Links for you. Science:

Active epidemiological investigation on SARS-CoV-2 infection caused by Omicron variant (Pango lineage B.1.1.529) in Japan: preliminary report on infectious period (looks like seven days without testing would be safer)
Ecology, more than antibiotics consumption, is the major predictor for the global distribution of aminoglycoside-modifying enzymes
Even NASA Seems Surprised by Its New Space Telescope
One-Way Masking Works (the subhead doesn’t capture the ambiguity in the article)
Outbreak reported at Rhode Island hospital after Covid-positive, asymptomatic staff asked to work
Rapid testing for Omicron: is a nose swab enough? (preprint here)

Other:

Who Gets the Blame When Schools Shut Down: Somehow, it is teachers who are held responsible—more than government failures or even COVID-19 itself—for pandemic-era school closures.
Manchin’s fealty to big coal becoming crystal clear to the mineworkers he used to court
Fox News guest tells audience to treat COVID-19 with drugs used for transgender health care
Omicron’s threat to D.C. hunger relief: Volunteer shortages
Living In The Florida County That Became A Breeding Ground For Capitol Rioters
In Baton Rouge, there’s a $100 million football coach and everyone else
What Is the Point of Economics? (I think some of these points are good, but others unfair: for any discipline, the interface between research and public policy has the potential to become corrupted)
Low-Skilled, Easily Replaceable Employees Must Return to Work Immediately, Otherwise Our Society Will Collapse
POLITICO’S JOHN HARRIS THINKS THIS IS A CIVIL WAR ABOUT NOTHING BECAUSE IT’S ABOUT NOTHING THAT MATTERS TO HIM
Five myths about the filibuster
The rise of a pro-democracy media
The newest variant of violent extremism? Using paranoia about the pandemic as a recruiting tool