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Carnival in time of COVID: Virus tests among parade favors 02/24/2022 01:02pm • NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Mardi Gras revelers, accustomed to catching beads, small toys or other trinkets tossed by parade float riders during Carnival season, were able to snag a new parade favor Thursday: rapid COVID-19 tests. As Carnival season nears its raucous pre-Lenten climax on Mardi Gras (Fat Tu COVID-19 vaccine sales push Moderna to $12B profit in 2021 02/24/2022 11:28am • COVID-19 vaccine sales jumped 44% for Moderna in the final quarter of 2021, and the drugmaker expects demand for booster shots to fuel more growth in 2022. Moderna said Thursday that it has signed purchase agreements for about $19 billion in sales for 2022 with options for an additional $3 billion t As 'stealth omicron' advances, scientists are learning more 02/24/2022 10:42am • The coronavirus mutant widely known as “stealth omicron" is now causing more than a third of new omicron cases around the world, but scientists still don't know how it could affect the future of the pandemic. Researchers are slowly revealing clues about the strain, a descendant of omicron known England ends all COVID restrictions, including isolation law 02/24/2022 09:15am • LONDON (AP) — All government-mandated coronavirus restrictions in England were lifted Thursday, including the legal requirement for people who test positive for COVID-19 to isolate at home. Officials say that those who tested positive will still be advised to stay at home for at least five days. B Fewest Americans collecting unemployment aid since 1970 02/24/2022 08:50am • WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans collecting unemployment benefits fell to a 52-year low after another decline in jobless aid applications last week. Jobless claims fell by 17,000, from 249,000 to 232,000 for the week ending Feb. 19, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The four-week a Del. Norton: Capitol Police planning heightened security, but truck protest may be losing steam 02/24/2022 06:25am • A small group of vehicles, including one tractor-trailer, arrived in the D.C. area Wednesday afternoon from Scranton, Pennsylvania. (WTOP/Mike Murillo) D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton said a truckers' protest, expected in the Washington area next week, may be losing some steam, but U.S. Capi Fairfax Co. judge dismisses removal petition against school board member Laura Jane Cohen 02/24/2022 06:12am • A Fairfax County, Virginia, Circuit Court judge has dismissed a removal petition, with prejudice, filed against a school board member who a group of parents alleged failed to provide in-person learning for all students during the pandemic. The recall effort to unseat Springfield school board Hong Kong starts vaccine requirement for restaurants, stores 02/24/2022 04:21am • HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong launched a vaccination requirement to enter shopping malls, restaurants and a host of other places on Thursday as it battles an expanding omicron outbreak and tries to overcome vaccine hesitancy in parts of its population. Businesses posted a QR code at their entrances f Impact of pandemic-related stress on children persists, experts say 02/23/2022 09:28pm • Experts detailing how the pandemic still is affecting kids' mental health and learning loss want to emphasize that children are resilient and can flourish with good support. "What we've seen are patterns of lost learning persisting," said Jim Soland, an assistant professor of quantitative met Grumbling grows as Hong Kong sticks with zero-COVID policy 02/23/2022 08:06pm • HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong residents are becoming increasingly annoyed with the administration’s insistence on sticking to China's “zero-COVID” strategy as the city posted another record number of cases Wednesday, bristling at ever-stricter regulations and a plan to test everyone for the vir 'It's complicated' — Montgomery Co. officials on school masking off-ramps 02/23/2022 05:20pm • The Montgomery County, Maryland, school board is expected Thursday to discuss whether and how to lift the school system's mask mandate, but County Executive Marc Elrich said he does not support the move to unmask in schools just yet. "I do think that we will get to a point where masking will safe US vaccination drive is bottoming out as omicron subsides 02/23/2022 02:43pm • HAMILTON, Ala. (AP) — A handwritten log kept by nurses tells the story of the losing battle to get more people vaccinated against COVID-19 in this corner of Alabama: Just 14 people showed up at the Marion County Health Department for their initial shot during the first six weeks of the year. That Czechs to lift all limits on gatherings as infections drop 02/23/2022 02:23pm • PRAGUE (AP) — The Czech government agreed Wednesday to further ease coronavirus restrictions as the wave of infections caused by the highly transmissible omicron variant has been receding. Health Minister Vlastimil Valek said all limits on the number of people attending any public gatherings, incl AP Was There: Dream Team rolls in Barcelona to Olympic gold 02/23/2022 01:39pm • The “Dream Team” with the first U.S. Olympic men’s basketball team to field active NBA players rolled to gold at the 1992 Barcelona Games. The Americans went unbeaten and won all eight games by an average of 44 points. The guards were Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Clyde Drexler and John Stock AP Was There: Magic announces he has HIV, retires from NBA 02/23/2022 01:27pm • INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Magic Johnson stunned the NBA and those watching his news conference live on TV in 1991 by announcing he had tested positive for HIV and would be retiring from the Los Angeles Lakers. Johnson and the Lakers' physician both made clear the guard didn't have AIDS. Johnson sai