COVID-19 test giveaway: How Biden plans to distribute 500M kits for free

President Joe Biden says the federal government will buy half a billion COVID-19 rapid test kits and distribute them free of charge to people to use at home.

BTS' Jin, Suga and RM test positive for COVID-19

All three had taken their second COVID-19 vaccine doses over the summer, the group's management said.

Arizona: No US vaccine mandate for state-regulated utilities

Workers at state-regulated utilities in Arizona can’t be fired for refusing to be vaccinated for COVID-19, according to a policy a state commission adopted in December 2021.

Flight cancellations, surging COVID-19 cases mark a somber Christmas Day

The second COVID-19 Christmas is marked by surging infections in many countries, overwhelmed hospitals, canceled flights and curbed religious observances.

Pope Francis prays for pandemic's end in Christmas Day address

Pope Francis' Christmas Day speech gives him an opportunity to draw a global audience's attention to conflicts big and small. This year was no different.

Army veteran in Arizona passes away from COVID-19 complications while waiting for life-saving ECMO treatment

An Army veteran in Arizona has passed away following a battle with COVID-19, as he waited for a potentially life-saving treatment. In our initial report on Brian Yazzie, family members say he had only a few more days left before a window of opportunity for treatment with an ECMO (Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation) machine would have run out.

Florida hits all-time daily COVID-19 case record

Florida had 31,758 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, breaking a record for the most cases in a single day since the start of the pandemic in the U.S. in March 2020, according to data from the CDC.

Arizona reports 3,808 new COVID-19 cases, another 72 deaths

The state coronavirus dashboard’s latest figures released on Dec. 24 bring the pandemic totals to 1,351,213 cases and 23,913 deaths.

US will lift travel ban on southern African countries on Dec. 31

The Nov. 29 ban barred nearly all non-U.S. citizens who had recently been in South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique and Malawi.

Times Square New Years Eve ball drop being scaled back

With COVID cases surging in hotspot New York City, plans for New York's NYE in Times Square are being scaled back. Some local events are canceled in New York City.

Merck COVID-19 pill: FDA approves 2nd at-home treatment

Merck’s COVID-19 pill has been authorized by the FDA, providing another easy-to-use medication to fight the rapidly-spreading omicron variant.

Author Joan Didion, peerless prose stylist, dies at 87

Joan Didion, the revered author and essayist whose precise social and personal commentary in such classics as “The White Album” and “The Year of Magical Thinking” made her a uniquely clear-eyed critic of turbulent times, has died. She was 87.

Mohave County board refuses to declare state of emergency over hospital staffing

Mohave County, a conservative part of the state that has several small cities but is largely rural, has one of the state’s lowest COVID-19 vaccination rates at 43.4% of eligible people, and its hospitals report being packed with unvaccinated virus patients.