Tonga shrouded by ash and mystery after powerful volcano erupts
Boats bashed into a quiet harbor in Southern California, a remote island was battered in Japan by 4-foot waves and two women were swept to their deaths on a beach in Peru — some 6,000 miles from an undersea volcanic eruption so powerful that the tsunami it set off churned ocean waters halfway across the globe. But Sunday, there was little word from Tonga, the island nation just 40 miles from the site of the explosion. Reports that emerged Sunday described a land rendered ghastly gray by volcanic debris, its waters poisoned by the ash sent tens of thousands of feet skyward in the eruption.
NKorea launches 2 short-range ballistic missiles
North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles off its east coast on Monday, according to the South Korean military, which said it was analyzing the flight data to learn more. The launches, from near the Suan Airport outside Pyongyang, the North’s capital, were the fourth and fifth ones this month. They came after the country fired two ballistic missiles from train cars Friday, hours after it warned of “stronger and certain reaction” if the United States helped impose more sanctions in response to the North’s recent series of missile tests.
US surgeon general warns that omicron has not peaked
Dr. Vivek Murthy, the U.S. surgeon general, warned Sunday that the omicron surge of coronavirus cases had not yet peaked nationally, saying that the next few weeks would be difficult in many parts of the country as hospitalizations and deaths rise. On CNN’s “State of the Union,” Murthy noted the “good news” of the plateaus and drops in known cases in the Northeast, especially in New York City and New Jersey. But “the challenge is that the entire country is not moving at the same pace,” he said, adding “we shouldn’t expect a national peak in the coming days.”
Scammers see opportunity in demand for coronavirus testing, officials say
Federal and state officials warned this week of coronavirus testing scams that have taken advantage of the United States’ strained testing infrastructure and have left Americans with invalid test results, wrongful medical bills and overpriced at-home tests. Fraud related to the virus has persisted since the onset of the pandemic, but the rapid spread of the omicron variant has created opportunities for scammers preying on the high demand for tests. On Friday, the Better Business Bureau issued an alert about phony websites and pop-up testing sites that collect people’s personal information, swab them for a test and then never provide results.
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