Dec 25 Flight cancellations drag on as airlines short-staffed By Tali Arbel, Associated Press FlightAware, a flight-tracking website, noted 875 flights entering, leaving or inside the U.S. canceled Saturday, up from 689 Friday. About 200 more flights were already canceled for Sunday. FlightAware does not say why flights are canceled. Continue reading
Dec 24 Watch 3:04 COVID-19 spreads holiday misery, as canceled flights strand thousands on Christmas Eve By Stephanie Sy, Dorothy Hastings The COVID-19 pandemic is once again upending holiday plans around the world, from halting air travel to scaling back festive celebrations. All this as new infections in the U.S. have spiked 55 percent in the last two weeks alone, largely… Continue watching
Dec 24 U.S. to lift travel ban on 8 southern African countries By Ashraf Khalil, Associated Press The White House says the U.S. will lift travel restrictions to eight southern African countries on New Year's Eve. Continue reading
Dec 24 Airlines cancel hundreds of Christmas flights due to ‘massive rise’ in COVID-19 sick leave By News Desk At least three major airlines say they have canceled dozens of flights because illnesses largely tied to the omicron variant of COVID-19 have taken a toll on flight crew numbers during the busy holiday travel season. Continue reading
Dec 23 Watch 9:42 Americans face COVID testing lags ahead of holidays: ‘We’re very, very far behind’ By Stephanie Sy, Dorothy Hastings The new coronavirus variant is driving a surge of COVID-19 cases in the United States. Omicron is now present in all 50 states - just three weeks after it was first detected in the U.S. It has raised questions and… Continue watching
Dec 23 WATCH: White House press secretary Jen Psaki holds a news briefing on omicron testing By Associated Press On Thursday, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters Biden's administration had done enough to ensure Americans gathering with family members this season were able to do so safely. Continue reading
Dec 23 Omicron less likely than delta to result in hospitalization, studies say By Laura Ungar, Mike Stobbe, Associated Press Two new British studies provide some early hints that the omicron variant of the coronavirus may be milder than delta. Continue reading
Dec 22 Watch 10:43 Frustrated health workers dread expected rise in COVID hospitalizations: ‘We’re exhausted’ A new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report found 2020's death toll was worse than previously reported — finalized at nearly 3.4 million people. It also forewarned that 2021 is expected to surpass 2020's record number of deaths by… Continue watching
Dec 22 WATCH: Gov. Gavin Newsom announces plans to protect Californians from omicron variant By News Desk and Adam Beam, Associated Press California's roughly 2.5 million health care workers have until Feb. 1 to get a coronavirus vaccine booster shot or risk losing their jobs, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Wednesday. Continue reading
Dec 22 WATCH: White House COVID task force holds news briefing amid rapidly spreading omicron variant By Associated Press At the White House on Dec. 22, Biden detailed major changes to his COVID-19 winter plan, his hand forced by the fast-spreading variant, whose properties are not yet fully understood by scientists. Continue reading