Daily Briefing: 'I'm frustrated.' Over 10,000 flights delayed, canceled

Thousands of fights were canceled and delayed, causing transportation mayhem across the United States. More classified documents have been found by aides to President Joe Biden at a new location, according to reports.

👋 It's Jane Onyanga-Omara and Steve Coogan, guest-starring as the authors of today's Daily Briefing. Looking for a fun and spooky way to celebrate Friday the 13th tomorrow? Try this movie marathon.

Now, here's Thursday's news.

FAA computer glitch causes air chaos

Thousands of flights across the U.S. were canceled or delayed Wednesday after a system at the Federal Aviation Administration that offers safety information to pilots failed. The system broke down late Tuesday and was not fixed until midmorning Wednesday. The FAA took the rare step of preventing any planes from taking off for a time, and the chaos led to more than 1,300 flight cancellations and 9,000 delays by early evening on the East Coast, according to flight-tracking website FlightAware. The FAA said preliminary indications “traced the outage to a damaged database file." After the failures were fixed, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg warned that travelers could continue to see some effects "rippling through the system." Read more

• Experts say old tech could be responsible for FAA outage that caused thousands of delays.

• See photos: Flights delayed nationwide after FAA orders temporary halt to all domestic flights.

Biden aides find second batch of classified documents at separate location, reports say

A second set of classified documents was found by aides to President Joe Biden at a location separate from Biden's former Washington office where records were first discovered in November, according to media reports Wednesday. The disclosure, first reported by NBC News, came a day after Biden told reporters he was "surprised" by the discovery of the first batch of documents at an office he used after serving as vice president and before he launched the 2020 White House campaign. The White House confirmed the Nov. 2 discovery in a statement Monday, saying officials were cooperating with a Justice Department review that appeared to be nearing an end. It was not immediately clear how many documents were found at the second location or their classification level. Read more

• Questions about Joe Biden documents escalate as initial Justice review nears end.

• Biden classified documents: What we know and how discovery compares to Trump.

More news to know now

• 🏠 Developers are trying to build hundreds of thousands of homes in Arizona. A new report warns there isn't enough water.

• 🏈 Damar Hamlin was released from a Buffalo hospital, 9 days after the Bills safety collapsed on the field.

• 🚔 5 Tennessee police officers have been fired, 3 suspended after sexual misconduct investigation.

• 📸 Tatjana Patitz, one of the "original" supermodels of '80s and '90s, has died at 56.

• 🔵 Russians hope to claim first win in Ukraine since summer, demote general who retreated from Kherson.

• 🎧 On today's 5 Things podcast, USA TODAY Consumer Travel Reporter Zach Wichter has the latest on the FAA outage that grounded airline traffic across the U.S. You can listen to the podcast every day on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or on your smart speaker.

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

More weather worry in California: Relentless rain keeps battering state

While Southern California's famous sunshine finally returned Wednesday, the San Francisco Bay Area and the Monterey peninsula were not as fortunate as rain continued to fall. "The atmospheric river has refocused over northern and central California," the National Weather Service said. "Heavy rain on saturated soils and gusty winds may lead to flooding." The service warned of hazardous weather conditions for those areas. A high-surf advisory will go into effect Thursday. At least 18 people have died in the wave of the storms. Damage could exceed $1 billion, experts say. Read more

Will the extreme weather let up? What's next: The previous storm that walloped California was making its way east, and severe thunderstorms were possible in the Southeast on Thursday, forecasters said. Looking further ahead, four more atmospheric rivers are heading toward California in the next nine to 10 days, Gov. Gavin Newsom warned. Read more

• What is an atmospheric river? The rivers of water vapor can extend thousands of miles.

• What the experts say: Are California's storms normal, or is climate change making them worse?

• 18 disasters costing at least $1 billion each: How the U.S. was impacted by weather in 2022.

Just for subscribers:

• 🔴 An expert witness said Texas' execution drugs were expired. Officials used them anyway.

• 🏦 How 4 small Utah banks have taken "predatory lending" national. It's all thanks to state law, critics say.

• 🚨 "We live in the world lynching made": How communities face — or hide from — history.

• 🚘 GM wants to get Cadillac Lyriq to customers faster after only 122 deliveries in 2022.

These articles are for USA TODAY subscribers. You can sign up here. Already a subscriber and want premium content texted to you every day? We can do that! Sign up for our subscriber-only texting campaign.

Despite party pressure, Santos won't resign, McCarthy won't remove him

As pressure mounts for freshman Republican Rep. George Santos to resign, House speaker Kevin McCarthy said it's up to the New Yorkers who put him in office to decide. "The voters elected him to serve," McCarthy told reporters at the Capitol Wednesday. His comments come hours after Nassau County Republicans called on Santos to resign for telling a litany of lies during his campaign that are "too numerous to count." "We do not consider him one of our congresspeople," Nassau committee GOP Chairman Joseph Cairo said. A defiant Santos said that he "will not" resign. Read more

• Points of contention: Kevin McCarthy's secret deal, George Santos, Biden and Trump docs, abortion prompt a fiery debate in the new Congress

• How the GOP got here: The rise of ultra conservatives from Barry Goldwater to Donald Trump

Jeff Beck, influential guitar god of The Yardbirds, dies at 78

Jeff Beck, legendary guitarist from English rock band The Yardbirds and The Jeff Beck Group, has died. He was 78. "On behalf of his family, it is with deep and profound sadness that we share the news of Jeff Beck’s passing," read a statement on his website, which noted that the musician died Tuesday "after suddenly contracting bacterial meningitis." Beck was among the rock-guitarist pantheon from the late 1960s that included Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page and Jimi Hendrix. In his lengthy career, Beck won eight Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame twice. Read more

• Jeff Beck was a guitar god – but he was also human. Here’s what happened when I met him.

• Ozzy Osbourne, Mick Jagger, more stars mourn Jeff Beck: "An absolute god of guitar."

📷 Photo of the day: Remembering Jeff Beck. The legendary guitarist's life and career in photos 📷

The world is mourning the loss of a rock god after Jeff Beck, the legendary guitarist died at 78.

Tributes poured in from Beck's admirers around the world, among them English singer-songwriter Paul Young, who affectionately called Beck "the guitarist's guitarist" in a tweet. "Devastated to hear of the sudden and tragic death of legendary guitarist Jeff Beck," Young wrote. "He was loved by everyone in the know."

See more photos of Jeff Beck during his career and art inspired by him.

One more thing

• 🎥 SAG Awards nominations: "Banshees of Inisherin," "Everything Everywhere" lead 2023 field.

• 🛏 Bed Bath & Beyond store closings: 62 more added to the list.

• 🎾 Naomi Osaka announces pregnancy, three days after confirming she will not play at the Australian Open.

• 💰 Tax deadlines 2023: When is the earliest you can e-file? When does IRS Free File open?

• 🎭 What TV didn't show at the Golden Globes: Jennifer Coolidge swarmed, Austin Butler can't quit Elvis.

Contributing: The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Daily Briefing: FAA, Biden documents, California weather, George Santos