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The Daily Briefing

YOUR MORNING NEWS ROUNDUP

Wed Mar 26 2025

Nicole Fallert | Newsletter Writer

@nicolefallert

Good morning!🙋🏼‍♀️ I'm Nicole Fallert. What should America name these baby sloths?!

Here's a glimpse of Wednesday's news:

•	President Trump is ordering sweeping changes on elections.
•	"SignalGate" is a fast-growing political controversy.
•	The World Figure Skating Championships are drawing top U.S. talent.

Trump seeks to dramatically shift authority over elections to the executive branch

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Tuesday that overhauls federal elections and establishes new voter identification requirements.

You must prove U.S. citizenship to vote: Under the order, the national mail voter registration form will require applicants provide either a U.S. passport, a REAL ID driver's license, a state-issued card compliant with REAL standards or a "valid Federal or State government-issued photo identification."

•	Voting rights activists are promising legal challenges, saying new requirements curb voting access for eligible seniors, minorities, low-income people and students.
•	The order also targets mail-in voting: Trump instructed Attorney General Pam Bondi to "take all necessary steps" to ensure states don't count absentee ballots that arrive after Election Day.
•	What if states don't comply? The order threatens to withhold federal election-related funds if states act otherwise — despite the fact federal elections are run entirely at the county level, overseen by secretaries of state.

The 'SignalGate' controversy is exploding

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and CIA Director John Ratcliffe on Wednesday are expected to undergo a grilling by Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee, which – like the Senate committee – long ago had scheduled its annual hearing on worldwide threats. Both top officials participated in the use of an unsecured Signal chat to discuss real-time attacks on Houthi militants in Yemen earlier this month – as journalist Jeffrey Goldberg took notes for a magazine article he later published. National security experts say the incident is one of the most serious White House national security breaches in years, if not decades.

Top Trump national security officials at the Senate Committee on Intelligence hearing to examine worldwide threats on March 25, 2025 in Washington, DC.

Jack Gruber, USA TODAY

More news to know now

•	JD Vance will join his wife on a Greenland trip as U.S. pressure builds.
•	A majority of Americans believe presidents should obey the courts.
•	A year after the Key Bridge collapse, Baltimore is still recovering.
•	Russia and Ukraine agreed to a truce at sea and a ban on energy attacks.
•	Are you an adult caring for your parents? Here's what that means for your taxes.

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

Do you use the internet on a library computer?

That access is headed to the Supreme Court on Wednesday. The justices will hear a challenge to the $8 billion Universal Service Fund program that could jeopardize the availability and affordability of high-speed internet and phone service for millions of Americans. Without that funding, local libraries say they wouldn't be able to pay for equipment like the antennas that boost internet service and might have to cut back on other services, such as databases that provide online tutoring, legal resources and access to newspapers. The case could affect how much power Congress can delegate to federal agencies.

A social security change is coming this week

The Social Security Administration on Thursday will reverse its policy involving overpayments to recipients. Sometimes Social Security, which pays benefits to about 70 million people monthly, totaling about $1.6 trillion in 2025, pays a beneficiary more money than they should have gotten. For any overpayments that occur after March 27, 2025, the recipient's future benefits will be withheld until the overpayment is reimbursed. That means benefits will be docked until the overpayment amount is met.

Today's talkers

•	Opinion: It shouldn't be a surprise that Elon Musk's trans daughter dislikes him.
•	Track and field will implement genetic testing for female athletes.
•	There's an overhaul coming to the Mega Millions.
•	Oklahoma women's basketball just scored the No. 1-ranked high school player.
•	What happens when the pilot forgets his passport?

The world figure skating championships are back on US soil

The world's best figure skaters will converge at TD Garden in Boston this week for the latest edition of the annual world championships, which will serve as both a coda to the 2024-2025 season and a key benchmark for the year to come. American skaters will be trying to improve on their performance at last year's world championships in Montreal: Ilia Malinin, the Olympic gold-medal favorite for 2026, and the ice dance team of Madison Chock and Evan Bates, enter the week as the defending world champions. Isabeau Levito is the reigning world silver medalist. Here's how to watch.

U.S. Skaters Ellie Kam and Danny O'Shea during their practice session on March 25, 2025.

GEOFF ROBINS, AFP via Getty Images

Photo of the day: Everybody loves Lufy

Lufy, a one-year-and-7-month-old Bichon Frise, has taken the internet by storm over the past week. The fluffy white rescue dog is partially paralyzed and must use a wheelchair as his back legs. Despite these obstacles, Lufy has captured hearts across the globe and may soon call a new family home.

The adorably quirky rescue dog, Lufy, is going viral.

@sahara_kennel_rescue / Instagram

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.