Today is Thursday, Feb. 17, 2022. Let’s get caught up.
Here are today’s top stories, celebrity birthdays and a look back at this date in history:
FIRST, THE WEATHER
TOP STORIES
FILE – Passers-by wear masks under their chins as they chat with one another while crossing a street, in Boston, Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2022. Students and staff at public schools in Massachusetts will no longer be required to wear face coverings while indoors starting Feb. 28, state officials said Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2022.
AP Photo/Steven Senne, File
Estimated 73% of US now immune to omicron: Is that enough?
The omicron wave that assaulted the United States this winter also bolstered its defenses, leaving enough protection against the coronavirus that future spikes will likely require much less — if any — dramatic disruption to society.
Millions of individual Americans’ immune systems now recognize the virus and are primed to fight it off if they encounter omicron, or even another variant.
About half of eligible Americans have received booster shots, there have been nearly 80 million confirmed infections overall and many more infections have never been reported. One influential model uses those factors and others to estimate that 73% of Americans are, for now, immune to omicron, the dominant variant, and that could rise to 80% by mid-March.
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Keep scrolling for links to full versions of these top stories.
FILE – A woman looks over shelves, some of which are empty, at a Walmart store in Teterboro, NJ, on Jan. 12, 2022.
AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File
Justice Dept. to take on exploitation of supply chain issues
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department is launching a new initiative aimed at identifying companies that exploit supply chain disruptions in the US to make increased profits in violation of federal antitrust laws.
The program, being unveiled Thursday by the Justice Department’s antitrust division and the FBI, comes amid ongoing supply chain struggles and labor shortages in the US that have plagued retailers since the coronavirus pandemic began.
Kamila Valieva, of the Russian Olympic Committee, trains at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2022, in Beijing.
AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko
All eyes again on Valieva in women’s Olympic figure skating
BEIJING (AP) — One of the marquee events of the Beijing Olympics could end with one of the most awkward moments in the history of the Games if Russian teenage sensation Kamila Valieva finishes in the top three in women’s figure skating.
Valieva is the overwhelming favorite to win the competition at Capital Indoor Stadium, which is currently being shown live on the USA network. Because Valieva is at the center of a doping scandal, the International Olympic Committee has decided there will be no flower or medal ceremony if she places among the top three skaters. The IOC fears she could someday be stripped of her medal from her.
Valieva will skate last in the field of 25 based on her top score of 82.16 in the short program on Tuesday night.
Click on the links below for full version of today’s top stories. Keep scrolling for a look back at this day in history and today’s celebrity birthdays:
The omicron wave that assaulted the United States this winter also bolstered its defenses, leaving enough protection against the coronavirus that future spikes will likely require much less — if any — dramatic disruption to society.
The nation’s leading health officials said Wednesday that the US is moving closer to the point that COVID-19 is no longer a “constant crisis” as more cities, businesses and sports venues began lifting pandemic restrictions around the country.
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainians defied pressure from Moscow with a national show of flag-waving unity Wednesday, while the US warned that Russia had added as many as 7,000 troops near Ukraine’s borders despite Kremlin declarations that forces were being pulled back from the region.
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — US President Joe Biden warned Thursday that Russia could still invade Ukraine within days and Russia expelled the No. 2…
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department is launching a new initiative aimed at identifying companies that exploit supply chain disruptions in the US to make increased profits in violation of federal antitrust laws.
Long-delayed cleanup of Great Lakes harbors and tributary rivers fouled with industrial toxins will accelerate dramatically with a $1 billion boost from President Joe Biden’s infrastructure plan, senior administration officials say.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Canadians who have disrupted travel and trade with the US and occupied downtown Ottawa for nearly three weeks have been cheered and funded by American right-wing activists and conservative politicians who also oppose vaccine mandates and the country’s liberal leader.
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A former Minneapolis police officer charged in George Floyd’s killing testified that he deferred to Derek Chauvin because he was his senior officer and that’s what he had been trained to do.
BRUNSWICK, Ga. (AP) — A police officer testified Thursday at the federal hate crimes trial of the three men convicted of murdering Ahmaud Arbery that the 25-year-old man had repeatedly entered a home under construction but didn’t take anything.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Amir Locke, a 22-year-old Black man who was shot by Minneapolis police serving a search warrant, will be eulogized Thursday in the same church where Daunte Wright’s funeral was held last April.
NEW YORK (AP) — A judge is hearing arguments Thursday in former President Donald Trump’s fight to avoid being questioned under oath in a New York investigation into his business practices.
PETROPOLIS, Brazil (AP) — Rio de Janeiro state’s government has confirmed 94 deaths from floods and mudslides that swept away homes and cars i…
BEIJING (AP) — Marie-Philip Poulin reminded everyone of her Captain Clutch reputation. And Canada regained its place atop the women’s hockey world.
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — The street next to the San Francisco Giants spring training facility was missing its usual bustle on an unseasonably …
BEIJING (AP) — Bing Dwen Dwen stuffed pandas are already in the hands of the top three finishers in the women’s figure skating competition at …
IMAGE OF THE DAY
Birds fly in a formation behind as an Indian farmer works in a paddy field on the outskirts of Gauhati, India, Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2022.
AP Photo/Anupam Nath
TODAY IN HISTORY
In 2014, Jimmy Fallon made his debut as host of NBC’s “Tonight Show.”
In 2010, Americans Lindsey Vonn and Julia Mancuso finished 1-2 in the downhill at the Vancouver Olympics. See more sports moments from this date.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO…
Celebrity birthdays: Feb. 17
Barry Humphries
Actor-comedian Barry Humphries (aka “Dame Edna”) is 88.
Steve Parsons
billie joe armstrong
Rock singer-musician Billie Joe Armstrong (Green Day) is 50.
Chris Pizzello
Bryan White
Country singer Bryan White is 48.
Mark Humphrey
Chante Moore
Singer Chante Moore is 55.
Richard Shotwell
Chord Overstreet
Actor Chord Overstreet is 33.
Willy San Juan
Christina Pickle
Actor Christina Pickles is 87.
Richard Shotwell
Conrad Ricamora
Actor Conrad Ricamora is 43.
John Salangsang
Daphne Oz
TV host Daphne Oz is 36.
Scott Roth
Denise Richards
Actor Denise Richards is 51.
Richard Shotwell
Dominic Purcell
Actor Dominic Purcell is 52.
Richard Shotwell
Ed Sheeran
Singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran is 31.
Joel C Ryan
Jason Ritter
Actor Jason Ritter is 42.
jordan strauss
Jerry O’Connell
Actor Jerry O’Connell is 48.
Paul A. Hebert
Jim Brown
Football Hall of Famer Jim Brown is 86.
Alex Brandon
Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt is 41.
Jack Plunkett
Larry the Cable Guy
Actor-comedian Larry, the Cable Guy is 59.
Lou Diamond Phillips
Actor Lou Diamond Phillips is 60.
Evan Agostini
Michael Bay
Movie director Michael Bay is 58.
charles sykes
Michael Jordan
Basketball Hall of Famer Michael Jordan is 59.
Jacob Kufferman
Paris Hilton
TV personality Paris Hilton is 41.
Evan Agostini
René Russo
Actor Rene Russo is 68.
phil mccarten
sasha peterse
Actor Sasha Pieterse is 26.
Willy San Juan
taylor hawkins
Rock musician Taylor Hawkins (Foo Fighters) is 50.
Al Wagner
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George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism