Tuesday, August 12, 2025

Trump's DC takeover

Plus: Tropical Storm Erin, flesh-eating flies and Taylor Swift's new album. ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌  ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ ͏‌ 
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The Daily Briefing

YOUR MORNING NEWS ROUNDUP

Tue Aug 12 2025

 

Nicole Fallert Newsletter Writer

@nicolefallert

Good morning!🙋🏼‍♀️ I'm Nicole Fallert. I mean ... it's the Catalina wine mixer!!

Quick look at Tuesday's news:

D.C. residents and activists have long resisted characterizations of their city as dangerous and lawless as false and racially motivated.
Tropical Storm Erin is set to be the year's first major hurricane.
Introducing: "The Life of a Showgirl."

Trump deploys troops in DC, takes over police

President Donald Trump laid out an aggressive plan for the federal government to take over law enforcement in Washington — and teased that the same force might be coming to other cities across the country.

Trump painted a portrait of a city overrun by criminals. But Mayor Muriel Bowser disputed Trump's declaration of an emergency in her city, noting the capital's crime rate has been trending down.

"D.C. has the right to govern itself": D.C. residents and activists called Trump's move a "federal coup" rooted in his longstanding clashes with leaders of a city with a significant Black population.
Can the president deploy soldiers on American streets? A landmark trial kicked off this week over the Trump administration's use of National Guard troops in Los Angeles, a legal challenge highlighting the president's break from long-standing norms against deploying soldiers on the nation's streets.
Could this happen to other cities? Trump singled out New York City; Los Angeles; Baltimore; Chicago and Oakland, California as potential targets in what would be a drastic escalation of federal presence in American cities.

Protests Trump Dc Police Federal Takeover

Protesters rally near the White House in Washington, DC, on Monday.

Josh Morgan/USA TODAY

Explosion at US Steel plant rocks PA residents

"I thought a vehicle hit my house. The whole house shook. My bed shook and I looked around. I didn't see anything. I turned my scanner on. They said there was an explosion in the mill. So me and my dog jumped in the car and I rode down by the ball field and that's when all the rescue workers were coming in, police and everything."

~ Adrian Sparks lives on a steep hill overlooking the steel plant on the outskirts of Pittsburgh that exploded on Monday, killing two and sending 10 people to the hospital. U.S. Steel Executive Vice President Scott Buckiso said the plant was stable except for the two structures shut down after the first explosion. An investigation into the cause is underway.

Usa Pennsylvania Explosion

U.S. Steel's Clairton Coke Works plant is seen after an explosion in Clairton, Pennsylvania, on Aug. 11, 2025 in this screengrab obtained from an aerial video.

ABC AFFILIATE WTAE, via Reuters

More news to know now

Three people were fatally shot at in a Target parking lot in Austin.
A U.S.-China tariff truce was extended by another 90 days.
Conservative economist E.J. Antoni was named to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Could marijuana be reclassified as a less dangerous drug?

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

Incoming: The first hurricane of the Atlantic season

Tropical Storm Erin has formed in the eastern Atlantic Ocean and is on track to become the first hurricane of the 2025 Atlantic season, meteorologists said. The storm is expected to continue strengthening as it barrels west over the coming days. As Erin heads west, it will encounter exceptionally warm waters that could fuel its development into a major hurricane, forecasters say. It is still early and there are high levels of uncertainty in the storm's long-term track. Still, experts urge those with interests in the Caribbean and the eastern coast of the U.S. to monitor its development.

Why does the government plan to drop flies over the Texas border?

The U.S. plans to bring back a somewhat shocking, but very effective, campaign to fight a flesh-eating parasitic fly that's been sighted in Mexico. The plan: Breed millions of sterilized flies and drop them over the Texas-Mexican border to protect the more than $100 billion U.S. cattle and beef industry from the New World screwworm. The effort works by sterilizing male screwworm flies so that when they mate with females the resulting eggs are infertile. Over time so few fertile eggs are created that the fly is eradicated altogether. It's not as crazy as it sounds.

