Omicron now dominant in US, minimum wage to rise in 21 states: 5 Things podcast

On today's episode of the 5 Things podcast: Omicron becomes the dominant COVID strain in the US

The variant has taken over in a matter of weeks. Plus, health inequities reporter Nada Hassanein discusses a disturbing leading cause of death of pregnant women, kidnapped missionaries in Haiti have escaped, minimum wages are set to rise in 21 states and the winter solstice is here.

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Hit play on the player above to hear the podcast and follow along with the transcript below. This transcript was automatically generated, and then edited for clarity in its current form. There may be some differences between the audio and the text.

Taylor Wilson:

Good morning, I'm Taylor Wilson and this is 5 Things you need to know Tuesday, the 21st of December 2021. Today, omicron becomes the dominant variant. Plus how kidnapped missionaries in Haiti escaped, and more.

Here are some of the top headlines:

1. Armed gangs have killed 47 people in recent days in Northern Nigeria. No group has claimed responsibility, but they're expected to be the work of bandits who have killed at least 2,500 people in the region so far in 2021.
2. A strong magnitude 6.2 earthquake has hit Northern California. The quake came just after noon yesterday about 200 miles northwest of San Francisco. Damage was limited since the earthquake happened in a rural area.
3. And glaciers in the Himalayas are melting at what scientists are calling an exceptional rate. A new study finds that's because of global warming and is threatening the water supply of millions of people across Asia.

With COVID 19 cases on the rise in most of the country, new restrictions are rolling out right before Christmas and New Year's. Los Angeles yesterday announced that its downtown New Year's Eve party will no longer have an in-person audience and will instead go virtual like so many events last year. Meanwhile, in Rhode Island, the state with the most new cases per capita over the past two weeks, masks or proof of vaccination are set to be required in almost all indoor establishments. And anyone entering a restaurant or business in Boston will need to show proof of vax starting next month, though, many businesses around the country have already been requiring proof of vaccination for months.

Much of the fear surrounds the new omicron variant. It is now officially the dominant strain in the US making up 73% of cases as of last night. Scientists say the variant spreads even easier than other strains though many details remain unknown, including how effective existing vaccines are against omicron. But Moderna said yesterday that data suggests a third booster dose of its vaccine will be effective against omicron. The company said that blood with a booster shot had 37 times the number of neutralizing antibodies compared with blood of those who had only two doses. Moderna reduced the booster to half the dose of the original two shots to limit side effects. But a group that received a higher dose of a third shot showed an 83 full jump in neutralizing antibodies against omicron. The data follows similar findings from Pfizer, showing that a third dose of its vaccine boosted neutralizing antibodies against omicron more than 25 fold. All of this suggests that booster shots are vital to give as much protection as possible this holiday season, though breakthrough infections appear to be increasingly common.

Meanwhile, President Joe Biden will speak today on the latest measures to fight omicron. White House, Press Secretary Jen Psaki:

Jen Psaki:

The president, as you noted, will be addressing the American people tomorrow. And he'll talk about what to expect as we head into the winter months and detail additional steps that we will be taking. The president has been clear that while vaccinated individuals get COVID... He will restate tomorrow, I should say, that while vaccinated individuals get COVID due to the highly transmissible nature of omicron, their cases will likely be mild or asymptomatic.

Taylor Wilson:

The pace of new COVID-19 cases nationally is now up 41% from a month ago. And the CDC says around three quarters of counties have what officials consider, high levels of transmission.

A new study has found that homicide is a leading cause of death during pregnancy and Health Inequities reporter Nada Hassanein tells us that one group of women in particular are being killed at higher rates.

Nada Hassanein:

So, a study published in Obstetrics and Gynecology, a medical journal, found that homicide was the leading cause of a pregnancy associated deaths in 2018 and 2019. There have been other studies that had similar findings. The authors emphasized variables related to systemic racism as possibilities behind the disparity. They noted racial inequities, an unintended pregnancy, which previous studies have found is associated with domestic violence. And, they also pointed out racism within the healthcare system and lack of access that could be also fueling the disparity. But, when you look at the sheer rates, most of the homicides among pregnant and postpartum women were Black or younger than 25. And just to give you a better look at that, of the more than 4,700 women and girls killed in the US, 6% were pregnant or a year postpartum. And most of those 6% were Black or younger than 25.

