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Daily Briefing: North Korea fires over Japan

Japan issued an emergency alert after North Korea continued its missile testing. Planned Parenthood will begin offering abortion services in an RV to reach skyrocketing demand in the Midwest. It's World Animal Day! Keep scrolling for some furry faces and a very tall cat.

🙋🏼‍♀️ I'm Nicole Fallert, Daily Briefing author. You are already in the know because you read this newsletter. But want to get even smarter? Subscribe to USA TODAY.

Okay, here's Tuesday's news.

🌅 Up first: 🌮 It's National Taco Day! Here's 13 ways to upgrade your taco Tuesday at home.

North Korea escalates missile tests

North Korea on Tuesday fired an intermediate-range ballistic missile over Japan in the most significant missile test by North Korea since January, when it fired an intermediate-range missile capable of reaching the U.S. territory of Guam. It is also the first time that a North Korea missile has flown over Japan since 2017. The United States said it strongly condemns North Korea's "dangerous and reckless decision" to launch what it described as a "long-range ballistic missile" over Japan. Japanese authorities issued a "J-alert" to residents in northeaster regions to evacuate to buildings nearby, the first such alert in five years. Read more

  • Donald Trump suggested he turned over Kim Jong Un letters to National Archives. (He didn't).

Hurricane Ian death toll climbs to 78

About 520,000 homes and businesses remained in the dark Monday evening, five days after Hurricane Ian tore through the state's Gulf Coast. Power has been restored to over 2 million Florida residents, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Monday, but the worst outages continue to affect southwest Florida. The death toll from Ian climbed to at least 78 people, according to the Associated Press, with the most confirmed fatalities in Florida. And the unrelenting storm threatened Monday to trigger some of the worst flooding in more than a decade – almost 1,000 miles away in Virginia. Read more

A member of the City of Miami Florida Task Force 2 Search and Rescue team checks homes for victims in the wake of Hurricane Ian on October 3, 2022 in Fort Myers Beach, Florida.
A member of the City of Miami Florida Task Force 2 Search and Rescue team checks homes for victims in the wake of Hurricane Ian on October 3, 2022 in Fort Myers Beach, Florida.

More news to know now

🌤 What's the weather up to in your neck of the woods? Check your local forecast here.

Planned Parenthood to launch first-of-its-kind mobile abortion clinic in Midwest

In the next couple weeks, A Planned Parenthood branch in Illinois will launch a mobile clinic: A 37-foot-long RV with a waiting room, a standard lab and exam rooms. The clinic will offer medication abortions, and hopes to later offer abortion procedures. The mobile unit is the first of its kind for Planned Parenthood in the nation and will be operational by the end of 2022. In the 100 days since Roe v. Wade fell, the organization has seen a 340% increase in people from outside Missouri and Illinois seeking services at its Fairview Heights, Illinois, location. Planned Parenthood will analyze patient travel patterns along the southern Illinois border to determine the routes the RV will take. Read more

FBI officials: No credible threats to US election systems ahead of midterms

Federal authorities have identified no credible threats to U.S. election systems despite persistent efforts by foreign adversaries, including Russia, to amplify disinformation about voter fraud and election integrity, senior FBI officials said Monday. The agency added they were closely monitoring potential threats to election workers in the U.S., after local officials reported a wave of harassment and abuse before and after the contentious 2020 presidential election. Read more

One thing to know: The bulk of the potentially criminal threats involved election workers in where the vote was close and involved post-election challenges, such as Arizona and Georgia.

  • Not entirely in the clear: Federal officials warned Russia is working to amplify doubts about the integrity of U.S. elections while China is interested in undermining American politicians it perceives as threats to Beijing's interests.

  • Highly contested race in PennsylvaniaDemocrat John Fetterman is hanging on to a six-point lead over Republican Mehmet Oz in the nation's most closely watched Senate race.

  • Texas gubernatorial race: Immigration policy, gun control, abortion were central themes last week's debate between incumbent Gov. Greg Abbott and Democratic challenger Beto O'Rourke.

  • More from WashingtonIn opening arguments, federal prosecutors said Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes remained outside the Capitol on Jan. 6 "like a general overlooking a battlefield."

In August, FBI Director Christopher Wray called election and politically-motivated violence "almost a 365-day phenomenon," an outgrowth of the country's deep divide.
In August, FBI Director Christopher Wray called election and politically-motivated violence "almost a 365-day phenomenon," an outgrowth of the country's deep divide.

Just for subscribers:

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Why some missing children cases get more online attention than others

Using 375 video posts from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children's Facebook page from October 2019 to this past June, a USA TODAY analysis found posts about missing white children, specifically girls, receive more likes, shares and views than posts about missing Black children. Our reporters examined the disparities in how audiences respond to social media posts about missing children and found not all cases get the same level of engagement. Here are 5 missing child cases to know about.

Tanesha Howard holds a photo of her 15-year-old daughter, Joniah Walker near her home in Milwaukee on Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2022. Howard last saw her daughter in the afternoon on June 23.
Tanesha Howard holds a photo of her 15-year-old daughter, Joniah Walker near her home in Milwaukee on Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2022. Howard last saw her daughter in the afternoon on June 23.

📷 Photo of the day: Furry, scaly and pointy pets tie the knot, get blessed and ride bikes for World Animal Day📷

October 4 is World Animal Day! Click here for photos of celebrations for our non-human friends.

A woman carries a hedgehog while taking part in an animal welfare campaign ahead of the World Animal Day in Aceh, Indonesia, on Oct. 2, 2022.
A woman carries a hedgehog while taking part in an animal welfare campaign ahead of the World Animal Day in Aceh, Indonesia, on Oct. 2, 2022.

A little less heavy

Fenrir Antares Powers, the tallest living domestic cat. The cat measures 47.83 centimeters and was verified in Farmington Hills, Mich. on Jan. 29, 2021.
Fenrir Antares Powers, the tallest living domestic cat. The cat measures 47.83 centimeters and was verified in Farmington Hills, Mich. on Jan. 29, 2021.

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.

Contributing: The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: North Korea, Planned Parenthood, Hurricane Ian, midterms: Daily Briefing