Monday morning news - November 8, 2021

For WORLD Radio, I'm Kent Covington.

Biden hails newly passed infrastructure bill » President Biden is hailing the newly passed bipartisan infrastructure package as a—quote—“monumental step forward for the nation."

BIDEN: A once-in-a-generation investment that’s going to create millions of jobs, modernize our infrastructure, our roads, our bridges, our broadband, a whole range of things.

The House passed the roughly $1 trillion bill late Friday on a vote of 228-to-206, and Biden said he’ll sign it soon.

The Senate passed the bill back in August. Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House progressives held up a vote on the bill while Democrats debated President Biden’s larger multi-trillion-dollar spending proposal.

And that spending package is next on the agenda for Democrats. It would have to pass straight down party lines, and Democratic leaders would use the reconciliation process to avoid a GOP Senate filibuster.

Republicans remain strongly opposed. Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso ...

BARRASSO: Wasteful spending and regulations that are going to drive up the cost of energy for American families through the winter and into next year.

Moderate Democratic Senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema have not yet signed on to support the spending package. Party leaders will need all 50 Senate Democrats on board to pass a bill.

U.S. reopens to fully vaccinated foreign travelers » Starting today, the United States reopens to fully vaccinated foreign travelers who have been shut out of the country for the better part of two years.

But there's a catch: non-immigrant adults need to have received vaccines authorized by the FDA or the World Health Organization. Those include Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca, and Johnson & Johnson.

That has millions of already-vaccinated people scrambling to get U.S.-approved vaccines because the shots they received aren’t on the approved list. For example: the Russian-made Sputnik V vaccine, which is used in around 70 countries.

Children are exempt from the vaccination requirement. But all air travelers 2 years old and up will also need a negative COVID-19 test within three days of their flight.

Possible GOP White House hopefuls gather in Las Vegas » More than a half-dozen potential GOP White House contenders converged on Las Vegas over the weekend. That’s where the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual leadership conference took place.

Among the speakers, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. He told attendees that he’s standing up against cancel culture and vaccine mandates from Washington.

DESANTIS: I am standing my ground. I am not backing down. We have a lot more to do and I have only begun to fight. Thank you guys!

Some have called the event the first significant cattle call of possible presidential candidates.

Former President Trump did not attend in person but addressed the conference by video.

TRUMP: We will win back the House. We will win back the Senate, and we will win back in 2024 that beautiful white building sometimes referred to as the White House.

But former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie had a warning for Trump supporters. He said those who question the legitimacy of the 2020 vote must move on.

CHRISTIE: We can no longer talk about the past and the past elections. No matter where you stand on that issue, it is over.

He said the campaigns leading up to the GOP win in last week’s Virginia’s gubernatorial election and a tight vote in New Jersey proved that looking forward is the winning formula.

Other speakers included South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, and Senators Rick Scott and Ted Cruz. Several top Trump administration figures also spoke: former Vice President Mike Pence, former UN ambassador Nikki Haley and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Authorities investigating deaths at Houston music festival » Investigators in Houston are trying to determine how eight people died at a music festival on Friday night.

An estimated 50,000 people packed out Astroworld for the two-day event. Eyewitnesses said ahead of rapper Travis Scott’s performance, a mob of thousands of fans suddenly surged toward the stage.

Concertgoer Kevin Perez was there …

PEREZ: There was like a mosh pit next to me that had collapsed, so literally there was just a bunch of people lying down on the floor on top of each other.

Houston Police Chief Troy Finner addressed a report that someone in the crowd was injecting others with drugs. He urged patience and said it will take time to sort out the facts.

FINNER: A lot of narratives out there right now, a lot of them, on social media and even last night. I think that all of us need to be respectful of the families and make sure that we follow the facts and the evidence.

The dead ranged in age from 14 to 27. More than a dozen others were hospitalized.

I’m Kent Covington. For more news, features, and analysis, visit us at wng.org.

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