USA

Oct 25 (Reuters) - Moderna Inc (MRNA.O) said on Monday its COVID-19 vaccine generated a strong immune response and was generally well-tolerated in children aged six to 11 years, and the company plans to submit the data to regulators soon.

Moderna said its two-dose vaccine generated virus-neutralizing antibodies in children and safety was comparable to what was previously seen in clinical trials of adolescents and adults.

WASHINGTON, Oct 25 (Reuters) - The Biden administration plans to unveil on Monday its detailed rules requiring nearly all foreign air visitors to be vaccinated against COVID-19 starting Nov. 8, sources told Reuters.

The White House first disclosed on Sept. 20 it would remove restrictions in early November for fully vaccinated air travelers from 33 countries.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 24 (Xinhua) -- U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Sunday that Democrats are close to reach a deal on President Joe Biden's social spending plan.

"In terms of where we are, I have said already we have 90 percent of the bill agreed to and written. We just have some of the last decisions to be made," Pelosi said on CNN's "State of the Union."

When asked if Democrats will have a deal by the time Biden leaves for Europe at the end of the week, Pelosi said that "I think we're pretty much there now."

"It's just the language of it," she said.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 24 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Sunday that she expected U.S. inflation rates to fall to acceptable levels in the second half of next year.

"Monthly rates of inflation have already fallen substantially from the very high rates that we saw in the spring and early summer. On a 12-month basis, the inflation rate will remain high into next year because of what's already happened," Yellen said on the CNN's "State of the Union."

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A powerful storm barreled toward Southern California after flooding highways, toppling trees and causing mud flows in areas burned bare by recent fires across the northern part of the state.

Drenching showers and strong winds accompanied the weekend’s arrival of an atmospheric river — a long and wide plume of moisture pulled in from the Pacific Ocean. The National Weather Service’s Sacramento office warned of “potentially historic rain.”

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A camera operator told authorities that Alec Baldwin had been careful with weapons on the set of the film “Rust” before the actor shot and killed a cinematographer with a gun he’d been told was safe to use, court records released Sunday show.

Cameraman Reid Russell told a detective that Baldwin was rehearsing a scene Thursday in which he was set to draw his gun while sitting in a church pew and point it at the camera. Russell said he was unsure whether the weapon was checked before it was handed to Baldwin.

WASHINGTON, Oct 24 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The United States has administered 412,856,169 doses of COVID-19 vaccines in the country as of Saturday morning and distributed 503,521,625 doses, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

Those figures are up from the 411,963,025 vaccine doses the CDC said had gone into arms by Friday out of 501,613,665 doses delivered.

The agency said 220,145,796 people had received at least one dose, while 190,402,262 people are fully vaccinated as of 6:00am ET on Saturday.

RICHMOND, Va (AP) — Former President Barack Obama offered a sharp rebuke of the Republican candidate for Virginia governor, Glenn Youngkin, as he encouraged voters on Saturday to support Democrat Terry McAuliffe in the closely watched race.

Obama accused Youngkin of portraying himself as a friendly everyman while encouraging what Obama called “lies and conspiracy theories” about widespread voting fraud in the 2020 elections. Former President Donald Trump has continued to push the false narrative about election fraud, which fueled the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Hours before actor Alec Baldwin fired a fatal gunshot from a prop gun that he had been told was safe, a camera crew for the movie he was filming walked off the job to protest conditions and production issues that included safety concerns.

Disputes in the production of the Western film “Rust” began almost from the start in early October and culminated with seven crew members walking off several hours before 42-year-old cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was killed.

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 23 (APP): A Chinese minister Friday brushed aside Indian concerns over the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), saying it is an economic cooperation project, not related to any third party.

“It (CPEC) is not related to their (Indian) sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Dai Dongchang, China’s Minister of Transport, said in response to the objections voiced by an Indian delegate at the virtual briefing on Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Transport for Global Development.