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| Happy Hump Day, Daily Briefing readers! California's Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom is resting easy after surviving an historic attend to oust him. One month has passed since the Taliban retook Afghanistan's capital, Kabul. And it's (another) billionaire blastoff into space – this time, Shift4 Payments founder Jared Isaacman will join three other tourists on the first all-civilian mission to orbit the Earth. |
| It's Steve and Jane with Wednesday's news. |
| 🔴 New this morning: On the 20th anniversary of 9/11, President Joe Biden and former presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton paid tribute at the sites of the nation's most deadly terrorist attacks. Missing was former president Donald Trump. |
| 💉 "Tell all of our family to get vaccinated": Fears about the coronavirus vaccine ran through a Florida family. Then, COVID-19 killed six of its members in 3 weeks. |
| 🎤 "This was not the story I agreed to tell": Alanis Morissette refused to attend the world premiere of the new documentary "Jagged," which explores the making of her breakthrough 1995 mega-hit album "Jagged Little Pill." |
| 🔵 Another grim pandemic milestone: One of every 500 Americans has died of COVID-19, Johns Hopkins University data shows. |
 | | One out of every 500 Americans has died from COVID-19. | | USA TODAY | |
| 🎧 On today's 5 Things podcast, we look back at the month since the Taliban took control of Kabul. You can listen to the podcast every day on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or on your smart speaker. |
| Here's what's happening today: |
California looks ahead after Gov. Newsom easily fends off recall attempt |
| Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom easily fended off a historic attempt to recall him from leading the state of California Tuesday night. Newsom needed to convince more than half of voters that he should remain in office, which he easily managed. Elections experts had cautioned results could take time in a state known for taking weeks to count ballots. But less than an hour after polls closed, The Associated Press, NBC News and CNN declared Newsom the winner. The Republican frontrunner was conservative radio host Larry Elder. Despite earlier voter fraud claims, Elder conceded Tuesday night and acknowledged Newsom's win. The campaign to recall Newsom largely centered on his COVID-19 policies. Now that he has won, managing the pandemic will remain a top priority going forward. |
 | | California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks to volunteers in San Francisco on Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021. | | Associated Press photo; USA TODAY graphic | |
Biles, Raisman to testify in Senate on FBI's Nassar investigation |
| Gymnastic superstars Simone Biles, Aly Raisman, McKayla Maroney and Maggie Nichols are set to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday on the FBI's failures to investigate 2015 sexual abuse allegations against former USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar . All four gymnasts said they were victims of Nassar's abuse with Nichols being the first athlete to bring a sexual abuse complaint about Nassar to top officials at USA Gymnastics. The Department of Justice Inspector General released a report in July that said the FBI's Indianapolis field office failed to respond "with the utmost seriousness and urgency that the allegations deserved and required." The field office also failed to alert the proper authorities, the DOJ said. |
'We lost a comedy giant': Norm Macdonald dies of cancer at 61 |
| 🎤 "He was most proud of his comedy": Comedian and former "Saturday Night Live" cast member Norm Macdonald died Tuesday after a private battle with cancer. He was 61. Lori Jo Hoekstra, Macdonald's friend and producing partner, told Deadline the comedian had been fighting cancer for nine years, but did not wish to share his health struggles with the public. |
| 🎤 Tributes are pouring in: Comedy peers, including Adam Sandler, Jim Carrey, Seth Rogen and Conan O'Brien and fans took to social media to react to Macdonald's death, remembering the comedian and actor as a "legend" and a "comedy giant." |
| 🎤 From 2018: Norm Macdonald spoke to USA TODAY about his no-frills Netflix series "Norm Macdonald has a Show," his past sitcoms and his approach to comedy. |
 | | Norm Macdonald in 2018 | | USA TODAY photo and graphic | |
What else people are reading: |
| 🦠 Changed by COVID: The list of medications to treat long-haul COVID-19 is short. But doctors – and their patients – don't have the luxury of waiting for science to catch up with the virus. |
| 🔴 The rival Koreas test-launched ballistic missiles hours apart amid a faltering diplomatic push to strip North Korea of its nuclear program. |
| 🔵 "Fatally flawed": A top Senate Democrat blasted the Biden administration's handling of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. |
