US lifts travel restrictions, survivors of deadly Astroworld surge speak: 5 Things podcast
On today's episode of the 5 Things podcast: US lifts travel restrictions for vaccinated tourists
Travel reporter Bailey Shulz outlines what the new rules mean. Plus, a criminal investigation continues into the deadly Houston music festival crowd surge, Democrats get some bad approval rating news, tensions are high in Iraq after an assassination attempt on the prime minister and the Milwaukee Bucks become the first NBA team since 2016 to visit the White House.
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Hit play on the player above to hear the podcast and follow along with the transcript below. This transcript was automatically generated, and then edited for clarity in its current form. There may be some differences between the audio and the text.
Taylor Wilson:
Good morning. I'm Taylor Wilson and this is 5 Things you need to know Monday, the 8th of November 2021. Today, easing travel restrictions to get into the country, plus what happened at the deadly Astroworld crowd surge and more.
Here are some of the top headlines.
- The death toll has risen to at least 98 after an oil tanker exploded in Sierra Leone. A tanker collided with another truck on Friday. While the drivers warned people to stay away, many rushed to scoop up the fuel.
- Multiple Ivy League college campuses were evacuated yesterday following reports of bomb threats. Cornell, Columbia, and Brown all issued emergency alerts. All the threats were later deemed not credible.
- And Sunny Eberhart, also known as Nimblewill Nomad, has become the oldest person to complete the Appalachian Trail. He's 83 years old.
Beginning today, the United States is easing travel restrictions for tourists to enter the country, but only if they're vaccinated against COVID-19. Consumer travel reporter, Bailey Schulz, has more.
Bailey Schulz:
We are seeing that the United States is basically dropping its travel ban that has been in place against dozens of countries since the early days of the pandemic. That includes countries like the United Kingdom, Brazil, India, China, France, a lot of other European countries. We are also seeing entry requirements change at the US land borders and ferry ports. So starting today, travelers from Canada and Mexico can enter the US for non-essential reasons as long as they are fully vaccinated. The rules differ slightly depending on whether people are flying into the United States or driving across the border into the United States. The new rules for people who are flying in requires that travelers are fully vaccinated with a vaccine that has been authorized by the FDA or the World Health Organization. These travelers who are flying in will need to show proof of vaccination, whether that's in a paper or digital form. They'll also need to test negative for the coronavirus within three days before they board their planes to the US.
Then if foreign travelers are driving into the United States, the rules are a little different where they will not need to show a negative test, but they will need to carry proof of vaccination in case they are asked to show that documentation. If you are fully vaccinated and you're a US citizen or permanent resident who is traveling, nothing changes under these new rules. You will still need to test negative for the coronavirus no more than three days before you board your plane back to the US. That's the rule that has already been in place and will continue to go in place starting today. Then if you are not vaccinated however, things will change a little bit. When you're making your way back, you will need to test negative for the coronavirus just one day before you board your plane back to the states.
Taylor Wilson:
For more on the future of pandemic travel in the US and around the world, head to usatoday.com/travel.
A criminal investigation will continue today into what happened at Houston's Astroworld music festival on Friday, where at least eight people died during a crowd surge. The incident came while the show's headliner and creator, Travis Scott, performed when thousands of people rushed the stage. Kevin Perez and Marcos Machado were at the concert.
Kevin Perez:
As soon as he came out, the wave just like kind of crushed me in, and I was like this. I was being controlled by everybody. I had to keep my head up like this, towards the sky so I can breathe.
Marcos Machado:
You'd hear everyone just saying, "Get out. I can't breathe. I'm about to pass out. I need you to move." There was even an instance when we're opening up a mosh pit for another song, some guy was just like blaaah, just hurling. We were just making sure like, "Are you okay?" and like kind of make a way for him to get back a little bit, because there was a security guard behind the rails where we were at.
Taylor Wilson:
Houston mayor, Sylvester Turner, had more about the victims over the weekend.
Sylvester Turner:
This is a very, very, very active investigation and we'll probably be at it for quite some time to determine what exactly happened. Based on our latest information, eight people are reported dead from the event last night. In terms of their ages, one is 14, one is 16, two are 21 years of age, two are 23, one is 27, and one remains unknown at this time.
Taylor Wilson:
Around 50,000 people were in attendance at the first of a now canceled two-day festival. There were also videos on social media from earlier in the day of people breaking through barriers to enter. Along with those dead, 25 people were taken to the hospital, including a 10-year-old in critical condition. The Harris County medical examiner is expected to release the names today of all the victims who were killed.
President Joe Biden's approval rating has fallen to a new low of 38%. That's according to a USA Today Suffolk University poll taken from Wednesday to Friday of last week. There's particularly troubling news for him when it comes to Independents, who largely helped him defeat Donald Trump. 46% of those surveyed say Biden has done a worse job as president than they expected, and Independents by a seven to one margin feel that way. Nearly two-thirds of Americans also say they don't want Biden to run for a second term, even including 28% of Democrats. The Democratic Party might be even more concerned that those surveyed said they would vote for their Republican congressional candidate over the Democratic one by 46% to 38%. But it is possible that both Biden and his party could be poised for a rebound. The house passed an infrastructure bill late Friday after polling had wrapped up and an encouraging jobs report Friday showed stronger than expected job growth.
Tensions remain high in Baghdad and around Iraq after a failed assassination attempt of the country's prime minister. The attack happened yesterday with armed drones that targeted Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi's residence in Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone. Seven of his security guards were injured though he appears to have survived with only minor injuries. There's been no immediate claim of responsibility, but suspicion fell on Iran-backed militias who had been publicly attacking Al-Kadhimi. The attack also came during a standoff between security forces and pro-Iran Shiite militias, whose supporters have been camped outside the Green Zone for almost a month. They've rejected the results of Iraq's parliamentary elections when they lost around two-thirds of their seats. Protests turned deadly on Friday, days before the assassination attempt. Security forces used tear gas and live ammunition, killing a protestor affiliated with the militias.
The Milwaukee Bucks will visit the White House today to celebrate their NBA championship from earlier this year. They beat the Phoenix Suns in six games in the NBA finals capped off by a game six win when star Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 50 points. The title marked the franchise's first in 50 years. The Bucks are the first NBA champions to visit the White House since 2016 when the Cleveland Cavaliers visited then-President Barack Obama.
Thanks for listening to 5 Things. You can find us right here, wherever you're listening right now, seven mornings a week. If you're on Apple Podcast, we ask for a five-star rating and review if you have a chance. Thanks to PJ Elliott for his great work on the show. I'm back tomorrow with more of 5 Things from USA Today.