Pope calls for 'reality therapy'
| School's out for Covid  The agonizing dilemmas, societal wreckage and spilled-over frustration brewed by two brutal years of Covid-19 triggered a bitter school showdown in Chicago.
Classes were canceled for a fourth straight day on Monday, after the teachers' union voted against returning to work as the Omicron variant surges. Windy City Mayor Lori Lightfoot, a Democrat, accused teachers of trying to "blow up" the education system and said there is no scientific reason to keep schools closed. Teachers don't feel safe, want a short pause for in-person classes and for kids to test negative before they come back. Days of talks between the two sides have so far failed to fill the breach.
The standoff is a study in microcosm of the bad choices everyone faces worldwide as the pandemic grinds into its third year. The apparent milder nature of the Omicron variant — at least for the vaccinated and boosted — is paradoxically only making these choices even more controversial.
Parents have been driven to distraction over the last two years. Educational, social and mental health consequences of schooling stolen by the virus are evident in every family. It's bad enough for white-collar parents who can work from home. It's worse for lower income workers, who rely on school for child care. And New York City Mayor Eric Adams, also a Democrat, argues the safest place for kids from deprived backgrounds is in schools that often provide them with their only square meal. This is one of many reasons why thousands of schools in the US are trying to stay open despite spiking infection rates.
But that doesn't make it any easier to be a teacher. Many in the profession are stressed out and ready to leave, exacerbating existing staff shortages. Some got sick when Omicron surged, missing the holidays with family. Others fear bringing it home to vulnerable relatives for whom even a milder variant could be a serious threat. Often, when a teacher tests positive, there's no substitute to fill in. And the US testing shortage makes a tough situation even more scary.
It seems like every possible answer for those in authority is a bad one with public tolerance stretched to breaking point. But two years in, there's really no option but to muddle through. The world and America Novak Djokovic is back on the court after his Covid case visa let-off, but it's unclear if he'll play in the Australian Open
The US and Russia wrapped up talks in Geneva
Uganda reopens schools after world's longest Covid-19 shutdown
The Earth's last seven years are its seven warmest
Meanwhile in America ... an Omicron-specific vaccine could be ready in March
The Golden Globes took place – but did anyone notice?
And beloved TV star Bob Saget died suddenly at 65  'Reality therapy' Pope Francis is speaking out against misinformation and the politicization of vaccines and calling for "a sort of 'reality therapy' that makes us confront the problem head on."
"Vaccines are not a magical means of healing," but are the "most reasonable solution for the prevention of the disease," the pontiff told ambassadors to the Vatican on Monday as hospitals fill worldwide with Covid-19 patients, most of whom refused inoculations.
Unfortunately, Francis said, people are influenced by "baseless information or poorly documented facts" that distort reality. "Each of us has a responsibility to care for ourselves and our health … health care is a moral obligation," he added. New York's 'horrific, painful moment'  (Victoria Alvarez) Every so often, a tragedy sheds light on the poignant reality of lives that knit together a community, a city and the life of a country.
Six months ago, the collapse of a seaside condo in Florida was followed by stories of the victims of diverse nationalities, faiths and generations drawn by the state's balmy climate and life's weaving pathways. The same is true of another horror in New York -- a deadly fire triggered by a malfunctioning space heater on a frigid Sunday in the Bronx that killed 17 people and injured dozens, many of them with life-threatening conditions.
The inferno quickly inundated an apartment block with fumes and choking smoke. Many of the dead succumbed to cardiac arrest or inhalation as they tried to escape down stairwells. Heroic firefighters headed back into the building again and again to try to save lives. A picture is emerging of a diverse, multi-generational community, like many in the Bronx, in aging housing, without many of the modern design fixes meant to improve safety. Mayor Eric Adams said many of those in the block were immigrants from Gambia, part of a thriving local Muslim community. "This is a horrific, horrific, painful moment for the city of New York, and the impact of this fire is going to really bring a level of just pain and despair in our city," he said.
Investigators are probing reports that an open door in an apartment where the fire started allowed it to spread. Smoke alarms are also under scrutiny. The disaster is the second in the northeast within days after a blaze in a crowded Philadelphia public housing unit killed 12 people. It's a reminder that the dangers of a pandemic aside, the fabled immigrant story of forging a new life in another nation can be hard, fragile, random and tragic. Thanks for reading. On Tuesday, US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris deliver remarks in Atlanta on voting rights. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman meets with EU representatives to prepare for the NATO-Russia Council meeting. The US Senate Banking Committee considers the renomination of Jerome Powell for Federal Reserve chair. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin participate in a closed briefing for members of the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees on US Policy in Afghanistan. View in browser | All CNN Newsletters
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