Daily Briefing: Tornadoes and extreme weather
A series of tornadoes and storms killed at least seven people in Alabama and Georgia. Also in the news: A second set of classified documents has been found in President Joe Biden's garage and the James Webb Telescope confirmed its first exoplanet.
🙋🏼♀️ I'm Nicole Fallert, Daily Briefing author. It's Friday the 13th — what does that mean again? And here's how to get free fries to celebrate.
Here are Friday's headlines.
7 dead in Alabama, Georgia after tornadoes and storms
Authorities said a clearer picture of the extent of the damage caused by a massive storm system would come once the sun rose Friday. At least seven people were killed, several were injured and extensive damage was reported Thursday as tornadoes and extreme weather rolled through the Southeast U.S. As of Thursday night, tens of thousands of customers were without power across Alabama and Georgia. In Selma, the city council used lights from cellphones during a meeting on the sidewalk to declare a state of emergency. Six of the deaths were recorded in Autauga County, Alabama. Read more
From California: Images show the damage left by more than a week of extreme weather.
Floods, rain have plagued California — what happened to the drought? It's still a problem, new data says.
The political meaning of Biden's classified documents
A second set of classified documents discovered by aides to President Joe Biden were recovered in the garage of his Wilmington, Delaware, home, the White House confirmed Thursday. Hours after the disclosure, Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Robert Hur as special counsel to investigate the discovery of the classified documents.
One thing to know: These revelations are threatening to become a political – and possible legal – liability for the president.
The new set of documents, described as a small number, were returned to the National Archives and the Justice Department was alerted, said Richard Sauber, a special counsel to the president.
Why Garland said he's appointing a special counsel: "This appointment underscores for the public the department's commitment to both independence and accountability in particularly sensitive matters, and to making decisions indisputably guided only by the facts and the law."
Who is Robert Hur? As Maryland’s top attorney, Hur – who was called out of government retirement by Garland – supervised one of the largest and busiest U.S. Attorney’s offices in the nation and set the strategic priorities for it.
👉 Here are four ways in which the documents debacle could become a political headache for Biden.
More news to know now
📰 Lisa Marie Presley, the only child of Elvis, has died at 54 after a brief hospitalization.
💰 Another record-breaking lottery jackpot is up for grabs today.
💵 A bank will pay $31M for alleged lending discrimination in the DOJ's largest-ever redlining settlement.
🔔 Black fetal deaths are twice as high as white deaths, a CDC report finds.
⚫ Black Lives Matter co-founder's cousin Keenan Anderson has died after LAPD officers used a Taser on him.
🎧 On today's 5 Things podcast, USA TODAY White House Correspondent Joey Garrison has the latest on classified documents connected to President Joe Biden. You can listen to the podcast every day on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or on your smart speaker.
⭐ How's 2023 going so far? Your horoscope may have something to say.
🌤 What's the weather this weekend? Check your local forecast here.
Russia releases American Taylor Dudley
An American and Navy veteran detained in Russia since April was released Thursday, his family said in a statement. Taylor Dudley, 35, was backpacking in Europe when he crossed the border from Poland into Russia and was taken into custody. On Thursday he was released at the Polish border to former New Mexico governor Bill Richardson, who is a representative of the U.S. Embassy in Warsaw. Richardson said in a statement that he continues to work for the release of Paul Whelan, a former U.S. Marine detained in Russia four years ago. Read more
More world news: Why were anti-government riots in Brazil so similar to the Jan. 6 insurrection?
NY nurses return to work, but more strikes could follow
Even as 7,000 nurses return to work at two of New York’s busiest hospitals after a three-day strike, colleagues around the country say it’s just a matter of time before frontline workers at other hospitals begin walking the picket line. Problems are mounting at hospitals across the nation, which are facing widespread health care staffing shortages, overworked nurses beaten down from a pandemic that’s brought years of death and illness, and a draining pipeline of nursing school graduates. Read more
''This is alarming'': Childhood vaccination rates drop as measles and polio outbreaks emerge.
Just for subscribers:
🐳 How can artificial intelligence protect whales? Here's one company's plan.
🚗 One CEO says electric vehicle costs could mean a smaller market for cars.
⚒ Michigan could become the first state in nearly 60 years to ditch its ''right-to-work'' law.
💼 Here's everything to know about the evolving role of financial advisers.
These articles are for USA TODAY subscribers. You can sign up here. Already a subscriber and want premium content texted to you every day? We can do that! Sign up for our subscriber-only texting campaign.
James Webb Space Telescope confirms its first exoplanet
The James Webb Space Telescope has captured dazzling images of stars and galaxies throughout the universe, but it achieved another first recently by discovering its first exoplanet. This name refers to any planet outside our solar system that orbits a star. The planet, named LHS 475 b, shares similar qualities with Earth, NASA announced Wednesday. Its discovery first came with the help of NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, which hinted at the planet's existence before the Webb Telescope confirmed it with its near-infrared spectrograph. Read more
📷 Photo of the day: European winter resorts struggle with no snow 📷
Sparse snowfall and unseasonably warm weather in much of Europe is allowing green grass to blanket many mountaintops across the region where snow might normally be. It has caused headaches for ski slope operators and aficionados of Alpine white this time of year. Click here for more pictures of the warm weather hitting Europe's winter destinations.
One more thing
🟣 A woman who used medicinal cannabis while pregnant was taken off Arizona's child-abuse registry.
🏈 Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta has been selected as a potential AFC Championship Game location.
😠 Tom Hanks tapped his inner grump for ''A Man Called Otto.''
🍟 The viral Popeyes meme kid got a college football NIL deal with Popeyes.
🧦Here are the best fluffy and cozy socks to stay warm this season.
🎬 New movies to watch this weekend: Tom Hanks in ''A Man Called Otto,'' skip Gerard Butler's ''Plane.''
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: Tornadoes, Biden's classified documents, Ukraine, exoplanet, Tom Hanks: Daily Briefing
