Global National: Dec. 14

It’s beginning to look like a lot like an Omicron Christmas, as the new variant spreads faster than any other version of the novel coronavirus. A look at where public health restrictions are being reimposed or even relaxed, the need for more rapid tests, how the World Health Organization is warning Omicron is not to be underestimated, and how the variant is throwing a curveball into the world of professional sports. In its fall fiscal update, Ottawa explains why it plans to spend tens of billions of dollars instead of shrinking a lower-than-expected deficit. And she’s a jane of all trades: how a TikTok influencer bartered her way from a bobby pin to a house, and what she’s planning next.