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| Happy Hump Day, Daily Briefing readers! While you were (probably) sleeping, Senate Democrats took an important step in their quest to approve a $3.5 trillion plan for bolstering family services, health and environmental programs. And it's masks at dawn in Florida, where schools in several counties will defy Gov. Ron DeSantis' attempts to block them from imposing a mask mandate. |
| It's Steve and Jane with Wednesday's news. |
| 🌎 New this morning: Americans will face even more extreme weather in the coming decades as the Earth hurtles toward irreversible climate change. But few even know they're at risk. |
| 📺 Whither CNN's Chris Cuomo? Now that his big brother, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, has resigned following a sexual-harassment scandal, what's next for the TV brother who helped him respond to it? |
| 💉 "Correlates of protection": Eagerly anticipated new research pinpoints antibodies scientists can test for to see if a COVID-19 vaccine is effective and could speed the development of new vaccines or boosters. |
| 😷 "We need to take action and we need to take action now": Hawaii is tightening COVID-19 restrictions amid an alarming spike in cases. But the state is not changing tourist entry requirements, at least yet. |
| 🎤 Lights, camera, action: "The game just changed," host Terry Crews announced on "America's Got Talent" as quarterfinals officially kicked off. |
| 🎧 On today's 5 Things podcast, Congressional Reporter Savannah Behrmann has the latest from Capitol Hill after the Senate passed the infrastructure bill. You can listen to the podcast every day on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or on your smart speaker. |
| Here's what's happening today: |
Tropical Storm Fred forms; island territories, nations expected to feel impact |
| A disturbance swirling in the Caribbean became Tropical Storm Fred late Tuesday and was just south of Puerto Rico early Wednesday heading for the Dominican Republic, Haiti and the Bahamas. Forecasters warned that its heavy rains could cause dangerous flooding and mudslides. Fred, the sixth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, could intensify once it reaches the waters south of Florida or the eastern Gulf of Mexico by this weekend, forecasters said. People in Florida were urged to monitor updates, but forecasters also said it remained uncertain where the storm would move later in the week. There have been no named storms since Hurricane Elsa dissipated early in July, but this time of summer usually marks the start of the peak of hurricane season. |
What else people are reading: |
| 🔵 Challenging gender roles: Researchers believe a 1,000-year-old grave in Finland may have belonged to a high status nonbinary person, going against the "ultramasculine environment" in the medieval Scandinavia era. |
| 🔵 "Just a parade of incompetency": Spirit Airlines passengers with "nightmare" stories want more than apology and vouchers for $50. |
| 🔵 Political fact check: There is no evidence that more than eight million excess votes for Joe Biden were counted during the 2020 election. |
| 🔵 "He decided to do the right thing": Arizona state Sen. Tony Navarrete, a Phoenix Democrat, has resigned his seat after he was arrested in a child sex abuse case. |
| 🔴 Yup, that's a shot! Famous "Jeopardy!" champion James Holzhauer zinged broadcaster Joe Buck over his hosting of the beloved gameshow with a trolling tweet. |
Florida county to begin mask mandate in schools, defying Gov. DeSantis |
| Leon County Schools Superintendent Rocky Hanna said Tuesday that children from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade will be required to wear masks when classes resume in Florida's capital of Tallahassee Wednesday. The order defies Gov. Ron DeSantis' attempts to block schools from imposing such a mandate. "I did a lot of soul searching, a lot of thinking," Hanna said. "If, heaven forbid, we lost a child to this virus, I can't just simply blame the governor of the state of Florida. I can't." The governor's office responded by saying the state's Board of Education could move to withhold salaries from the superintendent or school board members. Several other Florida counties – including Broward, Duval, Hillsborough, Orange and Palm Beach – are also defying DeSantis' order. |
A look at the preseason USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll: |
| By their nature, preseason college football polls are educated guesses. Since no football has been played, they should never be taken as ultimate predictors of success or failure. |
| In that spirit, we present the preseason USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll, which features a lot of familiar names at the top but also some programs with unprecedented expectations. Some facts and analysis from the first poll of the season: |
| 🏈 Roll tide: Alabama will open at No. 1, claiming 63 of 65 first-place votes despite losing a lot of talent from last year's title team. Clemson is No. 2 and Oklahoma is No. 3. Here's a closer look at all the teams in the poll. |
