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| It's Hump Day, Daily Briefing readers. Happy Wednesday! President Joe Biden will begin a very important trip to Europe. Meanwhile, back at home, members of Congress will attempt to find some sort of bipartisan compromise on his $1 trillion infrastructure plan. |
| Steve and Jane are here with Wednesday's news. |
| 🌎 New this morning: Lawmakers are pointing to a recent investigation by USA TODAY and The Trace as proof that more should be done to regulate the country's gun sellers. |
| ⚖ "Let history record that, at this moment, we stood united": An expansive bill aimed at reinvigorating America's technological footprint to counter China passed the Senate Tuesday. |
| 🚨 "My baby's gone": Three young girls were killed and a fourth was critically injured after a weekend hit-and-run in Southern California, authorities say. |
| 👑 "Cancel culture" in the UK? British conservatives weren't pleased after students at Oxford University voted to remove a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II as a symbol of "recent colonial history." |
| 💻 About that massive internet outage yesterday: Fastly, a major content delivery service, says an internal error – not hackers – caused delays in the system. Head here for a more detailed explanation. |
| 🎧 On today's 5 Things podcast, international correspondent Kim Hjelmgaard previews Biden's trip to Europe. You can listen to the podcast every day on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or on your smart speaker. |
| Here's what's happening today: |
Biden tries to rebuild diplomatic ties, confront Putin in European visit |
| President Joe Biden departs Wednesday on his first overseas trip in office , an eight-day blitz that will include meetings with key allies and one big adversary – Russia's Vladimir Putin. Biden will attend the Group of Seven summit in Cornwall, England, then head to Brussels, Belgium, for a NATO summit and a meeting with European Union chiefs before sitting down with Putin in Geneva, Switzerland. The European leaders should find Biden more cordial than predecessor Donald Trump, who badgered NATO countries to increase their financial contributions and clashed with Europe on climate change, trade, and other issues. |
House Democrats to begin drafting infrastructure legislation after Biden's talks with GOP break down |
| House Democrats are poised to start drafting infrastructure legislation Wednesday, hours after President Joe Biden shifted negotiations on his infrastructure plan that would total about $1 trillion toward a bipartisan group of centrist senators after negotiations with six Republicans broke down. The legislation appears to be one of the "several paths" to Biden's goal, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said. As Biden reaches for a bipartisan deal, he has ramped up talks with a separate group of senators that includes moderate Democratic Sens. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona and Joe Manchin of West Virginia as well as Republican Sens. Mitt Romney of Utah, Rob Portman of Ohio and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana. |
What else people are reading: |
| 🔴 Column from Nancy Armour: One spot has the potential to cause a big mess for the U.S. women's gymnastics team at the Tokyo Olympics. |
| 🔵 "Somebody pinch me!": Entertainer Teyana Taylor has been crowned the "Sexiest Woman Alive" by Maxim Magazine. |
| 🔵 "I love you with my whole heart and soul": Jessica Alba's daughter Honor is a teenager now and mom opened up to her "mini" in a heartfelt birthday post. |
| 🔵 When are Canadian borders reopening? Officials say restrictions could ease as soon as this month. |
| 🔵 "A light that guides me": A year after their conversation about racism, the CEO of American Airlines attended the wedding of the Southwest flight attendant he spoke to. |
 | | American Airlines CEO Doug Parker and Southwest Airlines flight attendant JacqueRae Hill | | JacqueRae Hill, Special to USA TODAY | |
Minnesota Supreme Court to hear arguments in Minneapolis police officer's murder case |
| The Minnesota Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Wednesday in the case of Mohamed Noor , a former Minneapolis police officer who was convicted of third-degree murder in the 2017 shooting death of Justine Ruszczyk Damond, who had called 911 to report a possible sexual assault behind her home. Noor's attorneys argue that a divided Minnesota Court of Appeals failed to follow legal precedents defining third-degree murder when it affirmed Noor's conviction. The court's decision has repercussions for another high profile police killing case as former Minneapolis officer Derek Chauvin was also convicted of third-degree murder, as well as second-degree manslaughter, for killing George Floyd. |
Newsmakers in their own words: Keira Knightley discusses harassment |
 | | Keira Knightley in 2018 | | USA TODAY photo and graphic | |
| Oscar-nominated actress Keira Knightley is speaking out against the normalization of sexual harassment and misogyny in today's society. From being cat-called to being groped, Knightley said she has experienced sexual harassment and she takes many safety precautions when walking home alone, calling this "(expletive) depressing." |
CMT Music Awards to celebrate country's biggest stars |
| Carrie Underwood, Gladys Knight, Chris Stapleton and Luke Bryan will perform at the CMT Music Awards Wednesday night (CMT, MTV, MTV2, Logo and Paramount Network, 8 p.m. ET.) Maren Morris and Miranda Lambert lead the field with four nominations apiece, including two each in top prize video of the year. Trailblazing country artist Linda Martell, 80, will be presented with the second annual CMT Equal Play Award, recognizing her legacy as one of country music's first prominent Black female artists. |
Also on Wednesday: A busy day in the world of sports |
| 🎾 Shot at a rare feat: At the French Open, American Coco Gauff, 17, could become the youngest woman to reach the semifinals at any major tennis tournament since 2006 with a win over Barbora Krejcikova. |
| 🥎 "No Quit Noles": The Florida State softball team is one win away from a second national title in four years after beating No. 1 Oklahoma in Game 1 of the best-of-three series 8-4 Tuesday. Game 2 is Wednesday night. |
Marvel mischief maker 'Loki' arrives on Disney+ |
| Tom Hiddleston returns as the Marvel Cinematic Universe's troublemaking Loki in a new Disney+ series that premiered early Wednesday . "Loki" follows the mercurial Norse god after his escape via some time-shifting shenanigans in "Avengers: Endgame." In the first episode, Loki is apprehended by the all-powerful Time Variance Authority, where employee Mobius (Owen Wilson) decides to use the antihero to help track down a dangerous fugitive. USA TODAY critic Kelly Lawler likes what she's seen so far: "This is the first Marvel series on Disney+ to have a firm hold of its identity from the word go." |
 | | Tom Hiddleston plays Loki in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. | | Disney+ photo; USA TODAY graphic | |
ICYMI: Some of our top stories published Tuesday |
| 🚿 "Flush every toilet, run every hand sink, turn on every shower ..." An engineer and his team sought to keep water running to avoid what safety experts now fear as the pandemic wanes: Legionnaires' disease. |
| 🌎 "I'm not discounting the importance of the border": Vice President Kamala Harris pushes back on criticism leveled her way for not visiting the U.S.-Mexico border. |
| 🚚 2022 Maverick debuts: Ford has revealed a $20,000 compact pickup truck that comes with a hybrid powertrain. |
📸 Photo of the day: Paris preps for its day in the Olympic spotlight 📸 |
 | | June 8, 2021: Pictured from the elevated subway train, a giant flag flies at the Eiffel Tower in Paris. The reason of the event was not immediately known. | | Lewis Joly, AP | |
| A large Paris 2024 flag was unveiled at the top of the Eiffel Tower as the French capital stepped up its preparations for the handover ceremony at the end of the Summer Olympics in Tokyo on Aug. 8. |
| For more amazing photos from all over the world, visit our Day in Pictures photo gallery. |
| Contributing: The Associated Press |
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