Today is Wednesday, December 15th. We're detailing new evidence that found the

Omicron variant of COVID-19 is different from any other version of the virus.

Also, text messages from former President Trump's inner circle that went out during the Capitol

riot. Plus, deadlines to know about both health care and holiday shipping,

another cyber attack, this one that could impact a lot of American's paychecks,

and which popular movies got a special honor for standing the test of time.

Welcome, welcome to the newsworthy, all the days news in about 10 minutes.

Fast, fair, fun, and on the go. I'm Lacey Evans, filling in for Erica Mandy today.

Thanks so much for being here. You ready? Let's do this.

The new Omicron variant of COVID-19 seems to be spreading in other parts of the world

much quicker than here in the US, at least for now. So, it's giving Americans some hints

at what could be in store. The first major real-world study out of South Africa showed people

infected with Omicron were less likely to end up in the hospital than those infected with the

original variant. That same study found, even though today's vaccines still give people some

protection, they don't totally stop Omicron from spreading. It says Pfizer's vaccine is only 33%

affected at keeping people from getting Omicron, but it's 70% effective at keeping people out of

the hospital, although those numbers don't take booster shots into consideration.

And some scientists say it's still too early to draw too many conclusions from any of this data,

but it's still worth noting the other thing this study confirmed, Omicron is highly contagious.

One health expert at Harvard Medical School said the variant is moving extraordinarily fast,

faster than almost anyone predicted. In Britain, for example, Omicron cases are doubling every

two to three days. Here in the US, the new variant has been confirmed in at least 33 states.

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