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 | | | 'We suffered and continue to suffer' | | Superstar gymnasts testified about FBI's botched inquiry into Larry Nassar. And a crew of civilians is ready to go to space. It's Wednesday's news. | | |
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| Gymnasts blasted the FBI's failure to properly investigate sex abuse allegations against Larry Nassar. A crew of civilians is headed to space – a first in the history of spaceflight. And there's a new development in the saga of Alex Murdaugh, a prominent South Carolina attorney who was shot on the side of the road. |
| 👋 Hey! It's Laura. Read Wednesday's news – knowledge is good for you! |
| But first, why would a wolf bite a bear's booty? 🐻 My sister, who is a smarty-pants about weird wildlife matters, says the wolf is probably doing something called "resource guarding," but I'm not sure if I'd dare to bite a bear in the butt cheek – even if my life depended on it. Check out the video. |
| The Short List is a snappy USA TODAY news roundup. Subscribe to the newsletter here or text messages here. |
Elite gymnasts blast FBI over failing to stop Nassar abuse |
| Gymnastics superstar Simone Biles through tears blamed the FBI, USA Gymnastics and the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee at a Senate panel Wednesday for allowing disgraced former USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar to abuse dozens of women and children. "We suffered and continue to suffer, because no one at the FBI, USAG or the USOPC did what was necessary to protect us," Biles said. Fellow elite gymnasts Aly Raisman, McKayla Maroney and Maggie Nichols also testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee. "It was like serving innocent children up to a pedophile on a silver platter," Raisman said. Nassar's sexual abuse was publicly exposed in 2016, and a year later, he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to more than 100 years in prison. In August, USA Gymnastics reached an agreement on a $425 million settlement with more than 500 women who said they were sexually abused by Nassar, their coach or someone else affiliated with the sport. |
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🚀 Look ma! No astronauts! |
| SpaceX is set to launch four ordinary citizens into orbit Wednesday night without any professional astronauts along for the ride, an unprecedented feat in the history of spaceflight. Sitting atop the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will be four private citizens in a specially modified Crew Dragon capsule waiting to start three days of orbiting the Earth, the first time an all-civilian crew will have orbited the planet. The Inspiration4 crew is made up of entrepreneur and mission commander Jared Isaacman, Dr. Sian "Leo" Proctor, Chris Sembroski and Hayley Arceneaux, a cancer survivor who, at 29, will become the youngest American in space. During its journey among the stars, Inspiration4 will circle the Earth in a higher orbit than the International Space Station. The five-hour launch window will open at 8:02 EDT for launch from Launch Complex 39-A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. |
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 | | Inspiration4 mission to space (L to R): Chris Sembroski, Hayley Arceneaux, Jared Isaacman and Dr. Sian Proctor. | | John Kraus, Courtesy of Netflix | |
What everyone's talking about |
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Nicholas drenches storm-weary Louisiana; 100K without power in Texas |
| More than 100,000 Texas homes and businesses remained without power for a second day Wednesday as the remnants of Hurricane Nicholas slid across the Gulf Coast from the Lone Star State into Louisiana, drenching a region still staggering from Hurricane Ida's wrath less than three weeks ago. Nicholas, downgraded to a tropical depression with sustained winds of 30 mph, was centered about 30 miles northeast of Lake Charles, Louisiana, on Wednesday. Almost 80,000 utility customers remained without power in Louisiana, where the lights went out for more than 1 million homes and businesses during Ida's peak fury. The National Weather Center said Nicholas, which already dumped more than a foot of rain on parts of Texas and several inches on areas of Louisiana, could drop up to 6 inches more across the central Gulf Coast in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida Panhandle through Friday, with 10 more inches possible in some areas. |
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 | | Debris and damaged road construction are left after Tropical Storm Nicholas moved through the area on Sept. 14, 2021 in Houston, Texas. | | Brandon Bell, Getty Images | |
After fall of Kabul, Taliban harden their rule |
| It's been one month since the Taliban, on Aug. 15, re-took Kabul without firing a 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 have returned in some ways to the brutal regime that ruled the country before the American invasion in 2001. The Taliban have also reimposed gender divisions in public life, especially in education, where many women fear they will be barred from attending any form of schooling. 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. |
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 | | Afghan women walk past a closed beauty salon in Kabul, Afghanistan, Saturday, Sept. 11, 2021. Since the Taliban gained control of Kabul, several images depicting women outside beauty salons have been removed or covered up. | | Bernat Armangue, AP | |
Real quick |
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Police say S.C. lawyer shot on purpose in $10M life insurance scam |
| In the latest twist in the saga of Alex Murdaugh, the prominent South Carolina attorney who was shot months after his wife and son were killed at their family hunting estate, state police say he conspired to have another man kill him in order for his other son to be paid out his $10 million life insurance policy. The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division announced charges against Curtis Edward Smith, 61, who faces counts of assisted suicide, assault and battery of a high aggravated nature, pointing and presenting a firearm, insurance fraud, and conspiracy to commit insurance fraud. Murdaugh was listed as a co-defendant. Dick Harpootlian, an attorney for Murdaugh, said Murdaugh "arranged to have this guy shoot him" in efforts to have the insurance pay his son. Murdaugh was shot in the head Sept. 4 on the side of a rural road and hospitalized with superficial injuries. Days later, he checked himself into rehab; his law firm accused him of misappropriating funds. Alex Murdaugh's wife, Maggie, 52; and their 22-year-old son, Paul; were shot multiple times and found dead June 7 at the family's Colleton County hunting estate. Those deaths remain under investigation. |
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 | | Richard Alexander Murdaugh | | File photo. | |
A break from the news |
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