Tuesday morning news - January 4, 2022

For WORLD Radio, I'm Kent Covington. 

U.S. COVID-19 infections continue to soar as FDA endorse boosters of children 12+ » COVID-19 cases continue to soar to new record levels in the United States. A rolling 7-day average shows about 370,000 cases per day. That’s well over the previous pandemic peak of just over a quarter of a million daily infections back in January.

But as New York Gov. Kathy Hochul noted on Monday, there is some good news to report.

HOCHUL: We can say with certainty that the cases are not presenting themselves as severely as they could have or we had feared. So that is the silver lining, if you will.

That’s likely because the omicron variant accounts for the majority of new infections and that strain is less severe than the delta variant.

Former acting director of the CDC, Dr. Richard Besser told NBC’s Today Show…

BESSER: This could be the path out of this pandemic. You know, as this variant spreads around and infects more and more people, hopefully, the protection you get from having had an omicron infection will provide some protection from other variants.

But in the meantime, the sheer volume of cases is straining hospitals in many areas. And the more dangerous delta variant is also still spreading.

On Monday, the FDA announced that it will approve booster shots of the Pfizer vaccine for kids as young as 12.

But the CDC will have the final word on that in the coming days. Boosters already are recommended for everyone 16 and older.

British P.M. warns of continued strain on British hospitals » Meantime, across the Atlantic, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned on Monday that the country's health system will remain under strain for weeks.

JOHNSON: The pressure on our NHS, on our hospitals, is going to be considerable in the course of the next couple of weeks and maybe more, because there’s no question that omicron continues to surge through the country.

Johnson was speaking after a report that a group of hospitals in the eastern county of Lincolnshire had declared a “critical incident” due to “extreme and unprecedented” staff shortages.

The caseload is also soaring in the U.K., with nearly 160,000 infections reported for England and Scotland yesterday.

Senate to vote on changing Senate rules to eliminate filibuster » Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced Monday that the Senate will vote on using the so-called nuclear option, changing the Senate rules to kill the filibuster. WORLD’s Leigh Jones has more.

LEIGH JONES, REPORTER: In a letter to colleagues, Schumer said the Senate—quote—“must evolve” and will “debate and consider” the rules changes within the next two weeks. That as Democrats seek to overcome a Republican blockade of a sweeping overhaul to U.S. election law.

The Senate is evenly split with each party controlling 50 seats and Vice President Kamala Harris serving as the tie-breaker.

But most legislation is subject to a filibuster and Democrats need 60 votes to overcome it unless they do away with it all together.

The filibuster dates back to the 1800s. It allows the minority party to block legislation from reaching the Senate floor.

Schumer’s planned vote will put more pressure on two moderate Democrats, Sens. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, who oppose changing the rules.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Leigh Jones.

Five nuclear powers issue pledge to prevent nuclear war » Five of the world’s top nuclear powers are pledging to make sure a nuclear war never happens.

The five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, the United States, the U.K., France, Russia, and China issued a rare joint statement on Monday.

They stated in part—quote—“We declare there could be no winners in a nuclear war, it should never be started.”

The statement comes ahead of a review of a nuclear treaty later this year.

Winter storm dumps snow on nation’s capital » AUDIO: [SOUND OF TRACTOR]

Tractors plowed through snow outside the Capitol on Monday. Some parts of the Washington D.C. area got more than a foot of snow.

The weather shut down many federal government offices, but not the Capitol.

BLACK: As the snow falls on Capitol Hill, we thank you for being our shelter in the time of storm.

Senate chaplain Barry Black heard there.

The storm knocked out power to more than a half-million customers as it rolled up the East Coast, impacting several states. Other regions also got a New Year snowstorm, including much of the Pacific Northwest.

The weather created even more headaches for air travelers with short-staffed airlines already cancelling thousands of flights as workers call in sick with COVID-19.

Teams continue search for the missing in wake of wildfire » Had there been snow in suburban Denver last week, as there usually is this time of year, it might have prevented a wildfire that destroyed nearly a thousand buildings.

Teams continued searching Monday for two people still missing after the fire.

Survivors, meanwhile, sorted through the charred remains of their homes to find whatever was left.

Congressman Ed Perlmutter represents the district where the fire raged. He told reporters…

PERLMUTTER: When you go through there and see the burned out husks of cars and trucks, and steel lamp posts bent over because of the heat, it’s remarkable that more people weren’t hurt.

Investigators are still looking for the cause of the wildfire.

The inferno broke out unusually late in the year following months of drought.

Former Theranos CEO Holmes guilty of fraud and conspiracy » A California jury found former biotech CEO Elizabeth Holmes guilty on four counts of fraud and conspiracy Monday.

Once a rising star in Silicon Valley, Holmes was accused of duping investors and patients about a flawed blood-testing technology that she hailed as a medical breakthrough.

The jury found her not guilty of four other felony charges. On the three remaining charges, the jury was deadlocked.

Holmes could now face up to 20 years in prison for each count.

I’m Kent Covington. For more news, features, and analysis, visit us at wng.org. 

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