Evening Briefing: President Biden signs the infrastructure bill

November 15, 2021

By Victoria Shannon

Briefings, Newsdesk

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

President Biden said the infrastructure bill was "proof that despite the cynics, Democrats and Republicans can come together and deliver results."Doug Mills/The New York Times

1. One trillion dollars: The bipartisan infrastructure bill is now law.

While the total is less than half of what President Biden first proposed, he pointed to the bill during today's signing ceremony as evidence that lawmakers could work across party lines.

Among the major expenses in the law are $73 billion for the electricity grid, $66 billion for rail and $65 billion for broadband. Here's a rundown.

Biden also said it would better position the U.S. against China and other nations seeking to dominate the 21st century economy. Biden and the Chinese president Xi Jinping will meet tonight in a virtual summit that is expected to address some of the countries' many clashes.

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An Austrian police officer checked a driver's vaccination certificate on Monday during a traffic stop in Graz, Austria.Erwin Scheriau/Agence France-Presse - Getty Images

2. Governments in Europe, again the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic, are singling out the unvaccinated.

Austria, facing a 134 percent increase in cases in the last two weeks, restricted unvaccinated people to their homes starting today, unless they're traveling for work, school, food or medical care.

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In Germany, the incoming government has said that unvaccinated people will need a negative test to travel on buses or trains. In France, booster shots will be required for people who are 65 and older in order to secure a health pass. In Italy, vaccinations or negative tests are required to work.

By contrast, India said today it would allow vaccinated foreign visitors into the country for the first time in more than 20 months as virus cases ease and vaccinations pick up across Asia. It joins a host of Asian countries that are lifting travel restrictions on foreigners.

The jury in Kyle Rittenhouse's homicide trial heard closing arguments on Monday.Pool photo by Sean Krajacic

3. The jury in the Kyle Rittenhouse trial heard closing arguments and was expected to begin deliberating later today.

The jurors will weigh whether Rittenhouse, then 17, was acting in self-defense, or needlessly and illegally, when he shot three men, two of them fatally, in Kenosha, Wis., last summer during a night of unrest. Rittenhouse is facing five felony charges.

Judge Bruce Schroeder dismissed a misdemeanor charge of illegally possessing a dangerous weapon as a minor. He sided with defense lawyers, who argued that the language of the state law did not prohibit a 17-year-old from carrying a rifle with a long barrel, as prosecutors had contended.

Beto O'Rourke is hoping to rekindle the enthusiasm of his run against Senator Ted Cruz in 2018.Ilana Panich-Linsman for The New York Times

4. Beto O'Rourke entered the race for Texas governor, challenging an ultraconservative and well-financed two-term Republican incumbent.

O'Rourke, the former El Paso congressman and 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, ran against Senator Ted Cruz in 2018. Though he lost, the fact that he came close to unseating the incumbent transformed him into a national figure.

One recent public poll found O'Rourke nearly tied with Greg Abbott, the Republican governor seeking re-election, in a hypothetical match up. Another showed him losing by nine percentage points.

Separately, Senator Patrick Leahy, the chamber's longest-serving member, said he would retire at the end of his term rather than seek re-election in 2022, closing out nearly half a century of service in Congress. The Vermont Democrat is 81.

Stephen Bannon turned himself in today at the Washington field office of the F.B.I.Al Drago for The New York Times

5. Stephen Bannon, who served as a senior aide to Donald Trump, turned himself in to the authorities.

Bannon was indicted on Friday by a federal grand jury on two counts of contempt of Congress for refusing to provide information to the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

He was released without bail after a brief initial appearance in federal magistrate court in Washington. He is due in court again on Thursday.

"We're going to go on the offense on this," Bannon told reporters outside the courthouse. "Stand by." He said his supporters should focus on challenging "the illegitimate Biden regime."

Trump has directed his former aides and advisers to invoke immunity and refrain from turning over documents that might be protected under executive privilege.

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Alex Jones spread false theories that the Sandy Hook shooting was a government plot and that the victims' families were "actors."Adriana Zehbrauskas for The New York Times

6. Alex Jones, the founder of Infowars, was held liable in all Sandy Hook defamation lawsuits.

For years, Jones spread bogus theories that the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., which killed 26 people, was a government plot to confiscate Americans' firearms and that the victims' families were "actors." The Sandy Hook families maintained that Jones profited from his lies.

A superior court judge in Connecticut ruled today that because Jones refused to turn over documents ordered by the courts, including financial records, he was liable by default.

The ruling combines with three previous rulings in Texas to grant victims' families four victories in four defamation lawsuits against Jones.

A Shell refinery outside Rotterdam, the Netherlands.Robin Utrecht/Anp/Agence France-Presse, via Getty Images

7. Shell wants to give up the Netherlands for Britain.

Europe's largest energy company is proposing to move its headquarters to London from The Hague, drop "Royal Dutch" from its name and make major changes in its share ownership.

In the Netherlands, where Shell is the largest public company, the government said it "very much regrets" the announcement. Britain's business minister called it "a clear vote of confidence" in the post-Brexit economy.

The proposed changes appear to be an effort by management to simplify the company's share structure, increasing its appeal and allowing the company to accelerate buybacks. It comes less than a month after an activist investor suggested changes to the company's structure.

Scorpions, whose venom is prized for medical use, at the Cairo Venom Company in 2020.Mohamed Abd El Ghany/Reuters

8. A swarm of deathstalker scorpions descended on Aswan, Egypt, stinging hundreds of people in the wake of flash floods.

Egypt is normally heaven for scorpions, 24 species in all, which make their homes in desert burrows or under rocks and can survive for weeks with no food or water.

But the heavy rains last week swept hundreds, if not thousands, of the venomous invertebrates from their burrows. At least 500 people were stung on Friday night alone, according to local officials.

Though a sting can kill a child, the most common symptoms are severe pain at the sting site, high fever, sweating, vomiting and diarrhea. Treatment consists of a shot of antivenom and a few days of recovery.

The Cubs during their halftime break on Friday.Adam Perez for The New York Times

9. The players on this high school football team are all deaf, and they're steamrollering their opponents.

The Cubs, the varsity team of the California School for the Deaf, Riverside, are the highest ranked in their Southern California division after recently suffering seven straight losing seasons.

A system of coded hand signals among tight-knit teammates and coaches confounds opponents with its speed and efficiency.

"They communicate better than any team I have ever coached against," said Aaron Williams, coach of the Desert Christian Knights. The Cubs beat Desert Christian on Friday, 84-12.

The virus is not a major threat to pets, but there are still steps you can take to protect them, experts say, such as isolating from pets if you are infected, or being vaccinated.Juarawee Kittisilpa/Reuters

10. And finally, why don't we have a Covid-19 vaccine for pets?

Dogs and cats can catch the virus, and several research teams say that they have already developed promising cat and dog vaccines.

But it's not necessary, experts say. A growing body of evidence suggests our furry friends play little to no role in spreading the virus, and rarely fall ill themselves.

That's not the case with some other animals. Many zoo-dwelling cats, like lions and tigers, are now getting vaccinated.

Have a cuddly evening.

Laurence Tan compiled photos for this briefing.

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