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‘Not good news’: Omicron variant renews COVID fears, triggers travel bans

Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, appears before a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing to discuss vaccines and protecting public health during the coronavirus pandemic on Capitol Hill, on Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2020, in Washington. Collins says he is stepping down by the end of the year, having led the research center for 12 years and becoming a prominent source of public information during the coronavirus pandemic. A formal announcement was expected Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2021, from NIH. (Michael Reynolds/Pool via AP, File)

By Valerie Richardson - The Washington Times

A worrisome new strain of the coronavirus pushed the pandemic back to the forefront Sunday, spurring global travel restrictions and raising alarm about the South African variant’s potential to deliver another medical and economic blow to the U.S.

In this file photo, President Joe Biden speaks about COVID-19 vaccinations after touring a Clayco Corporation construction site for a Microsoft data center in Elk Grove Village, Ill., on Oct. 7, 2021. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

Are vaccine mandates worth the hassle? Economists, lobby groups say voluntary measures work better

By Tom Howell Jr. - The Washington Times

Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Minn., speaks during the Republican state convention in Duluth, Minn. (Glen Stubbe/Star Tribune via AP) ** FILE **

House Republican candidate recruitment spikes

By Kerry Picket - The Washington Times

In this June 3, 2011, file photo, the Pentagon building is seen from air from Air Force One.
The Defense Department's comptroller said on Nov. 16, 2021, that senior leadership is making steady progress in getting the Defense Department’s financial house in order, even as most military agencies and services once again failed to receive a clean bill of health in their annual audit.(AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File) **FILE**

Gaming it out: Inside the Pentagon’s preparation for a China clash

By Ben Wolfgang - The Washington Times

President Joe Biden gestures as first lady Jill Biden boards Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., Tuesday, Nov. 23, 2021. (AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez)

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Biden pays for his trillion-dollar bills with falling popularity

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In this file photo, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper speaks before a meeting with Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz, at the Pentagon, Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) ** FILE **

Former Pentagon chief sues to publish material in ‘candid memoir’ of time in Trump’s cabinet

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Matthew McConaughey addresses the audience during the Sony Pictures Entertainment presentation at CinemaCon on April 23, 2018, in Las Vegas. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File)

Matthew McConaughey announces he will not run for Texas governor

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FILE - Caroline McDonald, left, a student at Georgetown University, Lauren Morrissey, with Catholics for Choice, and Pamela Huber, of Washington, join a abortion-rights rally outside the Supreme Court, Monday, Nov. 1, 2021, in Washington. Catholic bishops and evangelical pastors are prominent leaders in the anti-abortion movement, but not all believers think abortion should be illegal. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

Religious abortion rights supporters fight for access

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In this file photo, President Joe Biden speaks about COVID-19 vaccinations after touring a Clayco Corporation construction site for a Microsoft data center in Elk Grove Village, Ill., on Oct. 7, 2021. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

Are vaccine mandates worth the hassle? Economists, lobby groups say voluntary measures work better

By Tom Howell Jr. - The Washington Times

A flare burns natural gas at an oil well on Aug. 26, 2021, in Watford City, N.D. The Biden administration on Friday, Nov. 26, called for an overhaul of the nation’s oil and gas leasing program to focus on areas that are most suitable for energy development and raise costs for energy companies to drill on public lands and water. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown) **FILE**

Interior report calls on Biden to raise costs of oil and gas drilling on federal land

By Dave Boyer - The Washington Times

Voters wait in line to vote Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2020, in Cross Lanes, W.Va. Wednesday marked the start of early in-person voting in the state for the Nov. 3, 2020, election. (AP Photo/John Raby) ** FILE **

Biden’s infrastructure bill poses major test for Trump voters in deep-red West Virginia

By Haris Alic - The Washington Times

People lineup to get on the Air France flight to Paris at OR Tambo's airport in Johannesburg, South Africa', Friday Nov. 26, 2021. A slew of nations moved to stop air travel from southern Africa on Friday in reaction to news of a new, potentially more transmissible COVID-19 variant that has been detected in South Africa. Scientists say it is a concern because of its high number of mutations and rapid spread among young people in Gauteng, the country's most populous province. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

Biden orders travel ban on South Africa, other countries due to variant

By Tom Howell Jr. - The Washington Times

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Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves responds to questions regarding the holiday social receptions his office planned at the Governor's Mansion, during his covid news briefing, Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2020 in Jackson, Miss. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

Gov. Tate Reeves defends Mississippi’s abortion ban as case goes to Supreme Court

By Valerie Richardson - The Washington Times

FILE - Travelers move through Salt Lake City International Airport Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2021, in Salt Lake City. The U.S. says that it's inviting the global community to visit now that the government has ended the ban on travelers from 33 countries. In reality, however, it will still be difficult — if not impossible — for much of the globe to enter the country and experts say it will take years for travel to fully recover. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, file)

