots of Pfizer-BioNTech's new COVID-19 booster, which updates the original vaccine to also target the BA.4 and BA.5 variants. | | Pfizer Inc | |
| Life is short – and it's getting shorter. United States life expectancy dropped for the second year in a row. Details here, plus a look at the factors. |
| More puffing than passing: For the first time ever, marijuana use in the United States is outpacing cigarette smoking, a new poll reveals. Poll results, plus a look at how it's changed over time. |
| When a gunman opened fire in a supermarket, Oregonians leaped into action. But how were early warning signs missed? |
| Whipped confusion: Do you need an ID to buy whipped cream in New York? If you're under 21, you can still buy whipped cream. You just can't buy a whippet can, which teens have been inhaling nitrous oxide from. Unraveling the new law. |
| Game changer – or act of desperation? Russia just bought lethal drones from Iran to use against Ukraine. Here's why it matters. |
| Mississippi water crisis: Groups across the state rallied Wednesday to support Jackson residents in beating the sweltering heat amid the city's ongoing water crisis. Everything we know about the water shortage. |
 | | Ty Carter, right, and Benjamin Williams, with Garrett Enterprises, fill up a five-gallon jug from a water tanker that is one of two placed in Jackson, Miss., to provide residents with non-potable water. The recent flood worsened Jackson's longstanding water system problems and the state Health Department has had Mississippi's capital city under a boil-water notice since late July. | | Rogelio V. Solis | |
As abortion rights erode, uncertainty in college sports grows |
| In the two months since Roe v. Wade was overturned, anxiety and concern have swirled throughout college athletics about what the decision will mean for female athletes. Coaches and athletics administrators are trying to figure out, often on their own, what to do if and when an athlete comes to them about an abortion. USA TODAY spoke with more than two dozen coaches, former coaches and administrators, but few were willing to speak openly because they don't want to run afoul of so-called "bounty laws" that target anyone helping obtain an abortion. How colleges are handling athletes, abortion and anxiety. |
Real quick |
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Military sex crimes not slowing down |
| A new Pentagon survey shows women in the military endured the highest level of unwanted sexual contact – a 35% jump from 2018 to 2021 – since the Defense Department began tracking the data 16 years ago. It's a startling finding that shows sex crimes are rising steadily – despite hundreds of millions spent to curb the problem and vows by senior leaders to tackle it. Dig deeper into the Pentagon's survey here. |
👑 Remembering Princess Diana, 25 years after her death |
| Twenty-five years ago, Princess Diana was killed in a horrific car crash in Paris. She left behind a poignant legacy. Aside from her activism, humanitarian efforts, royal status and sophisticated fashion sense, the beloved "People's Princess" may best be remembered for how she reached out to people in a way no other royal had done before. A look back at her life in photos. |
 | | Flowers lay outside of Kensington palace to mark the 25th anniversary of Princess Diana's death. | | USA Today | |
A break from the news |
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| Laura L. Davis is an Audience Editor at USA TODAY. Send her an email at laura@usatoday.com or follow along with her adventures – and misadventures – on Twitter. Support quality journalism like this? Subscribe to USA TODAY here. |
| This is a compilation of stories from across the USA TODAY Network. Want this news roundup in your inbox every night? Subscribe to the newsletter here or text messages here. |
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