What do Germany's preliminary election results tell us about where the country's headed? And will Democrats be able to avoid a government shutdown and avert a debt crisis? Plus, what's the roll-out plan for Pfizer's COVID-19 booster shot?

This week's bonus episode of Up First comes from NPR's Consider This. After a year away, Broadway's lights are back on. Some of the biggest productions have returned for vaccinated and masked audiences. From "Wicked" to "Chicago" to "Hamilton," theaters in New York are open at 100 percent capacity. Three industry veterans get ready to return.

After deliberation and disagreement, federal regulators have endorsed COVID boosters for some groups, making millions of people eligible across the U.S. And a widely-discredited Republican-led review of Arizona's Maricopa County 2020 election has concluded after months. Plus, an upcoming election in Germany will decide who succeeds long-standing Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Why did the director of the CDC override her agency's advisory panel and rule in favor of COVID-19 booster shots? And what do lawmakers hope to learn from former Trump aides they have subpoenaed? Plus, President Biden meets with the leaders of India, Japan and Australia today. How can they push back against China, a major trading partner?

Who is eligible to get Pfizer's COVID-19 booster shots? And why are certain Haitian migrants detained along the US-Mexico border being released while others are deported? Plus, new documents reveal the extent of Ethiopia's hunger crisis.

Will the winter season prompt another COVID surge? And how are U.S. border agents managing the thousands of migrants camping under a border bridge? Plus, an investigation into Hurricane Ida's power collapse.

President Biden will address the United Nations General Assembly today. How will he explain America's role in the world? And why are anti-abortion rights activists upset about a lawsuit against an abortion provider? Plus, the showdown between Democrats and Republicans over the debt ceiling.

What are the most urgent issues world leaders will tackle at the U.N. General Assembly this year? And why did a Senate parliamentarian, the referee of Senate rules, knock immigration out of a budget bill? Plus, revelations from a new book about former President Donald Trump.

What happens after everything falls apart? The end of the Bronze Age was a moment when an entire network of ancient civilizations collapsed, leaving behind only clues to what happened. Today, scholars have pieced together a story where everything from climate change to mass migration to natural disasters played a role. What the end of the Bronze Age can teach us about avoiding catastrophe and what comes after collapse.

An expert panel of advisers to the Food and Drug Administration recommend against a booster shot of the Covid-19 vaccine for most U.S. adults. France has recalled its ambassadors to the U.S. and Australia, after being excluded from a deal to build nuclear-powered submarines for Australia. And Washington D.C. prepares for a rally today, as right-wing demonstrators protest the ongoing criminal cases linked to the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol.