“(CNN)A magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck Peru early Sunday morning, according to the United States Geological Study (USGS) and Peru's National Seismology Center.
The earthquake's epicenter was reported in the Amazonas region but was also felt in the capital of Lima and other neighboring towns.
It had a recorded depth of 112 km.
No major damage or tsunami alerts have been reported yet.” Read more at CNN
People lined up to be tested for Covid-19 in Johannesburg on Saturday.Jerome Delay/Associated Press
“A new coronavirus variant has the world on edge: Omicron.
Countries around the world are scrambling to stop the spread after the W.H.O. described Omicron as a ‘variant of concern,’ its most serious category. The W.H.O. said the variant, first detected in southern Africa, carries a number of genetic mutations that might allow it to spread quickly, perhaps even among those who are vaccinated. But scientists say vaccines seem likely to work against it.
Omicron has already been spotted in Hong Kong and Belgium and may well be in other countries outside of Africa. Germany, Italy and Britain reported cases yesterday. African officials lashed out at new travel bans, saying that the continent was again bearing the brunt of panicked policies from Western countries and that vaccine hoarding helped pave the way to this crisis.
European nations did not find the variant until after South Africa alerted them to it, demonstrating the gaps in their own surveillance efforts.
The response has been scattershot. Britain reimposed a mask-wearing order for stores and public transportation. Chaos ensued in Amsterdam for passengers traveling from South Africa. New York State declared a state of emergency in anticipation of a new surge in cases.
Here’s how omicron — pronounced aa-muh-kraan — got its name.” Read more at New York Times
“Democrats are struggling to energize their base despite big wins.
Even as President Biden achieves some victories like the bipartisan $1 trillion infrastructure bill, Democrats warned that many of their most loyal supporters see inaction on key party priorities such as voting rights, immigration and criminal justice reform. This has left the party base unsatisfied and unmotivated ahead of next year’s midterm elections.
The mounting frustration has reignited a debate over electoral strategy that has been raging within the party since 2016.
Biden’s approval ratings have slipped into the mid-40s, even though virtually all of his legislation commands majority support in the same surveys. Nate Cohn explains the disconnect.” Read more at New York Times
Gas stations in Tehran closed in October after a cyberattack on Iran’s fuel distribution system.Abedin Taherkenareh/EPA, via Shutterstock
“Opening arguments begin Monday in the federal sex-trafficking trial of Ghislaine Maxwell, who is charged with helping her long-time companion, financier Jeffrey Epstein, recruit, groom and exploit girls as young as 14 years old for sexual abuse.
The alleged incidents ran from 1994 to 2004, in locations ranging from an Upper East Side residence in New York to an estate in Palm Beach, Florida, to a ranch in Santa Fe, New Mexico, to a residence in London.
The question for the jury will be whether the globe-trotting Maxwell, who turns 60 on Christmas Day, procured underage girls for Epstein knowing he would abuse them.” Read more at USA Today
“Israel and Iran have for years engaged in a covert cyberwar targeting each other’s military. Now the shadow war is broadening and hitting millions of ordinary citizens.
In recent weeks, a cyberattack on Iran’s fuel distribution system paralyzed the country’s 4,300 gas stations. It took 12 days for service to be fully restored. A few days later, cyberattacks in Israel hit a major medical facility and a popular L.G.B.T.Q. dating site. The latest attacks are thought to be the first to do widespread harm to large numbers of civilians.
As hopes fade for a revival of the Iranian nuclear agreement ahead of talks scheduled to begin in Vienna tomorrow, such attacks are only likely to proliferate.
Separately, Iran violently cracked down on protests against growing water shortages. Weather experts say 97 percent of the country is dealing with water scarcity issues.” Read more at New York Times
Street vendors selling flags of political parties in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, ahead of the elections.Jose Cabezas/Reuters
“Hondurans are heading to the polls in what could be their country’s most significant elections in more than a decade.
Voters will choose a new president, a political contest that has been marred by violence and is being closely watched in Washington. Polls are showing a tight race between Nasry Asfura, 63, a charismatic mayor, and Xiomara Castro, the leader of a major protest movement and the wife of a former president. If elected, she could become the country’s first female head of state.
The outcome may have consequences for the Biden administration, which is focused on controlling immigration and fighting corruption in Central America.
In Brazil, former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has beat back a flurry of corruption cases and is staging a comeback ahead of next year’s presidential race.” Read more at New York Times
Brian Shelton in Elyria, Ohio. Amber Ford for The New York Times
“Brian Shelton may be the first person cured of Type 1 diabetes. Diabetes experts were astonished but urged caution.
Shelton was the first patient to receive an infusion of lab-grown cells that produce insulin. Now his body automatically controls its insulin and blood sugar levels. The study is continuing, but the results so far have given experts hope for the 1.5 million Americans living with the disease.
‘It’s a whole new life,’ Shelton said. ‘It’s like a miracle.’” Read more at New York Times
The warming main course is equal parts soup and stew.Johnny Miller for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
“Senate Republicans are struggling to save funding for construction of former President Trump’s long-sought wall on the U.S.-Mexico border as Democrats press forward with plans to rescind nearly $2 billion in funding for his signature project.
Republicans in the upper chamber are pushing for the funding already allocated toward the barrier's construction to be used to help continue progress on the project, a stalled effort that would likely take years longer and more money to complete.
Earlier this month, a group of Republicans — Sens. Mike Braun (Ind.), Ted Cruz (Texas), Mike Lee (Utah), Cynthia Lummis (Wyo.) and Marco Rubio(Fla.) — vowed in a letter not to back the annual appropriations legislation to fund the government if dollars are not set aside for the wall and implored their colleagues to do the same.” Read more at The Hill
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