US Domestic News Roundup: Former Wake Forest coach's U.S. college scandal charges could be dropped in deal; U.S. House votes for short-term debt ceiling fix, averting default and more

The two Texas-based carriers said the federal mandate superseded an order by Republican Governor Greg Abbott barring COVID-19 vaccine mandates by any entity, including private employers. U.S. to lift Canada, Mexico land border restrictions in Nov for vaccinated visitors The United States will lift restrictions at its land borders with Canada and Mexico for fully vaccinated foreign nationals in early November, ending historic curbs on non-essential travelers in place since March 2020 to address the COVID-19 pandemic.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Former Wake Forest coach's U.S. college scandal charges could be dropped in deal

A former women's volleyball coach at Wake Forest University accused of participating in a vast U.S. college admissions fraud and bribery scheme has struck a deal with federal prosecutors that could result in the charges against him being dropped. Federal prosecutors in Boston in a deferred prosecution agreement unsealed on Tuesday agreed to dismiss the case against William Ferguson after two years if he pays a $50,000 fine and complies with other conditions.

U.S. House votes for short-term debt ceiling fix, averting default

The Democratic-controlled U.S. House of Representatives gave final approval on Tuesday to legislation temporarily raising the government's borrowing limit to $28.9 trillion, pushing off the deadline for debt default only until December. Democrats, who narrowly control the House, maintained party discipline to pass the hard-fought, $480 billion debt limit increase . The vote was along party lines, with every yes from Democrats and every no from Republicans.

Rebuffing Texas governor, American Airlines, Southwest stand by vaccine mandate

Rebuffing the Texas governor, American Airlines and Southwest Airlines said on Tuesday they would comply with U.S. President Joe Biden's executive order to require that their employees be vaccinated for COVID-19 by a Dec. 8 deadline. The two Texas-based carriers said the federal mandate superseded an order by Republican Governor Greg Abbott barring vaccine mandates by any entity, including private employers.

The U.S. to lift Canada, Mexico land border restrictions in Nov for vaccinated visitors

The United States will lift restrictions at its land borders with Canada and Mexico for fully vaccinated foreign nationals in early November, ending historic curbs on non-essential travelers in place since March 2020 to address the COVID-19 pandemic. U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement the administration next month "will begin allowing travelers from Mexico and Canada who are fully vaccinated for COVID-19 to enter the United States for non-essential purposes, including to visit friends and family or for tourism, via land and ferry border crossings."

U.S. FDA staff says Moderna did not meet all criteria for COVID-19 boosters

Scientists at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Tuesday that Moderna Inc had not met all of the agency's criteria to support use of booster doses of its COVID-19 vaccine, possibly because the efficacy of the shot's first two doses has remained strong. FDA staff said in documents that data for Moderna's vaccine showed that a booster does increase protective antibodies, but the difference in antibody levels before and after the shot was not wide enough, particularly in those whose levels had remained high.

Campaign finance trial against ex-Giuliani associate Parnas kicks off

Opening arguments are set to begin on Wednesday in the trial of Lev Parnas, a onetime associate of Donald Trump's former lawyer Rudy Giuliani, on a charge of violating campaign finance laws. Prosecutors have said that Parnas concealed an illegal $325,000 donation to Trump’s unsuccessful 2020 presidential re-election bid.

U.S. should face up to 'shameful past' with tribal nations, VP Harris says

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris said on Tuesday that the European explorers who first landed on U.S. shores had "ushered in a wave of devastation for tribal nations, perpetrating violence, stealing land and spreading disease." "We must not shy away from this shameful past, and we must shed light on it and do everything we can to address the impact of the past on native communities today", she told the National Congress of American Indians, the largest U.S. organization for native peoples.

U.S. Supreme Court weighs Boston Marathon bomber's death sentence

The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday is set to hear the federal government's bid to reinstate Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's death sentence for his role in the 2013 attack that killed three people and wounded more than 260 others. Despite President Joe Biden's stated goal to eliminate capital punishment at the federal level, his administration opted to carry out an appeal - initially launched by the Justice Department under his predecessor Donald Trump - of a lower court ruling overturning Tsarnaev's death sentence.

White House says Walmart, FedEx, UPS to work 24/7 to ease supply bottlenecks for holiday season

President Joe Biden will host a meeting on Wednesday to hail progress in addressing supply chain problems weighing on the economy and threatening the holiday season, while he challenges business and union leaders to do more to ease shipping backlogs. The Port of Los Angeles is going to 24/7 operations as a step toward helping ease the shipping snarl there and at the Port of Long Beach, a senior administration official told reporters ahead of the meeting.

Texas vaccine mandate ban likely to be trumped by federal law but could cause uncertainty

Texas Governor Greg Abbott's ban on COVID-19 vaccine mandates will likely be superseded by the Biden administration plan to require shots for workers, but the dueling rules could take months to sort out in court, creating uncertainty for employers with business in the state. The Republican governor signed an executive order on Monday banning private employers and other entities from imposing COVID-19 vaccine mandates, which he said threatened an economic recovery by disrupting the workforce.Some large employers are betting that federal law and President Joe Biden's vaccine mandates will trump Abbott's executive order.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)