New Virus Variant Stokes Concern but Vaccines Still Likely to Work  —  The Omicron variant carries worrisome mutations that may let it evade antibodies, scientists said.  But it will take more research to know how it fares against vaccinated people.  —  Scientific experts …

Stephen Sondheim, Titan of the American Musical, Is Dead at 91  —  He was the theater's most revered and influential composer-lyricist of the last half of the 20th century and the driving force behind some of Broadway's most beloved and celebrated shows.  —  Stephen Sondheim …

In Minneapolis Schools, White Families Are Asked to Help Do the Integrating  —  In a citywide overhaul, a beloved Black high school was rezoned to include white students from a richer neighborhood.  It has been hard for everyone.  —  MINNEAPOLIS — When Mauri Friestleben learned that Minneapolis …

Seeking Backers for New Fund, Jared Kushner Turns to Middle East  —  Former President Donald J. Trump's son-in-law is trying to raise capital for his investment firm and is turning to a region that he dealt with extensively while in the White House.  —  As a White House adviser …

Laser-focused on 2020, Trump seeks a Michigan Legislature that could help him in 2024  —  Jon Rocha was settling in to watch the new “Ghostbusters” with his young daughter at the movies last week when he got the news: Former President Donald Trump had endorsed his bid for state representative in Michigan.

Russian & Chinese Ambassadors: Respecting People's Democratic Rights  —  Anatoly Antonov, Qin Gang  —  The upcoming American-led online Summit for Democracy will stoke ideological confrontation.  Faced with an array of global challenges, countries urgently need to strengthen coordination and cooperation for common progress.

Court blocks Covid-19 vaccine mandate for California prisons  —  WHO calls Omicron strain a ‘variant of concern’ as U.S. adds travel restrictions  —  A federal appeals court on Friday temporarily blocked an order that all California prison workers must be vaccinated against the coronavirus or have a religious or medical exemption.

Trump says top US general should be ‘tried for treason’ for intervening to prevent a war with China  — Trump ripped Gen. Mark Milley and the journalists Bob Woodward and Robert Costa in a new statement.  — He accused Woodward and Costa of making up information in their blockbuster book “Peril.”

Former Trump Adviser Steve Cortes Out at Newsmax  —  Tensions have long simmered between the cable channel and Cortes, a diehard Trump loyalist whose public criticism of Newsmax's vaccine policy may have been the last straw. … Former Trump campaign adviser Steve Cortes is out at Newsmax …

Gov. Kathy Hochul orders halt on elective surgery amid COVID spike, Omicron  —  Here we go again.  —  Gov. Kathy Hochul signed an executive order Friday to postpone elective hospital surgeries — something that hasn't been done since the worst of the initial coronavirus outbreak last year.

America's Gambling Addiction Is Metastasizing  —  Gambling has become one of the defining pleasures of our time, the perfect accompaniment to an era of high-risk, rigged economies and a looming sense of collapse.  Once there was Las Vegas; now there's a Las Vegas in every phone.

Oil and gas companies should pay more to drill on public lands and waters, Interior Department says  —  In an effort to boost revenue and protect the environment, the Biden administration on Friday laid out plans to make fossil fuel companies pay more to drill on federal lands and waters.