Category: Breaking News

Dr. Anthony Fauci warned that the next few weeks will see severe stress on hospital systems as the omicron variant is “raging around the world.”

Fauci, the president’s chief medical adviser, said there is no doubt on omicron’s “extraordinary capability” for transmission on Sunday’s “Meet the Press.” Although the latest coronavirus mutation appears to have less severe symptoms in vaccinated people, Fauci warned that its transmissibility counteracts the mildness of the cases.

“Because our hospitals, if things look like they’re looking now, in the next week or two are going to be very stressed with people because again, we have

President Joe Biden on Thursday all but confirmed that Senate Democrats are unlikely to vote on his $1.7 trillion social spending package before Christmas.

Biden said in a statement that he had “a productive call” with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. earlier in the day after meeting with Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., but also emphasized the lengthy process that lies ahead.

“It takes time to finalize these agreements, prepare the legislative changes, and finish all the parliamentary and procedural steps needed to enable a Senate vote. We will advance this work together over

A few weeks after the verdict in the Kyle Rittenhouse trial, Michelle Garra signed up to volunteer with Court Watch PG, a Maryland-based organization that trains people to monitor trials to keep judges and prosecutors accountable.

Following the proceedings closely, Garra was particularly disturbed by how the judge operated, she said.

“It was surreal watching the judge coddle him like that. I’ve been in court, and they don’t treat people like that,” she said.

Garra, 50, asked herself before she reached out to become a court watcher, “If a high-profile case could play out this way, then what are judges

MAYFIELD, Ky. — Prison inmates, formerly incarcerated people and those simply out of luck were all welcomed at the Mayfield Consumer Products’ candle factory — a last-resort job for many in the unemployment line, several employees said.

The work — packaging and labeling scented candles that wound up in kitchens and bathrooms across America — was easy, some workers said, if you didn’t mind the long hours, low wages and open-door hiring that allowed walk-ins and those previously fired.

“It’s a sweatshop. We’re underpaid. I felt like they weren’t for us,” said David Hollowell, 28, who has been working at

Just one week before Christmas, the remainder of New York’s iconic Radio City Rockettes season was called off, as the city and state continue to deal with a surge of new Covid-19 cases.

New York state on Friday reported 20,627 cases, the highest single-day total since the pandemic began, based on an NBC News count of state and county health department reporting.

“The surge is here, it’s going to get worse, we know it’s going to get worse — especially after Christmas Day, people gathering in person,” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said on MSNBC Friday.

After canceling Friday shows

As a new wave of Covid-19 sidelines dozens of NFL players, the league on Friday announced three weekend games were rescheduled for later next week.

More than 150 players have tested positive for Covid-19 in the past five days, NFL Network reporter Tom Pelissero said Friday. The league said that the more-contagious omicron variant was to blame.

“We are seeing a new, highly transmissible form of the virus this week resulting in a substantial increase in cases across the league,” the NFL said in a statement.

Saturday’s Las Vegas Raiders-Cleveland Browns game has been moved to 5 p.m. ET

SAN JOSE, Calif., — During closing arguments in the 15-week fraud trial of former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes, defense lawyers got one last chance to portray their client as a true believer in her unproven technology and had simply tried her best and failed.

“She gave up her education, she gave up her youth, she gave up her close friends, a relationship with her friends, why? Because she believed that she built a technology that could change the world,” said one of her attorneys, Kevin Downey. 

“What is the government’s story? Every day from 2010 until 2016: she knew she

WASHINGTON — Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., said Sunday he will not vote for President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better Act.

“I’ve always said this Brett, if I can’t go home and explain to the people of West Virginia I can’t vote for and I cannot vote to continue with this piece of legislation. I just can’t,” Manchin, a key centrist, said on “Fox News Sunday” to host Brett Bair.

“I’ve tried everything humanly possible. I can’t get there,” he said.

Last week, Biden all but confirmed that Senate Democrats are unlikely to vote on the House-passed $1.7 trillion social spending

FARMINGTON, N.M. — Time is of the essence for the Salvation Army in New Mexico now that the Grinch has thrown a wrench into the group’s holiday toy program.

A van loaded with $6,000 worth of toys set to be passed out to hundreds of children was stolen this week from a store parking lot in Farmington.

“It is a pretty Grinch-like thing to do,” Farmington police spokesperson Nicole Brown told the Farmington Daily Times.

Brown said a detective conducted interviews following Tuesday’s theft and the investigation is ongoing.

Farmington police reached out via Facebook for the public’s help in

As Americans prepare to travel for holiday gatherings, the celebrations appear increasingly likely to overlap with surging Covid-19 cases and the rapid spread of the omicron variant. Those threats, in turn, are spurring a clamor for PCR testing, rapid tests and at-home kits.

“For that extra reassurance, as we have more disease in this country right now, do a test and make sure that you’re negative before you mix and gather in different households,” Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said in a White House briefing on Friday.

The problem? Covid-19 tests are getting