YOUR MORNING NEWS ROUNDUP | |
Start your week with the news: |
| • | World leaders are in Washington, D.C., for talks with President Donald Trump. | | • | Rat infestation threatens California's almond industry. | | • | Long-awaited penalties for Michigan's illegal advanced scouting scheme were announced. | |
European leaders are headed to the White House |
European leaders will join Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Washington, D.C., this week as he meets with President Trump at the White House, rallying around Ukraine's wartime president after Trump appeared to embrace a peace stance held by Vladimir Putin. |
| • | Why this matters: The transnational meeting at the White House comes after a dramatic summit between Trump and Putin in Alaska that saw the U.S. president welcome the Russian leader to American soil for the first time in nearly a decade and pull back from his threat to slap new sanctions on Moscow, even though the session produced no major breakthrough in peace negotiations. Ukrainians told USA TODAY they were speechless after the "no deal" summit. | |
Does the US really have a crime crisis? |
President Trump's crackdown on crime in Washington, D.C., continues a decades-long American story: Data says crime is going down, even as many Americans feel like it's spiraling out-of-control. |
Safety is a real concern for many. FBI data has shown the nation's crime rate declined over the past three decades, but over half of Americans have said they believe there is more crime than the year before in nearly every Gallup survey conducted since 1993. |
| • | Why are Americans' perceptions so different from crime data? The U.S. is more violent than other countries. The baseline level of violence in America remains higher than its peer countries, which can fuel legitimate fear, experts say. | | • | Notice a theme to Trump's takeovers? Trump is singling out cities like Oakland, Chicago, and Baltimore — all led by Black mayors who are Democrats. | | • | Meanwhile, Republican states deploy National Guard to D.C. Troops from West Virginia, South Carolina and Ohio came a day after D.C. officials and the Trump administration negotiated a deal to keep Mayor Muriel Bowser's appointed police chief in charge. | | Two volunteers speak with a homeless man in Washington, D.C. Josh Morgan/USA TODAY |
California almond orchards under siege from rats |
'We've never seen anything like this. I've had growers who have lost more than half their yield. We're not going to know until this year's crop is in whether it was just weather-related or it was due to rat damage. It has certainly affected orchards. Hopefully, we can get ahead of this thing and prevent it from becoming a big, big issue.' |
~ Roger Isom, president and CEO of the Western Tree Nut Association, spoke to USA TODAY about an unprecedented phenomenon: A massive assault by rats on California's $4.7 billion almond industry. The sudden invasion starting last fall took growers by surprise, and they're sscrambling to repel the intruders. |
Want a total knee replacement? It can cost as little as $12,870 or as much $101,527. People usually check whether their hospital or doctor takes their insurance. But it's often a mystery how much a medical procedure or operation will cost, even with coverage, and wide price swings leave insured consumers with big bills, loans and medical debt. USA TODAY analyzed a new report that found prices can vary as much as nine-fold for the same operation or procedure. And hospital prices within the same state varied more than three-fold. But would better price transparency spur competition or lower prices? |
Michigan handed sign-stealing punishment |
Nearly two full years after news broke of an investigation into alleged in-person scouting and sign-stealing from the Michigan football program, the Wolverines have been handed repercussions. The NCAA fined Michigan $50,000 plus 10% of the football program's budget. The Wolverines are on four year probation while head coach Sherrone Moore faces a two-year show cause order and is suspended from the first game of the 2026 season. Michigan has since said it will appeal the NCAA's ruling. Former Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh didn't have much to say. |
| • | USA TODAY Sports Opinion: The NCAA just joined the college football money grab. | |
Photo of the day: Israelis speak against war |
Thousands of Israelis took part in a nationwide strike and demonstrations Sunday in support of families of hostages held in Gaza, calling on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reach an agreement with Hamas to end the war in Gaza. | Demonstrators demand the return of all hostages and an end to the war in Gaza, in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Aug. 17, 2025. Shir Torem, REUTERS |
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. | | A Ukrainian soldier lost his leg in the war with Russia. In New York, he learned to walk with a prosthetic. | | Government documents with details about meeting schedules and seating charts − as well as an extravagant menu − were accidentally left in a hotel printer. | | | | Air Canada's striking flight attendants refused a government-backed order to return to work, forcing the airline to delay restarting its operations. | | | | Kseniya Alexandrova, a Russian model and TV personality who competed in the 2017 Miss Universe competition, died on Aug. 12. She was 30. | | | | The Little League World Series continued Sunday with four elimination games from Williamsport, Pennsylvania. | | | | The new Premier League season kicked off with plenty of goals and some surprise scorelines. | | | | Another injury has struck the Indiana Fever, with guard Sophie Cunningham exiting Sunday's game with an apparent knee injury. Latest updates here: | | | | USA TODAY's daily news podcast, The Excerpt, brings you a curated mix of the most important headlines seven mornings a week. | | | | Our app gives you award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, eNewspaper and more. | | | | | Brighten your day with one of our games. | | | | |
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