10 things you need to know today: November 8, 2021

U.S. lifts ban for vaccinated foreign travelers, Biden slams Nicaragua's "pantomime" vote, and more

A U.S. airport
(Image credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

1. The U.S. lifts travel ban for vaccinated foreign visitors

The United States on Monday lifted 20-month-old coronavirus travel restrictions on foreign visitors, allowing vaccinated non-U.S. citizens from 33 countries to enter the U.S. The U.S. is eliminating a ban imposed by the Trump administration, and accepting fully vaccinated travelers from previously restricted countries — including China, India, and much of Europe — at airports and land borders. The policy was enforced to curb coronavirus infections, but it dealt a major blow to tourism and kept people from visiting family. Airlines and the Biden administration said they expected bottlenecks at first as travel demand surged and airlines checked vaccination documentation.

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Harold Maass, The Week US

Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.