Taylor Wilson:

You can find Nada's full story in today's episode description.

Kidnapped missionaries in Haiti have escaped. A group of 12 found freedom last week, walking miles overnight with an infant and other children. They later joined five hostages who were released earlier. Seventeen people, including five minors were abducted in the Caribbean country on October 16th, by the 400 Mawozo gang who initially demanded millions of dollars in ransom. It's still not clear if any ransom was ever paid. The missionaries were working for an Ohio-based agency called Christian Aid Ministries. CAM spokesman, Weston Showalter, yesterday described the escape.

Weston Showalter:

After discussing their plans, the group felt they should escape on the night of Wednesday, December 15. They made plans as they could, but ultimately placed their situation in God's hands, depending on him for protection and guidance. During the night, as God directed, they prepared. They put on their shoes, they packed water in their clothes, and they prepared for the journey. They stacked their mattresses in a corner, as I understand it, and prepared to leave. When they sensed the timing was right, they found a way to open the door that was closed and blocked, filed silently to the path that they have chosen to follow and quickly left the place that they were held, despite the fact that numerous guards were close by. In the distance, they could see a mountain feature that they had recognized, and they had identified in the previous days. They identified this landmark before, and they knew that this is the direction that they needed to go. They also followed the sure guidance of the stars as they journeyed through the night traveling towards safety.

Taylor Wilson:

It appears that the missionaries were not physically harmed by the kidnappers. Instead, main physical challenges included the heat, mosquitoes and contaminated water for bathing. Christian Aid Ministries is supported and staffed by conservative Anabaptists. They range of Mennonite, Amish and related groups. Their kidnapping came during another tumultuous year in Haiti following the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in July and a number of other high profile kidnappings.

The fight for a $15 an hour minimum wage is growing around the country. And while many states still have wages well below that number, the minimum will rise somewhat in 21 states around New Year's. Jobs Reporter Paul Davidson has more.

Paul Davidson:

What's going on is because of the pandemic, and a lot of people are still taking care of kids at home, maybe they're still wary about catching COVID, they're still living off of enhanced unemployment benefits, they're shifting careers, all of these related to COVID. Because of all that going on, you've had maybe record worker shortages in the economy and that's led to a record number of job openings and a record number of people quitting jobs. And so, even putting the minimum wage aside, low wage workers, workers generally, but particularly even low wage workers have a lot of bargaining power. And so, they've been getting wage increases.

These minimum wage increases have been happening already. This market based wage increases have been going on. And so, some people might say, "Hey, do you really need to raise the minimum wage in some of these areas because the market is taking care of it?" But, worker advocates say, "No, we still have to raise the minimum wage by law because this is not always going to be the case. You're not always going to see workers with this kind of bargaining power. That's a cyclical thing and it's going to shift back. Unemployment will rise at some point, the economy will get weaker. And so, it needs to be codified into law." So, I wouldn't say that you're seeing the minimum wage increases necessarily because of the pandemic, because they've been happening every year. But it's going along right now with a movement toward higher wages, particularly for low income workers. And it's just another year where we're seeing these minimum wage increases. And it is dovetailing with wage increases generally because of the pandemic.

Taylor Wilson:

For more including a list of states raising the minimum wage, stick with the money section on USATODAY.com.

Happy winter solstice. Today marks the exact point when the Northern hemisphere is tilted farthest away from the sun. It marks the beginning of astronomical winter, though most meteorologists consider the beginning of winter as December 1st. The exact moment of the solstice happens at the same time everywhere, which is 10:59 AM Eastern time in the United States. It'll also be the shortest day of the year, and starting tomorrow, days will begin to get just a little bit longer as the march to spring begins. Meanwhile, in the Southern hemisphere today is the summer solstice marking the longest day of the year and the start to astronomical summer.

Thanks for listening to 5 Things. You can find us seven mornings a week, year long, right here, wherever you're listening right now. Thanks as always to PJ Elliott for his great work on the show. And I'm back tomorrow with more of 5 Things from USA TODAY.