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| Happy Thursday, Daily Briefing readers! Jill Biden has arrived in Tokyo on her first solo international trip as first lady, leading the U.S. delegation to the Olympic Games. And in Milwaukee, in the words of Giannis Antetokounmpo, "this is time to celebrate" clinching the city's first NBA title in 50 years. |
| Steve and Jane are here with Thursday's news. |
| 🌎 New this morning: According to three new books about the chaotic final year of the Trump administration, former Vice President Mike Pence refused to leave the Capitol on Jan. 6 and suggested the Insurrection Act for Black Lives Matter protests. |
| 🔵 "Their rights will be protected": A judge said that victims and families in the Florida condo building collapse that killed nearly 100 people would receive $150 million to start. |
| 🔴 "Deepest apologies": Tokyo Olympics organizers said they dismissed the director of the opening ceremony after learning that he made light of the Holocaust. |
| ⚖ "People of consequence": President Joe Biden called for new messengers to help push people to get the COVID-19 vaccine during a CNN town hall. Here are our 5 takeaways from the evening. |
 | | President Joe Biden speaks during a town hall on CNN on Wednesday, July 21, 2021. | | AFP photo via Getty Images; USA TODAY graphic | |
| 🏋️ ♂️"I'm a big boy and I like it": Dax Shepard is getting ripped. The actor, 46, revealed that he has gained 24 pounds of muscle during quarantine thanks, in part, to "heavy testosterone injections." |
| 🎧 On today's 5 Things podcast, hear how COVID-19 cases are soaring. You can listen to the podcast every day on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or on your smart speaker. |
| What else is happening today: |
Jill Biden lands in Tokyo for Olympics |
| First lady Jill Biden arrived in Tokyo on Thursday to begin a busy trip in which she will head the U.S. delegation at the opening ceremony of the Olympics on Friday. Biden also plans to host several Olympic events and will also attend a meeting with Japanese Emperor Naruhito as well as a dinner with Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and his wife, Mariko Suga. President Joe Biden is not planning to attend the Games, the White House said. The first lady's trip is sandwiched between visits to Alaska and Hawaii to meet with military and veteran families and encourage COVID-19 vaccination. |
| 🏅Want behind-the-scenes access to the Tokyo Olympics? Sign up for USA TODAY's Olympic texts for exclusive access to the Games and athletes chasing gold. |
What else people are reading: |
| 🔵 Unlike anything ever seen before: A group of scientists discovered dozens of ancient viruses frozen in ice samples taken from the Tibetan Plateau in China. |
| 🔵 The U.S. extended border restrictions yet again as COVID-19 infections rise, on the heels of Canada's announcement that it would reopen its borders to fully vaccinated U.S. citizens and permanent residents. |
| 🔵 But is it worse than delta? The lambda variant of COVID-19 has been identified at a hospital in Texas. |
| 🔵 "I'm sorry, honey. I just blurted that out": Anna Faris accidentally revealed on her podcast that she secretly married Michael Barrett at a local courthouse. |
| 🔴 "I am at peace": Former Florida State football coach Bobby Bowden has been diagnosed with a terminal medical condition. |
Federal agency to begin accepting applications for grants paid for by relief bill |
| President Joe Biden's administration is beginning to make $3 billion in economic development grants available to communities — a tenfold increase in the program paid for by the massive $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill passed earlier this year. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said her agency on Thursday will begin accepting applications for the competitive grants, which officials hope will create hundreds of thousands of jobs and help struggling cities and towns make long-term investments. The grants will be targeted at supporting local infrastructure, job training programs and developing new industries. Recipients will be selected on the basis of the anticipated return on investment to taxpayers. |
The future king of England turns 8 |
| Thursday marks Prince George of Cambridge's 8th birthday. Tradition has dictated the royals release new photos to commemorate family members' birthdays each year. Kensington Palace delivered the evening before the young royal's birthday, with a new image of a smiling George looking more and more like the spitting image of his father, Prince William. Last week, George stepped out with his parents for England's Euro 2020 finals and became an instant meme with his animated cheering. |
 | | This July 2021 photo issued by Kensington Palace shows Prince George whose eighth birthday is on Thursday July 22, 2021, in Norfolk, England. | | Duchess of Cambridge, AP | |
Milwaukee celebrates NBA title with a parade |
| After the Bucks defeated the Phoenix Suns Tuesday in Game 6 of the NBA Finals, Milwaukee will celebrate on the streets Thursday . The last and only other Bucks championship team famously didn't get a parade when Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and his teammates won the NBA title in 1971."It was just the third season of the team's existence, so perhaps it happened too fast for unfamiliar city leaders to process and a still-developing fan base to clamor for," the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Jim Owczarski wrote . "Perhaps, as some feel, Milwaukee politicians didn't want to so publicly acknowledge a team led by Black players or encourage a mixing of races downtown after years of marches and protests." This year, Finals MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo said "this is time to celebrate." |
Newsmakers in their own words: Alabama doctor on treating COVID-19 patients |
 | | Dr. Brytney Cobia discussed treating COVID-19 patients. | | USA TODAY graphic | |
| In a moving Facebook post, Alabama physician Dr. Brytney Cobia said she is treating young, otherwise healthy people for serious coronavirus infections. Some have asked for the vaccine, but they are all too late. When a patient dies, Cobia hugs family members and urges them to get vaccinated. She said they cry and say they thought the pandemic was a "hoax," or "political," or targeting another age group or skin color. |
Kanye West to debut album in Atlanta, on livestream |
| Kanye West's long-awaited follow up to his 2019 album, "Jesus is King," will arrive Thursday night, when he debuts "Donda" in Atlanta. The album release will likely have 40,000 to 50,000 attendees and will be livestreamed on Apple Music. The public received a sample of what West's new album may sound like in a Beats by Dre commercial Tuesday, featuring U.S. track star Sha'Carri Richardson. The ad, edited by West, featured the song "No Child Left Behind," a song expected on his latest album. The album, named after West's mother, is the artist's 10th. |
ICYMI: Some of our top stories published Wednesday |
| ⚽ Outplayed, out of sync and off target: Sweden dominated the U.S. women's soccer team in a 3-0 victory in their opener at the Tokyo Olympics. |
| 🚗 Catalytic converter theft soars: Thieves are targeting SUVs, pickups and hybrids as prices rise during the pandemic for metals in the car part. |
| 💰 "Everything looks like it's going to get worked out": An infrastructure bill that is a core part of President Joe Biden's economic plan was blocked by Senate Republicans as lawmakers haggle over details. |
📸 Photo of the day: A new era begins in Seattle 📸 |
 | | New Seattle Kraken NHL hockey players, back row from left, Mark Giordano, Brandon Tanev, Jamie Oleksiak, Hadyn Fluery, Jordan Eberle and Chris Dreidger stand on stage with Kraken owners David Wright, front left, Jerry Bruckheimer, front center, and Andy Jassy, front second from right, and Kraken general manager Ron Francis, front right, Wednesday, July 21, 2021, after being introduced during the Kraken's expansion draft event in Seattle. Jassy is also president and CEO of Amazon.com. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren) | | The Associated Press | |
| The National Hockey League's 32nd team, the Seattle Kraken, took an exciting step toward the ice for their first season this fall by selecting 30 players in Wednesday night's expansion draft. |
| Click here to see which players from across the league will be heading to the Pacific Northwest for the 2021-22 season. |
| Contributing: The Associated Press |
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