December 21, 2021: Omicron, Biden, Ghislaine Maxwell, California earthquake, Kim Potter, Philippines

December 21, 2021: Omicron surges, Biden, Ghislaine Maxwell trial, California earthquake, Kim Potter, Philippine typhoon

1. The Biden administration will open federal COVID-19 testing sites in New York City this week and buy 500 million at-home rapid tests that Americans can order online for free starting in January as it tries to tackle the Omicron variant sweeping the country.

2. The jury in Ghislaine Maxwell's sex abuse trial is expected to resume deliberations on Tuesday, after three weeks of testimony from women who said the British socialite set them up for sexual encounters with Jeffrey Epstein when they were teenagers.

3. A 6.2 magnitude earthquake struck offshore in the Cape Mendocino area of Northern California, followed by aftershocks that rattled nerves and caused items to fall from shelves, authorities said. No major damage or injures were reported.

4. Jurors retired for the evening after starting deliberations in the manslaughter trial of Kimberly Potter, the former Minnesota police officer who mistook her handgun for her Taser and shot Black motorist Daunte Wright during a traffic stop.

5. Philippine officials and residents of areas that bore the brunt of Typhoon Rai pleaded for food, water, and shelter as damaged roads, flooding, and severed power and communication lines hampered relief efforts.

#Omicron
#Biden
#GhislaineMaxwell
#California
#KimPotter
#DaunteWright
#JeffreyEpstein
#GhislaineMaxwell
#Coronavirus
#COVID
#California
#Earthquake
#Philippine
#Typhoon
#Minnesota
#News
#Reuters

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