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The Daily Briefing

YOUR MORNING NEWS ROUNDUP

Mon Mar 4 2024

Nicole Fallert | Newsletter Writer

@nicolefallert

'Twas the day before Super Tuesday

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally Saturday, March 2, 2024, in Richmond, Virginia.

The Supreme Court will decide if Trump can be on the ballot.

The day before Super Tuesday, the Supreme Court could decide if former President Donald Trump can appear on this year's ballot. Also in the news: Republican governors are supporting Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in an escalating and increasingly politicized border crisis. Iowa's Caitlin Clark has broken college basketball's top record.

🙋🏼‍♀️ I'm Nicole Fallert, Daily Briefing author. Can "loud budgeting" save you money?

Here is the news to know Monday.

Supreme Court could rule on Trump Colorado ballot eligibility

The Supreme Court will issue at least one opinion on the eve of Super Tuesday on whether Colorado and other states can use an anti-insurrectionist provision of the Constitution to keep former President Donald Trump off the ballot. The case is before the high court after Trump challenged a decision by the Colorado Supreme Court that said he is disqualified from being president again and ineligible for the state's primary Tuesday. Moves in Maine and Illinois to remove Trump from the ballot have been on hold until the Supreme Court weighs in. Read more

•	Is your state voting tomorrow? Here's what to know about the day that could shape the 2024 election.
•	Here's how low-income Americans and voters of color may be key on Super Tuesday.
•	Why do North Carolina's new voter laws matter for tomorrow's race?

Kamala Harris calls for 'immediate cease-fire' in Gaza

Vice President Kamala Harris called for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza on Sunday, citing the "humanitarian catastrophe" caused by the Israel-Hamas War.

Harris' remarks were the most pointed statement yet by a member of the Biden administration on the need for an immediate pause in the fighting in Gaza.

•	Harris' comments came one day before a top Israeli official and longtime rival of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will travel to Washington without the leader's endorsement.
•	Israel has essentially agreed to a six-week cease-fire that would include the release of hostages, but Hamas has yet to sign off on the deal.
•	The cease-fire negotiations continue as the United States began airdropping humanitarian aid into the stricken Gaza Strip over the weekend, days after over 100 Palestinians were killed when witnesses said Israeli forces fired at people waiting for food in Gaza City.

A Palestinian girl carries a child through the rubble of houses destroyed by Israeli bombardment in Gaza City on March 3, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Hamas movement.

AFP via Getty Images

More news to know now

•	Nikki Haley finally had a first win in her bid for the GOP presidential nomination.
•	North Carolina governor's race is a bellwether for the nation on abortion rights.
•	Florida cities are bracing for spring break season with curfews, patrols and checkpoints.
•	Trump tried to crush the "DEI revolution." Here's how he might finish the job.
•	On today's The Excerpt podcast, what to know about the chaos inside the Michigan GOP. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your smart speaker.

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

Historic Texas wildfire threatens to grow

The largest wildfire in Texas history has burned more than 1.1 million acres in nearly a week as dry winds and high temperatures on Sunday fueled the blaze, destroying hundreds of homes and killing at least two people in the state's panhandle. The Smokehouse Creek Fire has burned more than 1,078,000 acres, making it the largest wildfire on record in the state's history. It is one of five wildfires burning in the Texas Panhandle and across state lines into Oklahoma. While a cold front is expected to move across the state's rural panhandle early Monday, the National Weather Service in Amarillo said critical fire weather conditions will continue. Read more

•	Amid fire in Texas, 12 feet of snow pounded California.
•	The hurricane season forecast this year is already looking grim.

Tennessee National Guard deployment includes about 50 soldiers

Tennessee will deploy two waves of National Guard troops to the Texas-Mexico border through the spring as Republican governors across the country back Texas in its ongoing feud with federal authorities over immigration enforcement. Tennessee officials would not comment specifically on where the state's contingent will be sent in Texas. Texas has been in a monthslong standoff with the federal government over the record-high number of unauthorized migrant crossings. The move comes as the border emerging as a defining topic of the 2024 presidential elections. Read more

•	Immigrants' children in Philly are helping kids at the Texas border.

Gov. Bill Lee met with Tennessee National Guard troops in Millington, Tennessee on March 2 ahead of their deployment to a Texas border operation.

Brandon Hall

Keep scrolling

•	Fashion Icon Iris Apfel has died at 102.
•	USA TODAY Women of the Year: Why Toni Townes-Whitley doesn't want you to celebrate that she is one of two Black female Fortune 500 CEOs.
•	For an Indigenous woman, discovering an ancestor's remains mixed both trauma and healing.
•	How is "bigorexia" affecting men?
•	Angel Reese and her mother had a special escort for LSU's senior day: Shaq.
•	Only Victoria Beckham could make crutches chic.
•	Sam Asghari opened up about his divorce with Britney Spears.

Caitlin Clark breaks Pete Maravich's all-time scoring record

Caitlin Clark became the leading scorer in NCAA Division I basketball Sunday in Iowa's 93-83 win over Ohio State. Clark started the game just 18 points from passing Pete Maravich – but caused a celebration all the same. Fans went crazy when Clark hit two free throws with .3 seconds to play in the first half. It was a fitting moment for the homegrown superstar who said last week that this would be her last college season and she will enter the 2024 WNBA Draft. Included in the crowd was former WNBA MVP Maya Moore, Clark's childhood idol, and Lynette Woodard, previously the best scorer in the history of women's major-college basketball. Read more

Caitlin Clark reacts after she broke Pete Maravich's all-time NCAA scoring record in the Hawkeyes' 93-83 win.

Julia Hansen, Iowa City Press-Citizen

Photo of the day: This wedding has quite the guest list

The three-day pre-wedding festivities of Anant Ambani, the son of Asia's richest man and his longtime girlfriend Radhika Merchant have been star-studded with an almost 1,200-person guest list including Ivanka Trump, Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates and Rihanna. Read more

Mark Zuckerberg, with billionaire industrialist Mukesh Ambani's son Anant Ambani, right, and Radhika Merchant at their pre-wedding bash in Jamnagar, India, Saturday, Mar. 02, 2024.

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.