A shot in the storm.
Moderna says its booster shot significantly raises the level of antibodies that can foil the Omicron coronavirus variant. / The Guardian
Only one in six Americans has received a booster, worrying health officials. / The New York Times
Scouring the web for info about the Omicron storm? Here are some deeper dives we appreciated this morning: one, two, three. / New York Magazine, Axios, Less Wrong
"I would venture to say that there is no modern day virus that has spread this fast and this far ever before." / Your Local Epidemiologist
Unrelated: The public health history of Appalachian Christmas sweets. / Gastro Obscura
Europe sends Nigeria up to a million doses of the AstraZeneca Covid vaccine close to expiring—another example of vaccines arriving too late for usefulness to be fully maximized. / Quartz
With a massive troop buildup on Ukraine's border, Russia rattles sabers at NATO. / NPR
Hundreds of thousands march in Sudan's capital Khartoum to protest the country's October military coup. / BBC News
Democratic Senator Joe Manchin basically delivers "a death blow" to President Biden's $2 trillion social services and climate change initiative. / The Associated Press
See also: A rare glimpse into how police officers in Washington DC avoid accountability. / Reveal
Elon Musk says he will pay more taxes this year than any American in history, more than $11 billion. / Bloomberg
The new Spider-Man movie opens to $253 million at the box office, defying expectations. / NBC News
Rapper Drakeo the Ruler dies from a stabbing during a Los Angeles music festival, only a year after being released from what many saw as false imprisonment. / Pitchfork, The Ringer
The "Tamalero" is the rare street vendor cart to be approved by the L.A. County Department of Health. / The Los Angeles Times
Jewelry products claiming to "protect" people from 5G mobile networks are found to be radioactive. / BBC News
See also: The story of a missing wedding ring and the Apollo 16. / Futility Closet
And now a brief chat with a new Sustaining Member, Tharu.
Hi, Tharu! You found us via the Tournament of Books, right? In early 2016 I was following the blog of a woman in Colorado. She posted about the ToB, and I was charmed by how ridiculous it seemed. But reading 17 books in 1.5 months was exactly the kind of challenge I was up for at that moment in my life. (I also, by the way, bought some Field Notes—good advertising).
Amazing. And, uh, that's a lot of reading. I only made it through about half of the books before the tournament began, but it started a tradition. Every year I put all the books on hold at my local library when the list comes out, and then wait for them to be available so I can get to reading. Now that you release the list in December instead of January, it's becoming possible for me to accomplish the goal. This past year, finally, I and a friend both finished all the books in time for the play-in round.
Congratulations! And thank you so much for supporting TMN. I don't really know what made me think to become a supporter this year. I only noticed the option for the first time last year, and I guess it took some time for the idea to percolate that, really, I do this every year, I am a supporter, and might as well put my money where my mouth is.
Readers like Tharu (and many others) truly make TMN and the Tournament of Books possible. If you haven't yet, please consider becoming a Sustaining Member or making a one-time donation today. And thanks to you, too! 🏄♀️
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Since 1999, your Headlines are sourced and written by Andrew Womack and Rosecrans Baldwin, and arrive in your inbox, Monday through Saturday. View this edition and the latest Headlines at TMN.