Evening Briefing: A $1 trillion infrastructure deal

July 28, 2021

By Victoria Shannon

Briefings, Newsdesk

Good evening. Here's the latest at the end of Wednesday.

Republican Senators Mitt Romney, Lisa Murkowski, Rob Portman, Bill Cassidy and Susan Collins spoke to reporters about the infrastructure deal. T.J. Kirkpatrick for The New York Times

1. The road is cleared for President Biden's $1 trillion infrastructure plan.

A vote in the Senate to advance the far-reaching bill was scheduled for tonight after the White House and a bipartisan group of senators came to agreement.

About $550 billion in new federal money would be designated for roads, bridges, rail, transit, water and other physical infrastructure programs.

It remained unclear whether enough Republicans would join the five core negotiators in advancing the measure, although some G.O.P. senators outside the group signaled support.

Touring a truck manufacturing plant in Pennsylvania, Biden was upbeat about the deal, telling reporters, "I feel confident about it."

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"If you're not vaccinated, you're not nearly as smart as I thought you were," President Biden said on Tuesday.T.J. Kirkpatrick for The New York Times

2. President Biden will announce new vaccination requirements for civilian federal employees.

Under the new policy expected to be unveiled in a speech tomorrow, federal workers must be vaccinated against the coronavirus or be forced to submit to regular testing, social distancing, mask requirements and restrictions on most travel, two people familiar with the plan said.

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Officials are hoping that the prospect of extra burdens for the unvaccinated will help convince more people to get one as the highly contagious Delta variant spreads.

The governor of New York took a similar step, saying tens of thousands of state employees would be required to show proof of vaccination or submit to weekly testing, and "patient-facing" health care workers at state-run hospitals must be vaccinated as a condition of their employment.

In addition, the Centers for Disease Control now say fully vaccinated people should get tested after exposure even if they don't show symptoms.

Fed Chairman Jerome Powell spoke at the New York Stock Exchange.Andrew Kelly/Reuters

3. The Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged at near zero and said the economy is progressing toward recovery.

But consumer prices are well above the central bank's 2 percent average inflation goal, and Republicans have made concerns over rising prices their primary line of attack on President Biden's economic agenda. They say it is self-evident that more spending would further inflame inflation.

While many economists do worry that high prices will linger longer than initially expected, they say there is little reason to believe the problem will worsen with Biden's plans.

Will the Delta variant wreck the recovery? Probably not, our senior economics correspondent writes. But there are potential challenges with both supply and demand that put the economy at risk.

Katie Ledecky won the women's 1,500-meter freestyle by a margin of more than four seconds.Doug Mills/The New York Times

4. Katie Ledecky swam for her first gold of the Tokyo Games in her best event, the 1,500 freestyle, the first time women have raced that distance in the Olympics' history.

Daiki Hashimoto of Japan came from behind to win the all-around gold in men's gymnastics. And the U.S. women's team won the first Olympic gold in three-on-three basketball.

Here's what else happened today in Tokyo. We are also charting the Olympic medal winners, sport by sport.

The pandemic has changed the way Olympians receive their medals. But in the rush of elation, coronavirus rules and social distancing policies are routinely forgotten.

Simone Biles pulled out of the women's gymnastics team final on Tuesday night.Doug Mills/The New York Times

5. Is this the end of the Olympics for Simone Biles?

The champion gymnast will not compete tomorrow in the women's all-around at the Tokyo Games, U.S.A. Gymnastics said.

She has four more opportunities to compete next week, but to do so she would need to overcome the mental block that she said caused her to pull out of the team final on Tuesday.

Biles was widely embraced as the latest elite athlete who had the courage to acknowledge her vulnerability. The swimmer Michael Phelps, N.B.A. players DeMar DeRozan and Kevin Love, and the figure skater Gracie Gold have gone public to say they grapple with anxiety and depression.

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Travelers at Heathrow Airport in London last month.Andy Rain/EPA, via Shutterstock

6. The options for Americans to travel are widening.

Fully vaccinated travelers from the U.S. and the European Union will be allowed to enter England and Scotland without quarantining starting Monday, the British government announced.

Travelers will still need a negative coronavirus test before a trip and a PCR test after reaching England.

And, after months of preparations to meet stringent health and safety guidelines, cruise lines have started to welcome back U.S. passengers. Demand for cruises is now outweighing supply, with many itineraries fully booked throughout the summer.

During its more than two decades, the show won several awards, including Emmys for Outstanding Children's Animated Program.WGBH Educational

7. The end of "Arthur."

"Arthur," the beloved and educational children's show, is coming to a close after 25 years, PBS confirmed. The show's final season will air in the winter of 2022.

Based on a series of children's books titled "Arthur's Adventures" by Marc Brown, the show about the student aardvark is the longest-running kids animated series and won multiple Emmys as well as a Peabody Award.

The show will continue to be available on PBS Kids, but no new ones will air after next year.

A magnified view of the vermiform microstructures found in the Northwest Territories.E.C. Turner

8. Are they the oldest-ever animal fossils? Or just squiggles?

A spongelike structure discovered in exposed 890 million-year-old rock in the Northwest Territories of Canada may be the oldest known fossilized animal body, according to a new study.

But some are questioning the discovery: An evolutionary biologist specializing in sponges said the evidence backing up the claim that they're remnants of an ancient sponge "is very, very thin."

If verified, it would predate the oldest undisputed sponge fossil by about 350 million years. "It would be like finding a computer chip in a 14th-century monastery," one paleobiologist said.

Grant Hindsley for The New York Times

9. Is this is the end of summer?

The White House promised us a "summer of joy" after a year of loss, sacrifice and isolation. Coronavirus vaccines were available. Families were planning reunions. Hugs and handshakes were back.

But the season of playtime and ease has become ominous and intense, our California correspondent Shawn Hubler writes. Wildfires, drought, sewage spills and a resurgent virus have arrived en masse.

"Our watchword has been 'extreme' — extreme threats to public health, extreme violence, extreme division, extreme weather," she writes.

George Wylesol

10. And finally, how to get your mojo back.

Motivation is the energy that gets us to take action, and as this weird summer unfurls, many are finding it hard to come by. A closer look at motivation might help you find that spark.

Experts say that looking forward to a reward isn't the best for long-term motivation. But several studies suggest that pairing small, immediate rewards to a task improves both motivation and fun.

Considering how your motivation is tied to the people around you is also critical. People motivate one another through competition, as well. And treating yourself with kindness works better than beating yourself up.

Have a compassionate evening.

Marcus Payadue compiled photos for this briefing.

Your Evening Briefing is posted at 6 p.m. Eastern.

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