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 | | | 'Operation Fly Formula' | | Biden's plan to help the baby formula shortage, the Pennsylvania GOP Senate race could face a recount and more news to start your Thursday. | | |
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| President Joe Biden approved commercial airlines to bring baby formula from overseas to counter a desperate shortage, in an effort the White House dubbed ''Operation Fly Formula." About a third of Americans now live in an area with medium or high COVID-19 rates as infections driven by omicron subvariants spread. The Pennsylvania GOP Senate primary could face a recount as the race between a celebrity doctor and former hedge fund CEO is too close to call. A Russian soldier pleaded guilty at Ukraine's first war crimes trial. And Biden will depart on his first presidential trip to Asia, making stops in South Korea and Japan. |
| 🙋♀️ I'm Nicole, and here's Thursday's news. |
| 🌅 Up first: The Buffalo Bills Foundation and the NFL Foundation are teaming up to support the Buffalo community in the wake of the mass shooting that left 10 people dead. The foundations are donating $400,000. Buffalo Together Community Response Fund will be receiving $200,000 to address "immediate and long-term needs" in the community, "including systemic issues that have marginalized communities of color.'' The other $200,000 will be donated directly to the Buffalo Bills Foundation to help multiple nonprofits working on emergency response efforts to meet the current needs of Buffalo East Side residents. |
| ⚫ Video: Members of the Buffalo Bills team paid their respects at the site of last weekend's supermarket shooting. |
| ⚫ New York's governor pushed for a crackdown on gun loopholes and terrorism threats. |
 | | The Buffalo Bills gathered to pay tribute to the victims of the Buffalo mass shooting | | USA TODAY | |
More news to know now: |
| 🟠 A former Minneapolis police officer pleaded guilty to a manslaughter charge in the killing of George Floyd. |
| ⁉ The Department of Homeland Security paused its new disinformation governance board following weeks of criticism about whether it would impinge on free speech rights. |
| 📑 The Justice Department is suing hotel magnate Stephen Wynn, accusing him of "lobbying for China to protect his business interests." |
| ⛳ The 104th PGA Championship is set to begin with the world's biggest stars in golf competing for the Wanamaker Trophy at Southern Hills in Tulsa, Oklahoma. |
| 👙 Kim Kardashian, 74-year-old Maye Musk, Ciara and plus size model Yumi Nu will appear on the cover of the 2022 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition, which hits newsstands today. |
| 🔥 A wildfire burning in New Mexico is the largest fire in the state's recorded history. |
 | | Firefighter Ryan Le Baron with the Elk Creek fire department out of Colorado watches the fire blaze across a ridgeline near the Taos County line as firefighters from all over the country converge on Northern New Mexico to battle the Hermit's Peak and Calf Canyon fire on May 13, 2022. | | Jim Weber, AP | |
| 📅 May is AAPI Heritage month, a time to celebrate the success, contributions and influence Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have in the United States. Our product experts at Reviewed have gathered AAPI-owned companies to shop right now. |
| 🎧 On today's 5 Things podcast, investigative reporters Aleszu Bajak and Marisa Kwiatkowski explain how states are failing adopted children. You can listen to the podcast every day on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or on your smart speaker. |
Why is COVID spreading right now? |
| COVID-19 infections continue to rise, driven by new and more infectious omicron subvariants , waning immunity from both vaccines and previous infections and fewer people masking up, health officials said at a White House briefing Wednesday. About a third of Americans now live in an area with medium or high COVID-19 rates, with reported cases up 26% from last week, said Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. On average, about 3,000 Americans are being hospitalized per day and 275 are dying. Walensky urged people in communities with higher infection and hospitalization rates to protect themselves by masking in indoor public places and to get a booster shot if vaccinated and to get vaccinated if they're not. |
| "We've always said, put your mask aside when infection rates are low and pick it up again when infection rates are higher," Walensky said. |
| 😷 Video: Federal officials urge hardest-hit areas to reinstate calls for indoor masking. |
| 😷 ''Rare and unusual'' monkeypox cases are causing global concern. Here's what we know. |
| 😷 Am I sick? Here's how to order a third round of free COVID tests. |
 | | Current COVID-19 Community Levels | | CDC | |
Defense Production Act invoked to combat baby formula shortage |
| President Joe Biden on Wednesday invoked the Defense Production Act to speed production of infant formula and authorized flights to import supply from overseas, as he faces mounting political pressure over a domestic shortage caused by the safety-related closure of the country's largest formula manufacturing plant. The Defense Production Act order requires suppliers of formula manufacturers to fulfill those orders before other customers. Biden is also authorizing the Defense Department to use commercial aircraft to fly overseas formula supplies that meet federal standards to the U.S., in what the White House is calling ''Operation Fly Formula.'' |
| 🍼 Two children had to be hospitalized at a Tennessee children's hospital because lack of nutrients they would normally receive through specialized formulas. |
| 🍼 Fact check: It's not true that states will send people free baby formula if they call Similac or Enfamil's customer service. |
 | | A woman shops for baby formula at Target in Annapolis, Maryland, on May 16, 2022. | | JIM WATSON, AFP via Getty Images | |
Just for subscribers: |
| ✍ More than 66,000 adoptees ended up in the foster care system between 2008 and 2020, according to a first-of-its-kind USA TODAY analysis of federal and state data. |