| 🎤 A "rollercoaster ride": "America's Got Talent" is close to crowning its $1 million champion. |
SpaceX to send billionaire, three other civilians into orbit |
| Four private citizens are set to launch in a SpaceX rocket from Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday for the first all-civilian mission to orbit the Earth. The "Inspiration4" mission – the subject of a Netflix documentary series – will be far more advanced than other recent suborbital "hops": Rather than just climbing to the edge of space and quickly returning as Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin did, Inspiration4 will circle the Earth for three days, at a higher orbit than the International Space Station. Leading and funding the mission is Jared Isaacman, a 38-year-old billionaire and founder of the internet firm Shift4 Payments, who is promoting the flight as a fundraising effort for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. The five-hour launch window opens at 8:02 p.m. ET Wednesday. |
 | | The crew of Inspiration4 at the tower at Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center. From left, Jared Isaacman, Hayley Arceneaux, Sian Proctor and Chris Sembroski. | | SpaceX | |
Nicholas douses Gulf Coast, heads toward storm-battered Louisiana |
| Residents of southern Louisiana still recovering from Hurricane Ida just weeks ago were bracing Wednesday for expected heavy rains as Nicholas, a tropical depression as of Tuesday night, kept crawling across parts of the state from Texas. In a state still recovering from Category 4 storm Ida weeks ago, Nicholas and its potentially heavy rain bands were unwelcome news. Gov. John Bel Edwards reached out to President Joe Biden, who declared an emergency in Louisiana and ordered federal assistance. Nicholas made landfall as a hurricane early Tuesday in Texas, 70 miles from where historic Hurricane Harvey made landfall in 2017. Galveston, Texas, saw nearly 14 inches of rain from Nicholas, while Houston reported more than 6 inches. |
Newsmakers in their own words: Illinois family speaks out after mom dies of COVID-19 |
 | | Part of the obituary of Candace Ayers in The State Journal-Register, a part of the USA TODAY Network | | USA TODAY graphic | |
| It bothered Candace Ayers, 66, of Springfield, Illinois, that so many people in Springfield and across the country doubted the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic, wouldn't wear masks or practice social distancing and later refused to get vaccinated. |
| After she died of COVID-19 on Sept. 3 despite being fully vaccinated, her children and husband were heartbroken and angry, too. They decided to send a message in Ayers' obituary that they hoped would change some doubting minds about vaccinations. |
ICYMI: Some of our top stories Tuesday |
| 📲 Apple fans finally got their first look at iPhone 13. The tech giant introduced the next version of its popular smartphone during a virtual event at its headquarters in California. |
| ⚖️ A former Florida nurse who recorded a video telling Vice President Kamala Harris "you are going to die" now faces five years in prison. |
| 👗 AOC's 'tax the rich' dress: Who qualifies as wealthy? And how much are they getting taxed? |
One month after fall of Kabul, Taliban rule hardens in Afghanistan |
| It's been one month since the Taliban, on August 15, re-took Kabul without firing a single shot. Now the regime is back in power following the United States' exit from the Afghan capital on Aug. 31. After making early promises about a more inclusive government, the Taliban has returned in some ways to the brutal regime that ruled the country before the American invasion in 2001. The Taliban has also reimposed gender divisions in public life, especially in education, where many women fear they will be barred from attending any form of education. As the international community rallies aid for Afghanistan, Afghans find themselves living in a country that has already radically changed and likely will change even further. "What we are seeing is totally different from what they are saying," a woman who remains in Afghanistan told USA TODAY. |
📸 Photo of the day: MLB star hauls in a catch 📸 |
 | | Sept. 14: New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge makes a catch near the wall against the Baltimore Orioles during the eighth inning at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. The Yankees won the game, 7-2. | | Scott Taetsch, USA TODAY Sports | |
| Aaron Judge made a good catch in the outfield late, started a five-homer barrage that backed starter Gerrit Cole, and the New York Yankees beat the Baltimore Orioles 7-2 Tuesday night. The Yankees are tied with Toronto Blue Jays in the Wild Card standings, while the Boston Red Sox sit one percentage point behind both of their AL East rivals. |
| Head here to see more of the best images from the 2021 Major League Baseball season. |
| 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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