Daily Briefing: Are UFOs real?

A public NASA panel on UFOs highlighted science over conspiracy theories when it comes to understanding what's in the sky. Also in the news: Just one member of the Democratic-run Senate has the power to thwart the plan hatched by President Joe Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy ahead of the June 5 default deadline. The Denver Nuggets and Miami Heat face off tonight in Game 1 of the NBA Finals.

🙋🏼‍♀️ I'm Nicole Fallert, Daily Briefing author. Welcome to June. It's Pride Month! Niecy Nash shares her queer role models.

Now, here we go with Thursday's news.

NASA says data is necessary to explain sky observations

NASA's much-anticipated public hearing on UFOs took place Wednesday amid harassment concerns faced by the agency's 16-person team studying "events in the sky that cannot be identified as aircraft or as known natural phenomena." Technically the group is studying unidentified anomalous phenomena, or UAPs. NASA says UAPs are of interest for national security as well as air safety. And without access to an extensive set of data, it is nearly impossible to verify or explain any observation, NASA says. Hundreds of questions from the public that poured in ahead of time were skeptical and veered into conspiracy theories. Read more

Biden-McCarthy debt ceiling deal now goes to Senate

The House on Wednesday voted overwhelmingly to approve an agreement struck by President Joe Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy to suspend the debt ceiling and avoid a catastrophic default on the nation’s debt.

The bill now heads to the Senate, where Majority Leader Chuck Schumer wants a vote Friday. Whatever reservations senators might have about the deal, there's no time for changes.

• Congress needs to send an agreement to Biden’s desk before Monday, June 5 or the government won’t be able to pay bills coming due, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has warned.

• There are senators on both sides of the aisle who have taken issue with parts of the Biden-McCarthy deal who will want to flex their influence even as the country tiptoes to an unprecedented financial cliff.

• More Democratic House members, 165, voted for the bill than Republicans, 149, despite the deal being negotiated by McCarthy.

More news to know now

• The LAPD is investigating a hate crime after a transgender teacher's LGBTQ flag was burned at a California elementary school.

• A bill to undo Biden's student loan debt forgiveness plan will get a vote in the U.S. Senate.

• As a Medicaid purge begins, a ''staggering numbers'' of Americans could lose coverage.

• Could climate change mean more hurricanes for the West coast?

• What is your freight? The Scripps National Spelling Bee ends June 1 and we want to know the best of your worst misspellings.

• On today's 5 Things podcast, we recap the House vote that passed the debt limit deal. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your smart speaker.

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

Is it fair game for Ukraine to strike in Russian soil?

A regional governor in Russia said Wednesday that a town in his border province was shelled by Ukrainian forces for the third time this week, adding to the debate over whether Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory constitute self-defense. Ukraine has not claimed responsibility for the attacks, and the Biden administration reiterated its position "we don’t support attacks on Russian soil.” Meanwhile, European leaders are meeting in Moldova Thursday for a summit aiming to show a united front in the face of Russia's war in Ukraine and underscore support for the Eastern European country's ambitions to draw closer to the West and keep Moscow at bay. Read more

Donald Trump recorded while talking about classified document on Iran, report says

Federal officials have an audio recording of former President Donald Trump discussing he had a classified Pentagon document about a possible attack on Iran, CNN reported, citing multiple unidentified sources.  The report comes as the former president’s attorneys are seeking a meeting with Attorney General Merrick Garland about the Justice Department investigation of classified documents found at Trump's Mar-a-Lago home and private club. The probe concerns whether the former president mishandled classified documents and whether he obstructed justice by defying a subpoena to return documents he took from the White House. Trump has denied wrongdoing in the investigation. Read more

• ''Unhinged''? Now Donald Trump is attacking former press secretary Kayleigh McEnany.

• Here are five times Ron DeSantis took pointed jabs at Donald Trump while campaigning in Iowa this week.

Just for subscribers:

• Is there a labor shortage? It's easing in most places, but not much in the South.

• A mother recalls a terrifying phone conversation as her daughter's apartment building collapsed. 70275057007

• Ding! The Civil War-era history of Scripps National Spelling Bee bell.

• Bronny James would be most scrutinized rookie in NBA history if he's teammates with LeBron.

These articles are for USA TODAY subscribers. You can sign up here. 

NBA Finals begin with Nuggets heavily favored

Jimmy Butler and the eighth-seeded Miami Heat will face Nikola Jokic and the top-seeded Denver Nuggets in the 2023 NBA Finals. One of them will become a champion for the first time, with these top players leading in a matchup that starts Thursday night in Denver, with the Nuggets heavily favored to win it all. The Nuggets are making their first Finals appearance, while the Heat will make their seventh franchise appearance and their first since the 2020 bubble season. Read more

• All eyes on Florida: Miami Heat and Florida Panthers could team up to make sports history.

Quick hits

• An early bell and mass confusion: What went wrong at the 2023 NCAA D2 track championships.

• Alabama expanded a ban on transgender athletes to include college sports.

• Danny Masterson was found guilty of two counts of rape in retrial, faces up to 30 years in prison.

• How an ex-NFL player hopes his football past can help him topple Ted Cruz for U.S. Senate seat.

• The Taylor Swift and Matty Healy dating rumors and his podcast controversy, explained.

Photo of the day:  'Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse' world premiere

Fans of Spider-Man are counting down to the animated sequel "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse," which flies into theaters June 2. The film's world premiere Wednesday in Los Angeles brought together stars from the movie and beyond – plus some adorable celeb kids. Read our review of the flick here.

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: NASA UFO panel, debt ceiling deal, Ukraine, Russia, NBA finals, DeSantis 2024: Daily Briefing