Daily Briefing: A strike against the Detroit three

The United Auto Workers union launched a strike against General Motors, Ford and Stellantis simultaneously for the first time in its 88-year history. Also in the news: Hurricane Lee is bringing intense rain and wind to New England and what NASA really knows (or doesn't) about UFOs.

🙋🏼‍♀️ I'm Nicole Fallert, Daily Briefing author. Things I'm curious to try: an adobo martini, seaweed focaccia and malai rigatoni.

Here's the news to know this Friday.

UAW launches strike against GM, Ford and Stellantis

The United Auto Workers launched a historic strike late Thursday targeting all three Detroit automakers at once after contract negotiations failed to land a new deal.

UAW members at three assembly plants in Michigan, Ohio, and Missouri went on strike after their labor contracts expired at 11:59 p.m. The strike targets specific plants of Ford Motor Co., General Motors and Stellantis, which makes Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Fiat brands.

• In a unique strategy, union leaders say they will select new target plants to take out on strike in various waves if negotiations continue to fail to land new agreements with the auto companies. The method is designed to keep the automakers off-guard and leverage the union's position.

• The UAW has been negotiating with all three carmakers separately, yet simultaneously, since late summer. Automakers reacted with disappointment at negotiations breaking down.

• The Biden administration is preparing to offer emergency economic aid to auto suppliers to protect them from any long-term damage in the event of a prolonged strike, according to published reports.

Related: Amid a looming health care walkout, a Kaiser strike was authorized by unions in four states.

Eastern New England bracing for onslaught of rain

Hurricane Lee is expected to bring a nasty mix of heavy rain, strong winds and high seas to the eastern New England region starting later Friday and lasting into Saturday, forecasters said. Even if Lee doesn't officially make landfall in New England, its impacts will still be felt across the region in part because of the increasing size of the storm, risking damaging winds, powerful surf and possible flooding to the area. In Maine, the state is under its first hurricane watch in 15 years. Read more

• Providence's hurricane barrier is ready for Hurricane Lee. Here's how it will work.

More news to know now

• Where are we in the government funding fight? McCarthy is taunting hardline Republicans.

• An eye in the sky nabbed escaped murderer Danelo Cavalcante. It's sure to be used more in U.S.

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is returning to the U.S. next week.

• Planned Parenthood Wisconsin resumed abortion procedures after a new court ruling.

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

• On today's 5 Things podcast, Hunter Biden has been indicted on federal gun charges. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your smart speaker.

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

Donald Trump's Georgia trial won't start in October

The Georgia racketeering trials for Donald Trump and 16 co-defendants won't begin in October, a judge ruled Thursday. Fulton County Superior Judge Scott McAfee separated the cases from two co-defendants whose trial will start mid-October. He didn't set a trial date for Trump, but set deadlines early next month for prosecutors to share evidence with Trump's defense lawyers. Four of the defendants who are trying to move their cases to federal court − Mark Meadows, Jeffrey Clark, David Shafer and Shawn Still − asked McAfee to suspend their trials while waiting for a federal appeals decision on their requests. But McAfee denied the request. Read more

• Trump's attorneys seek to derail his New York civil case by complaining about the judge.

• President Biden, trailing Trump on the economy, is going on offense.

UN says most Libya flood deaths could have been avoided

The majority of the thousands of deaths in catastrophic floods in Libya could have been avoided, the United Nations' World Meteorological Organization said Thursday. The statement came came as Libyan health officials say the death toll from floods in the eastern Libyan city of Derna has soared to 11,300. The Secretary General of the aid group the Libyan Red Crescent says a further 10,100 people are reported missing in the coastal city after an unusually strong Mediterranean storm named "Daniel" on Sunday caused deadly flooding in towns across eastern Libya, causing two dams to burst. Read more

The UFO report comes back empty, but give NASA a call if you see anything

There’s no evidence that UAPs – unidentified anomalous phenomena, previously known as UFOs – are of extraterrestrial origin, a special investigative team said when it announced a 36-page report of NASA’s Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena Independent Study Team, which was released Thursday morning. Some UAP can't yet be explained, the team says. In response, NASA is taking a greater role in scientific investigation of the sightings and has named a new director of UAP research. Though most sightings can be identified as planes, balloons, drones and weather events, the independent group says more sophisticated scientific research is needed, along with efforts to remove the stigma of reporting sightings. Read more

• The report comes at a time when UFOs have once again been capturing the public's attention as bipartisan pressue mounts to release more information.

• ''A Million Miles Away'' tells real story of Latino migrant farmworker turned NASA astronaut.

Quick hits

• Mel Tucker made millions while he delayed the Michigan State sexual harassment case.

• California schools joined a growing list of districts across the country banning Pride flags.

• Can Atlanta voters stop ''Cop City''? Here's why a vote could be ''transformative.''

• Thursday Night Football highlights: The Eagles beat the Vikings.

• NFL Week 2 picks: With Aaron Rodgers gone, can the Jets get past Cowboys for 2-0 start?

• Kristen Welker says her new role on NBC's ''Meet the Press'' is ''the honor of a lifetime.''

Photo of the day:  Vogue World kicks off London Fashion Week 2023

New York Fashion Week is over and the fashion world's attention has quickly pivoted across the pond, where an impressive guest list donned stunning looks Thursday night for the Vogue World event at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane. The magazine's second-annual fashion celebration marked the start of London Fashion Week and featured performances of theater and fashion to raise funds for artistic organizations in London. 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: UAW strike, Hurricane Lee, Trump Georgia trial, Hunter Biden, NASA, UFO, Vogue World: Daily Briefing