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Here are the headlines you Need2Know for Wednesday, November 10, 2021:

COVID FLATLINE

After weeks of steady declines, Covid cases across the U.S. are once again either plateauing or rising. Parts of California with lower vaccination rates are seeing hospitalizations rise by 20%, but even highly-vaxxed areas like Orange County are up double-digits since Halloween. While deaths are continuing to decline nationwide, the national caseload is now up 6% on the two-week average, according to the NY Times database. Parts of Europe are also in the midst of a resurgence, even in some countries where the virus was thought to be under control. LA TIMES

CAPITOL RIOT INVESTIGATION

A federal judge has rejected a request from former President Trump to block records related to the Jan. 6 Capitol riot from being sent to the House committee investigating that insurrection. Trump’s lawyers are planning to appeal, and the executive privilege case could wind up being decided by the Supreme Court. But meanwhile, the subpoenas are now flying in that investigation. In the last two days, the House panel has doubled the number of subpoenas issued to former Trump advisers as it looks into whether there was coordination between those pushing a legal strategy to overturn the election and those who stormed the Capitol. AP

VEEP IN PARIS

Vice President Kamala Harris is in Paris, where she will meet with French President Emmanuel Macron today to try to smooth over a recent diplomatic flare-up between the two allies. Back home, Harris’ popularity, or lack thereof, is becoming a cause of serious concern for Democrats who saw her as President Biden’s heir apparent. According to a recent USA Today/Suffolk poll, Harris’ approval rating is at 28% -- 10 points lower than Biden's, and an historic low for any veep in the modern era. US NEWS

ASTROWORLD STAMPEDE

The family of Bharti Shahani, a Texas A&M student who was injured in the Astroworld stampede, says she has been declared brain dead, while Ezra Blount, 9-year-old boy who was trampled at the event, is said to be “fighting for his life” in a medically-induced coma. Meanwhile, the lawsuits are piling up against Travis Scott, LiveNation and NRG Stadium as the investigation into what happened last Friday continues. Scott reportedly partied with Drake at a Houston Dave & Busters after the show, apparently unaware of the extent of the tragedy. All the while, conspiracy theories about the concert disaster being part of some kind of satanic ritual have been spreading like wildfire across TikTok. CNN

GE TIMES 3

General Electric is breaking itself up into three distinct companies. GE says it will divide itself into separate units for its healthcare, energy and aviation businesses, and then spin off the healthcare and energy companies. The GE name will live on with the aviation company that makes jet engines. GE has been in the process of shrinking itself for years amid a lagging stock performance, and the move will effectively end the conglomerate that was born out of Thomas Edison’s invention of the lightbulb. CHEDDAR

STARBUCKS UNION VOTE

Another major test of the newly resurgent labor market starts today in Buffalo. That’s where about 100 workers at three Starbucks locations will begin voting on whether to unionize under the affiliation of the SEIU. Starbucks, which has no unionized corporate-owned U.S. stores, has been trying to get the vote delayed. The company even dispatched founder Howard Schultz to the Buffalo area to speak with employees, where he made an analogy between Starbucks workers and Holocaust prisoners that many found inappropriate. BUFFALO NEWS

RETURN TO MOON DELAYED

NASA is bumping back its plans to send humans back to the moon by at least a year. The space agency now says it won’t be able to meet the target for a lunar landing in 2024, and will plan for 2025 at the earliest. NASA blamed the delay on lawsuits brought by Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin, which sued after the contract for the lunar lander was awarded to rival SpaceX. ARS TECHNICA

BRIWI LEAVING NBC

Brian Williams is leaving NBC News and MSNBC next month. The veteran newsman reportedly passed on a contract extension, and says he’ll “pop up again somewhere.” Williams has been with NBC for 28 years, most recently as the anchor of MSNBC’s popular late-night news hour. He was given that position after he lost his gig as the Nightly News anchor when he admitted to exaggerating a story about a reporting trip in Iraq. Williams is the latest and biggest name to step back from the Peacock network: Kasie Hunt was recently poached by CNN, and Rachel Maddow is ending her nightly show next year. CNN

SPOTTED...

…California Gov. Gavin Newsom, attending the lavish wedding of Ivy Getty, heiress to the Getty oil fortune. Newsom has since popped up after going nearly two weeks without a public appearance, saying he cancelled his trip to COP26 after his kids begged him not to miss Halloween: SEE PIC

...the actress Anya Taylor-Joy, serving as Getty’s maid of honor: MORE WEDDING PICS

...the 3-year-old daughter of New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern, crashing her mom’s regular Covid briefing on Facebook Live: WATCH

…Squid Game creator Hwang Dong-hyuk, confirming that season two of the hit Netflix series is in the works: WATCH

...Paul Rudd, being crowned People’s new Sexiest Man Alive: SEE THE SPREAD

LEFTOVERS: NOT GREAT

A Washington state metallurgist has pleaded guilty to faking the results of stress tests on the steel used to make Navy submarines -- for more than 30 years. Elaine Marie Thomas admitted that she started doctoring the results of the tests to determine the strength of the steel used for the hulls of Navy subs back in 1985, and continued to do so until she was caught in 2017. In her plea deal, Thomas said she wasn’t motivated by anything other than a belief that the Navy’s testing requirements -- specifically, that the steel be tested at -100 degrees Fahrenheit -- were “stupid.” AP

Listen to the N2K Podcast! Looking for more context and analysis on the big stories of the day? Check out our podcast! Hosts Jill and Carlo break down the headlines, every weekday morning Listen on Apple or Spotify, or watch on YouTube, and send us your feedback!

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