Daily Briefing: Why are people boycotting Starbucks?
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
#boycottstarbucks has been used in thousands of posts in recent weeks, prompting customers to avoid the coffee chain. Also in the news: The U.S. national security adviser will meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas Friday to discuss Gaza's future. The House has passed a $886 billion last-minute annual defense spending bill.
🙋🏼♀️ I'm Nicole Fallert, Daily Briefing author. From war to Taylor Swift (and more Taylor Swift), these are the news stories that defined 2023.
This is the news to know Friday.
Boycotts over Middle East tensions highlight Starbucks labor fight
You may have noticed more and more people calling for a boycott of Starbucks on social media. The protests are stemming from a series of issues. First, Starbucks and the union organizing its workers are suing each other in federal court over a social media post that was sent out by the workers' union supporting Palestinians in light of the Israel-Hamas war (Starbucks distanced itself from the workers' union's pro-Palestinian stance). The lawsuit barrage between the company and its workers is just one example of how the two sides have been clashing for the past few years. Starbucks Workers United, which represents thousands of baristas at 340 locations nationwide, is still trying to get its first union contract. Read more
US floats a possible Palestinian security role in postwar Gaza
The United States national security adviser is set to meet with the Palestinian president on Friday to discuss postwar arrangements for Gaza, although Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu opposes any role for the Palestinian Authority in Gaza after the war and seeks to maintain an open-ended security presence there.
The Biden administration has started to become more critical about how Israel is carrying out its war against Hamas amid the rising number of Palestinian civilian casualties.
During U.S.-Israeli meetings Thursday in Israel, Biden's National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan discussed "a shift in emphasis" with members of Netanyahu's cabinet and other top Israeli officials.
The Biden administration wants Israel to find a point to scale back its large-scale ground and air campaign in Gaza and move to more "surgical" military operations targeting Hamas.
A senior Hamas official on Thursday backed away from a startling comment that Hamas could recognize the state of Israel and that Israelis should have rights “but not at the expense" of Palestinians or other groups.
More news to know now
House Republicans authorized an impeachment investigation into Joe Biden. What's next?
Here's how Nikki Haley is attempting a breakthrough in New Hampshire.
Big pharmacies could give your prescription info to cops without a warrant, Congress says.
Afraid your apartment building may collapse?
For subscribers: Family decries deadly violence migrants face in Juárez on journey to the U.S.
On today's The Excerpt podcast, we talk about TikTok cubicle comedians. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your smart speaker.
What's the weather today? Check your local forecast here.
House passes crucial defense bill in last-minute sprint
The House passed an annual defense policy bill Thursday morning, sending it to President Joe Biden’s desk to approve $886 billion in spending for military pay raises, funding for Ukraine and other key issues. The bill includes a 5.2% pay raise for troops, authorizes funding for Ukraine and an extension of a controversial foreign surveillance program. Conservative members were concerned by the bill's extension of Section 702, a provision in the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act that enables the U.S. to monitor foreign nationals using U.S. based messaging services, and its omission of several culture war amendments. Read more
Will a Supreme Court case put abortion access in peril (even where it's legal?)
The Supreme Court will hear cases challenging the abortion pill, putting access for hundreds of thousands of patients in states where abortion is legal and protected in the balance, experts say. The high court will review an appellate ruling that significantly restricted use of mifepristone, rolling back the Food and Drug Administration’s decision to make the pregnancy termination drug available to patients through telemedicine and the U.S. mail. If the majority determines the FDA overstepped its bounds by making abortion medication accessible through video appointments and mailed medicine, people would no longer be able to obtain these abortions in their first trimester remotely, regardless of state laws that protect access to abortion. Read more
Mifepristone is one of the most effective, and chosen, means to terminate a pregnancy. It's about 87% to 98% effective and allows pregnant people to take the medication at home, experts say.
Keep scrolling
Would you wait up to eight hours for In-N-Out?
Eggflation isn't over yet.
Why are older workers saying no to retirement?
Las Vegas set a franchise record for points in Thursday Night Football.
Here's the story of Taylor Swift and a 6-year-old's viral TikTok hug.
This new NFL program could help improve NFL coaching diversity.
Secret filming in sports isn't limited to football. It's just hard to prove.
Atlanta asks federal appeals court to kill 'Stop Cop City' petition
Lawyers for the city of Atlanta are asking an appeals court to overturn a ruling that let nonresidents collect signatures in the “Stop Cop City” effort to force a referendum on a police and fire training center. Those lawyers on Thursday asked three federal judges to kill the petition drive as illegal under state law. Even a ruling that just narrows which petitions are accepted could doom the chances that opponents will have enough signatures to force a referendum, experts said. Read our earlier coverage about Cop City.
Photo of the day: Shohei Ohtani debuts Dodgers jersey
Shohei Ohtani opened his first news conference with the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday, officially donning the blue five days after landing a 10-year $700 million contract with the team. Ohtani talked over and over about the importance of winning.
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: Starbucks boycott, Israel-Hamas war, abortion, "Cop City", Taylor Swift, Shohei Ohtani: Daily Briefing
