North America

WASHINGTON (AP) — With only hours to spare, President Joe Biden signed legislation to avoid a partial federal shutdown and keep the government funded through Dec. 3. Congress had passed the bill earlier Thursday.

The back-to-back votes by the Senate and then the House averted one crisis, but delays on another continue as the political parties dig in on a dispute over how to raise the government’s borrowing cap before the United States risks a potentially catastrophic default.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Despite a long night of frantic negotiations, Democrats were unable to reach an immediate deal to salvage President Joe Biden’s $3.5 trillion government overhaul, forcing leaders to call off promised votes on a related public works bill. Action is to resume Friday.

NEW YORK, September 30. /TASS/: The SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft was undocked from the International Space Station Thursday, according to a live stream at the NASA website.

The spacecraft undocked at 09:12 Eastern Time [16:12 Moscow Time]. The spacecraft is expected to land in the Atlantic near Florida in less than 24 hours.

On August 30, the Dragon delivered various scientific equipment for scientific experiments to the ISS within the framework of SpaceX’s 23rd commercial resupply mission, including ophthalmological instruments.

UNITED NATIONS, Sept 30 (NNN-AGENCIES) — UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for an “urgent” international response to the political crisis created in Myanmar by the Feb 1 military coup, in a new report released by the United Nations.

In the document on “the situation of human rights of Rohingya Muslims and other minorities in Myanmar,” the UN chief also said he feared that the military’s grip on power would become increasingly difficult to counter.

OTTAWA, Sept 30 (Reuters) - Canada on Thursday held its the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation to honor the lost children and survivors of indigenous schools, following the gruesome discovery of more than 1,000 unmarked graves at two former schools earlier this year.

The so-called residential school system, which operated between 1831 and 1996, removed about 150,000 indigenous children from their families. Some were subjected them to abuse, rape and malnutrition at schools in what the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 2015 called "cultural genocide."

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) -- Boeing announced on Wednesday that it will continue assuring the C-17 Globemaster III's worldwide mission readiness through a follow-on contract awarded by the U.S. Department of Defense, valued at up to 23.8 billion U.S. dollars including potential options and incentives over ten years.

The program is currently funded through September 2024 with a Phase I award of 3.5 billion dollars, the company said.

UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) -- UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Tor Wennesland said Wednesday that the current pause in Israel's settlement activity in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, must become permanent.

There were no new settlement housing plans advanced, approved or tendered between June 12 and Sept. 27, Wennesland told the Security Council in a briefing.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — More than a year after U.S. health care workers on the front lines against COVID-19 were saluted as heroes with nightly clapping from windows and balconies, some are being issued panic buttons in case of assault and ditching their scrubs before going out in public for fear of harassment.

Across the country, doctors and nurses are dealing with hostility, threats and violence from patients angry over safety rules designed to keep the scourge from spreading.

WASHINGTON (AP) — In their fight over trillions of dollars, their paramount policy goals and perhaps their political fate, this isn’t helping: Democratic progressives and centrists say they don’t trust each other. They’re tossing around words like “stupid” and “insanity” and they’re drawing lines in the sand.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress is moving to avert one crisis while putting off another with the Senate poised to approve legislation that would fund the federal government into early December.

The House is expected to approve the measure following the Senate vote Thursday, preventing a partial government shutdown when the new fiscal year begins Friday.