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The Daily Briefing

YOUR MORNING NEWS ROUNDUP

Fri Aug 29 2025

Jane Onyanga-Omara | Audience Editor

Good morning! I'm Jane, Daily Briefing author. "Jaws" returns to theaters today for the 50th anniversary of the Steven Spielberg thriller.

Quick look at Friday's news:

•	Hurricane Katrina caused untold devastation on the Gulf Coast 20 years ago today.
•	We interviewed JD Vance. Here are the takeaways.
•	What's the Labor Day forecast? Expect a mixed bag.

It's been two decades since Hurricane Katrina slammed the Gulf Coast

Friday marks 20 years since Hurricane Katrina roared ashore on the Gulf Coast on the morning of Aug. 29, 2005. The storm devastated many parts of Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana, but it was New Orleans that received the lion's share of damage when the city's levees and floodwalls were breached. More than 1,300 people died, around 80% of the city was underwater for weeks, and the city lost more than 120,000 residents who fled and never returned. Two decades later, how Katrina has redefined New Orleans often depends where in the city one asks. Two neighborhoods, Broadmoor and the Lower Ninth Ward, tell competing stories of the storm.

•	I went back to see if New Orleans' culture survived Katrina. Here's what I found.
•	Katrina was an early warning sign of a different crisis now gripping the U.S.
•	A look back in photos: Katrina's devastating impact on the Gulf Coast

Harry Sims, a resident of New Orleans' Lower Ninth Ward, helped rescue several people on his skiff during Hurricane Katrina.

Jack Gruber, USA TODAY

Takeaways from JD Vance's exclusive interview with USA TODAY

Vice President JD Vance sat down with USA TODAY's White House correspondent Francesca Chambers Aug. 27 as the Trump administration crosses the seven-month mark to discuss his whirlwind opening act.

Trump's term has featured an aggressive display of executive power and plenty of jaw-dropping moments, with Vance sometimes at the center.

•	The expected 2028 presidential candidate said his Oval Office blow up with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy "elucidated" some issues for the American people, although it's "not necessarily" how he wanted the meeting to go.
•	Vance defended Trump's push to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, denied the president has an enemies list and said the administration doesn't want to deploy the National Guard in cities "indefinitely."
•	He also commented on Trump's "distinctive style" of decorating the White House and warned the NFL not to favor the Kansas City Chiefs now that one of their star players is engaged to Taylor Swift.

JD Vance talks Taylor Swift and more after 200 days in office

JD Vance sits down for an exclusive interview with White House correspondent Francesca Chambers to discuss his first 200 days as vice president.

Terry Baddoo

More news to know now

•	Immigration arrests of firefighters renew debate about White House priorities.
•	Family members of victims killed by triple murderer are angry over his execution.
•	Rev. Al Sharpton leads Wall Street march against Trump policies and for DEI.
•	What caused the US Open confrontation between Jelena Ostapenko and Taylor Townsend?

Meet your new favorite mini-puzzle: Play our free Quick Cross

Families remember children slain, wounded in Minnesota shooting

Families describing "unimaginable loss" recalled their slain children Aug. 28, the day after an attacker fired through the windows of a Minneapolis Catholic school church and sent worshipers diving behind pews for cover. Jesse Merkel, the father of Fletcher Merkel, 8, called the suspected shooter a "coward" who took his son's life. The deadly shooting occurred at Annunciation Catholic School, a private elementary school in Minneapolis with about 395 students, just before 8:30 a.m. local time on Aug. 27, authorities said. The two children killed in the shooting were 8 and 10 years old. Eighteen other people were wounded.

A mourner prays during an Interfaith Prayer Service for Annunciation Catholic Community, following a shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church on Wednesday, at the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis, Minnesota, August 28, 2025.

Tim Evans, REUTERS

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

College football season kicks off

The college football season kicks off in full this weekend, with three huge matchups of teams ranked in the top 10 of the preseason US LBM Coaches Poll . It starts with No. 1 Texas and Arch Manning visiting No. 2 Ohio State. Other games to watch include No. 6 Clemson hosting No. 9 LSU and No. 5 Notre Dame visiting No. 10 Miami. And there's also the debut of Bill Belichick at North Carolina on Labor Day night. It shapes up to be a great start to a season that is sure to be full of unpredictability as teams fight to make the College Football Playoff. To keep up with all the action, sign up for our college football newsletter, Path to Playoff.

•	Who wins the Heisman, and who wins it all? Our college football experts make their predictions

Today's talkers

•	Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce make their first public appearance after getting engaged.
•	Inside the outrageous food and drink options at the US Open.
•	The "office siren" aesthetic: Fashion empowerment or career risk?
•	4 simple tips to crate train your dogs.

Labor Day weather forecast will be a 'mixed bag'

The good, the bad but not much of the ugly describes the Labor Day weekend weather forecast across much of the nation. "It will be kind of a mixed bag but overall kind of a thumbs-up where a lot of people live," Carl Erickson, meteorologist for AccuWeather, told USA TODAY. "For most of us it looks really good − no big heat, low humidity." The sweet spot includes a swath of the nation stretching from the Great Lakes through the Ohio Valley through most of the Mississippi Valley and the Mid-Atlantic states. Those regions "all look really nice," Erickson said.

Photo of the day: Wildlife Photographer of the Year contest

A pack of elusive Arctic wolves in Canada, a sloth clinging to a barbed wire fence post in Costa Rica, a standoff between a lion and a cobra in Tanzania, a buck giving a mighty bellow in England. These are just some of the highly commended images from the London Natural History Museum's 2025 Wildlife Photographer of the Year contest. See more astonishing photos that made the cut.