The Excerpt USA TODAY

As another very hot summer approaches, a surge in demand for air conditioning is inevitable. But the nation’s electrical grid is aging and overtaxed in some areas. There were major failures last year in Texas. Meanwhile, solar and wind projects want access to new customers while oil and gas interests would prefer that this not happen so fast. The established utilities want to keep their monopolies after all. How can regulators, businesses and government leaders navigate this minefield successfully to benefit the American people? Ari Peskoe, the director of the Electricity Law Initiative at Harvard Law School’s Environment and Energy Law Program, has some ideas for what could help reinforce the country's electrical infrastructure.

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USA TODAY Justice Department Correspondent Aysha Bagchi has the latest after closing arguments in former President Donald Trump's hush money trial wrapped up.

Democrats will nominate President Joe Biden in a virtual session to ensure he's on the Ohio ballot.

USA TODAY Investigative Data Reporter Austin Fast has the latest on PFAS chemicals and efforts by some utilities to get them out of the water supply. Check out the PFAS levels in your neck of the woods.

Americans keep leaving big cities for smaller towns even after COVID.

NASA has discovered a potentially habitable exoplanet 40 light years from Earth.




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Former President Donald Trump's hush money trial moves to closing arguments.

USA TODAY World Affairs Correspondent Kim Hjelmgaard looks at the implications of a decision by Ireland, Norway and Spain to recognize the state of Palestine.

Financial aid experts are raising new concerns about a difficult timeline for students hoping to rely on financial aid this summer.

USA TODAY Senior Reporter Jessica Guynn discusses how some brands are pulling back on Pride Month merch and promotions.

Basketball legend Bill Walton has died at 71.




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Israeli airstrikes have killed at least 35 in southern Gaza.

USA TODAY Reporter Karissa Waddick explains what Vietnam War activists are saying decades later, amid current college protests against Israel's war in Gaza.

Tornadoes kill at least 15 in the central U.S.

USA TODAY National Correspondent Elizabeth Weise explains why orcas near Spain have been ramming and sinking boats in recent years. Check out our Deep Dive episode on orcas with Michael Weiss, research director at the Center for Whale Research.

It's Memorial Day. Take a minute of silence to remember fallen soldiers.




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Sales for electric vehicles in the U.S. and worldwide will reach their highest levels ever this year. But a big sticking point remains. Even with tax incentives and rebates, the price for EVs is still thousands of dollars higher than their gas-guzzling cousins. The Biden administration set 2030 as the goal for when half of all new vehicles sold would be electric powered. The question is, can we get there? Duncan Wood, vice president for strategy & new initiatives at the Wilson Center, a non-profit thinktank, joins The Excerpt to talk about the possibilities and what it will take for this growing market to mature.




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For a moment, George Floyd's murder changed everything. Are those days gone? USA TODAY Chief Political Correspondent Phillip M. Bailey discusses.

The U.N.'s top court orders Israel to halt its military offensive into Rafah.

USA TODAY Sports Columnist Dan Wolken talks through the implications of an NCAA deal to let schools pay their players.

Documentarian Morgan Spurlock has died at 53.




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