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Internal documents from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that the delta variant of the coronavirus appears to cause more severe illness than earlier variants and could spread as easily as chickenpox. Also, defrocked Catholic Cardinal Theodore McCarrick was criminally charged Wednesday with sexually assaulting a 16-year-old boy in 1974. And, about 200 Afghan interpreters have been flown from Kabul to Virginia under a program to bring them to the U.S. because of their service to American forces.

Senate Democrats and Republicans came together to advance a roughly $1 trillion proposal to improve the country's aging infrastructure, a deal months in the making. Also, President Biden is set to announce that all civilian federal employees must be vaccinated against the coronavirus or submit to regular testing and other restrictions. And, a look at how global warming is driving extreme and deadly weather this summer.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revised its guidance on wearing masks and is now recommending that some fully vaccinated people wear masks indoors if they live in areas with significant or high coronavirus spread. Also, four police officers testified about the physical and verbal assaults they faced responding to the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol in a highly emotional hearing. And, Olympic champion Simone Biles' withdrawal from the team and all-around competition at the Tokyo Olympics is renewing a conversation about the pressures and mental stress of elite athletes.

Four police officers who defended the U.S. Capitol on January 6 will be the first to testify today when a House select committee opens its investigation. Also, in New York City, all city workers are being told they have to be vaccinated by mid-September. This is one of several vaccine mandates popping up around the country for health care workers and federal workers as coronavirus cases are on the rise again. And, for the first time, a federal opioid trial goes to closing arguments. Three of the nation's biggest drug wholesalers are accused of shipping millions of pills to rural communities in West Virginia.

A surge in coronavirus cases across the U.S. fueled by the delta variant is prompting a growing number of public health experts to call for everyone to mask back up, especially indoors. Also, Iraq's prime minister is in Washington to meet with President Biden, and on the table is how long to keep U.S. troops stationed in Iraq. And, more than 200 of the world's leading climate scientists come together today — to summarize how the Earth's climate has changed — and what the future looks like.

This week's bonus episode of Up First comes from NPR's daily business podcast The Indicator from Planet Money. The Bureau of Labor Statistics updates the Consumer Price Index each month. The latest number shows a 5.4% increase over the last twelve months. That has some inflation watchers worried. So how do we measure inflation? And what about inflation's sneaky cousin, "shrinkflation"?