Omicron cases were found in at least 17 U.S. states and they aren’t all due to travel to southern Africa. Public health officials and experts say that the variant was possibly circulating in the U.S. prior to its initial discovery across the globe, but it’s too early to tell if it causes more severe disease. 

Descendants of Black revolutionary leader Marcus Garvey have requested that President Joe Biden grant a posthumous pardon to Garvey. As president, Biden has the power to grant clemency but has not exercised it at all during his term. 

And in headlines: prosecutors charged the parents of Ethan Crumbley with four counts of involuntary manslaughter, tensions at the Russia-Ukraine border grew, and the U.S. Navy shut down a drinking water well in Honolulu that was contaminated with petroleum and that made residents sick.

Show Notes:

NY Times: “Before Even Receiving a Name, Omicron Could Have Spread in New York and the Country” – https://nyti.ms/3DqUxsI

Justice in America: “What Happened to Clemency?” – https://bit.ly/3rEnYVR

For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday