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President Biden and Russian President Putin hold a video summit today with Ukraine high on the agenda, the US has announced a diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Olympics over China's human rights record, and the Department of Justice will file another lawsuit against the state of Texas — this time alleging new redistricting plans disadvantage minority communities

Omicron variant continues to spread over the U.S.; we look at how the rate of vaccination by county correlates with America's political map; following last week's Michigan school shooting, the county prosecutor focuses on the culpability of the adults, who saw the clues but didn't act to prevent the killing.

A case before the Supreme Court could upend abortion rights for pregnant people across the country. In this episode of Consider This from Wednesday, December 1, NPR's Audie Cornish revisits the only abortion clinic in Mississippi. She also speaks with NPR Chief Legal Affairs Correspondent Nina Totenberg, SCOTUS Blog's Tom Goldstein, and Florida State University Law Professor Mary Ziegler. They parse the arguments made last Wednesday, and weigh in on how the justices could rule.

South Africa is seeing a fourth wave of COVID-19 that's being driven by the Omicron variant. In the U.S., the new variant has arrived and is raising questions about how to stay safe this holiday season. And the parents of a Michigan high school student who is accused of shooting and killing four of his classmates have been charged with involuntary manslaughter.

The omicron variant is spreading quickly across the US as more states confirm new cases. The Biden administration insists they are bringing back a controversial border policy from the Trump administration under duress. And, Alec Baldwin speaks out about the fatal accident on the "Rust" movie set.

The first case of the omicron variant has been identified in San Francisco, California, and experts say it could spread to the rest of the country in a matter of weeks. President Biden will unveil his COVID strategy today as coronavirus cases start to rise this winter. And, the Supreme Court looks poised to roll back abortion rights after hearing arguments in the Mississippi case.