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| Good morning, Daily Briefing readers. U.S. special forces carried out a raid in Syria early Thursday, leaving at least 13 people dead, including six children and four women. President Joe Biden will head to New York City and meet with Mayor Eric Adams to discuss fighting gun crime. And Sarah Palin will resume her libel battle against the New York Times after testing positive for COVID-19. |
| It's Steve and Jane with Thursday's news. |
| 🔴 U.S. special operations forces conducted what the Pentagon said was a large-scale counterterrorism raid in northwestern Syria. First responders at the scene reported 13 people were killed, including six children and four women. |
| 💉 As the U.S. inches up to a 64% vaccination rate for the entire population, only 42% of those eligible for a booster have gotten the extra shot. |
| 📺 "I was wrong": CNN chief Jeff Zucker resigned after the disclosure of a sexual relationship with a top executive at the cable news network. |
| 🏈 The advent of an early signing day in December has drastically altered the recruiting landscape in college football. Here are the winners and losers. |
| 🎧 On today's 5 Things podcast, health reporter Adrianna Rodriguez explains why some Americans are still taking ivermectin. You can listen to the podcast every day on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or on your smart speaker. |
| Here's what's happening today: |
Biden to visit New York City to discuss fighting gun crime |
| President Joe Biden will meet with New York City Mayor Eric Adams Thursday to discuss combatting gun crime, just weeks after two NYPD officers died in the line of duty. Biden's visit comes amid deepening national concern over public safety and recent attacks on police officers. Adams and other New York officials are asking for several changes, including federal assistance in curbing the flow of guns into the state. The president will speak "about the steps the administration has taken so far to reduce crime, gun crime, and how we can be a strong partner for New York City and other cities grappling with increased gun violence," White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul will also be in attendance for the president's visit. |
 | | This photo combo of images provided by the New York City Police Department shows NYPD Officers Wilbert Mora, left, and Jason Rivera. | | AP | |
Formal charges to be filed against two suspects in Minnesota shooting |
| Formal charges against two students in a fatal shooting at an alternative school in Minnesota could be filed Thursday, according to authorities. The two students were in custody Wednesday after a shooting that left one student dead, one critically wounded and a community in shock and mourning. The tragedy outside South Education Center in Richfield stemmed from an undisclosed disagreement involving five students, Police Chief Jay Henthorne said. "The shooting was not random," Henthorne said at a news conference Wednesday. "The five students did know each other. An altercation, possibly related to a previous dispute, took place." He also said no other suspects were being sought and that the community was safe. |
Just for subscribers: |
| 🔴 Fresno State's president ignored sexual harassment complaints for years. Now, he's chancellor of California State University, the nation's largest four-year university system. |
| 🎿 "War minus the shooting": How the Winter Olympic Games can help improve U.S.-China ties. |
| 💰 "So goes California, so goes the nation": California is the first state in the nation to seriously consider some form of reparations for Black Americans. |
| 🏛 Race and gender factors in brewing SCOTUS fight: Biden is facing criticism from some Republicans for pledging to name a Black woman to the Supreme Court for the first time in U.S. history. |
| 🖋 Alexander Vindman writes for USA TODAY Opinion: "I'm suing Donald Trump Jr., the president's eldest son; Rudy Giuliani, the president's former personal attorney; Julia Hahn, former special assistant to the president; and Daniel Scavino Jr., a Trump communications official, for intimidation and retaliation." |
| These articles are for USA TODAY subscribers. You can sign up here. Here is all of our subscriber content. |
Hearing for ex-teacher charged with plotting US attacks, training all-female ISIS battalion |
| A detention hearing is scheduled Thursday for a U.S. woman charged with plotting bomb attacks in the U.S. and training an all-female battalion to fight for the Islamic State in Syria. Allison Elizabeth Fluke-Ekren, 42, a former teacher and resident of Kansas, was charged in 2019 with providing support to a known terrorist organization, according to court records. The case remained sealed until she was caught and transferred to federal authorities in Virginia. Fluke-Ekren rose in stature with ISIS while her former husbands were killed, according to court records. Counterterrorism experts said it is extremely unusual for a woman – especially an American citizen – to participate in an international Islamic terrorist organization. |
 | | This undated photo provided by the Alexandria, Virginia, Sheriff's Office in January 2022 shows Allison Fluke-Ekren. Fluke-Ekren, 42, who once lived in Kansas, has been arrested after federal prosecutors charged her with joining the Islamic State group and leading an all-female battalion of AK-47 wielding militants. | | AP | |
Ex-Chicago cop who killed Black teen in 2018 to be released from prison |
