Thursday, October 20, 2022

All is not OK in the UK

PM Liz Truss has hours to turn things around. ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ 
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Daily Briefing
 
Thursday, October 20
A handout photograph released by the UK Parliament shows Britain's Prime Minister Liz Truss (C) reacting during Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons in London on October 19, 2022. Truss is addressing lawmakers in parliament for the first time since abandoning her disastrous tax-slashing economic policies, as she fights for her political life.
All is not OK in the UK
PM Liz Truss has hours to turn things around.

A political crisis in the United Kingdom is coming to a boil, with Prime Minister Liz Truss facing calls to quit. Also in the news: Russian strikes are targeting Ukrainian utilities as winter looms. The Supreme Court may weigh in on President Joe Biden's student loan forgiveness plan.

🙋🏼‍♀️ I'm Nicole Fallert, Daily Briefing author. Did you know you can get notifications for this newsletter to your phone? Set them up in the free USA TODAY app here.

Ready to go with Thursday's headlines.

🎃 Up first: You won't see ''It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown'' on TV this year. Here's how to watch.

What's going on with UK politics?

U.K. Prime Minister Liz Truss is hanging on to power by a thread after a senior minister quit her government and a vote in the House of Commons descended into chaos and acrimony. Read more 

How bad could it be? A botched economic plan unveiled by the government last month triggered financial turmoil and a growing political crisis that has seen the replacement of Truss' Treasury chief, multiple policy U-turns and a breakdown of discipline in the governing Conservative Party.

Who is Liz Truss?  The U.K.'s prime minister models herself on Margaret Thatcher and was foreign secretary in Boris Johnson's government.
Conservative lawmaker Simon Hoare said the government was in disarray and Truss had "about 12 hours" to turn the situation around. Many Conservatives say Truss must resign – but she has remained defiant.
Truss has vowed to stay. Truss described herself as "a fighter and not a quitter" Wednesday as she faced a hostile opposition and fury from her own Conservative Party over her economic plan. Truss faced more turmoil in Parliament Wednesday evening on a vote over fracking for shale gas — a practice that Truss wants to resume despite opposition from many Conservatives.
Protester gather outside the gates of Downing Street during a demonstration by the climate change protest group Extinction Rebellion, in central London on October 14, 2022. Truss has said that Greenpeace and Extinction Rebellion were part of an "anti-growth coalition" with trade unions and the main opposition Labour party determined to derail her economic reforms.
Protester gather outside the gates of Downing Street during a demonstration by the climate change protest group Extinction Rebellion, in central London on October 14, 2022. Truss has said that Greenpeace and Extinction Rebellion were part of an "anti-growth coalition" with trade unions and the main opposition Labour party determined to derail her economic reforms.
DANIEL LEAL, AFP via Getty Images

With winter coming, Russia targets Ukrainian utilities

Russia has declared its intention to increase its targeting of Ukraine's power, water and other vital infrastructure in its latest phase of the nearly 8-month-old war. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that Moscow's forces have destroyed 30% of the country's power stations since Oct. 10. Amid power woes, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared martial law Wednesday in the four regions of Ukraine that Moscow illegally annexed as Ukrainian troops continue their unrelenting drive to retain control of the occupied territories. Biden called the tactic an intimidation attempt by Putin – the "only tool available to him'' – and said it won't work. Read more

In this file photo taken on September 30, 2022 (L-R) The Moscow-appointed heads of Kherson region Vladimir Saldo and Zaporizhzhia region Yevgeny Balitsky, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Donetsk separatist leader Denis Pushilin and Lugansk separatist leader Leonid Pasechnik join hands after signing treaties formally annexing four regions of Ukraine Russian troops occupy, at the Kremlin in Moscow. Russian President Vladimir Putin on October 19, 2022 introduced martial law in Ukraine's Donetsk, Lugansk,   Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions that Moscow claims to have annexed.
In this file photo taken on September 30, 2022 (L-R) The Moscow-appointed heads of Kherson region Vladimir Saldo and Zaporizhzhia region Yevgeny Balitsky, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Donetsk separatist leader Denis Pushilin and Lugansk separatist leader Leonid Pasechnik join hands after signing treaties formally annexing four regions of Ukraine Russian troops occupy, at the Kremlin in Moscow. Russian President Vladimir Putin on October 19, 2022 introduced martial law in Ukraine's Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions that Moscow claims to have annexed.
DMITRY ASTAKHOV, SPUTNIK/AFP via Getty Images

More news to know now

💊 Allergy medications may play a deadly role in the opioid epidemic, a CDC study suggests.
⛈ Many people misunderstand this famous hurricane forecast graphic. It can be a deadly mistake.
❄ The energy price shuffle means no inflation relief. Your winter utility bills will cancel out gas savings.
🗨 Parents of a 15-year-old accused in North Carolina mass shooting say they saw no warning signs.
👑 Duchess Meghan reflected on Queen Elizabeth II's death in a new interview.
🎧 On today's 5 Things podcast, international reporter Kim Hjelmgaard looks at Ukraine's push for war crime justice. You can listen to the podcast every day on Apple PodcastsSpotify, or on your smart speaker.

🌤 What's today's weather? Check your local forecast here.

