WORLD VIEW: W.H.O.-Treat Omicron like Delta, Racism at West Point, Macron’s UAE Deal, Baldwin Shooting, More

Good morning. Here is today’s selection of top stories from The Associated Press at this hour to begin the U.S. day.

The Rundown

WHO says measures against delta work for omicron variant too

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — World Health Organization officials in the Western Pacific say border closures adopted by some countries may buy time to deal with the omicron coronavirus variant, but measures put in place and experience gained in dealing…Read More

AP Exclusive: ‘We just feel it’ – Racism plagues US military academies

Eight years after he graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Geoffrey Easterling remains astonished by the Confederate history still memorialized on the storied academy’s campus – the six-foot-tall painting of Confederate Gen. …Read More

Supreme Court abortion hearing raises questions for senators

WASHINGTON (AP) — During his confirmation to the Supreme Court, Brett Kavanaugh convinced Sen. Susan Collins that he thought a woman’s right to an abortion was “settled law,” calling the court cases affirming it “precedent on precedent” that could …Read More

Macron visits Gulf seeking arms deal, stronger regional role

NICE, France (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron is visiting the energy-rich Persian Gulf Friday, hoping to seal a major arms contract after this fall’s Australian submarine deal debacle and to strengthen France’s role in the region. …Read More

‘The fire that’s here’: US is still battling delta variant

While all eyes are on the new and little-understood omicron variant, the delta form of the coronavirus isn’t finished wreaking havoc in the U.S., sending record numbers of patients to the hospital in the Midwest and New England….Read More

OTHER TOP STORIES

Baldwin: ‘Someone is responsible’ for shooting, but ‘not me’

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Alec Baldwin said he feels incredible sadness and regret over the shooting that killed a cinematographer on a New Mexico film set, but not guilt….Read More

China and US tussle over Biden’s ‘Summit for Democracy’

BEIJING (AP) — China and the United States are tussling over President Joe Biden’s upcoming democracy summit, which the ruling Communist Party sees as a challenge to its…Read More

Rhode Island man renews sign campaign against town

PORTSMOUTH, R.I. (AP) — A Rhode Island man involved in a legal tussle with the town of Portsmouth earlier this year over signs on his property critical of town officials…Read More

School chief: Discipline not needed for boy before shooting

OXFORD TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — A teenager accused of killing four students at a Michigan high school was called to the office before the shooting but “no discipline was w…Read More