The Daily Briefing

YOUR MORNING NEWS ROUNDUP

Fri Jun 5 2026

Nicole Fallert
Newsletter Writer & SEO Editor

Welcome to the Daily Briefing. Start with these stories:

•	The House once again overruled GOP leaders.
•	Back-to-back 5.0-plus earthquakes shook California.
•	Refillable water bottles are banned at the World Cup.

Nicole Fallert here, Happy National Donut Day 🍩 Let's get into Friday's news, starting with a growing national debate over data centers and then we meet the "Dungeon Crawler Carl" voice actor capturing American readers.

They're noisy. They're unpopular. Should data centers be banned?

Data centers are seemingly on everyone's minds as these enormous resource-intensive computer buildings crop up across the county – sometimes as if out of nowhere. The huge facilities house the physical infrastructure that powers digital services like artificial intelligence. But critics say they drain energy and water sources, pollute air quality, cause noise disruption for nearby residents and create a disproportionate number of temporary jobs. Despite water concerns, Texas is seeing construction ramp up.

They're unpopular: Gallup survey results released in May found 70% of Americans oppose the construction of data centers in their communities.

What can be done? Some towns are voting to ban them. Some say the companies should take action. And other just want transparency. Environmental activist Erin Brockovich launched a website where American can report issues they encounter with data centers in their communities.

More news to know now

•	Senate backs $70 billion in new funds for ICE, Border Patrol: A majority of the U.S. Senate voted early Friday to approve funding for DHS's Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol agencies that are carrying out the Trump administration's vigorous deportations throughout the country.
•	California continues counting in nail-biter governor's race. The Golden State’s deluge of mail-in ballots − coupled with a last-minute surge among liberal-leaning voters – will take time to count, officials say.
•	Where is Tropical Storm Amanda? The first named storm of the 2026 hurricane season is expected to weaken beginning by Friday night or Saturday, the National Hurricane Center said. The storm does not currently pose any threat to land.

NCAA Softball

Texas wins back-to-back WCWS titles

Texas Longhorns pitcher Teagan Kavan (17) celebrates with utility Reese Atwood (14) after defeating the Texas Tech Red Raiders in the NCAA Women's College World Series championship series at Devon Park.

Brett Rojo, Imagn Images

The Texas Longhorns defeated No. 11 Texas Tech 4-1 Thursday night in Oklahoma City in Game 2 of the best-of-three series for the program's second consecutive national championship. See the best photos of the celebration.

Books

Why you think Jeff Hays is multiple people

The "Dungeon Crawler Carl" series has clocked over 140 million listening hours on Audible. The audiobook is a selling point for many readers because of the range of distinct voices Jeff Hays creates for the eclectic cast of characters, from an AI to an uppity British princess cat. Hays' voice acting skill has helped catapult the near-perfect-Audible-rated series to the forefront of the LitRPG (literary role-playing game) subgenre.