Daily Briefing: Long weekend shutdown scaries

Nicole Fallert, USA TODAY
·6 min read
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Congress returns after Labor Day. As they reconvene, so do Americans' fears of a government shutdown crisis. Also in the news: Ohio law enforcement will release body camera footage Friday of a fatal police shooting of a pregnant Black woman and we have our predictions for Week 1 of college football.

🙋🏼‍♀️ I'm Nicole Fallert, Daily Briefing author. The pause is over. As student loan payments resume, here's how to make sure you're prepared.

Now, here we go with Friday's news.

Washington is running out of time to avoid a possible government shut down

Across the country, Americans are growing increasingly anxious about the possibility of another government shutdown, according to the results of a poll released Thursday.

A government shutdown could occur if Congress is unable to reach an agreement on a new budget before the fiscal year ends Sept. 30.

  • A shutdown would mean most federal employees would be furloughed, national parks could turn away visitors, air travel could be delayed, and programs such as food assistance benefits could take longer to process.

  • House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., is struggling to get some conservative lawmakers to support a short-term measure that would temporarily fund the government at current levels beyond the deadline.

  • A group of House conservatives known as the Freedom Caucus has issued a list of demands that it wants included in a short-term funding bill, including initiatives to stop the Justice Department and FBI from conducting what the group calls political “witch hunts."

Joseph Biggs gets 17 years for Jan. 6 attack

Proud Boys member Joseph Biggs was sentenced Thursday to 17 years in prison – the second-longest sentence yet related to the Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021 − for his role in the seditious conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election and keep Donald Trump in the White House. Biggs helped lead Proud Boys at the Capitol, made it inside to the Senate chamber and posted on social media the riot was a "warning shot" to the government, according to a sentencing memo from prosecutors. Biggs acknowledged to the judge that he “messed up that day,” but he blamed being “seduced by the crowd” of Trump supporters outside the Capitol. Read more

In this Jan. 6, 2021, file photo, Proud Boys including Joseph Biggs, front left, walks toward the U.S. Capitol in Washington, in support of President Donald Trump. With the megaphone is Ethan Nordean, second from left.
In this Jan. 6, 2021, file photo, Proud Boys including Joseph Biggs, front left, walks toward the U.S. Capitol in Washington, in support of President Donald Trump. With the megaphone is Ethan Nordean, second from left.

More news to know now

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Video of police fatally shooting a pregnant Black woman set to be released, Ohio department says

Authorities in Ohio say they plan to release body camera footage Friday of a fatal police shooting of a pregnant Black woman, more than a week after the shooting. Suspected of shoplifting, police say 21-year-old Ta’Kiya Young was killed after she accelerated her car toward an officer in a grocery store parking lot on Aug. 24. Young was pregnant with her third child, who also did not survive the shooting. A lawyer for Young's family has questioned the delay. The two officers’ names, ages and races have not been released. Blendon Township Police Chief John Belford said in a video statement last week that the officers involved are on paid administrative leave. Read more

Friends, family and activists gathered to protest the shooting of 21-year-old Ta'Kiya Young, who was shot and killed by Blendon Twp. police outside the Sunbury Road Kroger on Aug. 24.
Friends, family and activists gathered to protest the shooting of 21-year-old Ta'Kiya Young, who was shot and killed by Blendon Twp. police outside the Sunbury Road Kroger on Aug. 24.

U.S. Embassy urges Americans to leave Haiti 'as soon as possible'

American citizens in Haiti should leave the country "as soon as possible" because of spiraling security and infrastructure "challenges," the U.S. Embassy said in a travel advisory issued this week.  It cautioned that if "you encounter a roadblock, turn around and get to a safe area," a reference to an escalating gang turf war that has seen Haiti consumed by random killings, rapes, extortion and kidnappings. Haiti's gangs have been vying for territory and resources in the wake of the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse. They now control large parts of the country. The United Nations says nearly half of Haiti's 11 million people are in need of humanitarian aid. Read more

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Week 1 college football predictions

The long wait is over. College football is back after almost nine months away. The big game of Week 1 isn't on a college campus. It's in Orlando, Florida, where No. 5 LSU looks for payback against No. 8 Florida State after the Seminoles won a nail-biter in New Orleans last season. Another rematch of last season's opening weekend will take place when No. 14 Utah hosts Florida after the Gators prevailed with a late touchdown in Gainesville. The other significant matchup sees North Carolina and South Carolina playing on sort-of-neutral ground in Charlotte. Read more

Quick hits

Photo of the day: At Burning Man, sunset is when things heat up

Colorful outfits, calls to the sunset and climable artworks dot the desert at the annual Burning Man counter-culture festival in the Nevada. Attendees will embrace the vibes until pyrotechnicians ignite and burn the man on Saturday, Sept. 2, 2023. Check out more photos of the amazing art here — before it's set ablaze.

People sit atop the 30-foot-high "BitCube" art installation at Burning Man as they wait for sunset and the full moonrise.
People sit atop the 30-foot-high "BitCube" art installation at Burning Man as they wait for sunset and the full moonrise.

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: Government shutdown, Proud Boys, Ta'Kiya Young, Haiti, college football, Burning Man