Daily Briefing: Michigan's 'uncommitted' voters
A campaign calls on Michigan voters to choose "uncommitted" in Tuesday's Democratic primary to persuade President Joe Biden to demand a cease-fire in Gaza. Also in the news: While both sides of the Israel-Hamas war remain far apart, Israel sent a delegation to Qatar to continue negotiating an end to the conflict in a promising move. Why the U.S. hasn't developer better solutions for long COVID.
🙋🏼♀️ I'm Nicole Fallert, Daily Briefing author. What's the best place to see the April 2024 solar eclipse?
Here is the news to know Tuesday.
What to know about the 'uncommitted' Michigan primary campaign
The Listen to Michigan campaign, along with the progressive political organizing group Our Revolution, launched a last-minute campaign calling for a protest vote to pressure Biden to demand a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war by voting “uncommitted” in the Democratic presidential primary Tuesday.
The campaign demonstrates Biden's fragile electoral prospects in Michigan if he doesn't change his administration's handling of the Israel-Hamas war.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer − who serves as co-chair of President Joe Biden’s re-election campaign − warned voters that the effort could provide a boost for former President Donald Trump.
But others argue it could strengthen Biden’s re-election campaign heading into November if it pressures him to demand a cease-fire, a course of action backed by a majority of Michigan Democrats.
In Michigan's GOP primary election, Nikki Haley is holding out her fight against Trump as her supporters urge her to stay in the race as long as she can.
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Biden says Gaza cease-fire could come by 'end of the weekend'
A pause in fighting between Israel and Hamas in Gaza could come as soon as the “end of the weekend” to allow the release of additional hostages still held captive by Hamas, said President Joe Biden. The U.S. has been working to negotiate a hostage deal between Israel and Hamas that would pause fighting in Gaza for at least six weeks. Israel has made a major concession in the talks, indicating a new willingness to trade the freedom of Palestinian prisoners convicted of major terrorist acts for the release of some Israeli soldiers captured in the Hamas-led attacks of Oct. 7. Read more
Air Force member Aaron Bushnell died after setting himself on fire near the Israeli Embassy.
Hungary ended its block on Sweden joining NATO, after months of delays and diplomatic wrangling.
More news to know now
The FTC sued to kill the grocery merger between Kroger and Albertsons.
A U.S. couple whose yacht was hijacked by prisoners were likely thrown overboard, authorities say.
A NYC journalist's death is the city's latest lithium-ion battery fire fatality.
The Supreme Court was skeptical of controversial laws that regulate social media companies.
On today's The Excerpt podcast, the Congressional fights that could affect your wallet. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your smart speaker.
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A fourth government shutdown deadline in recent months looms
Stop us if you've heard this one before: Congress has until Friday to reach a spending agreement, or the nation will face a partial government shutdown. It's the fourth such deadline lawmakers have approached in recent months. The last three times, they opted for short-term deals, pushing off more permanent solutions after failing to reach a funding compromise. With only five days to go until a partial shutdown, leaders have still not released bills to fund agriculture, food and drug, energy and water, military construction, veterans affairs, transportation and housing programs. Read more
Could a Georgia judge derail the Trump election fraud case?
After six weeks of explosive allegations and two days of bombshell testimony, a Georgia judge is now weighing whether to disqualify Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis – and possibly her entire office – in the election fraud case against former President Donald Trump and 14 others who allegedly conspired to overthrow the 2020 presidential election that Trump lost in the state. What Fulton County Superior Judge Scott McAfee decides, and when, could affect not only the outcome of a major criminal case against Trump but also whether that case proceeds before the presidential election in November. Read more
Who is Alexander Smirnov, the FBI informant charged with lying about Hunter Biden and Joe Biden?
Trump's daughter-in-law is the nominee for the new RNC co-chair.
Keep scrolling
Chris Gauthier, the actor known for "Once Upon a Time" and "Watchmen," has died at 48.
Biden made a surprise appearance on "Late Night with Seth Meyers" for the show's 10th anniversary.
LeBron James took a forceful stand on son Bronny James' status in NBA mock drafts.
A FAA panel found a "disconnect" on safety between Boeing management.
Here are this weekend's college basketball winners and losers.
The Chicago Cubs are thrilled about the return of free agent Cody Bellinger.
Why do long COVID treatments remain out of reach?
Millions of Americans have long COVID, a condition characterized by any combination of 200 different lingering symptoms, some of which, like loss of taste and smell are familiar from initial infections and some totally alien, like the utter exhaustion after a walk just down the block. Despite the number of patients, the pace of government-funded research has been too slow and too small to address a problem of this magnitude. Many with long COVID have been left with debilitating conditions with no benefits yet seen from hundreds of millions of tax dollars poured into understanding and treating the chronic disease. Read more
Photo of the day: A stunning defeat for USWNT
History was made Monday night at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California, when the U.S. women's national team lost for just the second time in 43 matchups with Mexico, falling 2-0 in the Concacaf W Gold Cup group stage game. The defeat was the USWNT's first on home soil against Concacaf opposition since 2000, breaking an unbeaten streak of 80 games. Read more
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: Michigan primary, Israel-Hamas war, government shutdown, Georgia Trump trial, long COVID: Daily Briefing
