1/ The Biden administration will require all foreign travelers crossing U.S. borders to be fully vaccinated by Jan. 22. The administration previously announced that fully vaccinated nonessential foreign travelers could enter the U.S. beginning Nov. 8. The White House, however, delayed the requirement for essential foreign travelers, such as truck drivers and government officials, to allow more time to get vaccinated and not disrupt trade. The Biden administration also asked a federal appeals court to reinstate its workplace rule requiring employees at larger companies to be vaccinated against Covid-19 or face weekly testing. Republican-led states, private employers, and conservative groups challenged the requirement, arguing that OSHA lacked the authority to mandate vaccines. The Justice Department said in its filing that the federal government should be permitted to address “the grave danger of Covid-19 in the workplace.” (NBC News / Washington Post / Associated Press)

2/ Weekly unemployment claims totaled 199,000 last week – the lowest total in 52 years. The four-week average of initial jobless claims also dropped by 21,000 to about 252,000 – the lowest since mid-March 2020. (Politico / Washington Post / CNBC / Wall Street Journal)

3/ Biden authorized the release of 50 million barrels of crude from its strategic reserves to help offset a surge in gasoline prices. Biden called it the “largest-ever release,” which was done in concert with China, Japan, India, South Korea, and the U.K. “We’ve made historic progress over the last 10 months,” Biden said, pointing to the jobs added to the economy since taking office. But “disruptions related to the pandemic have caused challenges in our supply chain, which have sparked concern about shortages and contributed to higher prices.” He also vowed to continue “taking action.” (ABC News / Bloomberg)

4/ Biden will nominate Shalanda Young to serve as the administration’s budget director. Young, currently the acting director of the Office of Management and Budget, would be the first Black woman to hold the post on a permanent basis. The administration withdrew its initial selection of Neera Tanden for budget director after bipartisan criticism about her past social media attacks on lawmakers. (New York Times / Washington Post)

5/ A federal appeals court is scheduled to hear oral arguments Nov. 30 about whether Congress can receive Trump’s White House records related to the Jan. 6 attack at the Capitol. Earlier this month, Judge Tanya Chutkan ordered the National Archives to hand over th...