| 🔴 Here's why experts say history education is so important after the mass shooting in Buffalo. |
| 📰 In primaries, a spotlight on the unhealed wounds of 2020 – and the ongoing divisions in America. |
| 🐍 It's snake season: Here is an illustrated guide of four venomous species. |
| These articles are for USA TODAY subscribers. You can sign up here. |
| Are you already a subscriber and want all of the subscriber-only content emailed to you directly every day? We can do that! Sign up for the Your Day newsletter. |
Pennsylvania GOP Senate primary could face a recount as Oz, McCormick still neck and neck |
| The decision to hold a recount election in Pennsylvania's GOP Senate primary had yet to be announced Thursday, as heart surgeon-turned-TV celebrity Dr. Mehmet Oz and former hedge fund CEO David McCormick were separated by a slim margin. The race between Oz, backed by former President Donald Trump, and McCormick for the nomination was still too early to call following Tuesday's primary. Oz led McCormick by 1,723 votes Wednesday, out of more than 1.3 million votes counted. There were tens of thousands of votes left to be counted and counties also must still count provisional, overseas and military absentee ballots before they certify their results to the state by next Tuesday's deadline. The race was close enough to trigger Pennsylvania's automatic recount law, with the separation between the candidates inside the law's 0.5% margin. The winner faces Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, who won the Democratic nomination for the Senate seat in the Keystone State after he suffered a stroke just a few days prior. |
| 🔴 6 midterm election takeaways: The "Big Lie" won't die and what Cawthorn's loss means in N.C. |
| 🔴 With Doug Mastriano's primary win, Pennsylvania GOP rejects the old guard, veers right. |
 | | Election workers continue the process of counting ballots for the Pennsylvania primary election, Wednesday, May 18, 2022, at the Mercer County Elections Board in Mercer, Pennsylvania. | | Keith Srakocic, AP | |
Biden heads to South Korea, Japan on first presidential trip to Asia |
| After months of focusing on the biggest conflict in Europe since WWII, President Joe Biden embarks Thursday on a five-day trip to Asia , turning his attention to the region of the world he had previously hoped to prioritize. The trip, to South Korea and Japan, will be another opportunity for Biden to showcase the global solidarity he's helped build against Russia's invasion of Ukraine and to repeat his often-argued case for democracy over authoritarianism. That message will be aimed at China, whose growing economic and military prowess makes it – in the view of the administration – the only country capable of seriously disrupting the international system. Biden will meet with the South Korean and Japanese leaders as well as the heads of state from Australia and India. In addition to reassuring Indo-Pacific allies that his attention has not strayed, Biden will try to strengthen an economic alliance with the region. |
 | | Protesters with images of U.S. President Joe Biden, left, and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol stage a rally to denounce policies of the United States on North Korea near the presidential office in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, May 17, 2022. | | Ahn Young-joon, AP | |
ICYMI: Some of our top stories yesterday |
| ⚽ US soccer reached a landmark deal to pay the men's and women's national teams equally. |
| 🎓 Taylor Swift's hit song "22" takes on a whole new meaning after she graced the stage with New York University's class of 2022. |
| 💔 What is ''gray rocking''? How to set boundaries with the narcissist in your life. |
| 🟦 Selena Gomez was emotional when explaining why mental health is ''personal'' during a visit to the White House to bring attention to the issue. |
 | | Dr. Jill Biden, Juan Acosta, Selena Gomez and Dr. Vivek Murthy appear on stage as MTV Entertainment hosts first ever Mental Health Youth Forum at The White House on May 18, 2022 in Washington, DC. | | Tasos Katopodis, Getty Images for MTV Entertainme | |
Russian soldier pleads guilty in Ukraine's first war crimes trial |
| A Russian sergeant pleaded guilty Wednesday at Ukraine's first war crimes trial to fatally shooting an unarmed civilian in the northeastern Sumy region four days after the invasion began. Vadim Shishimarin, 21, could get life in prison for shooting the 62-year-old Ukrainian man. Shishimarin was among a group of Russian troops that fled Ukrainian forces on Feb. 28, prosecutors say. The Russians allegedly fired at a private car and seized the vehicle, then drove to Chupakhivka, a village about 200 miles east of Kyiv. Ukrainian officials are readying war crimes cases against 41 Russian soldiers for offenses that included bombing civilian infrastructure, killing civilians, rape and looting. |
| 🟡 Before departing for Asia on Thursday, President Joe Biden will host leaders of Sweden and Finland at the White House as the two nations seek to join NATO in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. |
| 🟡 The Senate confirmed Bridget Brink as the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine on Wednesday, the latest signal of American diplomatic efforts. |
 | | Captured Russian soldier, Sgt. Vadim Shishimarin, 21, attends a court hearing on May 18, 2022 in Kyiv, Ukraine. | | Christopher Furlong, Getty Images | |
📷 Photo of the day: 2022 NFL offseason workouts 📷 |
 | | Atlanta Falcons quarterback Desmond Ridder passes during rookie minicamp at the Falcons Training Complex on May 14. | | Dale Zanine, USA TODAY Sports | |
| Desmond Ridder has been early to rise – and lead – at his Atlanta Falcons rookie minicamp. Most NFL teams have hosted recent draft picks such as Ridder for practice, meetings and time to get acclimated to their new teammates. Players get back to the basics, gaining early access to mentors and showing off their skills – and style. |
| Click here to see more photos of the 2022 NFL offseason workouts. |
| Associated Press contributed reporting. |
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