Coronavirus FAQ: Help me with omicron vocab. What's immune evasion? Epistasis? The emergence of this new variant of concern has brought a new vocabulary into daily news reports. We asked experts to help define the terms you're being bombarded with. Sheila Eldred
Thriving Black-owned businesses "Righting the wrongs of the past" in rural Mississippi In one of the poorest rural regions of the country's poorest state, a Black entreprenuer is helping Black owned businesses open and thrive even during the pandemic. Kirk Siegler
The Philippines vaccinated 7.6 million people in 3 days. Duterte demands even more Hit hard by the pandemic, the Philippines has vaccination rates far lower than neighbors like Vietnam and Cambodia. Here's how the country is trying to up its numbers. Julie McCarthy
Fentanyl is a great drug for cartels. But those blue pills are killing King County Fentanyl pills are often called blues, and they’re on sale everywhere. It’s just gotten so easy to make and smuggle fentanyl that it’s flooding the illegal drug market in this area – and killing people – more than ever. Anna Boiko-Weyrauch
Hiring was a bust in November, even before omicron, with 210,000 jobs added U.S. employers added 210,000 jobs in November, as the unemployment rate fell. Data from the Labor Department suggest the economy was losing steam even before the appearance of a new COVID-19 variant. Scott Horsley
How Pfizer developed a COVID pill in record time Pfizer researchers looking for a drug to treat SARS found clues that gave the company a head start in its quest for a pill to treat COVID-19, including the omicron variant. Joe Palca
21 states poised to ban or severely restrict abortion if Roe v. Wade is overturned So-called "trigger laws" in 12 states would automatically enact an abortion ban if Roe is overturned. In nine others, bans that were blocked by courts or have long been unenforced could take effect. Becky Sullivan
Scientists race to answer the question: Will vaccines protect us against omicron? There's serious concern about the effectiveness of vaccines against the omicron strain. But there's also reason to be hopeful — especially for those who've had a booster. Michaeleen Doucleff
We may be one step closer to storing data in DNA Researchers at Microsoft have developed a faster way to write data into DNA — a biological alternative to the bits on a hard drive. Christopher Intagliata
Minnesota confirms an omicron case in a resident who traveled from New York City Minnesota health officials say the case was identified in a Hennepin County resident who tested positive days after attending an anime convention in New York City. Rachel Treisman
