Daily Briefing: McCarthy's juggling act

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy now must navigate an impeachment inquiry against President Joe Biden and efforts to avert a government shutdown. Also in the news: Taylor Swift continued her era of domination with the most awards at the 2023 MTV VMAs and local law enforcement officials are protesting a temporary gun ban in parts of New Mexico.

🙋🏼‍♀️ I'm Nicole Fallert, Daily Briefing author. Congestion season is coming... but this drug won't help you.

Now here we go with Wednesday's news.

McCarthy says Biden impeachment won't distract from funding fight

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy ordering an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden Tuesday came as the Republican is juggling another daunting task – funding the federal government. The impeachment inquiry, in part meant to appease ultra-conservative lawmakers like those in the House Freedom Caucus, is now another task for McCarthy to juggle as Congress races to avert a shutdown with just 10 working days left before the Sept. 30 deadline. Read more

• Who will control the House after 2024? Districts that backed both Biden and Republicans could decide.

• Matt Gaetz threatened to remove Kevin McCarthy as House speaker over government shutdown talks.

• Federal charges were levied against five ex-Memphis officers involving Tyre Nichols death.

Taylor Swift shines with the most awards at 2023 VMAs

The year of Taylor Swift continues. The pop superstar was the biggest winner at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards Tuesday night. Swift went into the night with the most nominations, and left with nine wins including artist of the year, best pop, song of the year and video of the year. Her wins made Swift the second-most awarded artist in the show's history. She's also tied for the most wins in one night. After announcing her "Midnights" album at the VMAs last year, Swift won video of the year win for the album's mega hit song "Anti-Hero." It was the second year in a row Swift took home the night's top prize. Read more

• MTV VMAs Fashion: See Nicki Minaj, Shakira, Doja Cat, Cardi B, more stars light up the red carpet.

• Brutally honest reviews of every VMAs performance, including Shakira, Nicki Minaj and Demi Lovato.

• The full VMAs winners list, including Taylor Swift and Stray Kids.

Attention Swifties: Your dream job awaits. USA TODAY is hiring a Taylor Swift reporter to cover all things bejeweled.

More news to know now

• Day 14 of the manhunt: Fugitive Danelo Cavalcante is now armed with a rifle.

• CPI report released today: August inflation likely rose due to energy prices.

• The updated COVID-19 vaccine is recommended for everyone.

• Hurricane Lee could hit New England.

• For subscribers: Ron DeSantis' shifting climate change politics from ''green governor'' to ''active hostility.''

• On today's 5 Things podcast, military efforts to retrieve remains on an Alaskan glacier, decades after a plane crash. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your smart speaker.

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

New Mexico governor's temporary gun ban sparks battle

New Mexico's governor has moved to temporarily suspend the right to carry firearms in public in counties with high rates of violent crime, a move she said was necessary to curb gun violence.

But the decision swiftly prompted legal challenges and outcry from local law enforcement officials.

• Friday's order from Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, a Democrat, targets cities and counties which meet high violent crime criteria. So far, Bernalillo County and Albuquerque are affected.

• Local police are deferring to state law enforcement. Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller said in a post on X that the Albuquerque Police Department was not responsible for enforcing the order.

• Meanwhile, conservative lawmakers are urging local communities to pass ordinances to not enforce the order, calling it an overreach of power.

Putin hosts North Korea's Kim Jong Un at Siberian spaceport

North Korea's Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin met at a space base and adjoining rocket facility in a far-flung corner of eastern Russia on Wednesday. Kim told the Kremlin leader that his county would always stand by Moscow as it defends its security interests on the "anti-imperialist" front, as the talks were closely watched by Ukraine and Western military powers for signs of an arms deal that could help Russia's war in Ukraine. Any such agreement would violate international sanctions Russia has supported in the past. Read more

• Five Americans detained in Iran are expected to be released after the State Department releases billions of dollars of frozen funds to Iranians.

• Smoking for the State: How China became addicted to its cigarette monopoly.

Group files lawsuit over medical exceptions to abortion bans in 3 states

A reproductive rights legal organization filed lawsuits on behalf of several women and physicians on Tuesday, challenging three states where abortion restrictions have been enacted since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year. Eight women who were denied access to abortion care despite facing dangerous pregnancy complications, along with four OB-GYNs and an Idaho medical organization, are named across three lawsuits in Idaho, Tennessee, and Oklahoma. The suits are asking state courts to place holds on their abortion laws and to clarify “medical emergency” exceptions in the states’ bans. Read more

• Book bans are growing across the country. Lawmakers argued over the movement.

• American Red Cross announced a national blood shortage due to climate disasters and low donor turnout.

Quick hits

• Drew Barrymore was dropped as the National Book Awards host after her talk show resumes during strike.

• Lyft's new feature allows women, nonbinary riders and drivers to match in the app.

• The Jets' season already teetering on brink of collapse with Aaron Rodgers out for the year.

• New York Fashion Week 2023 Day 5: Naeem Khan, Pamella Roland and Carolina Herrera.

• Kenough waiting: "Barbie" is finally hitting streaming platforms.

Photo of the day:  iPhone 15 unveiled

Among the headline announcements from Apple's "Wonderlust" event on Tuesday was the debut of the iPhone 15 line. The iPhone 15, 15 Plus, 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max will each see aesthetic changes and technological updates, while significant changes are coming to the device's charging cord. 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: McCarthy, impeachment, government shutdown, Taylor Swift, VMAs, New Mexico gun ban, North Korea, Russia, abortion, iPhone 15