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| We made it through another work week, Daily Briefing readers. Family and friends of Andrew Brown Jr. and protesters want footage of his fatal shooting by a North Carolina sheriff's deputy. And today could be an important one for COVID-19 vaccinations as the pause of the Johnson & Johnson shot in the U.S. could be lifted. |
| Steve and Jane are here with Friday's news. Being Friday, it's time for USA TODAY's weekly quiz! How well have you been following the news this week? Test your knowledge here. |
| Let's get started with some other stories that people are talking about today. |
| 🌎 New this morning: The use of Tasers by U.S. law enforcement has contributed to hundreds of deaths and injuries over the past decade, an investigation by USA TODAY and the Arnolt Center for Investigative Reporting at Indiana University found. In many cases, the officers responsible defied manufacturers' recommended best practices. |
| 💉 Two pieces of good news: More than 40% of Americans have received at least one COVID-19 vaccine, ranking the U.S. near the top in vaccination rates. Also, Michigan's case rate has begun to fall, dropping 12.5% over the last week, suggesting the worst surge in the U.S. may be waning. Head here for the latest COVID-19 updates. |
| ⚖ Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly vetoed legislation that would have banned transgender athletes from competing in girls' and women's sports, calling the bill "a devastating message" to families. Conservative activists have vowed to lobby members to support a potential override vote. |
| 🌎 The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced that a team of scientists hauled 47.2 tons of marine debris out of the Marine National Monument in the Pacific Ocean. The 94,400-pound haul was made up of derelict fishing gear — so-called ghost nets — and ocean plastics. |
| 🏀 Former Kentucky basketball guard Terrence Clarke died Thursday in a car accident. He was 19 years old. Clarke was projected to be selected in the NBA Draft this summer. |
| 🎶 Shock G, the leader of the hip-hop group Digital Underground, died Thursday at the age of 57. The group found fame with the hit song "Humpty Dance" in 1990, as Shock G donned a fake nose and glasses to become one of his alter egos, Humpty Hump. |
| 🚀 It's launch day! NASA and SpaceX launched the Crew-2 mission to send four astronauts to the International Space Station on the Falcon 9 rocket early Friday. People on Florida's Space Coast could see it light up the sky. 🚀 |
| 🎧 On today's 5 Things podcast, international correspondent Kim Hjelmgaard explains recent tensions between the U.S. and Russia. You can listen to the podcast every day on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or on your smart speaker. |
| Here's what's happening today: |
Johnson & Johnson vaccine pause could be lifted |
| The halt on using the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine could be lifted by this Friday, although some restrictions may be required, Dr. Anthony Fauci said last weekend. States stopped using the company's vaccine last week after federal health officials recommended a pause "out of an abundance of caution" because of rare but dangerous blood clots. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it will review any additional evidence about the vaccine in a meeting Friday. Earlier this week, the European Medicines Agency – the European Union's drug regulator – ruled that a warning about unusual blood clots associated with low levels of blood platelets should be added to the product information, but concluded that the vaccine's benefits outweigh the risk. |
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Family, citizens demand footage of Andrew Brown Jr. shooting |
| Officials Thursday faced growing pressure to release details about the death of Andrew Brown Jr., a Black man who was fatally shot by law enforcement on Wednesday in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, about 170 miles northeast of Raleigh. A judge generally has to approve release of police video in North Carolina. Harry Daniels, the Brown family's attorney, told USA TODAY via email that a motion will be filed Friday for that footage to be released . Witness accounts paint a picture of an "unlawful, unjustified killing" in which multiple officers shot as Brown fled the scene in a vehicle, Daniels said at a press conference Thursday. Daniels also said Brown was unarmed at the time. The sense of relief brought by the guilty verdict against former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin Tuesday in the murder of George Floyd was short-lived for some, as crowds gathered in Elizabeth City for the second consecutive night Thursday to demand more information. |
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What else people are reading: |
| 🔵 Family and friends of Daunte Wright exalted the 20-year-old Black father fatally shot by a police officer during a traffic stop at a funeral service in Minneapolis on Thursday. |
| 🔵 Fact check: Bodycam footage showed 16-year-old Ma'Khia Bryant was confronting another girl and wielding a knife when a Columbus, Ohio, police officer shot her. |
