USA

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Four astronauts returned to Earth on Monday, riding home with SpaceX to end a 200-day space station mission that began last spring.

Their capsule streaked through the late night sky like a dazzling meteor before parachuting into the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Pensacola, Florida. Recovery boats quickly moved in with spotlights.

“On behalf of SpaceX, welcome home to Planet Earth,” SpaceX Mission Control radioed from Southern California.

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — The U.S. and Canada will discuss the future of an oil pipeline that crosses part of the Great Lakes and is the subject of rising tension over whether it should be shut down, the White House said Monday.

President Joe Biden is caught in a battle over Enbridge Energy’s Line 5, a key segment of a pipeline network that carries Canadian oil across the U.S. Midwest.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Expanding its probe, the congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection has issued subpoenas to six more associates of former President Donald Trump who were involved in his efforts to overturn his defeat in the 2020 election.

The House voted last month to hold longtime Trump ally Steve Bannon in contempt after he refused to comply with his subpoena from the panel investigating the origins of the violent attack. Trump himself is fighting the probe in court.

(AP) --- The Biden administration framed its vaccine mandate for private employers in life-and-death terms Monday in a legal filing that sought to get the requirement back on track after it was halted by a federal court.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Rarely have the leaders of Congress been asked to do so much, with so little, as in navigating President Joe Biden’s big domestic vision into law.

Reaching for FDR-style accomplishments with slimmer-than-ever Democratic majorities has been politically messy at best, arduous at worst, and about to become even more daunting for the president and his party.

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Parents held children born while they were stuck abroad. Long-separated couples kissed, and grandparents embraced grandchildren who had doubled in age.

The U.S. fully reopened to many vaccinated international travelers Monday, allowing families and friends to reunite for the first time since the coronavirus emerged and offering a boost to the travel industry decimated by the pandemic. The restrictions closed the U.S. to millions of people for 20 months.

HOUSTON (AP) — The Houston police and fire departments were deeply involved in safety measures for the music festival where a surging crowd killed eight people, playing key roles in crowd control measures, on-site security staffing and the emergency response. The police chief even says he met with the headlining performer before the show.

Now the city’s police department is leading the criminal investigation into how the deadly chaos erupted during Friday night’s performance by rapper Travis Scott.

WASHINGTON, Nov 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The United States reopens its land and air borders Monday to foreign visitors fully vaccinated against Covid-19, ending 20 months of restrictions on travel from around the globe that
separated families, hobbled tourism and strained diplomatic ties.

   The ban, imposed by former president Donald Trump in early 2020 and upheld by his successor Joe Biden, has been widely criticized and become emblematic of the upheavals caused by the pandemic.

SAN JOSE, Nov 8 (Reuters) - Daniel Ortega easily secured a fourth consecutive term as Nicaragua's president, early results showed on Monday, after the former guerrilla fighter suppressed political rivals in a vote critics said was rigged but which won Russian recognition.

Nicaragua's Supreme Electoral Council said that with roughly half the ballots counted, a preliminary tally gave Ortega's Sandinista alliance about 75% of votes.

The European Union rejected the results, saying the elections "complete the conversion of Nicaragua into an autocratic regime."

NEW YORK, Nov. 8 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. federal government's efforts to encourage widespread vaccination against COVID-19 have been challenged by some officials and experts, particularly since its vaccine mandate was formally introduced to large-scale businesses on Thursday.

The vaccination rule came as many communities are still struggling with limited health care staff and resources to help those who are currently battling COVID-19. The White House insisted the measures mean common good for the country and will be upheld no matter what the costs will be.