Daily Briefing: Biden and Trump 325 miles apart
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President Joe Biden plans to make a rare visit to the southern border Thursday − the same day former President Donald Trump plans his own border stop. Also in the news: Experts say the Alabama IVF ruling may generate voter participation because IVF tends to be common among Republicans. F1 is back in 2024 for the Bahrain Grand Prix.
🙋🏼♀️ I'm Nicole Fallert, Daily Briefing author. She turns 100 on leap day today, but it's only her 25th birthday.
Here is the news to know Thursday.
Dueling border visits as 2024 campaigns focus on immigration
The border is the backdrop for President Joe Biden who will visit Brownsville, Texas, on Thursday to meet with Border Patrol agents, law enforcement officials and local leaders. Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump, the front-runner to win the Republican nomination, had already scheduled a visit Thursday to Eagle Pass, Texas, about 325 miles away from Brownsville. In a major political shift, Biden has embraced tougher rhetoric on the border and blamed congressional Republicans for inaction after they killed legislation this month − at Trump's urging − that would have created some of the most aggressive border restrictions in years. It's an attempt to flip the script ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
Border cities are waiting for an immigration solution no president has brought yet.
NYC Mayor Eric Adams wants changes to sanctuary city laws and increased cooperation with ICE.
The death of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley has become a flashpoint for a partisan debate over U.S. immigration policies.
Illinois judge rules Donald Trump is disqualified from the state's 2024 election ballot
An Illinois judge has barred former President Donald Trump from the state's Republican presidential primary ballot on over his alleged role in the Capitol riot.
The background: Advocates in Illinois – and across the country – have argued that Trump engaged in the insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021. They say that bars him from serving as president again because a section of the 14th Amendment, enacted after the Civil War, blocks people from office who engaged in an insurrection after previously promising to support the Constitution.
What Trump says: Trump argues the amendment does not apply to former presidents. And even if it does, he did not “engage in insurrection.”
He's still allowed to be on Illinois' ballot in November: A state election board in Illinois last month said Trump could run in Illinois' presidential primary.
Meanwhile, Trump is headed to the Supreme Court: The high court will hear a case in April on whether Trump can be tried for trying to steal the 2020 election.
Related: Trump must post a bond for a full $454 million fraud judgment during appeal.
More news to know now
The last functioning hospital in northern Gaza has shut down.
Lawmakers reached a short-term deal to avoid a devastating government shutdown.
The Supreme Court is deeply torn about whether bump stocks are legal.
These graphics show where the wildfires in Texas are right now.
On today's The Excerpt podcast, a judge ruled Trump must post a bond for the full $454 million judgment against him. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your smart speaker.
What's the weather today? Check your local forecast here.
Who could replace Mitch McConnell as Senate Republican leader?
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's announcement that he will be stepping down from his leadership post in November surprised many of his GOP colleagues – and kicked off immediate speculation about who would replace him. The transition comes at a unique moment for Republicans in Congress. The populist wing of the party exemplified by former President Donald Trump has steadily grown, prompting clashes between conservatives and more traditional, moderate Republicans. Here are McConnell's potential successors.
Mitch McConnell was the longest serving Senate party leader in history. He was never a classic pol.
Will the Alabama IVF ruling change how people vote?
The Alabama Supreme Court recently said there is no difference between embryos and children, ruling that frozen embryos are "extrauterine children." A distinction that one woman made that her failed IVF "felt like a 'different' loss" than her miscarriages − that the Alabama Supreme Court said doesn't exist − may help alter the trajectory of the presidential election, suddenly giving Democrats what they hope is a powerful new argument to engage independent and conservative-leaning voters who could tip the race for President Joe Biden. While Trump has criticized the Alabama ruling, Democratic party officials hope to harness new outrage to persuade wealthier, white conservative or independent women ‒ the largest recipients of IVF treatment ‒ to support Biden. Read more
Senate Republicans support IVF – but most won't back national protections after Alabama ruling.
Keep scrolling
NASA is choosing to see the bright side in the Odysseus lander tipping over.
The CDC says older adults should get a COVID-19 booster shot.
Starbucks and its workers' union will start collective bargaining.
These restaurants are this year's James Beard Award winners.
Caitlin Clark breaks Lynette Woodard's women's scoring record
Caitlin Clark and No. 6 Iowa traveled to face Minnesota in a Big Ten showdown Wednesday night, and earned a 108-60 blowout victory for the Hawkeyes. It was another record-setting night for Clark. And it wasn't just about her padding her points total, but rather how she did it. (See: A LOT of 3s.) With a 3 with 4:29 to play, Clark surpassed Lynette Woodward, the longtime scoring leader in major college women’s basketball. Clark now needs just 51 points to pass Pete Maravich's record.
These graphics show how close Clark is to scoring Maravich's record.
Photo of the day: Red Bull revs up for the Bahrain Grand Prix
After three months off and three days of testing, the 2024 Formula 1 season is set to start in Bahrain for the fourth consecutive year. All 20 drivers from last year's grid remain with their same teams this season, a first in Formula 1 history. Here's what to know about the 2024 Formula 1 season.
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 or follow along with her musings on Twitter. Support journalism like this – subscribe to USA TODAY here.
Associated Press contributed reporting.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Border, Biden, Trump, Mitch McConnell, IVF, Caitlin Clark, F1: Daily Briefing