Today's talkers

The Perseid meteor shower peaks tonight.
She turned herself into an "LA 10." It's part of a growing "unrecognizable makeup" trend.
Dennis Quaid's iconic "Parent Trap' pool scene was a costume designer's nightmare.
Meet this year's "World's Ugliest Dog."
Watch thieves wipe out a store in a Labubu heist.

We're clowning over Taylor Swift 🔶🔶

We're tripping over our toes over here. Taylor Swift confirmed the news of her 12th studio album on a "New Heights" podcast teaser released at 12:12 a.m. ET on Aug. 12. The singer pulled out a blurred out album cover and introduced "The Life of a Showgirl." The podcast will air Aug. 13 and likely provide details about her orange-dipped new era. Now a plethora of TS12 Easter eggs in everything from lyrics to fashion to concert graphics are starting to add up, and fans are loving putting her hints together. USA TODAY traced the evidence.

ET_THUMBS Copy 01.00_00_00_21.Still001.jpg

In a "New Heights" podcast clip released, Swift is seated next to boyfriend Travis Kelce.

Entertain This!

Photo of the day: Cya in Cincy!

American tennis players are on home soil this week for the Cincinatti Open, taking every opportunity for a win ahead of the U.S. Open later this month. Former U.S. tennis star Lindsay Davenport shared with USA TODAY Sports why she thinks a U.S. men's Grand Slam title could be coming soon thanks to guys like Frances Tiafoe, Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton.

Tennis Cincinnati Open

American Frances Tiafoe returns a shot against France's Ugo Humbert during the Cincinnati Open at the Lindner Family Tennis Center.

Aaron Doster, Aaron Doster-Imagn 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.

TOP STORIES

President Donald Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, and U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem are pictured visiting a temporary migrant detention center in Ochopee, Florida, dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz."

The judge's order does not suspend operations at the controversial immigration detention facility.

President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin talk during the family photo session at the APEC Summit in Danang, Vietnam, on Nov. 11, 2017.
 

Trump pushes Zelenskyy to agree to 'land swap' with Russia

 

Trump said he was bothered by Volodymyr Zelenskyy's response that it would violate Ukraine's constitution to cede territory to Russia in a land swap.

If Congress cannot agree on budget package, the United States government will shut down
 

VIDEO: A Trump law's impact on healthcare coverage

 

The Congressional Budget Office says President Donald Trump's tax cut law will cost millions their health coverage and raise ACA premiums.

Farmers' Almanac thumb
 

The Farmers' Almanac calls for an 'old-fashioned winter'

 

The Farmers' Almanac winter forecast for 2025-2026 calls for a long season of cold and snow across much of the U.S.

DermaRite Industries is voluntarily recalling some of its handsoap after a bacteria called Burkholderia cepacia (B. cepacia), in some of the products.
 

Hand soap recalled over sepsis concerns: See where it was sold

 

The hand soap sold across the U.S. is being recalled after the presence of a potentially deadly bacteria was discovered in some of the product.

A humpback whale feeds near a marine reserve off Anacapa Island on May 1, 2025.
 

Why aren't blue whales singing? Study explains.

 

Changing ocean conditions making whale prey scarce are causing the mammals to stop singing, a recent study has found.

Joe Jonas of DNCE, left, and Demi Lovato perform onstage during the Demi Lovato and DNCE Concert for Marriott Rewards members at JW Marriott Los Angeles at L.A. LIVE on Sept. 22, 2016, in Los Angeles.
 

Jonas Brothers and Demi Lovato reunite for 'Camp Rock' performance

 

The Jonas Brothers opened the Jonas20 tour with Joe Jonas reuniting with Demi Lovato for the first "Camp Rock" performances in 10 years.

Katy Perry, shown at the Kia Forum near Los Angeles July 15, 2025, is in the midst of her Lifetimes tour.
 

Katy Perry silences the haters with sleek Lifetimes tour concert

 

Katy Perry scorn is in full effect. But her Lifetimes Tour is fizzy fun.

USA TODAY's The Excerpt podcast
 

PODCAST: Australia will recognize a Palestinian state at the United Nations next month

 

USA TODAY's daily news podcast, The Excerpt, brings you a curated mix of the most important headlines seven mornings a week.

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