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The Daily Briefing

YOUR MORNING NEWS ROUNDUP

Thu Jan 4 2024

Nicole Fallert | Newsletter Writer

@nicolefallert

The Jeffrey Epstein documents

Audrey Strauss, acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, points to a photo of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell during a news conference in New York on July 2, 2020.

What we know about the Epstein list

The names of possible friends, associates, witnesses and victims of the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein have been released in newly unsealed court documents. Also in the news: Israel was on high alert for retaliatory strikes after the killing of a top Hamas military leader in Lebanon. What to know about a new insulin price cap.

🙋🏼‍♀️ I'm Nicole Fallert, Daily Briefing author. Do you think you could do the 75 Hard challenge?

Here's the news to know Thursday.

Clinton, Trump on Epstein list, but no wrongdoing alleged

More documents and names are expected to be released on Thursday as part of a lawsuit brought by a victim of disgraced sex trafficking financier Jeffrey Epstein.

Why the list matters: The hundreds of sealed court filings about Epstein include other top figures in entertainment, politics and business. The figures have not been charged with any crime. Their inclusion in the list only constitutes a possible association with Epstein and/or his former girlfriend and convicted accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell, as a witness, victim, plaintiff, or as a business or social contact.

•	Documents released late Wednesday named former President Bill Clinton repeatedly, although he is not accused of any wrongdoing. He was the topic of an argument over the credibility of a witness who said she saw the former president when he was a guest of Epstein.
•	Trump's name also appears in a document in which Epstein is quoted as saying he would invite the then-real estate mogul to join him at a casino. In another document, a witness said she was never asked to engage in sexual relations with Trump.
•	False details about a flight log, altered images and claims about Epstein's girlfriend: The trial and associates have long been fruitful ground for misinformation.

More than 100 die in blast at gravesite of Iranian general killed by US

Explosions at an event honoring a prominent Iranian general slain by a U.S. airstrike killed at least 103 people and wounded over 140 others, Iranian state-run media reported Wednesday. A senior official called the blasts a "terroristic" attack, at a time of high tension in the Middle East because of the Hamas-Israel war and repeated provocations from Iran-backed militias. The blasts struck an event marking the fourth anniversary of the killing of Gen. Qassem Soleimani, who died in a U.S. drone strike in Iraq in January 2020. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. Read more

•	What's the chance of an escalation of the Israel-Hamas war? Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pledged to track down Hamas leaders wherever they are based.

The site where two explosions in quick succession struck a crowd in the southern Iranian city of Kerman on January 3, 2024.

SARE TAJALLI, ISNA/AFP via Getty Images

More news to know now

•	Trump appealed a bombshell ruling disqualifying him from Colorado's ballot to the Supreme Court.
•	An imam, considered a "beacon" in a New Jersey community, was fatally shot outside a mosque.
•	Why does Claudine Gay's resignation from Harvard matter?
•	A message from the plants: The U.S. is getting a lot warmer.
•	For subscribers: If Jim Harbaugh leaves for NFL, he did his job restoring Michigan football.
•	On today's The Excerpt podcast, what happened during a deadly runway crash in Japan. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your smart speaker.

What's the weather today? Check your local forecast here.

House Republicans to begin impeachment proceedings against Mayorkas

House Republicans are set to move forward with impeachment proceedings against Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas in a massive escalation of their attack on Democrats over the migrant crisis at the southern border. Mayorkas is currently involved in delicate Senate border talks and has pushed for President Joe Biden's proposed supplemental package that included foreign aid along with changes in border policy. The DHS replied in a statement that the effort had "no valid basis." Read more

•	More than 60 House Republicans traveled to Eagle Pass, Texas, to tour the southern border on Wednesday, dialing up pressure on the White House and Democrats over the migrant crisis at the border.
•	The Justice Department sued Texas Gov. Greg Abbott over state law allowing migrant arrests and deportations.
•	A migrant surge at the border adds to Biden's 2024 election woes.

Ap Justice Department Russia Ukraine War Crimes

Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas speaks with reporters during a news conference at the Department of Justice on Dec. 6, 2023, in Washington.

Mark Schiefelbein, AP

An insulin $35 cap price is now in effect

A price cap on insulin from one of the three major manufacturers took effect with the start of the new year, giving more Americans with diabetes more affordable treatments. The price cuts will reduce the cost of the drug for most patients to keep payments around $35 through either price caps or savings programs. Analysts, politicians and patient advocates have increasingly criticized drug manufacturers for the prices set for insulin, and some say more needs to be done given the millions of Americans who need the drug. Read more

Keep scrolling

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•	Gypsy Rose Blanchard is free from prison. Now she's everywhere.
•	Here's why embracing gray hair can be a good thing.
•	Point of view: Jets QB Aaron Rodgers reached a new low with a grudge-filled attack on Jimmy Kimmel.
•	Who is Natalia Grace?

Hundreds of migrants in Denver tent city evicted

Hundreds of migrants living in an illegal tent city near downtown Denver were evicted Wednesday by police and officials who offered them apartments, group shelter space or bus tickets to leave. The encampment sprung up several months ago and occupied the spaces between sidewalks and streets for multiple blocks. Many of the migrants are Venezuelans seeking asylum and work permits, but are scheduled for court hearings as far out as 2029. Read more

Usp News Migrants Forced To Leave An Illegal Enca

Migrants carrying their belongings walk though an illegal tent encampment as city officials close it down in Denver, Colorado on January 3, 2024.

Trevor Hughes, Trevor Hughes-USA TODAY NETWORK

Photo of the day: The new pink Starbucks x Stanley cup is selling out fast

People have flocked to Target since the release of the winter pink Starbucks x Stanley cup, arguing with one another, waiting in long lines, camping out overnight to get a chance to purchase the cup as soon as the store opened. Here's how you might still be able to get one.

Shopping frenzy over special edition Stanley cups

Victoria Robino via Storyful

Nicole Fallert is a newsletter writer at USA TODAY, sign up for the email here. Want to send Nicole a note? Shoot her an email at NFallert@usatoday.com or follow along with her musings on Twitter. Support journalism like this – subscribe to USA TODAY here.

Associated Press contributed reporting.