Daily Briefing: Veep picks a Veep
The freshly-minted Harris-Walz campaign sets off Wednesday on a tour of swing states to sway voters of all stripes. Another member of the progressive group of House lawmakers known as “the Squad” lost a Democratic primary to a moderate. Ozempic seems to be everywhere, but who can really afford the popular drug?
🙋🏼♀️ I'm Nicole Fallert, Daily Briefing author. We now know more about "ancient hobbits."
Harris-Walz campaign goes on tour
Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris and running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz visit Michigan and Wisconsin on Wednesday, launching a multi-state effort to introduce the outspoken Midwestern lawmaker to American's most pivotal voters.
Who is Walz?: Walz, 60, brings a progressive political track record and rural-to-Washington appeal that makes him the ideal candidate for Democrats to defeat former President Donald Trump and JD Vance.
- He can make bipartisan laws with a slim majority. With narrow Democratic leverage in Minnesota’s House and Senate, Walz ushered into law several progressive measures, including legal recreational cannabis and no-cost school meals.
- Perhaps Walz’s biggest advantage is his track record on reproductive rights. After the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Minnesota became the first state to codify abortion rights via the state legislature.
- Walz slammed Vance as “creepy” and “just weird as hell.” And he quickly offered a challenge to debate.
Keep reading: Past students react to their former teacher "Mr. Walz" on the presidential ticket.
Olympics update: Twenty sports in action in Paris
The 2024 Paris Olympics barrel on Wednesday with a full track and field slate as well as the men’s skateboarding park final, Round 1 of women’s golf, women’s basketball quarterfinals and artistic swimming’s team acrobatic medal event. The Olympic track and field schedule features four finals, including the women’s pole vault and men’s 400m, and Noah Lyles running in the men’s 200m semifinal. Follow live updates from Paris for Wednesday.
Love the Olympics as much as we do? Follow @usatoday on Instagram to watch out our latest chat with Simone Biles and Sign up for Paste BN's Chasing Gold newsletter for daily updates from Paris.
A few of Wednesday's headlines
- Illinois Gov. Pritzker criticized sheriff for hiring deputy who fatally shot Sonya Massey.
- Storm Debby isn't done.
- A magnitude 5.3 earthquake rattled nerves in Southern California.
- Nobel winner Muhammad Yunus to lead Bangladesh after its PM fled bloody protests.
- Time to play today's Paste BN Crossword! Click here for Sally's expert analysis.
What's the weather today? Check your local forecast here.
How the war in Gaza is impacting elections
Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., suffered a bruising defeat in her St. Louis district on Tuesday night. Bush, a second-term lawmaker, was bested by St. Louis prosecuting attorney Wesley Bell, who was backed by a major pro-Israel group. The United Democracy Project, a super PAC aligned with The American Israel Public Affairs Committee, poured more than $8 million into campaign to replace Bush. Bush has been a vocal critic of the Israeli government amid the war in Gaza.
Why does Colorado have a bird flu problem?
Nationally, bird flu infections in cattle have dropped significantly except in Colorado, where about 20 of the infected herds have been detected, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Federal officials say Colorado might be an outlier because it's testing more often than other states, but also suggest Weld County's "quirk of history and geography" may play a role. Read more
Say 'dimethyl tetrachloroterephthalate'
For the first time in 40 years, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has taken emergency action to suspend the use of dimethyl tetrachloroterephthalate, a pesticide found to cause irreversible damage to fetuses when they're exposed in utero. Read more
Keep scrolling
- HBCU medical programs got a massive cash infusion from Bloomberg Philanthropies.
- I signed up for an aura reading and wound up in tears.
- Taylor Swift leads the VMA nominations (again).
- Billy Bean was an LGBTQ advocate and one of baseball's great heroes.
- How breaking emerged from battles in the Bronx to the Paris Olympics.
Who gets Ozempic?
The list of medical uses for popular prescription drugs that treat diabetes, obesity and heart disease continues to grow. But patients are experiencing more difficulty getting their insurers to cover these prescriptions that can cost over $10,000 a year. For Americans covered by Medicaid and Medicare, only a small share have had their Ozempic and Wegovy prescriptions filled. Read more
Photo of the day: We're already crying at 'It Ends With Us'
Colleen Hoover fans, rejoice! The author’s hugely popular romance novel "It Ends with Us" is in theaters on Friday. The film's stars Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni and Brandon Sklenar walked the pink carpet on Tuesday in New York City at the AMC Lincoln Square Theater for the world premiere. Read more
Nicole Fallert is a newsletter writer at Paste BN, sign up for the email here. Want to send Nicole a note? Shoot her an email at NFallert@usatoday.com.