Daily Briefing: 180 mph winds

Hurricane Lee is forecast to strengthen Friday morning, reaching winds of 180 mph. Also in the news: The Senate returned this week to dim prospects for avoiding a government shutdown at the end of the month and Coco Gauff, 19, is heading to the U.S. Open championship court.

🙋🏼‍♀️ I'm Nicole Fallert, Daily Briefing author. Olivia Rodrigo's 'Guts' is a no-skip album.

Now, here we go with Friday's news.

Hurricane Lee powers up to Category 5 strength

Hurricane Lee roared to Category 5 intensity Thursday far out in the Atlantic Ocean, the National Hurricane Center said. The powerful storm's winds had doubled in speed in over 24 hours.

Whether Lee will make landfall or blow out to sea remains a key question.

• Long-range forecasts suggest Lee will likely curve north next week before reaching Florida. Potential impacts from Lee along the rest of the U.S. East Coast remain uncertain.
• Meanwhile, in the Pacific, Hurricane Jova churned through open waters far from Mexico’s southwest coast as a Category 5 storm. It posed no threat to land.
• Even before the hurricane season started, forecasters said 2023 was likely to be a busier-than-normal season, but in August they bumped up their predictions, calling for 14-21 named storms.

Related: September is National Preparedness Month. Here's what to have at home in case of emergencies.

Senators warn of dwindling time as hardline Republicans demand cuts

While the House has yet to come back into session from its weeks-long summer break, the Senate, which returned Tuesday, has a gloomy outlook on Congress' odds of avoiding a government shutdown. Senators have been approaching the process of keeping the government funded on a mostly bipartisan basis. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., announced Wednesday at a weekly press conference the upper chamber would vote next week on three out of the 12 appropriations bills needed to avert a shutdown, praising both Senate Democrats and Republicans for moving swiftly on the process. Read more

• Biden, COVID and mask mandates are a timely test for the 2024 election.
• A Georgia prosecutor blasted a House inquiry into the Donald Trump indictment.
• Proud Boys members complained their long prison sentences punished them for demanding a trial.

More news to know now

• Brett Kavanaugh says he's hopeful the Supreme Court will take ''concrete steps'' to address ethics scandals.
• NYC Mayor Eric Adams called an influx of migrants a national crisis.
• A new Google policy requires clear disclosure of AI in election ads.
• This interstellar traveler won't return for another 400 years.
• On today's 5 Things podcast, former Trump aide Peter Navarro has been convicted for defying a subpoena. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your smart speaker.

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

Is it safe for Joe Biden to travel to India following a COVID exposure?

Just days after he was exposed to COVID, President Joe Biden will arrive in New Delhi, India, early Friday morning for the Group of 20 summit, where he is scheduled to hold two days of meetings with leaders of some of the world’s leading economies. Biden’s trip follows the disclosure that first lady Jill Biden is isolating at the family’s home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, after testing positive for COVID on Monday. The president, who was last with her on the day of her positive test, has tested negative four times since then. But should he still go?

• A COVID spike has the GOP fighting over mask mandates and bans. The White House wants no part of it.
• Should you be worried about latest COVID variant? Will the new vaccines fight BA.2.86?
• As host of the G20 this year, India has pledged to amplify the concerns of developing countries.

Miami schools again reject proposal to recognize October as LGBTQ history month

A proposal to recognize October as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer history month in Miami-Dade public schools went down in flames last year. On Wednesday night, advocates set their sights on a do-over, hoping they wouldn’t meet the same fierce opposition this time around. After a 13-hour school board meeting, a revised version of the proposal failed in a 5-3 vote. The meeting reportedly stretched into early Thursday morning, drawing dozens of supporters and opponents - including a contingent of Proud Boys, the right-wing hate group, according to the Miami Herald. Read more

• A Florida city declared itself a sanctuary city for LGBTQ people.
• After body slamming a student during an arrest, Georgia school police chief placed on leave

A menstrual pad that tests for cervical cancer?

Six North Carolina teenagers have spent two years working on Sensible, a diagnostic menstrual pad to detect cervical cancer — and save potentially hundreds of thousands of lives. The team devised a simple solution to a multifaceted problem. More than 340,000 people die of cervical cancer each year, the team said. Four in five of those victims live in developing countries. However, cervical cancer is highly treatable when caught early, according to the National Institutes of Health. You just need better, cheaper, widespread screening. Read more

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Coco Gauff navigates delay created by environmental protestors

Coco Gauff, the No. 6 seed, reached her first US Open final after beating No. 10 Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic on Thursday night, 6-4, 7-5. And on Saturday, 19-year-old Gauff will have a chance to forever end the questions about when she’s going to break that threshold and reach the top of women's tennis. Gauff will face Aryna Sabalenka, the Belarusian who won the Australian Open in January and will ascend to the world No. 1 ranking for the first time on Monday regardless of the result in the final. Read more

• Protestors caused a lengthy delay during the Gauff-Karolina Muchova US Open semifinal match.
• Aaron Rodgers, the Obamas, and more celebs take over the US Open.

Quick hits

• ''That '70s Show'' actor Danny Masterson was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison for 2 rapes.
• Jimmy Fallon's 'Tonight Show' was accused of creating a toxic workplace in a new report.
• Joe Burrow shattered the mark for NFL's highest-paid player with record contract from Bengals.
• The Eagles paid tribute to Jimmy Buffett at final tour kickoff: ''Sailing on that cosmic ocean.''
• A 7-year-old girl finds large diamond on her birthday at an Arkansas park known for precious stones.

Photo of the day: King Charles honors mother Queen Elizabeth II's legacy on 1st anniversary of her death

One year after Queen Elizabeth II passed away, King Charles III marked the occasion with an official statement from Balmoral Castle in Scotland. "In marking the first anniversary of Her late Majesty's death and my Accession, we recall with great affection her long life, devoted service and all she meant to so many of us," the king said of the late monarch. Read more

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 [email protected] or follow along with her musings on Twitter. Support journalism like this – subscribe to USA TODAY here.

Associated Press contributed reporting.