Daily Briefing: Who won the debate?

Americans tuned in to the first presidential debate of the 2024 election. New sanctions add to Boeing's legal headaches and both sides of the abortion debate criticize a Supreme Court decision regarding emergency care.

🙋🏼‍♀️ I'm Nicole Fallert, Daily Briefing author. Have you heard about the famed Paris "poop protest"?

Is a reckoning afoot after Biden v. Trump?

President Biden and his team wanted to hold an early debate to shake up the presidential race he was trailing in and to counter concerns about his mental acuity. Instead, a hoarse voice and an uneven performance spoiled those goals and rattled Democrats.

Meanwhile, former president Donald Trump hammered Biden, turning even questions about the national debt and drug addiction to his favored issue of illegal immigration. The Republican candidate unfurled a series of unsubstantiated accusations against Biden and recast his own record, asserted with confidence even when he was at odds with the facts.

  • Biden had a wavering start but grew forceful when compelled to push back on attacks on his son, Hunter, and America's foreign policy (leaving Democrats scrambling to defend the president).

  • Two presidents, two economies. Biden noted achievements of record-low unemployment and lowering prescription drug costs without discounting the sting of high prices. Trump argued inflation is "killing our country."

  • Trump was relatively mute on the border. Trump ducked answering when pressed explain his plans to carry out the "largest domestic deportation operation" in U.S. history, and whether his next administration would deport all undocumented immigrants, and instead returned to his attacks.

Keep reading: Chatter erupted Thursday night about whether someone else should and could be nominated at the Democratic National Convention in August − a step that under party rules probably could happen only if Biden chose to withdraw.

People watch the CNN presidential debate on June 27, 2024 in Washington, DC.
People watch the CNN presidential debate on June 27, 2024 in Washington, DC.

Boeing sanctioned

The National Transportation Safety Board announced sanctions against Boeing on Thursday, saying the media briefing about safety improvements in its plants violated regulations related to the investigation of Alaska Airlines Flight 1282.  The NTSB is restricting Boeing’s access to materials produced by an ongoing investigation into its safety record. Boeing will also be subpoenaed to appear at an investigative hearing next month related to the incident. Read more

More news to know now

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

Ex-Uvalde school police chief indicted

A grand jury in Texas indicted former Uvalde school district police chief Pete Arredondo over the police response to the 2022 shooting at Robb Elementary School that killed 19 students and two teachers, authorities said on Thursday. The indictments culminate a six-month grand jury investigation that included months of in-person testimony. Read more

Supreme Court allows emergency abortions in Idaho for now

Abortions for gravely ill people can resume for now in Idaho after a divided Supreme Court on Thursday reversed its January decision to halt the procedures – and said it shouldn’t have gotten involved in the dispute at this stage. The unsigned opinion returns the fight over whether a federal law requires hospitals to provide emergency abortions to the lower courts, leaving the issue unresolved for all states. Read more

Keep scrolling

Bronny James' NBA selection based on merits

One week after naming former player and ESPN broadcaster JJ Redick the head coach, the Lakers made a historic move to draft Bronny James, the son of LeBron James. Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka, however, said Bronny James was selected based on his qualifications (not his famous father). James, 19, and LeBron James, 39, will become the NBA's first father-son duo to play together whenever they take the court together. Read more

LeBron James and Bronny James may soon be suiting up together on the Lakers.
LeBron James and Bronny James may soon be suiting up together on the Lakers.

Photo of the day: Frederick Richard is the one to watch

Frederick Richard's marvelous floor routine had just put him atop the all-around leaderboard after the first night of the U.S. Olympic gymnastics trials with a score of 85.600, narrowly ahead of three-time national champ Brody Malone.

Frederick Richard celebrates his floor routine during the men's U.S. Olympic Team Trials at Target Center.
Frederick Richard celebrates his floor routine during the men's U.S. Olympic Team Trials at Target Center.

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.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Debate, Biden, Trump, Boeing, abortion, NBA, Olympics, Taylor Swift: Daily Briefing