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| Happy Friday, Daily Briefing readers! What an action-packed working week it's been! St. Paul and Minnesota will pay tribute to homegrown heroine Suni Lee following her Olympic gymnastics triumph. People visiting numerous tourist attractions better mask up to curb the spread of the delta variant. And, Billie Eilish's new album is sure to make fans "Happier Than Ever." 🎵 |
| It's Steve and Jane, with Friday's news. |
| 🔴 New this morning: Homes destroyed. Neighbors perished. Now, Surfside survivors face insurance companies. |
| 🍗"Proved everybody wrong": Barbecue continues to boom but now more women are taking charge of the pits and holding the secret recipes for sauces and rubs. |
| 😷 "Take action as needed": The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee said swimmer Michael Andrew's decision not to wear a mask is a "violation" of COVID-19 protocols." |
| ⚖️ Plot gone awry: A Louisiana millionaire masterminded a plan to kidnap his estranged wife. But the two men he hired drowned trying to evade police. |
| 🦠 "You're vulnerable": Evidence is mounting about the dangers of the delta variant and how mask-wearing is essential to bring it under control, according to a government slideshow. |
| 🤸🏾♀️ New doubts: Simone Biles continues to have the "twisties" on all four events, raising uncertainty about whether she'll be able to compete again at the Tokyo Olympics. |
| 🚌 Back to School: Here are 10 practical tips from educators, counselors and administrators to help kids get back on track and get the school year started off right. |
 | | USA TODAY's Back to School magazine | | USA TODAY | |
| 🧠Did you pay attention to the news this week? Take our quiz! |
| 🎧 On today's 5 Things podcast, we hear from health officials on just how dangerous the delta variant is. You can listen to the podcast every day on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or on your smart speaker. |
| Here's what's happening today: |
Mask mandates return to Vegas, Disney resorts |
| Nevada has issued an emergency order requiring people in 12 of the state's 17 counties, including tourist hot spots Las Vegas, Reno and Lake Tahoe, to wear masks in public indoor spaces, whether they are vaccinated or not beginning Friday. Disney has announced that guests ages 2 and older will have to don face coverings for all indoor attractions and on Disney transportation at California's Disneyland and Florida's Disney World. The announcements came on the heels of the CDC's latest recommendation that even vaccinated Americans resume wearing masks indoors if they are in areas with high or substantial transmissibility of COVID-19. |
St. Paul and Minnesota to honor Suni Lee after Olympic gold medal win |
| Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Saint Paul Mayor Melvin Carter are both declaring Friday "Sunisa Lee Day" after the Olympic gymnast won a gold medal for the all-around competition at the Tokyo Olympics. On Friday, track and field is finally ready to begin, with the opening qualifying rounds getting underway. Also, in a rematch of the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup final, the U.S. women's soccer team takes on the Netherlands in the Olympic quarterfinals. In swimming, two-time Olympic gold medalist Lilly King, who already won bronze in the women's 100-meter breaststroke, took home silver in the 200 breaststroke final, with teammate Annie Lazor getting bronze. On the court, the U.S. women's basketball team defeated Japan in its second game of pool play, but had a tough time finishing off the victory. |
| 🏅The inside scoop on the Tokyo Olympics, texted right to you. Sign up for USA TODAY's Olympic texts, where we'll be your official guide to the Games. |
What else people are reading: |
| 🔴 "Moving all his limbs": American Connor Fields is awake and awaiting further medical evaluation following a major crash in the BMX Olympic race. |
| 🔴 Major NBA trade: Mark Medina explains why Russell Westbrook will be able to coexist with LeBron James and Anthony Davis when they all play together for the Los Angeles Lakers next season. |
| 🔵 Long-term consequences for the brain? Researchers are concerned about the possibility that COVID-19 might lead to dementia. |
| 🔵 Thanos-sized dispute: Scarlett Johansson sued Disney over the streaming release of "Black Widow." Disney responded, in part, by calling the lawsuit "callous." |
| 🔵 "Wonder and pride": Actress Jamie Lee Curtis says her 25-year old daughter Ruby is a trans woman. |
'Happier Than Ever': Billie Eilish drops second studio album |
| "Happier Than Ever," Billie Eilish's second studio album following 2019's Grammy-winning "When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?," dropped early Friday morning, with the 19-year-old proving her creative transformation goes far deeper than a new hair color. USA TODAY's Charles Trepany notes that for a singer who's been candid about past mental health struggles and coping with fame at a young age, Eilish simultaneously flaunts self-assured confidence and mature self-reflection on her latest record. The 16 tracks also take listeners on a nonlinear journey of falling in and out of love, as Eilish croons about heartbreak and the painful, uncertain process of healing. |
