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The emerging BA.2 Omicron subvariant does not appear to be more severe than the original BA.1 — but is more transmissible and more able to infect vaccinated people, according to reports. The subvariant, one of at least four descendants of Omicron, has been detected in 57 countries since emerging in southern Africa 10 weeks ago, the World Health Organization said.

US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy warned Sunday that the “next few weeks will be tough” as COVID-19 infections driven by the Omicron variant continue to surge. Murthy said that the country is still pushing around 800,000 new cases per day, though some regions, such as New York, have begun to see a plateau in infections.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday enhanced COVID-19 restrictions in an effort to slow the spread of the new omicron variant and prevent hospitalizations and deaths. As part of the new policies, Johnson encouraged people in England to work from home starting Monday. He also announced that, beginning next week, the government would require passes showing full vaccination to enter nightclubs and large events and mandate face masks in most indoor public spaces, according to The Associated Press. Johnson noted that the U.K. currently has 568 confirmed cases of the omicron variant but added that "the true number is...

Texas is facing a tipping point in the state’s battle with COVID-19. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R), who is fully vaccinated, tested positive for COVID-19 this week as deaths in his state from the coronavirus have more than doubled in the last two weeks and hospitals have reached capacity. While Abbott suffered a relatively rare breakthrough infection, less than half the state’s total population is fully vaccinated against the virus, putting them at heavy risk of getting COVID-19.

California broadly reopened its economy barely two weeks ago and since then an especially contagious coronavirus variant has spread among the unvaccinated, a development that has health officials on edge and already has prompted Los Angeles County to strongly recommend everyone resume wearing masks inside. The nation’s most populous state is averaging close to 1,000 additional cases reported daily, an increase of about 17% in the last 14 days. Officials expected an increase when capacity limits were lifted for businesses and most mask restrictions and social distancing requirements were eliminated for vaccinated people.

NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — Members of the Maury High School football team took a knee during the national anthem Friday night. A WAVY viewer snapped a photo of the team before their football game against Grassfield.

A brave news report by Phoenix station ABC-15 says that the Obama administration is dumping contagious disease carrying illegal aliens all across the country. Reporter Navideh Forghani reported on Friday from the border town McAllen, Texas that illegal aliens are being found with scabies, chicken pox, MRSA, and other contagious viruses. All that separates the quarantined in border detention centers from the seemingly healthy is a swatch of yellow plastic tape according to Forghani. After processing by ICE , illegal aliens are being dumped by the Obama administration on states across the country, but mainly Arizona. The flood of contagious...

ARASOTA - Police said a man triggered a hazardous materials investigation on Tuesday when he attempted to spread his fiance's ashes at the Westfield Southgate Shopping Center. Police Lt. Pat Ledwith said the man was still mourning the loss of his fiance who died several months ago. She reportedly had some connection to LensCrafters which is where the grieving man spread part of her ashes at 11:20 a.m., triggering the emergency respons

The Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) continues to spread. Health officials in Saudi Arabia have confirmed that three more people had died from the virus, ABC News reported. At least 38 cases have been reported in the country, and 24 of them have been fatal. Little is known about the rapidly-spreading viral respiratory illness, which first appeared in 2012. Before the recent Saudi cases, WHO was notified of at least 50 people instances of MERS, 30 of which were fatal. In addition to the recent one in Italy, clusters have been confirmed in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar, the United...

<p>U.S. District Judge Audrey B. Collins rejected a motion from the Santa Monica Nativity Scenes Committee to allow the religious display this season while their lawsuit plays out against the city.</p>

Oh Crap... AUSTRIA?!? Joe Weisenthal Nov. 11, 2011, 6:59 AM And now we have to start talking about this. It's the Austria-German 10-year spread The spread is widening further today, even as Italy improves and markets are rising. What's the deal with Austria? Well there have been persistent rumors about a downgrade, but furthermore, Austrian banks are famously exposed to Eastern Europe. And now you see stuff about how Slovenian yields are surging. Too many fires to put out. For a good background story on Austrian banks and exposure to Eastern Europe, see this NYT piece from last year.

