Welcome to the Daily Briefing. Begin Friday with these reads:
Nicole Fallert here, listening to the new Noah Kahan album. We have Friday’s news, from the 2026 NFL Draft to wildfire in the South.
We’re only 32 picks into the 2026 NFL Draft, which has 225 yet to come off the board over the course of Friday’s second and third rounds in Pittsburgh, plus the final four rounds Saturday.
In Round 1 on Thursday, in a shocker to no one, Indiana quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza went No. 1 to the Las Vegas Raiders.
The Steel City hosted its first draft in more than 78 years — it looked marvelous and set a Round 1 attendance record of 320,000. Expect that figure to balloon into the weekend.
But the hometown team didn’t do as well as it had hoped. Per reports, the AFC North champs — still not necessarily sure who their quarterback will be in 2026 — were all set to take USC WR Makai Lemon with the 21st overall pick … not knowing a cross-state jump had occurred, with the Philadelphia Eagles literally swooping in.
Weather & Climate
Blazes created by “extreme drought,” are burning across parts of southern Georgia and northeast Florida, forcing road closures and destroying homes and buildings in their path, officials said. See maps of the wildfires.
Momfluencing
USA TODAY went deep into the world of momfluencing — career women who are often also authors, business owners, podcasters and brand marketing professionals, usually far out-earning their partners — at the Mom 2.0 Summit. While some people might not take the influencer world seriously, it’s undeniable that many moms in the industry are making big bucks talking online.
Have feedback on the Daily Briefing? Shoot Nicole an email at NFallert@usatoday.com.