CDC updates guidance on the best masks to protect against COVID-19
CBSN
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has updated its mask guidance to note that N95 and KN95 masks offer higher levels of protection against COVID-19 than cloth masks, although it stopped short of recommending that everyone wear them. The change comes as the rapidly-spreading Omicron variant continues to cause record-breaking numbers of infections, straining the ability of hospitals to treat the influx of patients. Where to find N95 masks
"Well-fitting NIOSH-approved respirators (including N95s) offer the highest level of protection," the CDC's website now says, referring to products evaluated by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
The CDC says loosely woven cloth masks provide the least protection, while those with layers, well-fitting disposable surgical masks or KN95 masks offer progressively more.
President Biden on Monday signed into law a defense bill that authorizes significant pay raises for junior enlisted service members, aims to counter China's growing power and boosts overall military spending to $895 billion despite his objections to language stripping coverage of transgender medical treatments for children in military families.
It's Christmas Eve, and Santa Claus is suiting up for his annual voyage from the North Pole to households around the world. In keeping with decades of tradition, the North American Aerospace Command, or NORAD, will once again track Santa's journey to deliver gifts to children before Christmas 2024, using an official map that's updated consistently to show where he is right now.
An anti-money laundering law called the Corporate Transparency Act, or CTA, appears to have been given new life after an appeals court on Monday determined its rules can be enforced as the case proceeds. The law requires small business owners to register with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN, by Jan. 1, or potentially pay fines of up to $10,000.