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The Biden Administration says it's preparing plans for the possibility that Omicron variant will emerge in US. As concerns over the new variant loom, New York's governor declared a state of emergency to help curb a winter surge of COVID cases. And, Israel is easing a blockade on the Gaza Strip, as diplomats work behind the scenes for a new agreement between old enemies.

Two cases of the newly identified omicron variant have been identified in Ontario, Canada, the U.S. is putting travel restrictions in place starting Monday. The trial of of Jeffery Epstein's alleged accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell, is set to begin in a Manhattan federal court. And, legendary Black designer Virgil Abloh died on Sunday in Chicago after a two-year battle with a rare heart cancer.

CTE — chronic traumatic encephalopathy — is a degenerative brain disease found in many former professional football and hockey players, for whom blows to the head have long been part of the job.

But those injuries also occur outside the world of pro sports. And as awareness of CTE has grown, so has a thriving market of dubious remedies marketed to everyday people who believe they are suffering from CTE — a disease that can't even be diagnosed until after death, through an autopsy of the brain. Sacha Pfeiffer of NPR's Investigative Team reports on some of those desperate patients and their search for a cure.

A new coronavirus variant out of South Africa called Omicron has been designated by the World Health Organization as a "variant of concern." In response, Friday saw a massive selloff on Wall Street — a phenomenon that extended to Europe and Asia as well. And a titan of American musical theater, Stephen Sondheim, has died at age 91.

The World Health Organization evaluates a new COVID-19 variant, while the delta strain surges in other countries. Diplomats trying to revive a nuclear deal with Iran face new demands and a harder line from Tehran. Plus, holiday shopping could set records, despite inflation, shipping crises, and retail hiring struggles.

Three men found guilty of murdering Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia now face federal hate crime charges and possible life prison terms. An estimated 160,000 active military service members and their families have trouble putting food on the table. And mass protests in Sudan demand a return to full government control by civilians.