Attempts by suspected spies posing as tourists to enter U.S. military bases seem to be probes to learn about U.S. military capabilities in Alaska. Also in the news: The House is set to vote on a debt ceiling bill Wednesday, days away from a default deadline. Federal officials have called an emergency summit to address the number of horse deaths at Churchill Downs. |
🙋🏼♀️ I'm Nicole Fallert, Daily Briefing author. This video shows the National Zoo's first newborn gorilla in five years. |
Now, here we go with Wednesday's news. |
Suspected Chinese spies attempted to infiltrate Alaskan military bases |
Chinese citizens posing as tourists but suspected of being spies have made several attempts in recent years to gain access to military facilities, according to U.S. officials. |
| • | In one incident, a vehicle with Chinese citizens blew past a security checkpoint at Fort Wainwright in Fairbanks, several soldiers told USA TODAY. The vehicle was eventually stopped, and a search found a drone inside the vehicle. The occupants claimed they were tourists who had gotten lost. | | • | Details about the incidents remain mostly classified. Military briefings and publicly available information lay out why the Chinese government would be interested in Alaska. | | • | Alaska is key to homeland defense given its proximity to Russia, the ballistic missile threat from North Korea and, increasingly, China. |
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McCarthy speakership on thin ice ahead of House debt ceiling vote |
Republican Kevin McCarthy's razor-thin speakership faces its biggest test since he grabbed the gavel in January as his debt deal with President Joe Biden comes up for a vote Wednesday. Any victory lap is contingent upon getting the Biden-McCarthy deal through a thorny Republican caucus filled with conservative lawmakers who have fealty to slashing government spending. And there's no guarantee progressive Democrats, who held a conference call Monday to discuss the plan, will back up Biden either. Here are three things to know ahead of today's debt ceiling vote in the House. |
Jurors hear 911 call in Pittsburgh synagogue assault as trial begins |
The trial of the man accused of carrying out the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S. history got underway Tuesday with prosecutors playing a recording of a synagogue victim's 911 call reporting that her husband had been shot. a The gunman carrying multiple firearms, including an AR-15 rifle and three handguns, entered Pittsburgh's Tree of Life synagogue in October 2018 and opened fire, ultimately killing 11 people and injuring several others. Robert Bowers, a 50-year-old truck driver from the Pittsburgh suburb of Baldwin, could face the death penalty if convicted of some of the 63 counts with which he is charged. Read more |
Stories from Ukrainians deported by Russia |
The United States has estimated that as many as 1.6 million people may have been deported from Ukraine. Some Ukrainians were forced to move into Russian-occupied territory in Ukraine. Others were taken into Russia and, in some cases, placed in camps far on the other side of the country. Each case may be a war crime. USA TODAY has interviewed Ukrainians who were deported and others who were in close contact with deported relatives in 2022. If you're a subscriber, you can read more here. | Russian soldiers stopped people on the streets. Some were separated from their families and directed toward buses without knowing when or if they would see one another again. Ariana Torrey, USA TODAY |
Horse racing officials call emergency summit |
A federal authority called an emergency veterinary summit in Lexington, Kentucky, on Tuesday with horse racing officials to review and analyze the "unusually high number" of deaths at Churchill Downs, home to the Kentucky Derby. The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) will focus on factors that could have led to the spike in horse deaths, including veterinary oversight and misuse of medications, as well as examining Churchill Downs' racing surfaces. Read more | An equine ambulance carrying Here Mi Song is driven off the track after racing in the 10th race ahead of the 149th Kentucky Derby. The horse survived. Rob Carr, Getty Images |
Photo of the day: Can you roll faster than a wheel of cheese? |
The rules to England's annual cheese-rolling event are simple: Be the first person to finish behind the 7-pound wheel of Double Gloucester cheese. Hundreds of people gathered near Gloucester to watch the Cooper's Hill Cheese-Rolling and Wake race Monday, the Associated Press reported. A 19-year-old woman from Canada won the women's race after being knocked unconscious. Read more | The Cooper's Hill Cheese-Rolling and Wake is an annual event where participants race down the 200-yard (180 m) long hill chasing a wheel of double gloucester cheese. Kin Cheung, AP |
Associated Press contributed reporting. | | | |
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