| 🔵 A USA TODAY investigation revealed the Peace Corps is failing to manage the threat of sexual assault against its volunteers, at times placing them in dangerous situations and inflicting further trauma by bungling its response to assaults. |
| 🔴 Geno Hayes, who played three seasons at Florida State and seven in the NFL, is under hospice care at his parents' home for liver complications. He's 33 years old. |
| 🟣 Prince Louis turns 3 today! Duchess Kate shared a new never-before-seen photo of her third and youngest child with Prince William. |
| 🟣 Singer Lizzo called out the body positivity movement, saying the term has been "co-opted" and has become a trend of "celebrating medium and small girls and people who occasionally get rolls." Instead of preaching body positivity, some are practicing body neutrality. |
 | | Singer Lizzo | | USA TODAY graphic | |
Day 2 of major virtual climate summit comes after Biden's big pledge |
| President Joe Biden kicked off the White House's two-day virtual climate summit Thursday with a pledge to cut U.S greenhouse gas pollution in half by 2030, outlining an aggressive target that would require sweeping changes to America's energy and transportation sectors. "These steps will set America on a path of a net-zero emissions economy by no later than 2050," Biden said. The virtual summit, attended by 40 leaders from around the world, is aimed at renewing America's leadership on climate change – and rallying other world leaders to set their own ambitious targets – after four years in which the Donald Trump administration worked to unravel U.S. environmental commitments. Friday's proceedings are expected to feature billionaires Bill Gates and Mike Bloomberg and steelworker and electrical union leaders who favor solar and other renewable energy sources. Biden hopes these people will help sell a climate-friendly transformation of the U.S. economy. |
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Newsmakers in their own words: Tom Brady isn't happy about an NFL change |
 | | Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady at Super Bowl LV | | USA TODAY graphic | |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback and seven-time Super Bowl winning quarterback Tom Brady criticized a rule that eases restrictions on approved jersey numbers for positions. |
Canada begins ban of flights from India and Pakistan for 30 days |
| India reported a global one-day record of more than 314,000 new infections Thursday as a coronavirus surge in the world's second-most populous country overwhelms a fragile health care system. The country's total of 15.9 million cases since the pandemic began is second to the U.S. According to Canada's health minister, half the people arriving in the country by plane who test positive for the coronavirus came from India. As a result, it's banning all flights from India and neighboring Pakistan for 30 days. Friday is the first full day the ban takes effect. |
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Also on Friday: 'Mortal Kombat' heads into theaters and HBO Max |
| "Mortal Kombat" (in theaters and streaming on HBO Max today) is getting another cinematic redo with many classic characters making returns. As critic Brian Truitt notes, "the new adaptation of the uber-popular, ultraviolent fighting game is better than the wretched '90s movies." There's "barely a plot and it's best to not expect Oscar-ready character development" in the fantasy action film. "But get ready for tons of kung fu fighting, plenty of gory fatalities, some techno music (obviously), decent special effects and even a little emotional depth," Truitt says. |
| One beloved character fans of the franchise will get to see is Sub-Zero, the cold-harnessing, frozen-hearted assassin with rage issues. Joe Taslim, a 39-year-old martial arts actor and former member of Indonesia's national judo team, was tasked with playing the famed fighter. |
 | | Joe Taslim stars as Sub-Zero in "Mortal Kombat." | | Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures, Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures | |
'Plus-up' stimulus payments arrive as tax refund delays mount |
| A pushed-to-the-limit Internal Revenue Service and perplexing tax rules are leaving millions of taxpayers waiting and wondering just when they'll get their hands on much-needed tax refund cash. For some early filers, the wait for a tax refund has been six weeks to eight weeks already — far longer than a typical wait of 21 days or less — after filing their 2020 income tax returns in February or March. Meanwhile, some people who already received the third stimulus payment were shocked to receive extra money in recent days. Nearly 700,000 "plus-up" payments this week went to people who earlier this year received a stimulus payment based on their 2019 tax returns. The IRS said it will continue to make Economic Impact Payments on a weekly basis. |
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ICYMI: Some of our other top stories published Thursday |
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| Contributing: The Associated Press |
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