 | | Billie Eilish releases the first single from her new album "Happier Than Ever." | | ICON | |
IRS unemployment paper tax refunds begin to arrive |
| Another round of extra tax refund cash will continue to be doled out Friday , as the Internal Revenue Service sends money to taxpayers in the middle of an abrupt change in the rules relating to jobless benefits. Refunds by paper check will begin to arrive Friday after the IRS adjusted their federal income tax returns. Those receiving refunds by direct deposit, began to do so as early as Wednesday. Overall, about 1.5 million people received an average of $1,686 this week. The IRS has been rolling out these special refunds in batches as it makes adjustments for early filers who paid more than they owed in taxes on their jobless benefits for 2020 during the pandemic. |
Newsmakers in their own words: Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee on 'good trouble' arrest |
 | | Texas Democratic Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee speaks during a voting rights protest in Washington on July 29, 2021. | | Getty Images photo; USA TODAY graphic | |
| Texas Democratic Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee was arrested Thursday for participating in a voting rights demonstration in Washington, joining Reps. Joyce Beatty (Ohio) and Hank Johnson (Georgia) as the third Black House Democrat to be arrested in three weeks under those circumstances. |
| All three have evoked the term "good trouble," a nod to the late civil rights icon Georgia Rep. John Lewis, who fought for voting rights and made the phrase famous. |
Premiering in theaters Friday: |
| 📽 "Stillwater": Matt Damon plays an Oklahoma roughneck who moves to France to help get his estranged daughter (Abigail Breslin), a convicted murderer, out of jail. The drama premiered at Cannes and was well-reviewed. |
| 📽 "Jungle Cruise": The action-adventure based on a Disney theme-park ride features a skipper (Dwayne Johnson) taking an explorer (Emily Blunt) down the Amazon to find an ancient artifact during World War I and, naturally, running into a great deal of trouble along the way. USA TODAY critic Brian Truitt gave "Cruise" ★★ ½ out of four. |
| 📽 "The Green Knight": King Arthur's nephew (Dev Patel) ventures to confront the mysterious title knight and runs into obstacles that test his bravery, from a temptress (Alicia Vikander) to a ghostly damsel in distress (Erin Kellyman). Truitt called it "visually dazzling" and gave it ★★★½. |
 | | A punny skipper (Dwayne Johnson) takes an adventurous scientist (Emily Blunt) on an epic ride down the Amazon in "Jungle Cruise." | | DISNEY | |
Title contenders look to make moves before MLB trade deadline |
| World Series hopefuls will look to bolster their rosters before the MLB trade deadline comes to an end Friday at 4 p.m. ET. The Los Angeles Dodgers made a blockbuster deal late Thursday, adding Max Scherzer and Trea Turner from the Washington Nationals. The San Diego Padres have already traded for All-Star Adam Frazier and reliever Daniel Hudson. The Houston Astros added to their pitching staff by trading with the division rival Seattle Mariners to acquire pitcher Kendall Graveman. In the AL East, the New York Yankees added more power to their lineup by first trading for slugger Joey Gallo and then surprising many by adding Anthony Rizzo from the Chicago Cubs. |
ICYMI: Some of our top stories published Thursday |
| 🌎 "I am at peace with what I did": In 1972, Melvin McNair helped hijack a plane in the U.S. to join the Black Panthers in Algeria. |
| 🔴 ROC Olympic participation draws criticism: Four-time Team USA Olympic rower Megan Kalmoe says seeing the Russians win a silver medal left her with "a nasty feeling." |
| 🌐 "It went on for a long time": The earthquake off the coast of Alaska late Thursday may have been the most powerful in the U.S. in half a century. |
📸 Photo of the day: Family and friends celebrate Suni Lee's win 📸 |
 | | Shyenne Lee, 18, left foreground, the older sister of St. Paul Olympian Sunisa Lee, reacts alongside Souayee Vang and other family and friends as they watch Sunisa Lee clinch the gold medal in the women's Olympic gymnastics all-around at the Tokyo Olympics Thursday, July 29, 2021, in Oakdale, Minnesota. | | Elizabeth Flores, Minneapolis Star Tribune via AP | |
| Videos of Suni Lee's family reacting to the gymnast winning a gold medal in the Olympics all-around competition quickly went viral on Twitter, with fellow Olympians, celebrities and viewers at home cheering too. Lee's family can be seen screaming, embracing and chanting "USA! USA!" They watched her compete from Minnesota after spectators were banned from the games during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. |
| Head here to see more photos of Americans cheering on Olympians and click here to see every American medal won at the Games. |
| The Daily Briefing is free, but several stories we link to in this edition are subscriber-only. Please support our journalism and become a USA TODAY digital subscriber today. |
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