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| Good morning, Daily Briefing readers! Alex Murdaugh, a prominent South Carolina lawyer who found the bodies of his wife and son three months ago, plans to turn himself in to face charges in a plot to arrange his own death. |
| It's Steve and Jane, with Thursday's news. |
| ⚖️ New this morning: The Biden administration's attempt to block temporarily Texas' ban on abortions after six weeks of pregnancy will almost certainly put the contentious law back before the Supreme Court – potentially in a matter of weeks, legal experts said. |
| 🗳 How did California Gov. Gavin Newsom so easily beat back a recall attempt? There are too few Republicans to vote him out. |
| 🔴 "Better meet the threats": The U.S. is forming a security partnership with Australia and the U.K. that will allow them to share defense technology in a move that could be seen as sending a message to an aggressive China. |
| 🎩 And the winner is… Dustin Tavella was crowned the Season 16 winner of "America's Got Talent" – the third magician to take the crown. |
| 🎧 On today's 5 Things podcast, we explore the ethical questions of COVID-19 booster shots. You can listen to the podcast every day on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or on your smart speaker. |
| Here's what's happening today: |
In latest twist, South Carolina lawyer at the center of multiple probes set to turn himself in |
| Alex Murdaugh, a prominent South Carolina lawyer who found the bodies of his wife and son in early June plans to turn himself into police Thursday to face charges in a plot to arrange his own death that ended with the shooter only grazing him in the head, his defense attorneys said. The charges are connected to insurance fraud, lawyer Jim Griffin said. If Murdaugh is arrested Thursday, it would culminate a tumultuous 36 hours which saw Curtis Edward Smith, 61, arrested on assisted suicide, insurance fraud and other charges for firing the shot, then state police open a sixth investigation into him and his family — this time over the death of a housekeeper and nanny who died in his home. |
 | | Richard Alexander Murdaugh | | File photo | |
All-civilian flight to spend its first full day in space |
| SpaceX launched four ordinary citizens into orbit Wednesday night without any professional astronauts along for the ride, an unprecedented feat. The crew will spend three days of orbiting the Earth with their first full day being Thursday. It's the first time an all-civilian crew will have orbited the planet. Paying for it all is Jared Isaacman, a 38-year-old billionaire, who is promoting the flight as a fundraising effort for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Joining Isaacman are Hayley Arceneaux, a physician assistant at St. Jude who was treated for bone cancer at the hospital as a child; Chris Sembroski, an aerospace worker and Sian Proctor, an educator and trained pilot. |
Newsmakers in their own words: Gymnast Raisman doesn't hold back on Capitol Hill |
 | | United States Olympic gymnast Aly Raisman testifies during a Senate Judiciary hearing about the Inspector General's report on the FBI's handling of the Larry Nassar investigation on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2021. | | Pool photo by Graeme Jennings; USA TODAY graphic | |
| Elite American gymnasts Simone Biles, Aly Raisman, McKayla Maroney and Maggie Nichols testified Wednesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee on the FBI's failures to investigate 2015 sexual abuse allegations against disgraced former USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar. |
| In addition to blaming the FBI, the athletes called out USA Gymnastics, the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee and the Department of Justice. Nichols, like her fellow gymnasts, stressed that the lawmakers should hold accountable everyone involved in the failures and cover-up of Nassar's abuse. |
| 🔴 Column from Nancy Armour: The U.S. gymnasts bared their souls in describing the abuse they suffered at the hands of Larry Nassar, but are lawmakers listening? |
What else people are reading: |
| ⛈ Louisiana's communities of color already suffer from pollution and COVID. Now it's climate change. |
| 🦠 Changed by COVID: The disability fight ahead is only part of the massive web of financial struggles facing the millions of Americans suffering from long COVID symptoms. |
| 💜 The Millennial Therapist: Every couple fights. But some smaller, common issues can actually provide an opportunity for them to deepen their connection. |
| 🚔 Authorities searching for missing Florida woman Gabrielle 'Gabby' Petito have identified her fiancé as a person of interest after he returned from a cross-country trip without her. |
