
How the Omicron variant ignited new battles and changed pandemic politics
CNN
The Omicron variant may be showing the first hopeful signs of passing its peak. But the angry politics of Covid-19 are only getting more intense, and given their future electoral implications, look certain to outlast the pandemic itself.
After two years of venomous partisan feuds over the crisis, new battles are springing up all over the country.
A New York state indoor mask mandate is back in effect after an appeals court judge issued a stay on a lower court ruling that struck it down. Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul praised the court for temporarily blocking a decision previously celebrated by conservatives for "siding with common sense."

Trump’s economic team of rivals braces for turbulence after doing little to curb his tariff appetite
President Donald Trump is happy to talk about the financial markets when they’re rising, as they were on Wednesday, but when markets were falling Thursday in the aftermath of his remarkable turnabout on tariffs, he punted to the closest adviser around.