Omicron: What we know - and don't know - about the new COVID-19 variant
CBSN
The Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 is the latest strain of the coronavirus to be designated a "variant of concern" by the World Health Organization: more and more countries are reporting cases, and it has an unusual combination of mutations that may enable it to spread faster. Scientists are also trying to determine whether the current vaccines are effective against it.
At least 10 cases have been reported across five states: Hawaii, New York, Colorado, Minnesota, and California. Some local leaders say Omicron is likely spreading in their states, after spotting cases not linked to international travel.
Ashley White received her earliest combat action badge from the United States Army soon after the first lieutenant arrived in Afghanistan. The silver military award, recognizing soldiers who've been personally engaged by an attacker during conflict, was considered an achievement in and of itself as well as an affirming rite of passage for the newly deployed. White had earned it for using her own body to shield a group of civilian women and children from gunfire that broke out in the midst of her third mission in Kandahar province. All of them survived. She never mentioned the badge to anyone in her battalion.