| 🏈 30 years of the USA TODAY Sports coaches poll: Across three decades and 482 polls (and counting), these are our takeaways from the Coaches Poll. |
| 🏈 Which teams in this year's preseason poll are overrated? We explain why these five teams immediately come to mind. |
 | | A graphic of the most overrated teams in the 2021 preseason USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll | | USA TODAY Sports graphic | |
Want to see 'fireballs' light up the sky? Catch the Perseid meteor shower |
| Look up, the best meteor shower of the year begins Wednesday, and will peak Aug. 11 to 13 . The Perseid shower, known for its bright, long streaks of light and dazzling "fireballs," will continue through Aug. 24.Luckily for people in the United States, the shower is more visible in the Northern Hemisphere. However, it does require staying up late, and a clear view of the sky. The Perseid shower is best seen at about 2 a.m. local time, but can be visible as early as 9 p.m. Discovered in 1862 by Lewis Swift and Horace Tuttle, the shower originates from Earth entering the orbit of debris from the comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle, which takes 133 years to orbit the sun. |
Newsmakers in their own words: Christina Applegate on her multiple sclerosis diagnosis |
 | | Christina Applegate appears in a Pamella Roland gown at the 77th Golden Globe Awards on Jan. 5, 2020 | | USA TODAY photo and graphic | |
| Emmy Award-winning actress Christina Applegate revealed on Twitter early Tuesday that she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis a few months ago. Calling it "a strange journey" and "a tough road," Applegate also said she has been supported by people she knows who also have the condition. |
| Other celebrities who have been diagnosed with the disease of the central nervous system include Selma Blair, Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Joan Didion and Jack Osbourne. |
Marvel is asking, 'What if?' |
| Move over, Steve Rogers. Peggy Carter's the captain now. Marvel's new animated "What If...?" series, premiering on Disney+ Wednesday , reimagines key characters, storylines and scenarios in its cinematic universe. For example: The first of nine weekly episodes takes fans back to "Captain America: The First Avenger" and explains what would have happened had British intelligence agent Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) received the super-soldier serum in 1942 instead of Army soldier Rogers (Chris Evans). The show also features the late Chadwick Boseman in his final performance as T'Challa. Other series appearances include, Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Tom Hiddleston as Loki, Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury and many others. |
 | | Captain Carter (voiced by Hayley Atwell, center) leads the Howling Commandos into battle in the premiere episode of Marvel's animated "What If...?" | | MARVEL STUDIOS | |
ICYMI: Some of our top stories published Tuesday |
| 🍗 Voluntary recall: Serenade Foods is recalling nearly 60,000 pounds of frozen, raw chicken products for possible salmonella contamination. |
| ⚖ "The best way I can help now is if I step aside": Amid a sexual harassment scandal, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo resigned Tuesday. |
| 🥇 Famed Olympian fires back: Simone Biles defended her stance on abortion, claiming she was "misconstrued" for a social media post in which she revealed she is pro-choice. |
Samsung may soon 'unfold' plans for new flip smartphones |
| Samsung wants you to "get ready to unfold." The electronics company is expected to unveil new flip and foldable phones at its online "Samsung's Galaxy Unpacked: Get Ready to Unfold" event on Wednesday . Its website teases: "For the past decade and more, we've seen smartphone innovations change our daily lives. Why change a good thing? ... We're about to give you better." Samsung's first foldable phone, the Galaxy Fold, came to market in September 2019. Its Galaxy Z Flip smartphone launched in February 2020, and was followed by the Galaxy Z Flip 5G in August 2020. |
📸 Photo of the day: An MLB star celebrates his big night 📸 |
 | | Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez gets doused with water after hitting two home runs in the Royals' 8-4 win over the New York Yankees on August 10, 2021. | | Jay Biggerstaff, USA TODAY Sports | |
| Salvador Perez hit two home runs to set a career high this season, and the Kansas City Royals rallied to beat the New York Yankees 8-4 Tuesday night. It was the fourth multi-homer game this season for Perez, who also marked the 10th anniversary of his major league debut. |
| Tap here to see more of the best images from the 2021 Major League Baseball season. |
| 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. |
| Contributing: The Associated Press |
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