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- In other news, Republicans won their first Congressional Baseball Game since 2016. It was an odd scene with so much looming over Washington.
Here's what we're talking about:
- Nancy Pelosi is making a big gamble on infrastructure today
- Progressives say 9 rising stars are the top successors to the Bernie movement
- Judge suspends Britney Spears' father from conservatorship
With Phil Rosen.
Johannes Eisele/AFP via Getty; Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images; Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
1. WHO'S NEXT?: Progressives say they can't "feel the Bern" forever. Some of Sen. Bernie Sanders' supporters as well as former staffers doubt he'll run for president again, leaving the left's mantel up for grabs.
- Key quote: "Oh, my God, no, no, please no," one former senior Sanders staffer told my colleagues when asked about another campaign, adding: "It's time to have a new standard-bearer for many of the ideas that Bernie brought to the public consciousness."
These are some of the people viewed as Sanders' most likely successors:
- "You've got to start with AOC": That's what Chuck Rocha, a Sanders 2020 senior advisor, said of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York. She has built a massive national following in less than two full terms and was a key surrogate for Sanders on the campaign trail.
- Some former Sanders aides caution against focusing on any one person: Anna Bahr, Sanders' former deputy national press secretary, said that many "powerful progressives" had emerged - including Ocasio-Cortez as well as Reps. Cori Bush, Jamaal Bowman, and Ro Khanna - and that the movement didn't need one figurehead.
- And just because Sanders may not run doesn't mean he's going away: "Bernie obviously has not retired," said Jeff Weaver, a senior Sanders advisor, adding that Sanders would be "the leader of progressive politics" for a long time.
2. Pelosi plods on with infrastructure vote: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is still expected to hold a vote today on a nearly $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure plan. But she could easily delay such a vote amid a large progressive revolt, The Washington Post reports. Congress also needs to fund the federal government before midnight or there will be a shutdown. This is set to be a busy and consequential day on Capitol Hill.
The Senate is expected to vote first on averting a shutdown: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he had a deal with Republicans to move quickly on a stop-gap bill, CNN reports. The House could move quickly following Senate passage.
Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images
As for infrastructure, neither side is blinking: Pelosi is making a big gamble on passing the bill. Her decision to reverse an earlier pledge to wait to pass the bill until Senate Democrats made more progress on the party's separate $3.5 trillion plan has only emboldened progressive opposition. Lawmakers like Rep. Pramila Jayapal are worried centrists care only about passing the bipartisan infrastructure funding, not the massive overhaul of social programs. Here's where things stand.
- At the same time, key centrists are dragging their feet: Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia told Politico he was months away from supporting the $3.5 trillion plan, which would also most likely have to be significantly reduced in size and scope to win him over. Washington is hanging on Manchin's every word.
AP and Getty Images
3. Judge suspends Britney Spears' father from conservatorship: Judge Brenda Penny officially granted the singer's request for Jamie Spears' immediate suspension from her conservatorship. Britney Spears' attorney Mathew Rosengart called the ruling "a massive win." Here's what's next, including a November hearing that could dissolve the conservatorship for good.
4. Former US gold medalist Klete Keller pleads guilty in Capitol riot case: Keller appeared in court to enter his guilty plea of obstruction of an official proceeding. His plea includes an agreement to help in the prosecution of other insurrection cases in exchange for federal prosecutors' dropping additional charges. More on his plea.
Jeff Swensen/Getty Images
5. Corey Lewandowski has been ousted from Trumpworld: Lewandowski, Donald Trump's first campaign manager, is leaving his role at Make America Great Again Action, a Trump super PAC, amid accusations of unwanted sexual advances, The New York Times reports, citing a Trump spokesman. Trashelle Odom, a top Republican donor, had earlier told Politico that Lewandowski "repeatedly touched me inappropriately" and said "vile and disgusting things" at a recent Las Vegas charity event. More on the unfolding scandal for one of the biggest Trump loyalists.
6. YouTube bans all anti-vaccine content: The Google-owned social-media platform says it will remove any video that attempts to describe well-known vaccines that are endorsed by federal health officials as harmful, greatly expanding the policy it has used for COVID-19 vaccines, The Washington Post reports. A YouTube representative told Insider the company was shutting down the accounts of high-profile vaccine opponents like Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Experts praised the move but also questioned why it wasn't made sooner.
7. China is preparing severe restrictions for the Olympics: Beijing and the International Olympic Committee have agreed to perhaps sports' strictest vaccine mandate along with a plan to severely limit what athletes, journalists, and other workers can do during the Winter Olympics. Athletes will be required to have received a World Health Organization-approved COVID-19 shot or agree to be quarantined in Beijing for 21 days after arrival. Fans will be allowed in the stands, but only people from mainland China who meet certain requirements. More on what is shaping up to be a vastly different Olympics from even the past summer's Tokyo Games.
8. CDC issues urgent warning for pregnant people to get vaccinated: The advisory comes on the heels of the deadliest month of the pandemic for pregnant people yet; in August, at least 22 pregnant people in the US died from COVID-19. Almost all of the pregnant people who have been hospitalized with COVID-19 in 2021 - 97% - have been unvaccinated. New data indicates that being pregnant almost doubles the risk of death from COVID-19.
9. Dollar Tree is raising prices above $1: CEO Michael Witynski suggested some prices at the dollar-branded retailer could hit $1.25 or $1.50 to cope with rising shipping costs and inflation. As a result, Dollar Tree may have to bring $3 and $5 items to more locations.
10. Finding your holiday turkey may be harder this season: Turkey production has decreased this year, and shoppers could face problems finding the right bird for their Thanksgiving dinner. Supply-chain issues plague both the US and the UK. Here's what this could mean for you.
Looking for a challenge to start your day? Try your luck at today's Insider Crossword.
Today's trivia question: Wednesday was National Coffee Day in the US. Which president's family started a small chain of coffee shops in New York? Hint: Legend ties this same president to Maxwell House's slogan, though it's highly unlikely he was the one who said it first.
- Yesterday's answer: Some of the most requested items at the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum deal with "Little House on the Prairie." Rose Wilder Lane - Laura Ingalls Wilder's daughter - was a journalist, personal friend of the 31st president, and author of one of his biographies.