The Excerpt
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The Excerpt
Get context, not just headlines. Every weekday The Excerpt brings USA TODAY's award-winning journalists from across the nation together to unpack America's most pressing stories — from politics and culture to sports and entertainment — with host Dana Taylor.
Episodis Recents
298 episodis
PCB cleanup workers claim they were left unprotected from carcinogens
PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, were built to last. So, beginning in the late 1920’s billions of pounds of it were produced across the country for...
Forget night clubs. Morning raves are where it's at.
What’s it like to party not TILL but AT the break of dawn? In an era when so many interactions happen through screens, a growing number of people have...
Is the 2026 World Cup about to change soccer forever?
The 2026 FIFA World Cup is here, and it is unlike anything the sport has staged before. Spanning three countries and expanding in size, this tournamen...
They rejected Biden’s 2020 win. Now they’re running for office.
Among the Republicans running for governor of politically competitive states in 2026 are people like Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs, Georgia Lt. Gov. Burt Jo...
Turmoil at ’60 Minutes’ after Pelley and two others are fired
For over 50 years, CBS’ legendary “60 Minutes” has been a stalwart of the investigative reporting tradition. But a recent shakeup to leadership and on...
At Tribeca, music films are moving beyond the screen
Music documentaries are a major part of the festival circuit, but this year at Tribeca, they’re becoming something bigger: live events, legacy project...
Melinda French Gates is making a $215 million bet on women's health
Melinda French Gates is one of the biggest donors to women’s health through Pivotal, her foundation. Now she’s investing another $215 million to impro...
Can Hollywood help heal America's divides?
The United States is marking its 250th anniversary at a moment of deep division over politics, rights, power and who belongs in the nation’s story. St...
Trump admin retreats from Anti-Weaponization Fund after headwinds mount
In a surprise move, the Trump administration announced that it was retreating from a $1.776 billion-dollar Anti-Weaponization Fund that would have bee...
Who gets to define what it means to be American?
In the prologue of “All We Say: The Battle for American Identity” author Ben Rhodes asks two questions that get right to the heart of this battle. Wha...
2028 primary map fight heats up among Democrats
As Democrats turn the page on 2024, a new high-stakes fight is underway over which states will kick off the 2028 presidential primaries. Twelve states...
Why the US won’t treat Ebola patients at home
On May 16, the World Health Organization called the Ebola outbreaks in eastern Congo and Uganda a global health emergency. So far, there have been mor...
Green card application process now forces immigrants to return home
A significant change to the green card application process announced last week could upend the lives of hundreds of thousands of people in America. Th...
Kinship families raise millions of children. Where is the support?
Millions of children in the U.S. live with grandparents, aunts, uncles and other relatives, often after a family crisis. But many kinship families tak...
Memphis defined American music. How did it miss out on the money?
You can’t tell the story of American music without the blues, which means you can’t tell it without Memphis. From Beale Street’s blues bars to the Sta...
Why Trump’s $1.776B DOJ fund is raising alarms
A new $1.776 billion Justice Department fund is raising big questions — about who could qualify and how the money might be used. The “anti-weaponizati...
Trump defies low approval ratings with win in key Kentucky race
Ever since Indiana state Republicans failed to heed Trump’s redistricting demand, President Donald Trump has been on a tear, working to reshape the Re...
Zoonotic spillover diseases, like hantavirus and ebola, are on the rise
A deadly cluster of hantavirus cases linked to a cruise ship has raised new questions about how rare diseases spread, and whether another pandemic cou...
US debt now tops GDP as interest costs surge
America’s debt has crossed a striking threshold: it’s now bigger than the economy itself. Questions about what that means start to take shape when int...
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert takes its final bow.
For decades, late‑night television has provided us with a shared end‑of‑day ritual made up of monologues and jokes that shape our political conversati...
Why the ATF revoked fewer gun dealer licenses in 2025
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, better known as the ATF, dramatically reduced the number of gun dealers who had their license...
Cuban political prisoners central to ongoing negotiations with US
From the moment the Trump administration toppled former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, Venezuela’s longtime ally Cuba has been in the White Hous...
In creating CNN, Ted Turner changed the way we saw the world
Ted Turner, the founder of CNN, passed away last week at the age of 87. His impact on cable TV and the news industry writ large will endure for genera...
Does Spirit’s collapse signal the end of cheap flights?
Summer travel season is getting underway. But this year, travelers are facing a perfect storm of new pressures in the airline industry. The budget air...
Is El Niño about to reshape the Pacific again?
La Niña may be gone, but its impact doesn’t end when the pattern fades, according to a new study from NOAA researchers and the Cooperative Institute....
Will SCOTUS Voting Rights Act ruling disenfranchise voters?
Last week, the Supreme Court issued a ruling that will likely impact Black voters for generations. The 6-3 decision, which split along conservative an...
Inside a hockey empire that turned youth sports into big business
The story of Murry Gunty is about more than a hockey dad interested in youth sports. It’s about a businessman who saw an opportunity to build a lucrat...
Why Gen Z is getting fired after being hired
Gen Z workers are entering the job market, and in some cases, getting fired just as quickly. A recent survey found that many employers say they’ve let...
The must-see movies of summer 2026—and a surprising frontrunner
Hollywood’s summer movie season is here and it’s packed with big names, familiar franchises and high-stakes bets at the box office. From "Spider-Man"...
Her son was taken and killed in Gaza. She still chooses humanity.
In the aftermath of the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, 254 people were abducted. One of them was 23-year-old Hersh Goldberg-Polin. In his mother R...
Hegseth seeks to justify $1.5T budget while defending $23B war in Iran
today marks the 60th day since the start of the U.S. war in Iran. According to the War Powers Resolution of 1973, the president must now seek congress...
Why this year’s Kentucky Derby is wide open
This year's Kentucky Derby returns with a wide open field and no clear favorite. Courier Journal reporters Jason Frakes and Kirby Adams join The Excer...
Does Monsanto’s Roundup weedkiller need a cancer warning?
Should companies be legally required to warn consumers that their product might cause cancer? If your company is selling tobacco, that answer has been...
Political violence upends the White House Correspondents’ Dinner
The setting was the same as it’s always been: the elegant ballroom in the basement of the Washington Hilton. There, the president, vice president and...
AI-generated influencers are here. Can you tell who’s real?
Generative AI is making it easier than ever to create influencers who don’t actually exist. These synthetic personas can build audiences, promote prod...
With Virginia’s redistricting vote, Democrats now have the advantage
The latest news in the redistricting arms race between Republicans and Democrats saw voters narrowly approve a new map in Virginia that could advantag...
Doomscrolling alert: The Atlantic current may be headed for collapse
A large-scale and delicate system of ocean currents that has been active for millions of years and that’s responsible for our warm climate is in dange...
What’s at stake as King Charles visits Trump
King Charles III is heading to Washington for his first visit as monarch — and the timing is anything but simple. The king will address Congress and a...
The pope & Trump: A match not made in heaven
President Donald Trump has been clashing with Pope Leo XIV for weeks now in a rare and increasingly public dispute between a U.S. president and the he...
The Trump administration is working to reshape immigration courts
The Trump administration's mass deportation effort has played out on numerous fronts since he took office in 2024. There’s been dramatic ICE sweeps of...