Wildfires keep burning in California, possibly pose threat to sequoia trees, |
| Sequoia National Park will remain closed Thursday as a pair of wildfires get closer to its gigantic trees , some of the largest on Earth. The closure led to the evacuations of all park employees from facilities and nearby housing areas. The Colony and Paradise fires, ignited by lightning strikes last week, covered about 14 square miles in California's steep Sierra Nevada. The Colony Fire was a threat to Giant Forest, home to more than 2,000 sequoias, but not imminently, said Mark Ruggiero, fire information officer for Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks. The Giant Forest houses more than 2,000 giant sequoias, including the General Sherman Tree, which is the largest tree on Earth by volume, according to the National Park Service. |
Fact check: Let's tackle a few lingering issues |
| ✔ The claim: The COVID-19 vaccine caused one man's swollen testicles and impotence, as described by rapper Nicki Minaj on social media. Our rating: Missing context. Without knowing the specifics of the case, it's not possible to know for sure what caused the symptoms. But medical experts say there have been no reports linking the vaccine to swollen testicles and impotence. |
| ✔ The claim: Emergency rooms in Oklahoma are backed up with people overdosing on ivermectin. Our rating: False. |
| ✔ The claim: Ivermectin causes sterilization in 85% of men. Our rating: False |
| ✔ The claim: Thousands of "lost votes" and "ghost votes" in Arizona indicate the 2020 election was stolen. Our rating: False |
Mexican Independence Day 'signifies a moment of hope' |
| Sept. 16 is the anniversary of Mexico's declaration of independence from Spain . The day commemorates when Catholic priest Miguel Hidalgo in 1810 made the cry for independence hours after midnight by giving a riveting speech in the town of Dolores and ringing the church bells. The moment, which became known as the "Grito de Dolores," was the start of the 11-year Mexican War of Independence that resulted in Mexico gaining freedom from Spain after being under colonial rule for over 300 years. Every year during the late night of Sept. 15, the president of Mexico stands on the balcony of the National Palace in Mexico City and delivers a speech similar to Hidalgo's and honors those who fought for the country's independence. |
Series finale: 'Brooklyn Nine-Nine' wraps up an 8-season run |
| After more than 150 episodes over eight seasons and stints on two networks, the final series finale of "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" will air Thursday night (8 p.m. ET/PT, NBC). The cop comedy's pandemic-delayed final season underwent revisions to include storylines on George Floyd's death and protests against police brutality. In 2014, while still on Fox, "Brooklyn" won the Golden Globe for Best Television Series in a Musical or Comedy and star Andy Samberg also won the award for Best Actor in a Television Series Musical or Comedy. While always low-rated on TV, the show has been a favorite among endangered series on USA TODAY's Save Our Shows poll. |
 | | Stephanie Beatriz as Rosa Diaz and Andy Samberg as Jake Peralta in "Brooklyn Nine-Nine." | | NBC | |
ICYMI: Some of our top stories Wednesday |
| 🔵 As former U.S. leaders come together, Donald Trump resists joining the chummy "Presidents Club." |
| 💉 "Tell all of our family to get vaccinated": COVID killed 6 members of a Florida family in 3 weeks. |
| 🐻 For the second time this month, a Yellowstone National Park tourist has captured footage showing a wolf biting a grizzly bear's butt. |
📸 Photo of the day: Security fencing returns in Washington 📸 |
 | | Fencing goes up around the US Capitol on Sept. 16, 2021 in Washington, DC. Security put up the fencing prior to the justice for J6 rally happening in Washington DC on Saturday, Sept. 18. The rally aims to demonstrate against punishment for rioters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. | | Jessica Koscielniak, USA TODAY | |
| The protective fencing raised around the U.S. Capitol after the Jan. 6 insurrection has begun to be reinstalled ahead of the planned "Justice for J6" rally, which is intended to show support for people charged in the riot, on Saturday. |
| "The fence will go up a day or two before and if everything goes well, it'll come down very soon after," U.S. Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger said. |
| Click here to see additional photos of workers installing the security fencings around the Capitol in preparations for the rally. |
| 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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