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US moving to toughen testing requirement for travelers

Washington (AP) — The Biden administration is moving to toughen testing requirements for international travelers to the U.S., including both vaccinated and unvaccinated people, amid the spread of the new omicron variant of the coronavirus.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a Tuesday statement that it was working toward requiring that all air travelers to the U.S. be tested for COVID-19 within a day before boarding their flight. Currently those who are fully vaccinated may present a test taken within three days of boarding.

USA: Investigators track ammunition in fatal film set shooting

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Authorities pursued new leads Tuesday on possible sources of live ammunition involved in actor Alec Baldwin’s fatal shooting of a cinematographer on the New Mexico set of a western movie, as they searched the premises of an Albuquerque-based firearms and ammunition supplier.

The search took place after a provider of firearms and ammunition to the ill fated movie production for “Rust” told investigators that he “may know” where live rounds came from, describing ammunition he received from a friend in the past that had been “reloaded” by assembly from parts.

USA: Student kills 3, wounds 8 at Michigan school: Authorities

OXFORD TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — A 15-year-old sophomore opened fire at his Michigan high school on Tuesday, killing three students, including a 16-year-old boy who died in a deputy’s patrol car on the way to a hospital, authorities said. Eight other people were wounded, some critically.

Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said late Tuesday that investigators were still trying to determine a motive for the shooting at Oxford High School in Oxford Township, a community of about 22,000 people roughly 30 miles (48 kilometers) north of Detroit.

Omicron COVID-19 variant poses downside risks to U.S. economy: Fed chief

WASHINGTON, Nov. 29 (Xinhua) -- The recent rise in COVID-19 cases and the emergence of the Omicron variant pose downside risks to U.S. employment and economic activity and increased uncertainty for inflation, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said in a written testimony released Monday afternoon.

Final US hurdle for Merck’s COVID-19 pill: FDA panel review

WASHINGTON (AP) — An experimental COVID-19 drug that could soon become the first U.S.-authorized pill to treat the coronavirus faces one final hurdle Tuesday: A panel of government experts will scrutinize data on the medication from drugmaker Merck.

The Food and Drug Administration is asking its outside experts whether the agency should authorize the pill, weighing new information that it is less effective than first reported and may cause birth defects. The panel’s recommendations aren’t binding but often guide FDA decisions.

USA: Appeals court to weigh Trump arguments to withhold records

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Donald Trump’s lawyers will try to persuade a federal appeals court to stop Congress from receiving call logs, drafts of speeches and other documents related to the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol led by his supporters.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit will hear arguments Tuesday from lawyers for Trump and the House committee seeking the records as part of its investigation into the riot.

'UN must reverse decision to partition Palestine': Mahfouz

30 Nov 2021; MEMO: Deputy Secretary-General of the Popular Conference for Palestinians Abroad (PCPA), Hisham Abu Mahfouz, yesterday called for the UN to back down on its decision to partition Palestine, Quds Press reported.

He also called for the UN to put pressure on the Israeli occupation to "implement all the international resolutions related to Palestinians and stop all Israeli aggression on the Palestinian people."

USA: Powell says COVID variant clouds inflation, economic outlook

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell says that the appearance of a new COVID-19 variant could slow the economy and hiring, while also raising uncertainty about inflation.

The recent increase in delta cases and the emergence of the omicron variant “pose downside risks to employment and economic activity and increased uncertainty for inflation,” Powell said Monday in prepared remarks to be delivered to the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday. The new variant could also worsen supply chain disruptions, he said.

USA: Stocks rise as Wall Street steadies following omicron slide

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street steadied itself Monday after last week’s stock market slide caused by the newest coronavirus variant, with investors now waiting for more clues about just how much damage it may do to the economy.

The S&P 500 rose 1.3% to recover more than half of its drop from Friday, which was its worst since February. Bond yields and crude oil also recovered chunks of what they lost in traders’ knee-jerk reaction to run toward safety and away from risky investments.

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