Omicron is not more severe for children, despite rising hospitalizations
The latest coronavirus surge sweeping the United States, much of it driven by the highly contagious omicron variant, has produced a worrisome spike in hospitalizations among children, not to mention heightened anxiety among parents nationwide. Several states have reported increases of about 50% in pediatric admissions for COVID-19 in December. New York City has experienced the most dramatic rise, with 68 children hospitalized last week, a fourfold jump from two weeks earlier. But even as experts expressed concern about a marked jump in hospitalizations — an increase more than double that among adults — doctors and researchers said they were not seeing evidence that omicron was more threatening to children.
Jan. 6 committee shelves requests for hundreds of Trump records
The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol has agreed to delay or withdraw demands for hundreds of Trump White House records at the request of the Biden administration, out of concern that releasing some of them could compromise national security. President Joe Biden still rejects former President Donald Trump’s claim that all internal White House documents pertaining to the riot be withheld due to executive privilege. The White House has been negotiating with the House committee to set aside requests for all or part of 511 documents her staff deemed sensitive, unrelated to the probe or potentially compromising to the long-term prerogatives of the presidency.
Harry Reid, former Senate majority leader, dies at 82
Harry Reid, the former Senate majority leader and Nevada’s longest-serving member of Congress, has died. He was 82. Reid died Tuesday, “peacefully” and surrounded by friends “following a courageous, four-year battle with pancreatic cancer,” Landra Reid said of her husband in a statement. The combative former boxer-turned-lawyer was widely-acknowledged as one of toughest dealmakers in Congress, a conservative Democrat in an increasingly polarized chamber who vexed lawmakers of both parties with a brusque manner.
Police: Gunman in Denver who killed 5 targeted some victims
A gunman who went on a shooting rampage through several business districts in and around Denver, killing five people and wounding two others, was targeting at least some of his victims, authorities said Tuesday. The suspect also died after exchanging gunfire with officers in a shopping area in the Denver suburb of Lakewood Monday night. Police identified him Tuesday as Lyndon James McLeod, 47. Those wounded included a police officer who confronted McLeod.
Will shortened isolation periods spread the virus?
The decision by federal health officials to shorten isolation periods for Americans infected with the coronavirus drew both tempered support and intense opposition from scientists Tuesday, particularly over the absence of a testing requirement and fears that the omission could hasten the spread of the omicron variant. The new guidance seemed to some scientists like a necessary step to shore up workforces in essential industries. And encouraging people to leave isolation early after testing negative could spare them the hardships of prolonged periods at home. But letting hundreds of thousands of infected people forgo tests risks seeding new cases and heaping more pressure on health systems, experts said.
Record floods stun Brazil’s northeast, killing at least 20
At least 20 people have been killed and more than 50,000 driven from their homes by calamitous floods sweeping through northeastern Brazil, authorities said Tuesday. Rescue teams used boats and helicopters to gain entry to parts of Ilhéus, Itabuna, Irecê and 100 other cities. Neighboring states sent aircraft and firefighters to help police and members of the armed forces, and volunteers distributed donations of food, mattresses and blankets for the poorest communities. On Tuesday, lawmakers met to push for financial resources to rebuild the region. Brazil’s president, Jair Bolsonaro, announced an emergency allotment of aid equivalent to $35 million.
Russian court orders prominent human rights group to shut
Russia’s Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that the nation’s most prominent human rights organization must close, signaling President Vladimir Putin’s long-standing determination to control the narrative of some of the most painful and repressive chapters of Russian history. The court ordered the liquidation of Memorial International, which chronicled the harrowing persecutions in the infamous Stalin-era labor camps in an effort to preserve the memory of its victims. Jan Z. Raczynski, chair of the board of Memorial International, said that the group intended to appeal the ruling and that it would be allowed to operate for at least a month while the appeal was pending.
US, Russia agree to talks amid growing tensions over Ukraine
The Biden administration said Tuesday that talks with Russia about tensions over Ukraine and a range of other issues would open Jan. 10, in what U.S. officials hope will mark a shift from a possible military confrontation on Ukraine’s eastern border to a resumption of diplomacy. The National Security Council did not say where the meeting would take place, but the most likely site is Geneva, where previous rounds of talks about nuclear weapons have been held. Nor did it say who would lead the delegation. The nuclear talks have been led by the deputy secretary of state, Wendy Sherman, and her Russian equivalent, Sergei Ryabkov.
Hong Kong police arrest six linked to pro-democracy news site
The Hong Kong police on Wednesday arrested six current or former senior staff members of an outspoken pro-democracy news website in a morning raid, yet another crackdown by the government on the city’s once-vibrant independent press. The six were arrested on suspicion of conspiring to publish seditious material, according to a statement from the police, which did not specify the news outlet. But Stand News, a seven-year-old online publication, posted video footage on Facebook showing police officers at the doors of one of its deputy editors, Ronson Chan, about 6 a.m. It was not immediately clear if he was arrested.
Death of 17-year-old in custody in Kansas ruled a homicide
The death of a teenager who lost consciousness after he was handcuffed by personnel at a county juvenile center in Wichita, Kansas, while lying facedown was a homicide, according to a Kansas medical examiner. The finding came several months after authorities said that a preliminary autopsy suggested that the teenager, Cedric Lofton, 17, had not suffered life-threatening injuries while in custody. Lofton was arrested Sept. 24 when police were called to a house in Wichita after he began “exhibiting erratic and aggressive behavior” toward his foster family, according to an autopsy report from the Sedgwick County Regional Forensic Science Center.
By wire sources