Top eight today

Top eight stories for today including President Biden signed the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill into law; Beto O’Rourke will seek the Democratic nomination to challenge Texas Governor Greg Abbott; Austria imposed a nationwide lockdown on the unvaccinated, and more.

National

With Biden signature, historic $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill cemented into law

President Joe Biden marked a pivotal moment in his presidency and a historic investment in America's future on Monday by signing the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill into law following a tumultuous journey to his desk.

President Joe Biden speaks before signing the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill into law during a Monday, Nov. 15, 2021, ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Supreme Court adds Taco Bell arbitration spat to its menu

In a Monday morning orders list, the Supreme Court agreed to hear arguments about whether an employer missed its chance to demand arbitration when a former Taco Bell worker sued it over unpaid overtime.

The Supreme Court is seen on what is its first day of the new term, Oct. 4, 2021. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

New poll finds more Americans are growing distrustful of the system of government

A new poll from Monmouth University reveals more Americans are becoming doubtful that the governmental system is up to snuff and think it may require some fundamental changes to get it back on track.

The U.S. Capitol building in Washington. (Courthouse News photo/Jack Rodgers)

Biden proposes 20-year ban on drilling near sacred tribal land in New Mexico

During a summit organized to strengthen the U.S. government's relationship with Native American tribes, President Joe Biden announced plans Monday to freeze federal oil and natural gas drilling around a sacred site in New Mexico that was once the center of Ancestral Puebloan civilization.

This August 2015 image shows one of the massive stone structures at Chaco Culture National Historical Park in northwestern New Mexico. (Vernon Scarborough/University of Cincinnati via Courthouse News)

Regional

Beto O’Rourke enters race for Texas governor

After months of speculation, former El Paso congressman and 2020 presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke made it official: he will seek to challenge Texas Governor Greg Abbott in next year’s gubernatorial election.

Democrat Beto O'Rourke listens to a volunteer before a Texas Organizing Project neighborhood walk in West Dallas in June 2021. (LM Otero/AP)

Virginia check for $2.4 million received by Courthouse News

A campaign over First Amendment access to new court filings has brought a win in Virginia and multi-million-dollar check to Courthouse News for its attorney fees.

A check for $2.4 million delivered to Courthouse News Service from the Virginia Commonwealth. (via Courthouse News)

International

Austria imposes lockdown on the unvaccinated

With coronavirus infections surging inside its borders and on the rise elsewhere in Europe, Austria on Monday became the first nation in the world to impose a lockdown on its unvaccinated citizens.

Children wait with their parents to receive the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine in Vienna, Austria, on Monday, Nov. 15, 2021. (Lisa Leutner/AP)

Decade-old fight over Canadian wind farm heard by arbitration tribunal

A week of hearings opened before an international arbitration tribunal on Monday, with a California energy company arguing the Canadian government owes it more than $90 million for violating the now-defunct North American Free Trade Agreement.

Cattle graze in a pasture against a backdrop of wind turbines which are part of the 155-turbine Smoky Hill Wind Farm near Vesper, Kan. (Charlie Riedel/AP)

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