Bloomberg - Evening Briefing - Biden’s biggest fight

After months of negotiations, the U.S. Senate finally passed a $550 billion infrastructure plan to address decades of crumbling bridges, roads and deteriorating public transit. The bipartisan 69-30 vote marked a significant win for President Joe Biden, though there’s a catch. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has pivoted to a partisan budget resolution that is to lead to a $3.5 trillion package of antipoverty, health and climate programs with tax increases to pay for them. Speaker Nancy Pelosi has warned that the bigger bill must come through first before the infrastructure package gets a vote in the House. —Margaret Sutherlin

Bloomberg is tracking the progress of coronavirus vaccines while mapping the pandemic worldwide. 

It’s a familiar scene playing out across America. Hospitals are rationing intensive care beds for Covid-19 patients and desperate for more doctors and nurses as the delta variant sweeps from coast to coast. The strain is outstripping any mitigation measures, with the unvaccinated being hospitalized at rates at least matching last winter’s wave, the worst of the five to hit the U.S. so far. Even the vaccinated are weighing whether a return to normalcy is anywhere in sight. White House adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci said local school districts should require that teachers get shots as the variant infects more children. On Wall Street, Citigroup mandated vaccines for employees and American Express is delaying workers’ return to the office. Here’s the latest on the pandemic.

Embattled New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced his resignation Tuesday, bowing to pressure to quit or face impeachment in the wake of multiple sexual-harassment allegations and an investigation led by Attorney General Letitia James. It’s a stunning end to a decades long political career. During his address, the Democrat maintained that he didn’t harass anyone but was “thoughtless” in the way he spoke to and touched women on his staff.  Meanwhile, with Cuomo out, Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul is set to take over—becoming New York’s first female governor. 

Investors were largely caught off guard by the recent domestic tech crackdown by President Xi Jinping. So while many look for clues as to which industry could be next for Beijing’s scrutiny, they’re also asking another question: Why is China getting tough now? 

Bitcoin believers are betting on big gains again as the world’s largest cryptocurrency is up almost 50% from recent lows. The S&P 500 hit another record Tuesday, but technology stocks drove the Nasdaq lower. Here’s your markets wrap.  

Just a day after a landmark United Nations report warned that the world is on track for climate catastrophe, greenhouse gas emissions from the U.S. energy industry look to be surging the most in more than 30 years. 

About 300,000 more Ethiopians are facing “emergency levels of hunger” as fighting in the African nation intensifies, the UN said. That’s in addition to about 5.2 million people there already identified as at-risk for famine. 

Apple wants you to buy a new iPhone, and it’s planning major new camera upgrades to get you to spring for one.

• Migrants are risking everything in a treacherous Panamanian jungle.
• Tesla’s China deliveries tumbled in July after negative press.
• Covid relief came too late for minority businesses in Chicago. 
• You can now buy crypto with your Venmo account. 
• China is pushing for blue skies for the winter Olympics. 
• As some Covid-closed borders reopen, track the return to travel. 
• Lionel Messi is set to join Paris Saint-Germain for $41 million a year

Sponsored Content Signals of Change The essential radar that leaders need to see and seize the future. Read our new Business Futures report to learn how. Accenture

Look anywhere in America and you’ll probably see someone sitting in their car with the engine running. Air-pollution laws, enforcement sprees and educational campaigns haven’t worked. Bloomberg Citylab asks: what will it take to make drivers shut off their engines when they’re parked? 

See what everyone is talking about. Make sense of the biggest trends affecting your world, every week, straight to your inbox, from Bloomberg Quicktake.

Like getting the Evening Briefing? Subscribe to Bloomberg.com for unlimited access to trusted, data-driven journalism and gain expert analysis from exclusive subscriber-only newsletters