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The Daily Briefing

YOUR MORNING NEWS ROUNDUP

Fri May 24 2024

Nicole Fallert | Newsletter Writer

@nicolefallert

Hundreds of drinking water systems in the U.S. exceeded newly established annual limits. The Justice Department has sued Live Nation over ticket prices. A rally in the Bronx, New York, paints the diversity of Donald Trump supporters in this election.

🙋🏼‍♀️ I'm Nicole Fallert, Daily Briefing author. Get ready for these Memorial Day sales.

Hundreds of drinking water systems exceed new PFAS standards

The EPA detected toxic "forever chemicals," in 300 water utilities across America, some of which serve thousands of people.

This means these systems may need to start filtering their water or find new sources to comply with new rules limiting PFAS, or per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances.

•	USA TODAY recreated the EPA's analysis and found public systems in Fort Worth, Texas; Fresno, California; Pensacola, Florida; and Augusta, Georgia, were among the hundreds whose sample averages landed above the new annual limits. And that number is expected to grow.
•	How are water utilities getting PFAS out of their water? Local authorities are seeking millions in investments into new filtering systems.
•	What do PFAs mean for our health? PFAS are nearly indestructible chemicals that have been shown to build up in human bodies, increasing the risk for certain types of cancer and other serious health complications.

Justice for Eras Tour fans?

The Justice Department, 29 states and the District of Columbia sued Live Nation Entertainment, the parent company of Ticketmaster, on Thursday, alleging it monopolized live events. The lawsuit seeks to lower prices for fans (such as those charged exorbitant prices to attend Taylor Swift's Eras Tour) and open venue doors to more musicians. Live Nation's dominance allowed the company to exert control over the live-events industry in a way that hurt fans, performers, smaller promoters and venue operators, the suit alleges. Read more

More news to know now

•	Today marks the 2-year anniversary of the Uvalde school shooting.
•	Ohio will hold a special session of its legislature to get President Biden on the ballot.
•	Millions of Americans are bracing for severe weather over the holiday weekend.
•	This weekend is four years since the killing of George Floyd.
•	On today's The Excerpt podcast, what to know about surging home insurance prices. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your smart speaker.

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

Who exactly are Trump supporters?

The range of vendors at former President Donald Trump's campaign rally in the Bronx Thursday evening demonstrates the range of Americans the GOP campaign is courting. Across the street from at Crotona Park, sellers hawked shirts with slogans such as "Women for Trump," "Latinos for Trump," "God, Guns & Trump," and a few that insulted prominent Democrats. And in his address to the mostly non-white audience, Trump showed that he will readily depart from Republican orthodoxy to a rhetoric of common ground. Read more

Supporters of former U.S. president Donald Trump gather outside of the Crotona Park rally venue on May 23, 2024 in the Bronx borough of New York City.

Stephanie Keith, Getty Images

Mobs and combat threaten Gaza aid

Hijacking, mobs, and fighting are creating a significant stumbling block to humanitarian aid delivered to Gaza, forcing officials to develop alternative routes for trucks arriving by the Pentagon's newly-built pier, U.S. officials said Thursday. The Biden administration celebrated its effort to build a $320 million floating pier and causeway as pivotal to delivering food and medicine to Palestinians caught in the war between Israel and Hamas. Instead, deliveries were suspended for a time after trucks in the first convoys were hijacked. Read more

A truck is rushed as it transports international humanitarian aid from the US-built Trident Pier in the central Gaza Strip.

AFP via Getty Images

Keep scrolling

•	Scientists now know why orcas are attacking boats.
•	What's the controversy over that Kate Middleton portrait?
•	Brad Paisley performed at last night's state dinner with Kenya's president.
•	Jennifer Lopez befriends an AI in her scrappy new Netflix space movie.
•	Cassie broke her silence after a 2016 Diddy assault video surfaced.

Are school nurse jobs in jeopardy?

School nurses are increasingly anxious their workloads might expand – or their jobs may disappear entirely – when federal pandemic relief funds for U.S. schools expire by the end of the year. School districts have until the end of September to allocate what remains of the billions of dollars in coronavirus relief Congress sent their way in separate tranches during the pandemic, the Education Department has said. The imminent fiscal cliff could have "severe implications" for students, including teacher layoffs and school closures, advocates say. Read more

Photo of the day: Is the King of Clay back?

The second Grand Slam event on the 2024 tennis calendar, the French Open, gets underway this weekend in Paris, the only one of the four major tournaments to be contested on clay. But the 14-time champion, Spain's Rafael Nadal, was handed a nightmare draw position in the first round.

Spain's Rafael Nadal takes part in a practice session ahead of The French Open tennis tournament on Court Philippe-Chatrier at The Roland Garros Complex in Paris on May 22, 2024.

EMMANUEL DUNAND, AFP via 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.