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Here are the headlines you Need2Know for Monday, November 15, 2021:


INFRASTRUCTURE DAY

President Biden will sign the bipartisan infrastructure bill into law at a ceremony today. He has invited lawmakers from both parties to the signing, but only a handful of Republicans are expected to attend. The White House has also appointed Mitch Landrieu, the former New Orleans mayor, as the infrastructure czar in charge of overseeing the funds. Landrieu is known for guiding NOLA’s recovery after Hurricane Katrina. AXIOS

BOOSTER EXPANSION

California and New Mexico have joined Colorado in overruling the federal government to allow booster shots for all adults as they try to fend off a surge during the holidays. Colorado and New Mexico have some of the highest rates of infection in the U.S., while California’s case rate is now higher than it was a month ago. The federal guidance still recommends boosters for only those considered most at risk, though in practice the shots are widely available to anyone who wants one. US NEWS

COVID OVERSIGHT DOCS

Newly public documents and interview transcripts from the early days of the pandemic show how top officials in the Trump administration tried to hide CDC health guidance from the public as the coronavirus was rapidly spreading throughout the country. According to files released by a congressional committee, the White House repeatedly blocked media briefings and interviews with CDC officials about mask guidance and other issues at the same time Trump was publicly saying that infections would “be down close to zero” and “go away.” Emails describe how White House officials also tried to alter the CDC’s weekly data reports to better reflect the administration’s overly optimistic statements. POLITICO

BIDEN-XI SUMMIT

President Biden will meet virtually with Chinese President Xi Jinping today. The first “face-to-face” meeting of the leaders of the world’s two largest economies comes at a particularly tense time in U.S.-China relations, and with Xi gaining power at home. The Chinese leader, who has not left his country in almost two years because of Covid, got a big boost last week when the ruling regime smoothed the way for him to maintain power indefinitely. QZ

'RIGHT TO REST'

A new law went into effect this weekend in Portugal that makes it illegal for an employer to contact staff outside of their regular working hours, except in the case of an emergency. The move is part of a sweeping revamp of labor laws in the country meant to protect people working from home. Dubbed “right to rest,” the new regulations also require employers to pay parts of the electricity and internet bills for staff working from home, and parents are allowed to work remotely until their kids turn eight, without prior approval from the boss. Portugal’s government is hoping the protections entice more remote workers to move to the country, which has already become a major destination for “digital nomads” during the pandemic. BBC

SALES? WHAT SALES?

After pulling off the biggest U.S. IPO since 2014 last week, Rivian has added another milestone to its young life as a public company: the electric-truck maker is now the biggest American company by market cap to have no revenue. Rivian has unseated Lucid, another EV maker that is just starting to produce cars, to become the most valuable firm in the country without any sales. With a market valuation of $113 billion, Rivian is worth more than Daimler, GM and Ford, and right behind Volkswagen. BLOOMBERG

ASTROWORLD AFTERMATH

The 9-year-old boy who was injured in the Astroworld stampede has died, bringing the toll from that concert disaster to 10. Ezra Blount’s family says he succumbed to his injuries on Sunday, more than a week after he was trampled when the crowd at the Travis Scott show surged toward the stage. Ezra was sitting on his father’s shoulders toward the back of the crowd when the crush started, causing him to fall to the ground when his dad lost consciousness. CNN

TAYLOR'S MONTH

Taylor Swift proved this weekend that she can still dominate the popular culture, if anyone still doubted her. The re-release of Swift’s 2012 album Red has been trending on social media since it dropped on Friday, breaking streaming records in the process. Swift promoted the album on two different late-night shows, performed the 10-minute version of All Too Well on Saturday Night Live (breaking the record for longest SNL music performance), released a short film for the song that’s approaching 30 million views on YouTube and teased another upcoming music video directed by Blake Lively that’s coming out today. EW

SPOTTED...

…a 79-foot Norway spruce, arriving in Manhattan -- where it will become the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree: SEE IT

...Taylor Lautner, popping the question to longtime girlfriend Taylor Dome: SEE IT

LEFTOVERS: NATURE IS HEALING

In one 24-hour period last Thursday and Friday, Paris Hilton got married (with Nicole Richie in attendance), Lindsay Lohan’s acting comeback was announced (by way of a new Netflix rom-com), and Britney Spears was finally freed of her conservatorship. And all three milestones happened almost 15 years to the day after an notorious tabloid front page showed the trio out clubbing together with the headline: BIMBO SUMMIT. The lesson? If Paris, Britney and Lindsay can survive the 2000s to thrive in the 2020s, anyone can. NY POST

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