eNewspaper | Crosswords | Horoscopes

The Daily Briefing

YOUR MORNING NEWS ROUNDUP

Wed Jan 31 2024

Nicole Fallert | Newsletter Writer

@nicolefallert

Toward a Mayorkas impeachment

Democrats decry proceedings against the Homeland Security Secretary.

Republicans voted after midnight Wednesday to recommend the two articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to the full House. Also in the news: President Joe Biden has made a decision on how to respond to the recent attack at a military base in Jordan. Would you drop at least $8,000 to go to Super Bowl 58?

🙋🏼‍♀️ I'm Nicole Fallert, Daily Briefing author. These are the top places to travel in 2024.

This is the news to know Wednesday.

House Republicans are closing in on impeaching Alejandro Mayorkas

House Republicans voted along party lines after midnight Wednesday to move toward impeaching Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. The GOP-led House Homeland Security Committee in a fiery hearing on Tuesday approved two articles of impeachment against Mayorkas. They accuse him of a "willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law" and a "breach of public trust" over his handling of the the nation's southern border. Mayorkas argues Republicans should instead be working to secure a border deal. But why exactly do Republicans want to impeach the homeland security secretary?

•	Democrats lashed out at GOP lawmakers as they pushed to impeach Mayorkas.
•	Why is the president moving to the right on immigration?

How will Joe Biden respond after US soldiers were killed in a drone attack?

After a drone attack in Jordan killed three American soldiers, the Pentagon's response will likely involve air strikes, sea-launched missiles and raids targeting leadership of Iran-backed militants behind numerous assaults on U.S. troops and commercial shipping across the Middle East.

Biden followed up on a vow he made on the day of the attack to take swift action to deal with the assaults, saying Tuesday he's decided how to respond without naming specifics.

•	Experts say a direct U.S. attack on Iran is unlikely: Experts say the top priority for officials will be shoring up U.S. defense without prompting an escalation in the region.
•	How did the situation reach a boiling point? Tensions with Tehran spiked on Sunday, when the Biden administration said it believes Iran supplied arms and training to the militias that claimed credit for the attack.
•	The deadly strike came across the backdrop of a barrage of incidents involving U.S. troops in recent months. Since October, militant groups from Yemen to Syria have mounted more than 200 attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea and on bases housing U.S. troops in Iraq, Syria and Jordan.

More news to know now

•	Donald Trump can stay on the 2024 Illinois ballot despite a push to disqualify him.
•	Social media CEOs will speak to Congress Wednesday about concerns that they are not doing enough to protect teens and children online.
•	U.S. retirees found affordability in Ecuador. What happens when crisis hits?
•	Atmospheric rivers aimed at California bring a flood risk.
•	For subscribers: Don't forget who built the Detroit Lions.
•	On today's The Excerpt podcast, what happens to your student loan debt when you drop out? Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your smart speaker.

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

Will interest rates hold steady as inflation eases?

After spending nearly two years on a single-minded mission to stamp out soaring inflation by sharply raising interest rates, the Federal Reserve finds itself with a far more gratifying dilemma as it kicks off 2024: Figuring out when to start cutting rates. At a two-day meeting that concludes Wednesday, the Fed is expected to hold its key short-term rate steady at a 22-year high of 5.25% to 5.5% for a fourth straight meeting. Yet some economists think the Fed will begin lowering the benchmark rate as soon as March. Read more

Musk touts Neuralink's first patient with brain chip technology

Elon Musk's Neuralink company announced it had implanted the first patient with its brain chip technology. The work builds on decades of research from academic labs and other companies, connecting human brains to computers to address human diseases and disabilities. How's it work? The Neuralink device records activity from electrodes placed next to individual brain cells making it possible to read out the person's intended movements. Read more

Elon Musk shows the Neuralink disk implant in this video grab from an online presentation on August 28, 2020.

Neuralink/AFP via Getty Images

Keep scrolling

•	Broadway legend Chita Rivera has died at 91.
•	Why are we all salivating over Jeremy Allen White?
•	The Taylor Swift AI pictures highlight the horrors of deepfake porn.
•	Meet Victoria Monét, the songwriter nominated for seven Grammys.
•	Here's Jenna Bush Hager's must-do ritual.
•	Olympic skating is confused over a bronze medal.

So you want to go to Super Bowl 58? Here's what it would cost

The NFL's championship game is the grandest event in all of U.S. sports, and as a result, it is one of the most expensive events to attend every year. But this year's game in Las Vegas is unlike any other. It's the most expensive Super Bowl on record, according to ticket merchants, with average prices ranging from $10,575 to $12,082 on the secondary markets (the cheapest seat goes for around $8,000). Why so pricy? It has nothing to do with the team match-up or Taylor Swift.

Photo of the day: Small protesters, big cause

Amid the Russia-Ukraine war, soaring energy costs and climate change, farmers across France are struggling to make a decent living. Workers and their families from Europe's largest agricultural power are camping out and blocking major roads nationwide to demonstrate for better conditions.

A placard reading "For our future" is seen as farmers' children support their parents in Strasbourg, France, on January 31, 2024, as part of national demonstrations organized by several farmers' unions.

FREDERICK FLORIN, AFP via Getty Images

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.