Christmas eve telescope launch has astronomers hoping for good tidings of great joy
As they count down the hours to the highly anticipated launch of NASA's powerful, $10-billion James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers hope for the best while fearing the worst.

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Amanda Shires wants out 'For Christmas'
The fiddler, singer and songwriter's new Christmas album takes a realistic measure of the season.

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Pro-Beijing candidates sweep Hong Kong elections
Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said she was "satisfied" with the election despite the 30.2% voter turnout being the lowest since the British handed Hong Kong over to China in 1997.

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Schools embrace social and emotional learning to help 'overwhelmed' students
School officials believe that kids can't succeed academically if they are struggling emotionally.

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Outgoing NIH director implores Fox News viewers to stay focused on the 'real enemy'
The virus is the enemy, NIH Director Francis Collins said. "It's not the other people in the other political party." Omicron, which could soon become the dominant strain, is extremely infectious.

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'Saturday Night Live' ditches audience, musical performances amid omicron fears
The highly transmissible variant has again upended life in the U.S., as officials warn of a coming spike in cases and people race to get booster shots and coronavirus tests during the winter holidays.

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Joe Manchin says he is unable to support President Biden's Build Back Better plan
The announcement by the West Virginia Democrat dooms the $2 trillion social spending and climate legislation, which needs support from every Senate Democrat in order to pass through the 50-50 chamber.

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The rapper Drakeo the Ruler was reportedly stabbed at a concert in Los Angeles
The rapper was assaulted Saturday at the Once Upon a Time in LA concert, according to the Los Angeles Times. Organizers later said that the event had been called off early, but did not give a reason.

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U.S. could see 1 million cases per day, warns departing NIH director Francis Collins
Collins is retiring after 12 years of leading the federal health agency. He parts with a warning about the dangers of yielding to pandemic fatigue. "The virus is not tired of us," he says.

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Police identify suspect in deadly Osaka arson fire
Japanese police say a 61-year-old man is a prime arson suspect after a fire engulfed a mental clinic where he was a patient. The fire killed 24 people who were trapped inside the eight-story building.

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Why Wall Street's top cop thinks it's time to get tough
In a recent interview with NPR, S.E.C. Chairman Gary Gensler says one of his top priorities is protecting amateur investors as his agency unveils a number of tough new rules and investigations.

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The Flying Tigers: How a group of Americans ended up fighting for China in WW II
In 1941, Japan was on the offensive against China. So China hired a group of Americans to fight back in the skies. Eighty years ago this week, they fought in their first battle.

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Our 11 most-read global pandemic stories of 2021
From India to Israel to white-tailed deer in Iowa harboring the coronavirus, our top COVID stories of the year reveal the ever-changing nature of the world's health crisis.

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Jurors to weigh Elizabeth Holmes' fate after a 15-week fraud trial
Deliberations are set to begin Monday in a trial that will determine whether the disgraced former CEO of the biotech startup Theranos faces possible prison time or walks free.

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How to get your teens or college-age kids to take omicron seriously
Your college kid just got home and may be a bit jaded about COVID. But your coming holiday visit could be a real risk to grandparents. Here's how one mom is getting through to her sons about safety.

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Pakistan is trying to rally Muslim countries to help Afghanistan
Pakistan's foreign minister said his message to Sunday meeting is "Please do not abandon Afghanistan. Please engage. We are speaking for the people of Afghanistan."

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Police search house of man linked to deadly Osaka fire
The possible suspect is believed to be among the three people who survived the fire and were in severe condition, police said.

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The events that led to Hong Kong's pivotal elections
Demands for expanded democracy in the semi-autonomous territory inspired protest movements that were largely ignored by Beijing and crushed by security forces.

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Pfizer plans to test a third dose of its COVID vaccine on infants and young children
Pfizer and BioNTech, which produced the first COVID-19 vaccine authorized in the U.S., say they will expand ongoing trials to include a third dose for children as young as 6 months old.

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More than 20 feared dead in building fire in Osaka, Japan
The fire started on the fourth floor of an eight-story building in the major business and entertainment area of Kitashinchi, fire officials say. Police are investigation arson as a possible cause.

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