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| Happy Monday, Daily Briefing readers! In-person hearings are back at SCOTUS after more than a year of virtual gatherings due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine has been awarded to American scientists David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian. The Powerball jackpot has risen to $670 million, the sixth-largest in history. Who will be the lucky winner? And, it's National Taco Day! Scroll to the bottom to find out how you can score a free 🌮. |
| It's Jane, with Monday's news. |
| 🔵 New this morning: "Seven Days of 1961." It was the "deadliest place" for Black people in the U.S. That didn't stop these high school students from changing history. |
| 🔵 Freedom Riders traveled deep into the South in 1961. Klansmen beat them, then set their bus on fire. |
| 🔵 They held a "read-in" at a whites-only library in 1961 and helped end segregation. Meet the Tougaloo Nine. |
| 🔵 White people in the U.S. have long controlled public institutions. Racial progress has paid the price. |
| 🏈 If they came to see vintage Tom Brady, that's not what the much-anticipated return to Gillette Stadium turned out to be. Except at the end. |
 | | Tom Brady broke Drew Brees' record to become the NFL's all-time career passing yards leader. | | USA TODAY | |
| 👩💻 "So glad I didn't buy a set": Kylie Jenner's latest business venture – a swim line – is drowning in bad reviews. |
| 🛒 "Alexa, what are my deals?" Amazon is rolling out "Black Friday-worthy deals" earlier than ever. |
| Here's what's happening today: |
The Supreme Court starts new term with a docket full of explosive cases |
| After more than a year of debating its docket virtually due to COVID-19, the Supreme Court returns to work Monday with a docket full of controversial issues – abortion, guns and the death penalty. However, Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh will participate remotely after testing positive for COVID-19 last week. Over the summer, a majority of the court handed down rulings that overturned President Joe Biden's eviction moratorium, blocked his ability to unwind immigration policy by his predecessor Donald Trump, and allowed Texas' restrictive abortion law to stand in a ruling that did not decide whether or not it's constitutional. Ahead of the Supreme Court's new term, Women's March protesters on Saturday staged hundreds of rallies across the country in support of reproductive rights. |
 | | Supreme Court Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh tested positive for COVID-19, the court announced Friday. | | USA TODAY | |
Nobel Prize goes to US scientists for discovery of temperature and touch receptors |
| The Nobel Prize in the field of physiology or medicine has been awarded to U.S. scientists David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian, for their discovery of receptors for temperature and touch. Patrik Ernfors of the Nobel Committee said Julius used capsaicin, the active component in chile peppers, to identify the nerve sensors that allow the skin to respond to heat. Patapoutian found separate pressure-sensitive sensors in cells that respond to mechanical stimulation, he said. "This really unlocks one of the secrets of nature," said Perlmann. "It's actually something that is crucial for our survival, so it's a very important and profound discovery." Last year's prize in physiology or medicine went to Harvey J. Alter, Michael Houghton and Charles M. Rice for the discovery of the Hepatitis C virus. |
What else people are reading: |
| 💉 Rural Americans are dying of COVID-19 at more than twice the rate of their urban counterparts — a divide that health experts say is likely to widen. |
| 🔢 The Census Bureau's first ever data on LGBTQ people indicate that the disparities queer Americans experienced prior to the pandemic have continued to endure. |
| 🔴 Emily Ratajkowski says Robin Thicke groped her bare breasts while shooting the music video for his controversial 2013 hit "Blurred Lines." |
Powerball prize balloons to $670M |
| A very lucky winner could earn an estimated $670 million from Monday's Powerball drawing after no tickets hit all five numbers plus the Powerball on Saturday night. The new jackpot, if won, would be the sixth-largest in Powerball history and the eighth-largest U.S. lottery jackpot of all time, according to powerball.com. If the winner claims the cash option instead of a 30-year payout, they'll walk away with $474.8 million. The jackpot awaiting Monday's hopeful lottery participants hasn't been this big since Jan. 29, when an anonymous Maryland group won $731.1 million. |
Parkland school shooting suspect faces trial for attempted battery |
| Nikolas Cruz, the suspect in the 2018 killing of 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, is going on trial — but not for the slayings. Jury selection begins Monday on charges that Cruz attacked Sgt. Raymond Beltran, a Broward County jail guard. He faces a possible 15-year sentence if convicted of attempted criminal battery on a law enforcement officer and three lesser charges. Cruz, 23, will get either death or life in prison without parole if he is later found guilty of first-degree murder. If Cruz is convicted of attacking Beltran, prosecutors can argue that is an aggravating factor when they seek his execution during the penalty phase of his murder trial, which has been delayed by the pandemic and arguments over witnesses and evidence. No date has been set. |
ICYMI: Some of our top stories Sunday |
| 🚨 Former NASCAR driver John Wes Townley was killed Saturday in a double shooting that occurred in the Athens (Georgia) Five Points area. |
| 🎃 As Halloween returns candy corn to prominence, it also re-ignites a long-running divisive debate: Is it a perfect candy or an abomination? |
| 🛥 "Pandora Papers": World leaders, politicians and others have been hiding their investments in mansions, yachts and other assets for the past quarter-century, according to a review of nearly 12 million files. |
| 🌏 "Environmental catastrophe": Crews worked feverishly to stem the growing environmental disaster from one of the largest oil spills in recent California history. |
 | | A seagull flies over oil washed up by the coast in Huntington Beach, Calif., on Sunday., Oct. 3, 2021. | | Ringo Chiu, AP | |
Score a free taco this National Taco Day 🌮 |
| This week, you don't have to wait until Tuesday for taco deals. Monday is National Taco Day , and taco purveyors are celebrating yet another made-up food holiday with freebies. Taco Bell is giving away crunchy tacos with $1 minimum orders via its app. Del Taco customers can claim a free stuffed quesadilla taco with any purchase Monday, the last day of the chain's 10 days of deals. Meanwhile, 7-Eleven said its 7Rewards loyalty members can get 10 mini tacos for $1 at participating locations. And El Pollo Loco's crunchy taco returns as the chain's "first-ever, digital-only menu item" Monday through Nov. 1, meaning it's available to order on the El Pollo Loco app and website. Salivate over more deals in this roundup. |
📸 The best spooky and fun places to stay this October 📸 |
 | | The Clown Motel | | The Clown Motel | |
| Are you looking for a good fright as Halloween approaches? 'Tis the season for scares, so what could be better than an October getaway to a haunted hotel, inn or bed and breakfast? Check out our gallery of 10 of the best spooky getaways in the country. |
| The Daily Briefing is free, but several stories we link to in this edition are subscriber-only. Please support our journalism and become a USA TODAY digital subscriber today. |
| Contributing: The Associated Press |
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