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The Daily Briefing

YOUR MORNING NEWS ROUNDUP

Thu Feb 6 2025

Nicole Fallert | Newsletter Writer

@nicolefallert

Millions of employees across the government face President Donald Trump's deadline by the end of Thursday to decide whether to resign. Americans can't seem to escape the skyrocketing price of eggs. The National Women's Soccer League reached a landmark settlement with victims of player abuse.

🙋🏼‍♀️ I'm Nicole Fallert, Daily Briefing author. Guess how much a suite at Super Bowl 59 costs.

Fear and uncertainty in federal workforce as Trump deadline arrives

As a buyout deadline arrives, many federal workers told USA TODAY that they don't trust promised severance pay and benefits will be delivered if they take the offer to leave their posts in the federal government.

How we got here: Trump has spent his first weeks in office taking a wrecking ball to the federal workforce in a push to dramatically shrink the size of the government and replace bureaucrats perceived as hostile to his agenda.

•	A now-notorious "Fork in the Road" email gave workers barely more than one week to make a life-changing decision: Keep their jobs and agree to "reforms," including a requirement to work at the office, or resign.
•	Workers are fighting back. Multiple unions representing federal workers sued the Trump administration this week, arguing it lacks any statutory basis for the offer.
•	Will mass layoffs be next? A U.S. Office of Personnel Management memo this week warned of furloughs if workers do not accept the buyout.

Anti-Trump protesters rally across the US

"I have friends who are afraid about healthcare and housing, food, their children's education, going to college, whether they'll be attacked in the street. I'm here ... trying to make our government work for all of us."

~ Melanie Trimble, a therapist and activist in Columbia, South Carolina, to the USA TODAY Network. Trimble joined Americans across the country on Wednesday for a national day of protest to register their discontent with Trump administration policies and call on lawmakers for action.

Groups gathered at the South Carolina State Capital on Wednesday.

ALEX HICKS JR./USA TODAY

More news to know now

•	Attorney General Pam Bondi was sworn in.
•	Demetrius Frazier is set to be executed on Thursday with a controversial nitrogen gas method.
•	The last pieces of a crashed jet were pulled from the Potomac River.
•	DOGE is coming for the Education Department — as well as Medicare and Medicaid systems.
•	Decorated Tuskegee Airman combat pilot Harry Stewart Jr. has died at 100.

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

Want to order eggs at Waffle House? Get ready to pay more.

Waffle House has implemented a new 50-cent per egg surcharge at its roughly 2,100 locations across the U.S., the chain said in a statement shared with USA TODAY. The charge at the beloved national diners, which went into effect this week, is temporary and is the result of the "continuing egg shortage caused by HPAI (Bird Flu)" that has caused a "dramatic increase in egg prices." The move further reflects how egg prices are impacting American lives — with little relief in sight.

A sign indicates limited availability of eggs in a Miami, Florida, grocery store.

Joe Raedle, Getty Images

Get caught up: Immigration news from USA TODAY

•	Migrant flights to Guantánamo Bay have begun.
•	A second U.S. judge blocked Trump's birthright citizenship order.
•	Texas National Guard can now make immigration arrests.
•	Immigration raids have hit Colorado cities.
•	What do Evangelical Christians think about immigration policies?

Federal agents at a staging area in Denver following immigration raids on Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025.

Trevor Hughes / USA TODAY

Today's internet buzz

•	Travis Kelce said Trump attending the Super Bowl is "cool." The president has said "I hate Taylor Swift."
•	The director of "Emilia Pérez" distanced himself from star Karla Sofía Gascón.
•	The Warriors acquired NBA All-Star Jimmy Butler.
•	Dunkin' unveiled a $6 "DunKings" meal (with the help of Ben Affleck).
•	Scribble with these special Crayons.

NWSL reaches historic settlement

The National Women's Soccer League must pay $5 million in restitution as part of an historic settlement that concludes a years-long investigation into player abuse. The settlement marks the next step in a prolonged process for the NWSL, stemming back to a wave of bombshell reports during the 2021 NWSL season. Extensive allegations of abuse, sexual coercion, racism, harassment and other forms of misconduct were substantiated at a majority of the league's clubs, sparking two investigations and in-game protests from players league-wide. Multiple clubs were sold in the aftermath, while a long list of coaches and general managers were dismissed or stepped down in disgrace. Read more

Photo of the day: Bill Nye, the model guy

New York Fashion Week is back, and so is science's favorite guy: Bill Nye took the runway by storm wearing Thom Browne for the annual Blue Jacket Fashion Show. He crushed it.

Bill Nye walks the runway during the Blue Jacket Fashion Show on Feb. 4, 2025, in New York.

JP Yim, Getty Images for Blue Jacket Fashion Show

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.