Americans will tune in this evening to watch President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump face off in a presidential debate. A leaked draft opinion hints at a promising Supreme Court decision for abortion rights advocates and USWNT star Alex Morgan won't be headed to the Paris Olympics.
🙋🏼♀️ I'm Nicole Fallert, Daily Briefing author.I already can't wait for "The Holiday Touchdown."
Smells like 2020
After anexplosive first debatein 2020, no one knows how the showdown betweenPresident Joe Bidenand former PresidentDonald Trumpwill shake out on Thursday.
CNN has rulesin place that may keep the drama at bay, but the event could still lend insight into how the rest of the2024 presidential electioncould unfold.
Prep for the polls: See who is running for president and compare where they stand on key issues in our Voter Guide
- What will Trump and Biden say? Trump could try topin Biden for being 81 years old(three years older than Trump's 78) and issues related to inflation and immigration. Biden is likely to press Trump on hiscriminal convictionand stance onabortion.
- They're both seniors: Biden and Trump will become the oldestU.S. presidential candidates to ever spar in a debate.
- Gen Z will be listening: These older candidates will be catering to America's youngest voting bloc, who are disillusioned by the electoral process, depleted by an epidemic of gun violence and motivated to protect reproductive rights. (And here's how to watch if you're a Tik-Toker without cable access).
USA TODAY will stream the debateon its YouTube channel. Use our presidential debate bingo card to play while you watch.
Draft opinion shows unexpected win for abortion rights
The Supreme Court may be about to allowemergency abortions in Idaho, according to acopy of the pending opinionobtained by Bloomberg News. The version that appeared briefly on the court’s website would reinstate a lower court order that had allowed hospitals to perform abortions needed to protect the health of the pregnant person. While the litigation would continue, the opinion would still be a win for the Biden administration, which had challenged Idaho's strict abortion ban. Read more
More news to know now
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- Which nation spends the most on nuclear weapons?
- Soldiers stormed Bolivia's presidential palace in an apparent coup.
- Six years after a wildfire destroyed Paradise, California, a new blaze flares nearby.
- It's game time! Play today’s USA TODAY Crossword. Our expert Sally breaks it down.
What's the weather today?Check your local forecast here.
Why are people suddenly getting COVID-19 this summer?
The latest rise in early summer COVID-19 cases shows how the virus has persisted four years since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The upticks from the latest sub-variants are nowhere near levels the U.S. experienced in 2020, or when the omicron variant began to drive cases and deaths across the globe in 2021. Cases are driven by consistent upticks in a collection of sub-variants known asFLiRT, named for the mutations’ technical names.Read more
Who pays for space junk injuries?
When a Florida familyfiled a claim against NASA over "space junk" that fell through their roofearlier this year, it launched a potentially precedent-setting question: Who is liable when debris from space causes damage or injury? Nobody was hurt when a cylindrical object that was part of a pallet of used batteries from the International Space Station came sailing through Alejandro Otero and his family's roof in what their attorney called a "near miss," but the claim for a more than $80,000 includes uninsured property damage and emotional anguish. Read more
Keep scrolling
- Everyone is worried about "eyebrow blindness".
- Would you fly in a Boeing plane?
- The Balenciaga show was a family affair.
- Kenya Moore is not returning to "Real Housewives of Atlanta."
- Two pandas are preparing to head from China to the San Diego Zoo.
Alex Morgan left off USWNT roster for Paris Olympics
Alex Morgan, who is theUSWNT’s active leading goal scorerand fifth on its all-time list, was left off the 18-player roster for theParis Olympics. NWSL scoring leaders Sophia Smith, Mallory Swanson, Jaedyn Smith, Trinity Rodman and Crystal Dunn are listed as the forwards. Morgan's exclusion will surely come as a shock to many, given she's been both a cornerstone of the USWNT and one of the world's best players for more than a decade.Read more
Photo of the day:Paris Hilton testifies before Congress
Paris Hiltontestified on Wednesday before the House Ways and Means committee about the modernization of the country's foster care system. Hilton, who welcomed her son Phoenix with husband Carter Reum last January, said she is "here to be a voice for the children whose voices can't be heard." Read more
Nicole Fallert is a newsletter writer at USA TODAY, sign up for the email here. Want to send Nicole a note?Shoother an email atNFallert@usatoday.com.
