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| Good morning, Daily Briefing readers! While you were (probably) sleeping, Simone Biles withdrew from another event in Tokyo – Thursday's gymnastics all-around final – so she can focus on her mental health. USA Gymnastics applauded Biles' bravery and said, "Her courage shows, yet again, why she is a role model for so many." |
| Steve and Jane are here with Wednesday's news. |
| 💰New this morning: Products the federal government buys would need a higher share of U.S. parts to qualify as "made in America" under new rules the Biden administration will propose Wednesday. |
| 🔴"The Olympics is overwhelming": Michael Phelps said he can relate to Simone Biles' decision to withdraw from competition events in Tokyo. |
| 📺 "You got this, brother": "Better Call Saul" star Bob Odenkirk collapsed on the show's New Mexico set and had to be hospitalized. |
| 🏀Team USA scores a 54-point win: The U.S. men's basketball rebounded from a bad opening loss at the Olympics with a rout of Iran. |
| 🎧On today's 5 Things podcast, we make sense of the CDC's new mask guidelines. Plus, hear how Simone Biles is focusing on her mental health. You can listen to the podcast every day on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or on your smart speaker. |
| Here's what's happening today: |
CDC recommends wearing masks indoors, again |
| Keep a mask handy when leaving your home starting this Wednesday – even if you're vaccinated. The CDC now recommends masking up indoors if you live in an area with high COVID-19 transmission rates . The agency made the plea Tuesday, citing new "worrisome findings." CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said, "In rare occasions, some vaccinated people infected with the delta variant after vaccination may be contagious and spread the virus to others." The highly transmissible delta variant accounts for more than 80% of COVID-19 cases across the U.S., according to federal data. |
Tokyo Olympics: Simone Biles will not compete in gymnastics all-around final |
| Simone Biles will not compete in the Olympic all-around, USA Gymnastics said in a statement Wednesday. Jade Carey will replace Biles in the competition Thursday. Biles' withdrawal from the all-around, where she is the defending Olympic gold medalist, came a day after she surprised many by pulling out of the team final after one event. USA Gymnastics said Biles will not compete so she can focus on her mental health and would continue to be evaluated to determine whether or not she would compete in event finals next week. In other developments from the Tokyo Olympics, Katie Ledecky won her first gold medal of these Games and the first-ever Olympic women's 1,500-meter freestyle. Also, for the first time in Olympics history, medals for 3x3 basketball will be awarded. |
 | | Simone Biles at the Tokyo Olympics in July 2021 | | USA TODAY Sports photo and graphic | |
| 🏅The inside scoop on the Tokyo Olympics, texted right to you. Sign up for USA TODAY's Olympic texts, where we'll be your official guide to the Games. |
What else people are reading: |
| 🔵 "Within the scope of his office": The Department of Justice announced Republican Ala. Rep Brooks should not be dismissed from Capitol riot lawsuit. |
| 🔵 "A path of opportunity": Walmart, the country's largest private employer, announced it will pay 100% of college tuition for employees. |
| 🔵 Possible salmonella contamination: McCormick has recalled three seasonings. Select Walmart, Target and Kroger stores were among the retailers that sold the spices. |
| 🔵 "Left us with empty hearts": Joey Jordison, the co-founder and longtime drummer of the iconic heavy metal band Slipknot, has died at the age of 46. |
Supreme Court approval dips to lowest point in four years, poll finds |
| Democrats, Republicans and independents have at least one thing they can agree on: Nobody is particularly happy with the Supreme Court. Americans' approval of the nation's highest court dipped to its lowest point in four years in a Gallup poll Wednesday, falling below 50% for the first time since 2017. Forty-nine percent approved of the job the justices are doing, down from 58% a year ago. But at a time when the nation is divided over just about everything, the poll indicated the Supreme Court is viewed evenly among Democrats and Republicans – possibly reflecting the small number of high-profile decisions in the term that ended this month. |
Newsmakers in their own words: Police officers share their Jan. 6 experiences |
 | | U.S. Capitol Police Sgt. Harry Dunn on Capitol Hill in July 2021 | | Pool photo by Andrew Harnik; USA TODAY graphic | |
| U.S. Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn was one of four law enforcement officers who offered accounts Tuesday of the violence and fear they endured while trying to defend the Capitol on Jan. 6, when a mob of then-President Donald Trump's supporters stormed the building. |
| Dunn recalled a woman in a pink "MAGA" shirt racially abusing him after he announced he voted for Joe Biden. "No one had ever called me a (N-word) while wearing my Capitol Police uniform," Dunn testified. |
| Here are our takeaways from an emotional day on Capitol Hill. |
More wind, higher temps could worsen California's largest wildfire |
| Strong winds and potential thunderstorms Wednesday could hurt firefighter's efforts to contain several wildfires raging across the West . The Dixie Fire, California's largest blaze, was only 23% contained as of Tuesday and has burned three dozen structures while threatening more than 10,000 others, according to Cal Fire. The blaze is one of 79 large fires burning 1.5 million acres across 12 states in the West, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. The effects of the fires could be felt across the country, and some East Coast cities this week saw hazy, smoky skies. That prompted air quality alerts in parts of the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and Midwest. Conditions are expected to worsen this week with likely thunderstorms, increased winds and higher temperatures, the Forest Service said. |
Mena Suvari makes peace with abuse, addiction in new book |
| Actress Mena Suvari, widely known for her appearances in Oscar-winning film "American Beauty" and three movies in the "American Pie" series, revealed in a new book titled "The Great Peace" that when she filmed the 1999 winner for best picture, she was living under the control of an abusive boyfriend and was often high on drugs. |
 | | Mena Suvari in 2018 | | File photo by Invision/Associated Press; USA TODAY graphic | |
Meteors may go flashing by tonight in rare double feature |
| Skywatchers this week get one of the few opportunities this summer to see a meteor shower – or actually, two . The dual showers – known as the Southern Delta Aquariids and the Alpha Capricornids – are set to peak Wednesday night and early morning Thursday, AccuWeather said. The Southern Delta Aquariids will produce 12 faint meteors per hour on average in the Southern sky, while the Alpha Capricornids will offer only about five – but some of those could be bright enough to light up the entire sky, according to the American Meteor Society. An hour or two before dawn is usually the best time to watch this showers, EarthSky said. |
ICYMI: Some of our top stories published Tuesday |
| ⚕"Being transgender is not a medical condition": David Oliver examines the phenomenon of trans broken arm syndrome. |
| 🔴 Larry Nassar's abuse of gymnasts went back decades. This is why it still matters in Tokyo. |
| 💸 Opinion piece from Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Natalia Abrams: President Joe Biden should extend student loan payment pause and cancel $50,000 for borrowers. |
📸 Photo of the day: US swimmers make history with medal wins 📸 |
 | | Katie Ledecky (USA), right, and Erica Sullivan (USA) celebrate after placing first and second in the women's 1500m freestyle final during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Summer Games at Tokyo Aquatics Centre on Jul 28, 2021. | | Rob Schumacher, USA TODAY Sports | |
| The United States' Katie Ledecky won her first gold medal in Tokyo and her sixth gold overall in the first-ever women's 1,500-meter freestyle event Wednesday. "I'm just proud to bring home a gold medal to Team USA," Ledecky said. |
| Tap here to see more of the best photos from the men's and women's swimming events and head here to see some of the defining images from the Tokyo Olympics. |
| The Daily Briefing is free, but several stories we link to in this edition are subscriber-only. Please support our journalism and become a USA TODAY digital subscriber today. |
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