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| Happy Friday and happy last day of July, Daily Briefing readers! |
| Today, Muslims around the globe start Eid al-Adha celebrations, newly formed Hurricane Isaias moves toward the East Coast, and the Beyhive celebrates the release of Beyoncé's visual album "Black is King." |
| It's N'dea and here's what you need to know as you head into the weekend. |
New stimulus deal? Brace yourselves 💰 |
| Pressure is mounting Friday as Congress and the White House enter yet another round of negotiations to help counter the coronavirus pandemic's economic impact . Policy priorities for Democrats and Republicans are more apparent in the latest package, as members of both parties huddle in their respective political corners. Democrats are pushing a $3 trillion plan while Sen. Mitch McConnell's $1 trillion offering he unveiled this week is being rejected by some in his own party who say it's too much. Another key sticking point in negotiations? Whether to extend an additional $600 that about 30 million unemployed Americans received as part of their unemployment benefits. |
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Some states release school reopening guidelines as others set records for COVID-19 cases, deaths |
| Dr. Anthony Fauci returns to Capitol Hill on Friday to testify before a special House panel. His testimony comes at a time when early progress on combating COVID-19 seems to have been lost and uncertainty clouds the nation's path forward. As the school year approaches, state officials are releasing guidelines for schools to safely reopen.A weekly USA TODAY analysis of Johns Hopkins data through late Thursday shows six states set records for new cases while nine states had a record number of deaths. |
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Newly formed Hurricane Isaias eyes East Coast 🌀 |
| After lashing portions of the Caribbean with rain and wind, Isaias formed into a hurricane , according to the National Hurricane Center. Isaias had maximum sustained winds of 80 mph early Friday and was centered about 45 miles southeast of Great Inagua Island in the Bahamas, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. It was moving northwest at 18 mph. On Thursday while still a tropical storm, Isaias knocked out power, toppled trees and caused widespread flooding and small landslides in the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, where at least 35 people were rescued from floodwaters and one person remained missing. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said residents could feel the impacts from the storm into early next week. He encouraged everyone to prepare by having at least seven days of supplies. |
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Former presidents honor John Lewis and more on race in America |
| USA TODAY is launching a new newsletter centered on issues of race and identity! But first, we want to hear from you. Please fill out this survey and become a part of helping us shape what this newsletter becomes. |
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Eid-ul-Adha celebrations begin globally |
| Muslims around the globe this week will start Eid al-Adha celebrations Friday. Eid al-Adha is Arabic for "festival of sacrifice" and is the second of two major Muslim holidays (the other being Eid al-Fitr). It is the holiday that marks the end of the hajj season, or pilgrimage season, that is performed in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Eid al-Adha commemorates the "sacrifice" that was asked of Abraham by God, to sacrifice his son, only to have God intervene and substitute a ram (or lamb) instead. In present-day, animals, usually goats, cows and lambs, are still sacrificed to mark the occasion. The meat from the animals sacrificed is shared with the community and food banks in areas where there are impoverished or food-insecure Muslims. |
More news to know |
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'Black is King' comes to Disney+ 📺 |
| Beyoncé's visual album "Black is King" was released early Friday on Disney+, featuring a star-studded cast that will include her 8-year-old daughter, Blue Ivy Carter. Other famous faces you can expect to see making an appearance: Jay-Z, Naomi Campbell, Lupita Nyong'o, Pharrell Williams, Kelly Rowland and Beyonce's mother, Tina Knowles-Lawson. "Black is King," dubbed a "celebratory memoir for the world on the Black experience," features videos for the songs "Already," "Brown Skin Girl," "Mood 4 Eva" and "My Power." The visual album "reimagines the lessons of 'The Lion King' for today's young kings and queens in search of their own crowns." |
Fact or fiction? ✅ |
| 📨 See the latest work from our fact checking team in our newest newsletter, Checking the Facts. |
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Ready for more? NBA restart moves forward with jam-packed schedule 🏀 |
| OK, so the TV viewer experience was a bit unusual . But it's great to have the NBA back. Thursday's return featured two thrillers – Utah defeated New Orleans 106-104 and the Los Angeles Lakers edged the Clippers 103-101. Given the circumstances of a global pandemic and the league trying to do everything it can to finish the season safely and limit COVID-19 cases on its Disney campus, we can still enjoy fanless games — in all their awkwardness. Friday's lineup is stacked with six games, including a huge Eastern Conference clash between the Milwaukee Bucks and Boston Celtics (6:30 p.m. ET, ESPN). |
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In better news: Emus banned for 'bad behavior' at Australian pub 🚫 |
| An Australian Outback pub has banned emus for "bad behavior," and erected barriers to prevent the large, flightless birds from creating havoc inside. Locals and tourists have been bemused by the antics of the emus eager to steal food from people in Yaraka, a remote Queensland state outpost with a permanent population of 18. But things took an intolerable turn last week when two of the birds, Carol and Kevin, discovered they could climb the front stairs of the Yaraka Hotel, the only pub, publican Chris Gimblett said Tuesday. Gimblett solved the problem by stringing a rope across the top of the stairs. A sign advises customers to replace the rope once they enter because "emus have been banned from this establishment for bad behavior." "We're in lockdown mode," Gimblett said of his barricaded pub. "At least it's emus and not coronavirus." |
 | | An Australian Outback pub has banned two emus, Carol (pictured) and another, for "bad behavior" after they learned to climb the stairs and created havoc inside. The two large, flightless birds were already adept at stealing food from people in a lightly populated Queensland state outpost. | | Leanne Byrne, AP | |
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