Evening Briefing: House moves toward a vote on infrastructure

November 5, 2021

By Will Dudding

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

Plans for House votes on infrastructure and social spending bills shifted throughout the day.Stefani Reynolds for The New York Times

1. The House was weighing a vote this evening on a $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill that would then be sent to President Biden for his signature.

But a vote on the $1.85 trillion social policy, climate and tax package was put on hold after conservative-leaning Democrats insisted on a formal estimate of its cost and economic effects.

The shift in strategy came despite public and private appeals from the president to pass both measures. But divisions among Democrats, spooked by Tuesday's electoral drubbing, appeared as deep as ever.

The infrastructure bill, which was approved by the Senate in August and is a key pillar of Biden's domestic agenda, would amount to the most substantial government investment in the country's aging public works system since 2009. Here are some of the major provisions.

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Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in 2020.Benjamin Norman for The New York Times

2. The sex-crime case against Andrew Cuomo was thrown into doubt.

In a letter to the court, the Albany County district attorney characterized a criminal complaint against Cuomo as "potentially defective" because it did not include a sworn statement by the victim that would allow a prosecution to proceed. Cuomo, the former governor of New York, was charged last month with forcible touching of a former executive assistant.

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Separately, the Justice Department searched two locations yesterday associated with the conservative group Project Veritas as part of an investigation into how a diary stolen from the president's daughter, Ashley Biden, came to be publicly disclosed a week and a half before the 2020 presidential election.

Employment gains were made at bars and restaurants in October.Vincent Tullo for The New York Times

3. The U.S. economy added 531,000 jobs in October, a sharp rebound from the previous month.

The unemployment rate declined to 4.6 percent, from 4.8 percent. The job numbers present a straightforward, sunny view, our senior economics correspondent writes. Despite it all — the virus variants, the reopening struggles — Americans are going back to work at a rapid clip.

Wages are rising as employers try to attract and retain employees, but the prices of goods and services are also increasing. It isn't clear which side will win out.

A Covid-19 vaccine clinic at the Alaska Native Medical Center in Anchorage.Ash Adams for The New York Times

4. Alaska, Arizona, Missouri and eight other states are suing the Biden administration over its vaccination mandates.

The attorneys general in 11 states filed a lawsuit to prevent the administration from requiring that big companies push their workers to get vaccinated against Covid-19 by Jan. 4. "This mandate is unconstitutional, unlawful and unwise," the filing said.

On the medical front, Pfizer announced that its antiviral Covid pill had been found to be highly effective at preventing severe illness among at-risk people.

In China, the city of Ruili has been under lockdown four times in the past year. China's "zero Covid" policy has turned the city into perhaps the most tightly regulated place on earth.

Ahmaud Arbery's father, left, and mother arriving at the Glynn County Courthouse in Brunswick, Ga.Nicole Craine for The New York Times

5. Opening arguments in the trial over the killing of Ahmaud Arbery began today.

Three white men are accused of killing Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man who was chased through a suburban neighborhood in Georgia before being fatally shot in February 2020.

The lead prosecutor said that Arbery was plainly "under attack," and that the men accused of murder had assumed the worst.

The defense argued that the men were trying to make a citizen's arrest. If convicted, they could face life in prison. All have pleaded not guilty.

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Demonstrators marching through Glasgow.Kieran Dodds for The New York Times

6. Greta Thunberg described the United Nations climate talks as "a failure" as protesters marched through the streets of Glasgow to demand action from delegates.

"We cannot solve a crisis by the same methods that got us into it in the first place." Thunberg, the 18-year-old Swedish activist, told the protesters, who carried banners reading, "We are running out of time" and "26 years of blah, blah, blah." Larger protests are expected tomorrow.

At the summit, Jennifer Granholm, the U.S. energy secretary, said that her agency would invest in research in carbon removal, with a goal of reducing the cost of current technologies that are still in the early stages of development.

Kristen Stewart last month in West Hollywood, Calif.Ryan Pfluger for The New York Times

7. Kristen Stewart's role in the new drama "Spencer" required the sort of performance she had never given before.

While the Californian wasn't an obvious choice to portray Princess Diana, her performance has thrust her to the front of this year's crop of best-actress Oscar contenders. Our pop culture reporter sat down with her recently to discuss how she gave her all in the movie.

"Spencer" is more than the portrait of a woman in distress, A.O. Scott writes in his review. "If it's a fable, it's a political fable, an allegory of powerlessness, revolt and liberation."

Hunter Biden's exhibition, "The Journey Home," at Georges Bergès Gallery in SoHo.George Etheredge for The New York Times

8. Hunter Biden's SoHo art show is raising questions about buying not just a painting, but access.

The president's son is making his artistic debut in New York at ample scale. The White House has insisted it has safeguards in place to ensure that no one who buys a painting will be able to use the purchase as influence. But the gallerist declined to address what sort of criteria had been set.

Hunter Biden's exhibition is "more substantial than an amateur's dabbling," The Times's art critic writes. Still, "it's not the sort of exhibition that would make a current M.F.A. student feel jealous or unsophisticated by comparison."

Separately, a conference for nonfungible token enthusiasts drew a record crowd to New York City this week. It boasted a lively party circuit that some referred to as "Crypto Coachella."

Runners crossing the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge out of Staten Island during the 2004 New York City Marathon. Vincent Laforet/The New York Times

9. The New York City Marathon is back this weekend. Get ready to cheer.

Last year's race was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic, making this year's marathon especially meaningful and an important milestone in the city's long recovery. Here's how to track the runners on Sunday.

Kenenisa Bekele, of Ethiopia, has arrived in the city, hoping to show that he is the fastest marathoner alive. Over the past 50 years, there have been dozens of champions and over a million total finishers. Take a look at the best New York City Marathon photos from past decades.

For another long-distance adventure, consider the Empire State Trail — a 750-mile cyclist and pedestrian route across New York State to the Canadian border. Our reporters biked every inch.

A Steller's sea eagle in its enclosure in Hassmersheim, Germany.Ronald Wittek/EPA, via Shutterstock

10. And finally, this eagle is very, very far from home.

The native range for a Steller's sea eagle is typically China, Japan, Korea and the east coast of Russia. A rogue eagle popped up this week in eastern Canada — about 4,700 miles away from home — tantalizing birders with its odd trek.

"It would be like an elephant walking up out of Africa into Scandinavia," one birder said. "Like getting a call that the Rolling Stones are playing in a field behind a warehouse in the next town over."

What's next for the lone Steller's sea eagle? It could migrate down the coastline or find its way back to Asia. Or it might stick around Nova Scotia, as it is well adapted to the cold.

Hope you have a well-oriented weekend.

Eve Edelheit compiled photos for this briefing.

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