Taxpayer group asks Supreme Court to weigh in on Biden's student loan forgiveness program

A Wisconsin taxpayer group filed an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court on Wednesday seeking to temporarily block President Joe Biden's administration from implementing its student loan forgiveness program. The appeal from the Brown County Taxpayers Association is one of several percolating in federal courts attempting to stop the effort, which critics argue exceeds the Department of Education's authority. Because the case is arriving on the court's emergency "shadow docket" it could be decided relatively quickly – within a matter of days. If the high court rules that the group has standing to sue, that would send the case back down to a lower court to decide the questions raised by the lawsuit on the merits. Read more

The application for Biden's student loan forgiveness plan is available: Here's what to know.
FILE - An American flag waves in front of the Supreme Court building, Nov. 2, 2020, on Capitol Hill in Washington.  A divided Supreme Court has rejected an appeal from a Black Texas death row inmate who argued he didn't get a fair trial because jurors who convicted him objected to interracial marriage. The court's three liberal justices dissented Tuesday from the court's order turning away the appeal from inmate Andre Thomas. He was sentenced to death for killing his estranged wife,   who was white, and two children.  (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File) ORG XMIT: WX203
An American flag waves in front of the Supreme Court building, Nov. 2, 2020, on Capitol Hill in Washington.
Patrick Semansky, AP

COVID-19 contributed to a quarter of maternal deaths from 2020 to 2021, report finds

COVID-19 contributed to a quarter of all U.S. maternal deaths last year and in 2020, according to an oversight report. The report, released Wednesday morning by the U.S. Government Accountability Office, a nonpartisan government auditing agency, details maternal mortality disparities during the pandemic. Out of last year's 1,178 reported maternal deaths, COVID-19 contributed to 401, according to the report. In 2020, the virus was behind almost 12% of maternal deaths.

An FDA panel recommended pulling Makena, citing ineffectiveness of the controversial preterm birth drug.
Rural maternal health careIn rural America, maternal health care is vanishing. These moms are most at risk.
Democrats warn that Republicans want to take away contraception, including ''your girlfriend's IUD.''
For patients with earliest stage of breast cancer, how much treatment is enough?
COVID-19 drove a dramatic increase in the number of women who died from pregnancy or childbirth complications in the U.S. last year, a crisis that has disproportionately claimed Black and Hispanic women as victims, according to a report released Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2022.
COVID-19 drove a dramatic increase in the number of women who died from pregnancy or childbirth complications in the U.S. last year, a crisis that has disproportionately claimed Black and Hispanic women as victims, according to a report released Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2022.
Rogelio V. Solis, AP

Just for subscribers:

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🚢 Finding community on a theme cruise: from ''Star Trek'' lovers to motorcycle enthusiasts.
🏈 Can the Big 12 be cool? New commissioner Brett Yormark is working on it.
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These articles are for USA TODAY subscribers. You can sign up here. Already a subscriber and want premium content texted to you every day? We can do that! Sign up for our subscriber-only texting campaign.

Will fights over curriculum usher in new era of segregated schools?

Education policy experts warn that efforts to keep certain books out of the classroom or ban the teaching of sensitive topics such as race and gender risk turning back the clock to a time when segregated schools meant separate – and vastly unequal – forums for learning. Millions of American students still go to schools where their classmates are predominantly the same race or ethnicity, decades after the Supreme Court ruled in Brown v. Board of Education that racial segregation in schools is unconstitutional. But experts see a new era in which how and what students learn will be determined by what their schools are allowed to teach. Read more

''Unacceptably high'' levels of radioactive waste at Missouri elementary school prompt outrage.
Demonstrators in Scottsdale, Ariz., protest against teaching critical race theory May 24, 2021.
Demonstrators in Scottsdale, Ariz., protest against teaching critical race theory May 24, 2021.
Patrick Breen/The Arizona Republic via USA TODAY Network

📷 Photo of the day: Best photos from MLB playoffs' League Championship Series 📷

The San Diego Padres stunned the Philadelphia Phillies 8-5, scoring eight unanswered runs, including a five-run, 37-minute fifth inning that was sparked by Austin Nola's run-scoring single off his brother, turning the game upside down. The two teams are tied at one game apiece in the National League Championship Series, where the next three games are scheduled in Philadelphia and the winner going to the World Series. Read more

''It's all what you dream of'': Astros Chas McCormick, Jeremy Peña make Yankees pay in ALCS Game 1.

Click here to see more photos from baseball's latest competition.

Padres catcher Austin Nola hits an RBI-single in the fifth inning off his brother Aaron.
Padres catcher Austin Nola hits an RBI-single in the fifth inning off his brother Aaron.
Orlando Ramirez, USA TODAY Sports

One more thing

👑 Ranchera royalty Ángela Aguilar follows ''in the footsteps of my dad.''
👛 Anna May Wong will be the first Asian American featured on a U.S. coin.
🍌 What is a pawpaw? Meet the tropical, North American fruit called the ''Michigan banana.''
🍝 Marketed as ''Italy's No. 1 brand of pasta,'' Barilla has been sued over their product not being made in Italy.
👻 Where to find adaptive costumes this Halloween.
🔭 The James Webb telescope gave a stunning new look at the birthplace of young stars.
The Pillars of Creation are set off in a kaleidoscope of color in NASA's James Webb Space Telescope's near-infrared-light view. The pillars look like arches and spires rising out of a desert landscape, but are filled with semi-transparent gas and dust, and ever changing. This is a region where young stars are forming – or have barely burst from their dusty cocoons as they continue to form.
The Pillars of Creation are set off in a kaleidoscope of color in NASA's James Webb Space Telescope's near-infrared-light view. The pillars look like arches and spires rising out of a desert landscape, but are filled with semi-transparent gas and dust, and ever changing. This is a region where young stars are forming – or have barely burst from their dusty cocoons as they continue to form.
Space Telescope Science Institute Office of Public Outreach, NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, and Alyssa Pagan (STScI)

Nicole Fallert is a newsletter writer at USA TODAY, sign up for the email here. Want to send Nicole a note, shoot her an email at NFallert@usatoday.com or follow along with her musings on Twitter. Support journalism like this –  subscribe to USA TODAY here.

Associated Press contributed reporting.

 

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