Nations around the world are trying to keep the COVID-19 Omicron variant at bay with travel bans and further restrictions, even as it remains unclear what it means for the pandemic. Cases of the variant identified by researchers in South Africa have appeared from Hong Kong and Australia to Portugal. World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says very little is known about the new variant. He says many of us might think we are done with COVID-19, but it's not done with us.Tedros issued the warning at a virtual three-day summit that has aims to establish an internatio

Jurors have convicted the three white men charged in the death of Ahmaud Arbery. He was the Black man who was chased and fatally shot while running through their Georgia neighborhood in an attack that became part of the larger national reckoning on racial injustice. The convictions for Greg McMichael, son Travis McMichael and neighbor William ``Roddie'' Bryan came after jurors deliberated for about 10 hours. The men face minimum sentences of life in prison. The judge will decide whether that comes with or without the possibility of parole. An attorney for Arbery's father said Arbery's spirit

DNA tests are being carried out to identify the victims of a deadly bus crash in Bulgaria. Authorities say at least 45 people, including a dozen children, have died after the bus carrying tourists back to North Macedonia crashed and caught fire. The bus apparently ripped through a guardrail on a highway early this morning. Authorities say the cause of the crash is still under investigation. Photos taken shortly after the crash showed the vehicle engulfed in flames as plumes of thick, black smoke rose. Seven survivors were taken to the hospital out of the 52 people on the bus at the time. The

Police say the suspect in a deadly Christmas parade crash in suburban Milwaukee was in a domestic disturbance just minutes before he killed five people and injured 48. Waukesha Police Chief Dan Thompson says there is no evidence of terrorism in the event. Police say the suspect in a deadly Christmas parade crash in suburban Milwaukee was in a domestic disturbance just minutes before he killed five people and injured 48. Waukesha Police Chief Dan Thompson said Monday there is no evidence of terrorism in the event. He says police were preparing five charges of intentional homicide charges again

A full slate of cabinet ministers will be in Washington with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau later this week for the North American Leaders' Summit.The list includes Global Affairs Minister Melanie Joly, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, International Trade Minister Mary Ng andPublic Safety Minister Marco Mendicino.Trudeau will sit down with U-S President Joe Biden and Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Thursday at the White House.

The U.K. government has increased the terror level to severe, meaning an attack is highly likely. The decision follows an taxi explosion in Liverpool on Sunday that killed a man. Home Secretary Priti Patel said the terror threat level had been raised because there had been two attacks in a month. British police say the explosion in a taxi outside the Liverpool Women's Hospital is being treated as a terrorist incident, but the motive remains unclear. Russ Jackson, the head of Counterterrorism Policing in northwest England, said the blast involved an improvised explosive device. The male passen

Britney Spears is free. A Los Angeles judge on Friday ended the conservatorship that has controlled the pop singer's life and money for nearly 14 years. The move by Superior Court Judge Brenda Penny capped a stunning odyssey that saw Spears publicly demand the end of the conservatorship, then buck legal norms to achieve it. Now for the first time since 2008, she is free to make her own medical, financial and personal decisions without court oversight. The courtroom battles could continue, however. Spears' attorney has vowed to keep investigating her father's handling of the conservatorship ev

The Three Amigos are back on.The White House announced this morning that U.S. President Joe Biden will host Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador in Washington, D.C., next week.The meeting will mark the first North American Leaders' Summit since 2016, before U.S. president Donald Trump's election as president put the gathering on hiatus.It will be Trudeau's first visit to Washington since Biden since became president in January.The White House says this year's iteration will be held on Nov. 18 and will see the three leaders discuss a range of issues fa

Britain is the first country to grant a conditional authorization to pharmaceutical giant Merck's coronavirus antiviral, the first pill shown to successfully treat COVID-19. It's intended to be taken at home twice a day for five days by people with mild to moderate COVID-19.An antiviral pill that reduces symptoms and speeds recovery could prove groundbreaking, easing caseloads on hospitals and helping to curb outbreaks in poorer countries with fragile health systems.The pill is also pending review by regulators in the United States and the European Union.