Games' closing ceremony 📷 Olympics highlights Perseid meteor shower 🚗 Car, truck recalls: List
NEWSLETTER
5 Things to Know

Tragedy off the coast of San Diego

Editors
USA TODAY

Good morning and welcome to the first Monday in May. As the country wakes up, it's Lindsay with the news you need to know.

First, trending this morning: 

⚓️ Tragedy off the coast: At least 3 are dead and 27 hospitalized after a boat capsized off the coast of San Diego. It's part of a suspected smuggling operation, authorities say.

🏛 Capitol riots: In an exclusive interview, Sen. Joe Manchin tells USA TODAY's Ledyard King that Donald Trump "called me all the time." The West Virginia Democrat also said he was ready "to stay and fight" during Capitol riots

🏈 Let's grade the NFL draft: From Jaguars to Jets, Bears to Broncos, USA TODAY's Nate Davis has his red pen out and is rating the team classes of 2021.

🏠 They're taking over HGTV: College sweethearts and DIY TV stars Ben and Erin Napier give readers an inside look at their new ‘Home Town Takeover.'

🌽 Corny pun, potential disruptions: Corn tortilla prices are increasing in Mexico. Here's a kernel of what Americans can expect.

👗 Honestly, she looks stunning: Billie Eilish debuts new look on British Vogue cover and reflects on negative body commentary.

The biggest stories we're expecting Monday:

Funeral to be held for Andrew Brown Jr. in North Carolina

Rev. Al Sharpton will deliver the eulogy at Monday's funeral for Andrew Brown Jr., who was killed by sheriff’s deputies serving search and arrest warrants at his Elizabeth City home on April 21. Brown, a Black man, was shot five times, including once fatally in the back of his head, according to an autopsy commissioned by his family. Protesters have taken to the streets after a judge ruled against the release of body camera footage from the shooting.

Weather to watch: Threat of flash flooding, drastic temperature changes across US

Part of the Southern Plains, the Ohio Valley, central Appalachians and the middle to lower Mississippi Valley will be under threat of severe thunderstorms and flash flooding Monday and Tuesday as a storm that soaked previously dry regions of Texas over the weekend moves slowly northeast. Rain and strong storms made their way across Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi and southern Missouri Sunday evening as the storm made its way through the area. A second weather threat is expected to develop over the Rockies into Monday, delivering wet snow to the higher elevations of Colorado and Wyoming and rain to parts of the northern and central Plains, the National Weather Service said. The fast-moving system will then head toward the Midwest, where cities like Omaha, Nebraska, and Minneapolis will experience temperature dips of up to 15 degrees below the norm for early May.

More ways to dive into the news: 

🎥 Watch: USA TODAY debuts a 22-minute documentary, 'Boots on the Ground': An inside look at the exhausted Black community in Minneapolis after George Floyd.

🎧 Listen: On today's 5 Things podcast, activists fight for police reform. You can listen to the podcast every day on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or on your smart speaker.

🏆 Play: Can you make the leaderboard in USA TODAY's news quiz? Take last week's and find out.

Apple and 'Fortnite' publisher go to court

A legal showdown between Apple and Fortnite publisher Epic Games gets underway Monday in federal court in Oakland, California. The lawsuit stems from Epic's move last August to allow players of its mobile games to directly pay for downloads and bypass the Apple App Store and Google Play store. Epic said it was effectively giving players a discount because Apple and Google each take a 30% cut of most purchases made in their online stores. Apple and Google then pulled "Fortnite" from their stores, leading Epic to sue both companies, charging that their app stores are anti-competitive and monopolistic. The trial is expected to last four weeks.

From COVID to Kentucky Derby, more quick headlines:

New York City is heading back to work

About 80,000 New York municipal employees who have been working remotely during the pandemic will return to their offices starting Monday. “We’re going to make it safe, but we need our city workers back in their offices where they can do the most to help their fellow New Yorkers, and it’s also going to send a powerful message about this city moving forward,” mayor Bill De Blasio said, promising strict safety measures.

We'll see you back here tomorrow. Have a great day.

- Lindsay

PS: Like this newsletter? Why don't you forward it to a friend? They can sign up here.

Featured Weekly Ad