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The Daily Briefing

YOUR MORNING NEWS ROUNDUP

Thu May 9 2024

Nicole Fallert | Newsletter Writer

@nicolefallert

President Joe Biden is speaking out about U.S. weapon supply to Israel's war in Gaza. An appeals court appears open to deciding whether Fani Willis should stay on a Georgia election racketeering case. Two women resigned from the beauty pageant world's top posts.

🙋🏼‍♀️ I'm Nicole Fallert, Daily Briefing author. "Zombie" colleges are living on the internet — and pose risks for identity theft.

Biden says no US weapons to Israel if there's a Rafah offensive

For the first time, President Joe Biden said on Wednesday he was prepared to put conditions on American weapons if Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu goes ahead with a major invasion of Rafah, where thousands of displaced Palestinians are living.

Biden also admitted the role American bombs are playing in civilian deaths since Israel's war in Gaza began.

•	The Biden administration began a review of some weapons transfers to Israel last month, a senior U.S. official said. The president then paused a shipment of thousands of bombs last week, as Israel ramped up plans for a ground invasion of the southern Gaza city.
•	But battles raged between Israeli troops and Hamas militants on Wednesday as global leaders clung to hopes that a truce could avert a full-scale invasion of Rafah.
•	"Dithering" or good diplomacy? Democrats and Republicans have responded to Biden's changing tone on weapons.

Georgia court agrees to hear a Trump appeal

The Georgia state Court of Appeals on Wednesday agreed to hear the appeal of former President Donald Trump as to whether Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis should be disqualified from his election fraud case for improper conduct. Judge Scott McAfee previously said in March that Willis could stay on the case despite admitting to having an affair with a private lawyer she hired to oversee the investigation. Trump and a majority of the defendants sought to appeal, saying McAfee's ruling didn't go far enough. Read more

More news to know now

•	Powerful storms killed three people as tornadoes and hailstorms continue across the Central U.S.
•	Column: Why are women in South Korea's 4B movement boycotting men?
•	Biden is jump-starting a $3.3 billion artificial intelligence data center by Microsoft.
•	More than 321,000 kids have lost a parent to a drug overdose.
•	On today's The Excerpt podcast, why rage rituals are resonating with women. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your smart speaker.

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

Ohio lawmakers sink plan to get Biden on November ballot

Ohio lawmakers on Wednesday failed to advance a plan to put President Joe Biden on the state's November ballot, underscoring bitter divisions among Republicans who control the state Legislature. As of now, the deadline for the ballot is for 90 days before the election — but Biden won't be nominated until the Democratic National Convention 12 days later. Wednesday ended with no plan to get the president and presumptive Democratic nominee on Ohio's ballot. And the clock is running out.

DeSantis' new law threatens outdoor worker health

In one of the hottest states in the nation, what are outdoor workers to do when state government rescinds protections from the sun? And given only Miami-Dade County required employers to provide heat breaks to begin with, what problem is Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis trying to solve? The USA TODAY Network spoke with advocates and workers about how Florida holds municipalities to a heat standard that doesn't exist. Read more

Keep scrolling

•	The Real ID deadline is really real this time.
•	Nuggets' Nikola Jokic won the third NBA MVP award in four seasons.
•	An "Office" reboot is coming at last.
•	Brittney Griner's new book is a raw recounting of fear.
•	Here's how to up the Mother's Day brunch ante.

A beauty pageant shake-up

The reigning Miss USA and Miss Teen USA this week said they are handing back their crowns, another reminder for pageant spectators that the tradition, with all its extravagance and glamor, has been beset by a long series of controversies. Miss USA Noelia Voigt announced she was stepping down without describing the details of what led her to resign, sending a message about mental health to her Instagram followers. Two days later, UmaSofia Srivastava said she was resigning from the Miss Teen USA title as well, citing disagreement with the organization. Now the pageant world faces a reckoning.

Miss Teen USA 2023, UmaSofia Srivastava (left) and Miss USA 2023, Noelia Voigt on Feb. 10, 2024 in New York City.

Craig Barritt, Getty Images for Supermodels Unlimited

Photo of the day: Olympic flame arrives in Marseille

The Olympic flame has reached France ahead of the Paris 2024 Games Opening Ceremony in July. Athletes and high-profile French representatives brought the flame to land in Marseille at an extremely high-security event.

French rapper Julien Mari aka 'Jul' holds the Olympic flame during the Olympic Flame arrival ceremony ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on May 08, 2024 in Marseille, France.

Arnold Jerocki, 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.