Daily Briefing: Tennessee picks up the pieces

Central Tennessee residents and emergency workers are digging out from devastating weekend storms that killed six people and injured dozens of others. Also in the news: Trump says he won't testify again at his New York real estate fraud trial. University of Pennsylvania's president has resigned following a Capitol Hill testimony about antisemitism.

🙋🏼‍♀️ I'm Nicole Fallert, Daily Briefing author. 2023 is all about "Pinkmas".

Here is the news to know Monday.

Severe storms killed 6 people and damaged Tennessee neighborhoods

Conditions should improve Monday and into the week as Tennessee residents pick through the rubble of scores of ravaged homes and businesses.

Dozens of people were injured, cars flipped, trees buckled, and roofs were blown off buildings as shoppers hunkered down in store basements Saturday in Tennessee for what the National Weather Service preliminarily determined was a string of tornadoes.

• The fierce storm system killed six people, including a 2-year-old boy in Middle, Tennessee. The severe weather outbreak may be the deadliest December on record for Middle Tennessee's tornado disasters, according to experts.

• Travel on roads and on airlines could be difficult into Monday morning, forecasters said, as the storm rolled east Sunday and threatens a swath of the nation from Maryland to Florida and across the Central Gulf Coast with severe thunderstorms, heavy rain, and even snow.

• One mother's story: A tornado slammed Clarksville, northwest of Nashville, Saturday afternoon, prompting Shanika Washington to take her children, ages 5 and 10, to a windowless bathroom in the basement of her townhouse. She tried to shield them with her own body for 20 frightening minutes.

Related: Nebraska residents got a rude awakening with a rare earthquake.

Israel, Hamas dispute claims of militants surrendering

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that dozens of militants have surrendered in recent days as the Israeli military intensifies its military effort to crush Hamas and kill its leadership. Hamas countered in a statement, saying Israel was detaining unarmed civilians and surrounding them with weapons in a "desperate and transparent ploy" to give the appearance that the resolve of the militants was fading. Netanyahu's bold prediction came two days after the U.N. Security Council's latest resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire was vetoed by the U.S. Read more

• The U.N. General Assembly will hold an emergency meeting Tuesday to vote on a draft resolution expected to be similar to the one the U.S. vetoed.

More news to know now

• Republican and Democratic senators are racing to resolve foreign aid and border disputes.

• In 911 calls, panicked UNLV students say they were stuck in rooms amid a campus shooting.

• A Catholic priest died after an attack in a church rectory in Nebraska.

• Mitt Romney says he doesn't see ''any evidence'' to authorize a Joe Biden impeachment inquiry.

• For subscribers: Why are some Nevada Republicans rejecting Article 5 of the U.S. Constitution?

• On today's The Excerpt podcast, a look at a spike in suicides among older men. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your smart speaker.

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

Donald Trump cancels plan to testify in New York real estate fraud trial

Former President Donald Trump changed his mind about testifying this week as the final witness for his defense in his New York civil fraud trial. The former president "has nothing more to say," he said in a post to his Truth Social platform. Trump's attorneys previously said he would testify Monday as they fight a case from the New York Attorney General's Office accusing Trump and others of engaging in various forms of fraud in his real estate empire. Judge Arthur Engoron has already ruled Trump fraudulently inflated the value of his assets on financial statements. Read more

Kate Cox can't get abortion — for now

The Texas Supreme Court has paused a judge's decision that would have allowed a woman to terminate a pregnancy in which her fetus has a fatal diagnosis. Just days prior, a Travis County Court blocked the state from enforcing its strict abortion ban in the case of Kate Cox, a Dallas woman. The justices now say they intend to consider a petition filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, which argued the state would suffer an "irreparable loss" should Cox terminate her pregnancy. While Cox is just one person, her story reflects a much larger experience pregnant people now face when trying to access health care under draconian post-Roe abortion bans. Read more

Keep scrolling

• Here's how sex (and sweets) helped bring Emma Stone's curious ''Poor Things'' character to life.

• Taylor Swift touched down in Kansas City to cheer on Travis Kelce for her sixth game of the season.

• Prince William and Princess Kate shared a new family photo on their Christmas card.

• The mystery of thousands of tons of dead fish washed up on Japan's northern coast.

• 32 things we learned in NFL Week 14: Cowboys' NFC shake-up caps wild weekend.

• Here's why Shohei Ohtani will be worth every penny of his $700 million contract for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Why did Penn President Liz Magill resign?

University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill has resigned following uproar over her recent testimony about antisemitism on college campuses. Magill joined Harvard University President Claudine Gay and Massachusetts Institute of Technology President Sally Kornbluth last week at the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, where the university leaders answered questions about their handling of antisemitic incidents on college campuses. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., called the answers the university presidents gave “unacceptable and antisemitic,” urging them to resign. Read more

• As Penn leaders resign, students say ''a lot still needs to change.''

• Speech police? Supreme Court asked to enter fray on confronting bias on campus.

Photo of the day: Pantone 2023 Color of the Year is here

Pantone has officially declared Peach Fuzz as the 2024 Color of the Year. Now, you may be wondering what Peach Fuzz looks like, and no one describes it better than the company itself. Pantone says that Peach Fuzz is a "velvety gentle peach tone whose all-embracing spirit enriches mind, body, and soul." And it turns out, this color is everywhere you look. Check out these Peach Fuzz beauty products.

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: Tennessee tornadoes, Israel-Hamas war, Trump New York trial, abortion, Penn president, Taylor Swift: Daily Briefing