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| Happy Monday, Daily Briefing readers! It's a big week for President Joe Biden and congressional Democrats as lawmakers scramble to finalize two massive infrastructure bills and stave off a government shutdown that could be days away. |
| It's Jane, with Monday's news. |
| 🔴 Closely fought race: Germany's center-left Social Democrats won the biggest share of the vote in a national election, narrowly beating outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel's center-right Union bloc. |
| 🚨 Dozens of Massachusetts troopers are planning to leave their jobs after a judge denied a request to delay Gov. Charlie Baker's COVID-19 mandate for state employees. |
| 🦠 "Multiple food items were present in the container": A recent salmonella outbreak with no known food source has more than doubled in infections in over a week. |
| 🏈 Furious finish: Aaron Rodgers and Mason Crosby rescued the Green Bay Packers with a last-minute drive to sink 49ers in San Francisco Sunday night. |
| 🎧 Prefer audio? Listen to the 5 Things podcast. You can listen to the podcast every day on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or on your smart speaker. |
| Here's what's happening today: |
House poised to move forward on infrastructure bill |
| The House will begin debate Monday on a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill aimed at modernizing the nation's deteriorating transportation and public works systems. Moderate House Democrats won an agreement from Speaker Nancy Pelosi to bring the infrastructure package to a vote to avoid it becoming entangled with a $3.5 trillion bill to fund President Joe Biden's domestic agenda. Some House progressives, however, oppose a vote on infrastructure unless it moves in tandem with the $3.5 trillion package. Either faction could prevent approval of the other's priority – unless some Republicans join Democrats in approving infrastructure. Pelosi has scheduled a final vote on the bill Thursday. |
| Besides trying to finish work on both bills, lawmakers face the possibility of a government shutdown this week. Congress must pass an appropriations bill by Thursday, or government funding will lapse, triggering a shutdown. |
Answers sought in deadly Montana train derailment |
| Amtrak and federal officials are continuing to investigate a Montana train derailment that left at least three people dead and rural communities scrambling to provide food and shelter to dozens of stunned survivors. The Seattle-bound Empire Builder train with 141 passengers and 17 crew members derailed Saturday afternoon near Joplin, a town of less than 200 people just a few miles from the Canadian border. An Amtrak spokesman said eight of the train's 10 cars toppled off the tracks. The National Transportation Safety Board dispatched a team to investigate the crash on site. The 14-member team includes investigators and specialists in railroad signals, NTSB spokesman Eric Weiss said. |
What else people are reading: |
| 🔵 Cancer, danger, harassment: Female and nonbinary firefighters are detailing the unique risks they face in a male-dominated field. |
| 🔵 Opinion: Many in the establishment would use Democrats' razor-thin election victory as a reason to avoid bold reforms. That is a dangerous narrative, write Reps Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar; and Brooke Adams. |
| 🔵 "It's slim pickings right now": Planning to travel to your favorite ski resort this holiday season? You may want to start booking already. |
Will Hurricane Sam impact the US? |
| Hurricane Sam stormed westward through the Atlantic Basin on Monday, a powerful Category 4 storm that forecasters hoped would stay far enough from land to avoid major damage from its 150 mph winds and heavy rains . AccuWeather forecasters said a due west path through the northern islands of the Caribbean seemed unlikely. A dip in the jet stream would steer Sam away from the USA, AccuWeather meteorologist Bernie Rayno said. "But if that jet stream dip sets up farther west or meanders westward, then there is room for Sam to get very close to the U.S. next weekend," Rayno said. That scenario, nine years ago, helped steer Superstorm Sandy west into New Jersey. Sandy was blamed for almost 300 deaths across multiple nations and damage of almost $70 billion. |
Search continues for Brian Laundrie; funeral held for Gabby Petito |
| Authorities continue to search for Brian Laundrie, Gabby Petito's fiancé Monday, less than 24 hours after funeral services were held in New York for Petito, 22, a blogger whose death on a cross-country adventure fueled intense interest across the nation . Laundrie, 23, was last seen on Sept. 14, when he told his parents he was going hiking in the Carlton Reserve, a sprawling wilderness area near his home in North Port, Florida. The search in the 24,000-acre park in Sarasota County comes after the FBI issued a federal arrest warrant Thursday over events that occurred following Petito's death. TV personality Duane Lee Chapman, "Dog the Bounty Hunter," joined the search and promised to nab Laundrie before his 24th birthday on Nov. 18. |
ICYMI: Some of our top stories Sunday |
| 💉 "Mark of the beast?": The COVID-19 vaccine has been scientifically proved to save lives, but for a select group of people in the religious realm, a more important matter is at stake – eternal salvation. |
| 😷 "You're wrong doctor. I don't have COVID": A Michigan doctor says some COVID-19 patients continue to deny their diagnosis or denounce vaccines from their deathbeds. |
| 🚨 San Diego police are investigating the deaths of a woman and her 2-year-old son after they fell from the third level of Petco Park, as thousands of baseball fans were heading inside for a Padres game. |
NFL adds a Monday night playoff game |
| The NFL is super-sizing its "Super Wild Card Weekend." The league announced Friday that its opening round of the playoffs will now feature a Monday night wildcard game. Two games will take place on Saturday and three on Sunday before Monday night's game. The NFL last season expanded the playoffs from 12 teams to 14 teams, adding two additional wildcard teams. The top team of each conference receives a bye, and the remaining division champions are seeded second, third, and fourth, hosting the next three teams of each conference. |
📸 Broadway's Back! Stars hit the Tony Awards red carpet 📸 |
 | | Jake Gyllenhaal | | Jamie McCarthy, Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions | |
| The 74th annual Tony Awards took place at New York's Winter Garden Theatre on Sunday — celebrating the return to live theater and commemorating the 2019-2020 season. "Moulin Rouge!" was the big winner, taking home 10 awards out of 14 nominations. |
| Check out our gallery featuring Jake Gyllenhaal, Tom Hiddleston, Chrissy Teigen, John Legend and more stars in their finery on Broadway's biggest night. |
| The Daily Briefing is free, but several stories we link to in this edition are subscriber-only. Please support our journalism and become a USA TODAY digital subscriber today. |
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