The Associated Press

The Rundown

To grandmother’s house or no? Omicron disrupts holiday plans

Dave Fravel and his wife invited several relatives to their Cape Cod home for Christmas to share food, gifts and the togetherness they’ve longed for during the lonely days of the pandemic. They were also looking forward to a holiday sightseeing trip…Read More

China puts 13 million residents in lockdown ahead of Games

BEIJING (AP) — China is redoubling efforts to control new virus outbreaks with a lockdown of the 13 million residents of the northern city of Xi’an following a spike in coronavirus cases….Read More

Omicron less likely to put you in the hospital, studies say

Two new British studies provide some early hints that the omicron variant of the coronavirus may be milder than the delta version….Read More

Last monument for Tiananmen massacre removed in Hong Kong

HONG KONG (AP) — A monument at a Hong Kong university that was the best-known public remembrance of the Tiananmen Square massacre on Chinese soil was removed early Thursday, wiping out the city’s last place of public commemoration of the bloody 1989…Read More

Pfizer pill becomes 1st US-authorized home COVID treatment

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. health regulators on Wednesday authorized the first pill against COVID-19, a Pfizer drug that Americans will be able to take at home to head off the worst effects of the virus. …Read More

OTHER TOP STORIES

High court to hold special session on vaccine requirements

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court says it will hold a special session in just over two weeks to weigh challenges to two Biden administration policies covering vaccine requi…Read More

Changing climate parches Afghanistan, exacerbating poverty

SANG-E-ATASH, Afghanistan (AP) — Fed by rain and snowmelt from mountains, this valley nestled among northwestern Afghanistan’s jagged peaks was once fertile. But the climate …Read More

US delays intelligence center targeting foreign influence

WASHINGTON (AP) — As Russia was working to subvert U.S. elections and sow discord among Americans, Congress directed the creation of an intelligence center to lead efforts to…Read More

Bustling bars, surging business: Dubai sees a post-vax boom

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Nations around the world are lurching into lockdown, steeling themselves for a brutal surge as the omicron variant spreads like wildfire. …Read More