December 2021

NEW YORK, NY - December 27: Preview of the new Waterford Crystals Gift of Harmony design for the 2019 New Year's Eve Ball at One Times Square on 42nd Street in New York City on December 27, 2018 Credit: RW/MediaPunch /IPX

A brief history of the Times Square New Year’s Eve ball drop

By Jacqui Palumbo, On the last day of each year, it has become a ritual for large crowds to gather in the brightly lit chaos of New York’s Times Square to ring in new beginnings. At 11:59 p.m. a dazzling ball descends down a pole, while attendees — and millions of people tuning in from

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A healthcare worker prepares a syringe with a vial of the J&J/Janssen Covid-19 vaccine at a temporary vaccination site at Grand Central Terminal train station on May 12, 2021 in New York City. (Photo by Angela Weiss / AFP) (Photo by ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images)

Studies indicate J&J Covid-19 vaccine booster protects people against severe illness from Omicron variant

By Maggie Fox, Two reports released Thursday show that people who get booster doses of Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen vaccine are well protected against severe disease and hospitalization from the Omicron variant of coronavirus, the company said. Researchers said the findings indicate that most of the Covid-19 vaccines will protect people against the worst outcomes

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Biden administration signals pandemic strategy shift in the face of Omicron

By Stephen Collinson, America is plunging into a fast-worsening and frightening winter bout with Covid-19 that will leave few citizens and communities untouched. But as the highly transmissible Omicron variant roars across the country, the Biden administration is revealing the most tangible signs of a shifting pandemic strategy several weeks in the making. It is preparing a nation exhausted by two years

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Jada Pinkett Smith shares alopecia update

By Lisa Respers France, Jada Pinkett Smith is making the best of her hair loss. The actress and “Red Table Talk” host first went public about losing her hair in 2018. On Tuesday, she shared a video on her verifed Instagram account that showed her closely shaved hair. “Now at this point, I can only laugh,” Pinkett Smith

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Kyrie Irving: Brooklyn Nets star says he ‘respected’ team’s decision to ban him from playing due to vaccination status

By Homero De La Fuente and John Sinnott, Kyrie Irving says he’s “Incredibly grateful just to be back in the building” as he spoke to the media for the first time since it was announced he would rejoin the Brooklyn Nets after a mix of Covid-19 issues and injuries depleted the NBA team’s roster, resulting in three postponements of their

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Rose Bowl-Bound Tennessee State University Marching Band Receives Rousing Send-Off From Community as Members Depart for California

By Emmanuel Freeman The Tennessee State University community gathered in front of the Performing Arts Center in the early hours Tuesday morning to celebrate as the Aristocrat of Bands prepared to depart for the Tournament of Roses in California. President Glenda Glover, dressed in TSU blue and white, led a large group of cheering university

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LOS ANGELES, CA - DECEMBER 04: People entering the farmers market are directed to hand washing stations in Whittier on Friday, Dec. 4, 2020 in Los Angeles, CA. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

Dr. Sanjay Gupta: Resolutions for making 2022 a better, healthier year

By Dr. Sanjay Gupta, It’s almost the new year and along with it comes the admittedly aspirational tradition of setting New Year’s resolutions — ones that we hopefully can stick to and not abandon after Week 3, or even Day 3, of 2022. At the same time, we’re sliding into our third year of battling

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LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 07: Tower Bridge with Canary Wharf in the distance viewed from the top of City Hall on March 7, 2011 in London, England. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)

Cities that are canceling their big New Year’s Eve events — and those still going forward

By Forrest Brown, For awhile there, it appeared we might be able to ring in New Year’s Eve in major cities across the planet with something resembling the huge celebrations of yore. Another Covid-19 surge and the rapid spread of the new Omicron variant of the coronavirus have dashed those hopes — at least in

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A sign reminds customers that masks are required in their store in New York, Monday, Dec. 13, 2021. A mask mandate for shops and other indoor spaces in New York state took effect Monday as officials confront a surge in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

CDC shortens recommended Covid-19 isolation and quarantine time

By Maggie Fox, The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday shortened the recommended times that people should isolate when they’ve tested positive for Covid-19 from 10 days to five days if they don’t have symptoms — and if they wear a mask around others for at least five more days. The CDC also shortened the recommended time for

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