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The Daily Briefing

YOUR MORNING NEWS ROUNDUP

Wed Jul 30 2025

Nicole Fallert | Newsletter Writer

@nicolefallert

Good morning!🙋🏼‍♀️ I'm Nicole Fallert. Time to cringe to a new "The Summer I Turned Pretty" episode.

Start your Wednesday with the news:

•	The Hawaiian Islands were sent into chaos as people braced for a tsunami warning.
•	The Environmental Protection Agency will rescind the long-standing finding that greenhouse gas emissions endanger human health.
•	The Federal Reserve is set to announce changes (if any) to interest rates.

Tsunami waves reach Hawaii and the West Coast hours after magnitude 8.8 earthquake

U.S. authorities remain vigilant Wednesday morning of wave heights, as well as strong or hazardous currents, after tsunami advisories were triggered across the Pacific, Alaska and the entire U.S. West Coast.

What's happening: The waves began arriving in Hawaii after 7 p.m. local time, hours after one of the strongest earthquakes in recorded history, a magnitude 8.8 temblor, struck Tuesday off Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula.

•	Waves began to arrive at Crescent City, California and Humboldt Bay overnight. Tsunamis can cause a long series of waves, extensively flood coastal areas and present dangers that continue for many hours. Here's what to do if you're in a threatened area.
•	"It's always scary to get an alert like that": The streets of Honolulu, including the tourist hub Waikiki, were congested as people quickly tried to move to higher ground and away from coastal evacuation zones. Some reported long lines at gas stations, as sirens continued to go off on the hour to the estimated first wave.
•	Tsunami waves recorded in Hawaii. Initial data showed waves arriving Tuesday evening were less than the potential projected maximum of 9.8 feet.

Vacationers stand on balconies at the 'Alohilani Resort' amid tsunami alerts in Honolulu, Hawaii on July 29, 2025.

Nichola Groom, REUTERS

The EPA just made the largest deregulatory action in US history

The Environmental Protection Agency will rescind the long-standing finding that greenhouse gas emissions endanger human health, as well as tailpipe emission standards for vehicles. This means wiping out two decades of regulation aimed at reducing carbon dioxide, methane and other greenhouse gases from cars, power plants, oil production and other sources. President Donald Trump's pick to run the EPA Lee Zeldin will announce the proposal Tuesday. If finalized, this action will devastate the EPA's ability to carry out its primary authority to limit climate pollution under the federal Clean Air Act.

•	Fire up the AC: A sweltering U.S. set a new electricity consumption record.
•	Want more news about our planet? Sign up for USA TODAY's Climate Point newsletter.

More news to know now

•	The UK will recognize a Palestinian state if Israel doesn't allow more aid to Gaza.
•	What's with the president wanting a ballroom in the White House?
•	Nearly half of parents with disabled kids report having suicidal thoughts, but can't find help.
•	Why are there 75 tons of illegal fireworks sitting in a warehouse?

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

New York City shooter puts focus on NFL's troubling history with CTE

The mass shooting in New York has once again put the spotlight on the National Football League's troubling history with how the league deals with head trauma and, more recently, the links with playing football and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative brain disease linked to repeated blows to the head. New York police say Shane Tamura, a 27-year-old Las Vegas resident who played high school football in the Los Angeles area, killed four people, including a New York City police officer, before turning the gun on himself. Mayor Eric Adams said Tamura targeted the league's headquarters in New York, leaving a note claiming he had CTE.

Trump wants lower interest rates. Will the Fed make cuts?

All eyes will be on the Federal Reserve's post-meeting statement Tuesday to see if there are signs of an impending interest rate cut in September. The Fed has kept its key interest rate steady since late 2024, despite monthslong pressure from President Donald Trump to make cuts. While Trump has floated the idea of firing Fed chair Jerome Powell, the president on July 24 backed off his threats following a visit to the Fed's headquarters. Trump's ire stems from the central bank's decision to wait and see how tariffs impact prices before adjusting rates.

•	Here's where the economy stands as the Fed makes its interest rate decision.
•	The July jobs report may show the growing impact of Trump's immigration crackdown.
•	Trump and China trade talks moved closer to extending a tariff truce.

Today's talkers

•	Dennis Quaid, 71, has thoughts on age-gap relationships.
•	"Golden retriever" guys are out. It's a "black cat boyfriend" summer.
•	We co-sign Tracee Ellis Ross' "bring it all" travel mentality.
•	These minerals make cottage cheese good for you.

Crack open a cold one with USA TODAY

From dive bars to hidden speakeasies, swanky cocktail lounges to beachfront watering holes, the best bars tell a story — and often serve up something tasty to go with your drink. USA TODAY's Bars of the Year 2025 are the places where locals and visitors alike gather for good conversation, warm vibes and a little slice of the city's character, whether that means savoring a Rusty Nail aboard a simulated flight in Phoenix, chasing an Orange Crush down the beach in Delaware or pairing a salty margarita with a deep-fried hot dog at a Florida dockside bar. Check out the spots chosen by USA TODAY Network journalists who know their hometown haunts inside and out.

Bartenders toast at Good For A Few, one of USA TODAY's Bars of the Year, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, in May 2025.

NATHAN J. FISH/THE OKLAHOMAN

Photo of the day: This kid from America

From New Hope, Pennsylvania, to Kawasaki, Japan: Zach Peckman, 16, is representing the best of American jump rope at the World Jump Rope Championships in Japan this week. His events are all about speed, such as the 30-second and 3-minute sprints where some athletes hit more than seven jumps per second. To keep rhythm during competition, Peckman listens to a sped-up version of Kim Wilde's "Kids in America" — we'll be listening in support, too.

Zach Peckman is to compete in four single rope male speed events at the 2025 World Jump Rope Championships as a member of the U.S. national team.

Michele C. Haddon / Bucks County Courier Times

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.