Daily Briefing: An entire Canadian town evacuates

Residents are fleeing the capital of Canada’s Northwest Territories ahead of a noon Friday deadline as a wildfire nears the city of 20,000. Also in the news: President Joe Biden brings foreign policy with South Korea and Japan to Camp David today and new research shows middle-age Americans have really embraced wine night.

🙋🏼‍♀️ I'm Nicole Fallert, Daily Briefing author. What's with all the Taylor Swift-themed college classes?

Now, here we go with Friday's news.

Entire city forced to evacuate as Canada's wildfires get worse

"Unprecedented" wildfires closing in on the capital of Canada's Northwest Territories prompted citywide evacuations by land and sky Thursday, officials said. Authorities instructed residents of the highest-risk areas of Yellowknife to evacuate immediately, while others had until Friday afternoon to leave the city of about 20,000 people. Canada has been plagued by the worst wildfire season on record. The effects will be felt in the U.S., too: An air quality alert was issued across the entire state of Wisconsin, and central and northeastern Minnesota, from Thursday morning through Monday. Read more

• When was the last hurricane to hit California? Never. Hilary could change that.

• A strong 6.3 earthquake rattled Colombia, and a nearby aftershock registered at 5.7.

• Victims in a Pennsylvania house explosion are remembered by family and friends.

Maui emergency chief resigns after criticism for deadly wildfire response

Maui's top emergency management official resigned Thursday, a day after he defended his decision not to sound warning sirens as wildfires tore through the island, killing more than 100 people and leading to harsh criticism of his actions.

When the wildfires broke out on Aug. 8, residents said they were given little to no time to evacuate as none of the island's warning sirens, among the world's largest outdoor siren warning systems, sounded off.

• Herman Andaya, the embattled administrator of the Maui Emergency Management Agency, said he decided not to sound the sirens, fearing residents would have fled inland, toward the flames.

• An independent investigation by the state's attorney general will investigate the state’s response to the deadly wildfires in a review likely to take months.

• Meanwhile Hawaii Gov. Josh Green doubled down on his vow to protect residents from predatory land grabs, urging outsiders not to make offers for burned-out homes.

Fact check: No, Maui fires are not linked to energy weapons, AI, smart cities and weather modification.

More news to know now

• North Carolina restricts gender-affirming care for minors; other laws targeting trans youth take effect.

• How a 5th Circuit Court of Appeals mifepristone ruling pokes holes in wider FDA authority.

• An Ohio teen faces life for an ''intentional'' crash that killed two.

• An insurgent candidate told Guatemalans: Stay, don’t go to the U.S. This time, they’re listening.

• On today's 5 Things podcast, nearly two-thirds of Americans say they would not support Donald Trump in 2024, according to polling. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your smart speaker.

What's the weather today? Check your local forecast here.

At Camp David, Biden to nudge Japan and South Korea toward unity

President Joe Biden is set to welcome the leaders of Japan and South Korea for the first summit of his presidency at the Camp David presidential retreat. Biden's meeting on Friday with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida comes as the United States aims to further tighten security and economic cooperation between the two countries. Historically frosty relations between South Korea and Japan have rapidly thawed over the last year because of Seoul and Tokyo's shared concerns about China. Read more

• Russia fines Google, says it promotes fake news about Ukraine war.

• A Florida law restricting property ownership for Chinese citizens and other groups remains active.

Names, pictures, addresses of Georgia grand jurors circulate online after panel indicted Trump

Names, pictures and even home addresses of Georgia grand jurors who indicted Donald Trump are circulating online as authorities are rushing to identify the origin of any credible threats against jurors. In one instance, an anonymous user called the list of jurors' names "a hit list," according to the group Media Matters for America. The Fulton County Sheriff's Office issued a statement saying it was working with local and federal authorities to identify the origin of threats against jurors. In contrast to anonymous federal grand jurors, Georgia includes the names of grand jurors with no other personal identifying information in its indictments. Read more

• The Supreme Court, mired in controversy, could wade into the Trump indictments.

• Donald Trump wants his election trial to start in 2026. Prosecutors say that's too long a wait.

Just for subscribers:

• Ford demands secrecy as it preps salaried workers for blue-collar jobs if UAW strikes.

• What can the Ohio RICO case tell us about ex-President Trump's Georgia indictment?

• Human trafficking: A network of crime hidden across a vast American landscape.

These articles are for USA TODAY subscribers. You can sign up here. 

Middle-aged US adults binge drinking, using marijuana at record levels

Binge drinking, vaping, marijuana use, and hallucinogen consumption reached an all-time high among U.S. adults in 2022, showing a significant upward trajectory in substance use in recent years, according to a study released Thursday. New research from the University of Michigan's Monitoring the Future (MTF) panel revealed that middle-aged adults, between the ages of 35 and 50, in the United States are using marijuana and hallucinogens at record levels. Binge drinking had also spiked to the "highest prevalence... ever recorded for this age group," according to the panel study. Read more

• Left or right arm: Choosing where to get vaccinated matters, study suggests.

Quick hits

• Washington, D.C. is the most overworked city in the U.S., a study finds. Where does your town rank?

• Alabama, Ohio State and Georgia are among the college football teams with the most intense QB competition.

• The NCAA conference realignment shook up Big 10, Big 12 and PAC-12. We mapped the impact.

• The world chess organization FIDE issued a ban on transgender women competing in women’s events.

• New movies to see this weekend: Watch DC's 'Blue Beetle,' embrace the dog movie ''Strays.''

Photo of the day: Rory McIlroy highlights first round at 2023 BMW Championship

Rory McIlroy and Brian Harman share the lead at the BMW Championship at rain-soaked Olympia Fields, Illinois. McIlroy is using that to his advantage. The greens were so soft from a two-hour rain delay in the morning that McIlroy realized trying to get at pins was easier coming from the rough, because the ball wouldn't have as much spin. Read more

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: wildfire, Canada, Maui, Lahaina, California hurricane, Trump indictment, Camp David: Daily Briefing