Nancy Mace blasts media double-standard on Biden, Trump COVID travel bans

By Valerie Richardson - The Washington Times

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., chair of Senate Democratic Steering Committee, stops for questions by reporters after meeting with White House officials to work on a way to lift the debt limit without Republican votes, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2021. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Klobuchar predicts social welfare spending bill will pass by Christmas

By Valerie Richardson - The Washington Times

Pete Buttigieg, with his hand on a Bible held by husband Chasten Buttigieg, is sworn in as Transportation Secretary by Vice President Kamala Harris in the Old Executive Office Building in the White House complex on Feb. 3, 2021. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

Harris-Buttigieg 2024 ticket seen as a possibility

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A hiring sign is placed at a booth for prospective employers during a job fair Wednesday, Sept. 22, 2021, in the West Hollywood section of Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)

A worker revolution? Seismic shift in the labor market remakes the employer-employee relationship

By Dave Boyer - The Washington Times

In this Dec. 18, 2020 file photo, pipes to be used for the Keystone XL pipeline are stored in a field near Dorchester, Neb. Experts say President Joe Biden's pledge to undo his predecessor's anti-regulatory policies on the environment won't be accomplished easily, despite a fast start. After taking office, Biden returned the U.S. to the Paris climate accords, revoked the Keystone oil pipeline’s federal permit and halted oil and gas leasing in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. (Chris Machian/Omaha World-Herald via AP) ** FILE **

Biden dogged by decision to kill Keystone XL pipeline as gas prices soar

By Valerie Richardson - The Washington Times

In this image from House Television, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of Calif., speaks on the House floor during debate on the Democrats' expansive social and environment bill at the U.S. Capitol on Thursday, Nov. 18, 2021, in Washington. (House Television via AP)

McCarthy confronts GOP grumbling, backbiting in his quest for speaker’s gavel

By Seth McLaughlin - The Washington Times

Migrants line up for a free meal at a makeshift camp of migrants at the border port of entry leading to the United States in in Tijuana, Mexico, on Wednesday, March 17, 2021. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull) **FILE**

Major study undercuts Biden explanation for surge in illegal immigration

By Stephen Dinan - The Washington Times

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Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, appears before a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing to discuss vaccines and protecting public health during the coronavirus pandemic on Capitol Hill, on Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2020, in Washington. Collins says he is stepping down by the end of the year, having led the research center for 12 years and becoming a prominent source of public information during the coronavirus pandemic. A formal announcement was expected Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2021, from NIH. (Michael Reynolds/Pool via AP, File)

‘Not good news’: Omicron variant renews COVID fears, triggers travel bans

By Valerie Richardson - The Washington Times

FILE - Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, testifies before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee at the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington on Tuesday, July 20, 2021. On Friday, Oct. 29, 2021, The Associated Press reported on stories circulating online incorrectly claiming Fauci’s experiments include one that magnified terror in the brains of monkeys and subjected them to frightening stimuli. His division of the National Institutes of Health was not involved in that study. (Stefani Reynolds/The New York Times via AP, Pool)

‘I represent science’: Fauci claims GOP detractors are really criticizing science

By Valerie Richardson - The Washington Times

Cars drive through floodwaters Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2021, in Sumas, Wash. People in the small city of Sumas are assessing damage from flooding that hit an estimated three quarters of homes in the community near the Canadian border. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

Northwest flooding evolving in areas hit by prior storm

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FILE - In this May 20, 2016, file photo, actor and singer Jussie Smollett attends the &quot;Empire&quot; FYC Event in Los Angeles. Smollett is going on trial this week, accused of lying to police when he reported he was the victim of a racist, homophobic attack downtown Chicago nearly three years ago. Jury selection is scheduled for Monday, Nov. 29, 2021. (Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP, File)

Trial set to start on charges Smollett faked racist attack

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Washington Capitals' Aliaksei Protas (59) celebrates his goal with teammate Alex Ovechkin (8) during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Carolina Hurricanes in Raleigh, N.C., Sunday, Nov. 28, 2021. (AP Photo/Karl B DeBlaker)

Orlov scores late, Capitals beat Hurricanes for 9th win in 11 games

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New York Giants' Tae Crowder (48) celebrates his interception during the first half of an NFL football game against the Philadelphia Eagles, Sunday, Nov. 28, 2021, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Corey Sipkin)

Giants’ defense smothers Eagles, gets three interceptions

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FILE - Washington Football Team wide receiver Curtis Samuel (10) runs a route against New Orleans Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore (23) in the first half of an NFL football game Oct. 10, 2021, in Landover, Md. Samuel is expected to return for Washington on Monday, Nov. 29, 2021, against the Seattle Seahawks after missing the vast majority of this season with a lingering groin injury. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)

Samuel hopes to put nagging groin injury behind him

By Jacob Calvin Meyer - The Washington Times

Indianapolis Colts' Jonathan Taylor (28) is tackled by Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Sean Murphy-Bunting (23) and Lavonte David (54) during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 28, 2021, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)

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