| The 2018 conviction of former police officer Jason Van Dyke for the killing of Black teenager Laquan McDonald was the first time in roughly half a century that a member of the police force was found guilty of murder for an on-duty killing in Chicago. It gave hope to many residents that officers could be held accountable. Van Dyke's scheduled release from prison on Thursday after serving about three years and four months – less than half of his sentence of six years and nine months – show things aren't so simple. The shooting of McDonald by Van Dyke, a white officer, eventually led to a court-ordered consent decree that resulted in several reforms, including the creation of a civilian-led police oversight board and new rules governing probes into police shootings. But reforms have come slower than expected and the city has struggled to meet some of the consent decree's deadlines. |
 | | This combination of photos shows Laquan McDonald and former Chicago Police Officer Jason Van Dyke. | | Uncredited, AP | |
ICYMI: Some of our top stories yesterday |
| 🥶 Groundhog Day 2022: Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow, meaning we're in for six more weeks of winter. |
 | | Groundhog handler AJ Derume holds Punxsutawney Phil, who saw his shadow, predicting a late spring during the 136th annual Groundhog Day festivities on Feb. 2, 2022 in Punxsutawney, Pa. | | Jeff Swensen, Getty Images | |
| 🌊 A "sea pickle"? An animal that can grow to 60 feet long is washing up on the Oregon coast. |
| ☄️ A powerful solar flare was making its way to Earth as a "moderate" geomagnetic storm, making the northern lights visible throughout the northern part of the USA. |
| 💊 Why do Americans keep taking ivermectin for COVID despite FDA warnings? Hundreds of doctors continue to prescribe it. |
Newsmakers in their own words: President Biden has daring goal to take on cancer |
 | | President Joe Biden gives remarks during a Cancer Moonshot initiative event on Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2022 at the White House in Washington. | | Getty Images photo; USA TODAY graphic | |
| President Joe Biden, who has made "ending cancer as we know it" a priority for his administration, vowed Wednesday to "supercharge" the "Cancer Moonshot" initiative that he led during his final year as vice president under Barack Obama. Biden set a national goal of cutting the number of cancer deaths in half over the next 25 years. Some 600,000 Americans die of cancer every year now. |
| The new initiative includes the creation of a White House Cancer Cabinet and mobilizes multiple government departments and agencies to set goals for improving cancer detection and prevention. |
Palin to resume court battle with New York Times after COVID infection |
| Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is due back Thursday in a New York City courtroom, more than a week after the start of a trial in her libel lawsuit against The New York Times was postponed because she tested positive for COVID-19 . The trial will begin in federal court in Manhattan where Palin will be the star witness. She's seeking unspecified damages based on claims that an editorial in the Times hurt her budding career as a political commentator. A judge put off the trial last week to give an unvaccinated Palin time to get over any possible symptoms. Away from court, she caused a stir by being sighted dining out at an upscale Manhattan restaurant twice , both shortly before and after her positive test results were made public. Palin, 57, has publicly said she won't get a shot. |
 | | Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is pictured speaking during the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Maryland. | | Cliff Owen, AP Images | |
Fact check: Let's get on the same page |
| ✔ The claim: Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said over 75% of people who died from COVID-19 had at least four comorbidities. Our rating: False ❌ |
| ✔ The claim: Nine artists are pulling their music from Spotify in solidarity with Neil Young. Our rating: Partly false. USA TODAY and other outlets have reported that Joni Mitchell is working to remove her catalog, but there's no evidence the other eight artists listed have made similar public announcements. |
| 🔵 The claim: USA TODAY's experts will check subscribers' facts. All they need to do is to send us a text. Our rating: True. Click here to see how you can get your facts checked once and for all. |
| ✔ The claim: COVID-19 pneumonia is an allergic reaction Our rating: False ❌ Experts say that while some of the symptoms of COVID-19 pneumonia and an allergic reaction are similar, they are clinically distinct conditions. |
| ✔ The claim: A recent video shows well-known Republican Chuck Norris criticizing the Biden administration. Our rating: Altered. The clip is from 2012, and Norris and his wife were urging conservatives to vote against Obama. |
| 🔵 Did you know we have an entire newsletter just devoted to fact checks? You can sign up here to get the real story! |
📸 Photo of the day: Washington's NFL team becomes the Commanders 📸 |
 | | New Washington Commanders uniforms. | | Geoff Burke, Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports | |
| The NFL franchise based in the nation's capital established in 1932 and known the last two seasons as the Washington Football Team will be known going forward as the Washington Commanders, team officials announced Wednesday. |
| The decision is the latest and most prominent step in a rebranding of the franchise, which announced in July of 2020 that it was "retiring" the previous nickname and logo after many years of protests that it constituted a racial slur against Native Americans. |
| Click here to see more photos of the Washington Commanders' new uniforms. |
| 🏈 Column from Nate Davis: The Washington Commanders already need to retool their shoddy "crest." |
| 🏈 Looking at the Washington Commanders' new uniforms: Breaking down the NFL team's new color combinations. |
| Contributing: The Associated Press |
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