The State Department retails the PC myth in this article, "Thomas Jefferson's Iftar," July 29. Nor is this the first time this falsehood has gone around: the State announcement quotes Barack Obama saying last year: “Ramadan is a reminder that Islam has always been a part of America. The first Muslim ambassador to the United States, from Tunisia, was hosted by President Jefferson, who arranged a sunset dinner for his guest because it was Ramadan — making it the first known iftar at the White House, more than 200 years ago.” Longtime Jihad Watch writer Hugh Fitzgerald busted this myth...

Flights in several South American countries are being disrupted by clouds of ash spewed by a Chile volcano range. Flight to and from the Argentine capital, Buenos Aires, have been suspended, while in Chile, Santiago airport has also seen cancellations. Earlier, Chilean authorities expanded the evacuation area around the Puyehue-Cordon-Caulle volcano range, about 800km (500 miles) south of Santiago. It began erupting at the weekend and continues to belch a column of ash. Aviation officials say around 60 flights - domestic and international - from Ezeiza and Aeroparque airports in Buenos Aires have been cancelled. The country's main airlines -...

GRAND ISLE, Louisiana (AFP) – President Barack Obama unveiled a commission Saturday to probe the huge oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico as the growing environmental catastrophe blackened Louisiana's fragile wetlands and beaches. With the federal government facing accusations of lax supervision of lucrative offshore oil drilling, Obama vowed to hold Washington accountable and warned that the future of the industry hinges on assurances such a disaster "never happens again." As frustration grew that the huge spill gushing from a ruptured well nearly a mile (1,500 meters) below the surface was still not capped more than a month into...

Greek website bankingnews.gr reports that today's breach of 400 bps in spread to bunds on the 10 Year GGB is a very critical level, and that if spread widening continues, Greece "risks completely losing control" of its funding situation. The critical level in the 10 Year GGB spread to bunds beyond which all hell will break loose is 450 bps at which point "everyone will unload bonds and then control will be completely lost." (pardon our translation) Odd - no mention of CDS speculators having blown up Greece today: instead it is bond selling... How novel. The site also notes...

Five patients on a unit for people with severe underlying health conditions at the University Hospital of Wales, in Cardiff, were diagnosed with swine flu that is resistant to the drug. Three appear to have acquired the infection in hospital, the National Public Health Service for Wales (NPHS) said. Two of the five have recovered and have been discharged from hospital, one is in critical care and two are being treated on the ward. The service said the resistant strain does not appear to be more severe than the swine flu virus circulating since the spring. All patients on the...

Health officials say a Tamiflu-resistant strain of swine flu has spread between hospital patients. Five patients on a unit treating people with severe underlying health conditions at the University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff were infected. Three appear to have acquired the infection in hospital. They are thought to be the first confirmed cases of person-to-person transmission of a Tamiflu-resistant strain in the world. There have been several dozen reports around the world of people developing resistance to Tamiflu while taking the drug - but they have not passed on the strain to others. Just one possible cases of person-to-person transmission...

WASHINGTON – Virulent swine flu spread to 10 U.S. states from coast to coast Wednesday and swept deeper into Europe, extending its global reach as President Barack Obama mourned the first U.S. death, a Mexican toddler who had traveled with his family to Texas. Total American cases surged to nearly 100, and Obama said wider school closings might be necessary. The World Health Organization said the outbreak is moving closer to becoming a full-scale pandemic. Dr. Keiji Fukuda, the organization's top flu expert, told reporters in Geneva that the latest developments are moving the agency closer to raising its pandemic...

PITTSBURGH – As much as a foot of snow fell from the Plains across the Midwest on Saturday, snarling road and air travel, as the second big winter storm in a week barreled through on its way to New England. Tens of thousands of people still lacked electricity after the first storm slammed Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri earlier in the week. That storm was blamed for at least 38 deaths, mostly in traffic accidents. Winter storm warnings and watches extended Saturday from Missouri across parts of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine, the National...

BAGHDAD - An al-Qaida-linked suicide bomber struck a safehouse occupied by an insurgent group that has turned against the terror network. Friday's attack northeast of Baghdad killed two other militants, police said, the latest sign that an internal Sunni power struggle is spreading. The U.S. military also announced the deaths of five more servicemen. At least 125 American troops were killed in Iraq in May, the third-deadliest month for U.S. forces since the war began more than four years ago. May was also the third-deadliest for Iraqis since The Associated Press began tracking civilian casualties in April 2005. At least...