Daily Briefing: Tough as steel

President Joe Biden is moving to triple the rates of tariffs on steel and aluminum from China. Also in the news: USA TODAY asked Americans if they're worried about foreign policy issues as much as growing domestic concerns (like the looming election). Scientists around the world say coral bleaching is growing worse.

🙋🏼‍♀️ I'm Nicole Fallert, Daily Briefing author. Caitlin Clark's WNBA salary is less than 1% of what her NBA counterparts make.

Here's the news to know on Wednesday.

Biden borrows from Trump's book on China

President Joe Biden is in the "Steel City" on Wednesday, where he will address the United Steelworkers Union. In Pittsburgh, the president-cum-candidate will call to triple the existing 7.5% average tariff rate on Chinese steel and aluminum.

Why? The Biden administration says the higher tariffs are designed to protect competition and protect American jobs in the steel industry.

• Biden's move echoes those of former President Donald Trump, the Republican presumptive nominee, who routinely raised tariffs on Chinese goods during his four years in office.

• Courting blue-collar voters in a battleground state: The union, which opposes the sale of Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel to a Japanese company, has jumped behind Biden in the hope for better industry protections.

• Biden is making the most of Trump's time in a New York court: The president is on a three-day tour through Pennsylvania, blasting Trump's 2017 tax cuts and leaning into his modest upbringing in the state.

Americans are concerned about a larger war, but home issues stay top of mind

Voters, activists and foreign policy experts who spoke with USA TODAY said the nation becoming entangled in a larger global conflict is a source of concern. Their sentiment comes after the U.S. helped repel a wave of 300 Iranian drones and missiles directed at Israel. Iran’s historic action has raised the country's blood pressure as President Joe Biden and a divided Congress look to respond without further escalating the Gaza Strip crisis amid other international conflicts. Meanwhile, other Americans said foreign affairs rank low as topics such as inflation, immigration and affordable health care remain bigger concerns. Read more

More news to know now

• The House sent articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to the Senate.

• Abortions resumed in northern Arizona while a 1864 near-total ban looms.

• Pennsylvania officials are trying to remove seven barges trapped in an Ohio River dam.

• Hundreds of African immigrants in New York City rallied for more protections.

• On today's The Excerpt podcast, a new program to combat child exploitation online. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your smart speaker.

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

Is Mike Johnson's job in jeapardy?

Shortly after unveiling a plan to deliver foreign aid to key U.S. allies, Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., forcibly came out against the House speaker's proposal in a closed-door conference meeting on Tuesday morning, announcing he would support an existing effort to oust Johnson. Massie, along with conservative rabble-rouser Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., are calling on Johnson to step down from the top post. If he doesn't, they are threatening to call up a vote on the House floor that could send the chamber into another leadership vacuum. Read more

How heat in the oceans is bleaching coral

Massive coral bleaching across the world's oceans during the past year's extremely warm water temperatures was labeled a “global coral bleaching event” by federal officials this week. It’s the fourth global coral bleaching overall and the second in the last 10 years, with extensive bleaching and heat stress across the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said. The increasing frequency of ocean warming and coral bleaching events isn’t allowing corals to recover in between events, the study found. Read more

Keep scrolling

• The Supreme Court is about to hear the biggest homeless rights case in decades.

• The 2024 WNBA draft shattered a TV viewership record.

• Here’s what a massive exodus is costing the United Methodist Church.

• Here's why the vet is costing so much lately.

• Travis Kelce will host a celebrity spinoff of "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?"

Taylor Swift wants you to remember 2 o'clock

Taylor Swift has released a new timetable associated with the release of her 11th album, "The Tortured Poets Department." A video posted to the singer's Instagram account begins on a clock pointed at 2 o'clock. This is the same time shown in the foam in the Karma (Remix) music video coffee cup and the same time that clocks at a Spotify exhibit in Los Angeles teased the new album point. USA TODAY's Taylor Swift reporter broke down all the "Tortured" clues in the video.

Photo of the day: The Olympic flame is headed to France

It's beginning: A flame lighting ceremony for the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics was held at the Ancient Olympia archeological site, the birthplace of the ancient Olympics in southern Greece on Tuesday. Click here for more photos from the ceremony.

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.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Biden, China, Trump, Iran, Israel, Gaza, Mayorkas, Mike Johnson, Taylor Swift, coral bleaching, Olympics, WNBA: Daily Briefing