Thursday, August 14, 2025

That Taylor Swift podcast episode 🔶🏈

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The Daily Briefing

YOUR MORNING NEWS ROUNDUP

Thu Aug 14 2025

Nicole Fallert | Newsletter Writer

@nicolefallert

Good morning!🙋🏼‍♀️ I'm Nicole Fallert. It's been a cringe summer.

Quick look at Thursday's news:

•	Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce shared their love story on the "New Heights" podcast.
•	Major flooding of Alaska's capital was prevented.
•	Can you afford your friendships?

Football, feathers and fathers: Taylor Swift's 'New Heights' episode

Taylor Swift's appearance on the Kelce brothers' "New Heights" podcast gave the 92 percenters a trove of intimate emotional moments, along with plenty of football, stories about Swift's father, that Eras tour cleaning cart — and major music news.

USA TODAY listened to every moment and broke it down, for Swifties and NFL fans alike:

•	Introducing "The Life of a Showgirl": In perhaps the biggest moment of the episode, Swift announced her 12th studio album is coming Oct. 3, read the 12-song tracklist and explained why this gliterry new Era is so orange.
•	"I don't ever really talk about it": Swift choked up telling the story of how she came to own her music catalog (Kelce admitted he cried at the news, too).
•	Swift showed off her football knowledge, dished on Chiefs' coach Andy Reid's surprising cupid role and poked fun at "male sports fans."
•	Fake romance conspiracies, bygone: Listeners got to hear the famous couple in an up-close and personal manner, thrilling many who wanted to know more about their relationship.

Taylor Swift announced her 12th studio album, "The Life of a Showgirl," will drop Oct. 3.

Mert Alas and Marcus Piggot, courtesy of TAS Rights Management

A 'glacial outburst' prompted a flooding crisis in Alaska

The danger is over for residents of Alaska's capital city of Juneau, who were urged to evacuate on Aug. 13 as the nearby Mendenhall River, engorged by water from a glacial outburst caused by a melting glacier, surpassed record flood levels. Glacial lake outburst flooding is a flood that's produced by the quick, unexpected release of water from a glacial lake. Emergency barriers built to protect Mendenhall Valley and Juneau, a city of about 32,000 people in the Alaskan panhandle, were successful, USA TODAY reported.

More news to know now

•	The FDA may revoke Pfizer's COVID-19 shot for young and healthy children.
•	Democrats have limited power to fight Republican redistricting.
•	The IRS has had six leaders in 2025. What does that means for taxpayers?
•	A man took diet advice from ChatGPT and ended up hospitalized with hallucinations.

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

SCOTUS has been asked to overturn same-sex marriage

The U.S. Supreme Court has officially been asked to overturn the 2015 decision that granted equal marriage rights to LGBTQ+ couples. Kim Davis, a former Kentucky county clerk who refused to issue marriage licenses, filed an appeal on July 24 about the compensation she was ordered to pay to a gay couple she denied a license. She asked the court, which holds a conservative supermajority, to overturn Obergefell v. Hodges. Where does Trump stand on same-sex marriage?

New EPA data show more towns have PFAS in their water

Shane Pepe knows exactly how his town's drinking water came to be polluted with the "forever chemicals" it recently reported to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The borough manager in Emmaus, Pennsylvania, points to a firefighter training facility as the source of contamination that averaged 32 times the federal limit over the past year. For decades, fire-extinguishing foams containing PFAS seeped into the local aquifer during training exercises. Emmaus was among 839 water systems whose yearly average exceeded EPA limits for two types of forever chemicals, according to a USA TODAY analysis of new test results the EPA released last week. Together, these utilities serve 46 million Americans. Is yours one?

Today's talkers

•	Andy Cohen dispeled rumors about the "Love Island USA" Season 7 reunion.
•	Why do so many women want a divorce when they hit menopause?
•	Kid Cudi says Cassie was Diddy's "prisoner."
•	An Adidas designer is under fire for appropriating Mexican huaraches.
•	The Dodgers pledged $1 million during ICE raids. Where did it go?

Can you afford your friends?

'I'm like, I'm about to have to hide under a rock because there's no way ... I was very overwhelmed. And I was like maybe I'm going to have to cut ties with some people somehow.'

~ Maria Stevens, 25, told USA TODAY after attending 30 social events in four years, she "crashed out" over pressure to spend on social activities in July. In one month, she was invited to several more events, baby showers, weddings, and bachelorette trips, on top of planning her own birthday party. Stevens is part of a generation of Americans often characterized by loneliness — and the financial strain of friendship might be one reason why.

Photo of the day: Second base steal!

The Miami Marlins' Jakob Marsee stole second base Wednesday night as Cleveland Guardians second baseman Brayan Rocchio received the throw during the third inning at Progressive Field. See more must-see moments from every MLB game day during the 2025 season.

The Miami Marlins' Jakob Marsee steals second base Wednesday night.

David Richard, Imagn Images

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.