Today’s Headlines: Omicron’s unknowns and the first line of defense

U.S. health officials say vaccinations are key as they try to learn more about the Omicron variant.

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Omicron variant sparks concerns, but more study is needed

Much remains unknown about the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, including the threat it poses, but U.S. health officials say vaccinations — whether booster shots or an initial dose — are the best way right now to combat another spike.

President Biden met with top health advisors Sunday to map out a strategy, as new cases were confirmed in Germany, Italy, Belgium, Israel and Hong Kong. Many governments rushed to close their borders, and on Friday, global financial markets reacted with a sharp downturn after the World Health Organization categorized Omicron as a “variant of concern,” the group’s most serious category.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the U.S. government’s top infectious diseases expert, said it probably will take two weeks to fully determine the level of threat. Many questions remain unanswered about the variant, including how rapidly it spreads and how well vaccines do against it. But Fauci said there is concern about the speed with which the Omicron variant has swept across South Africa, where it was first identified.

California health officials joined the Biden administration in advocating for vaccinations, and in Los Angeles County, health officials are urging the public to wear masks in indoor public settings and at outdoor “mega events” as well.

For more, sign up for Coronavirus Today, a special edition of The Times’ Health and Science newsletter.

On the ground in the ‘constitutional republic’ of Oroville

The Northern California town of Oroville made headlines when it declared itself a constitutional republic in response to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s mandate requiring schoolchildren to be vaccinated against COVID-19 to attend in-person classes.

Some in the city of 20,000 people called it a stand for freedom; others saw it as a reckless tantrum amid an ongoing pandemic that has killed more than 73,000 Californians.

Oroville Vice Mayor Scott Thomson, a father of two young boys who said he is not anti-mask or opposed to the vaccine for people who want it, said the government has no right to tell him what to put into his, or his children’s, bodies. “The desire here is dialogue,” Thomson said.

But within Oroville, there are mixed feelings. The town is the county seat of Butte County — where 36% of voters are registered Republicans, 35% are registered Democrats, and 20% are independents. And as Hailey Branson-Potts reports, COVID rates have remained relatively high there, even as they eased significantly in places such as Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Montgomery Street, in downtown Oroville, at dusk.

(Hailey Branson-Potts / Los Angeles Times)

An old plan to stop offshore oil drilling casts a shadow over new efforts

California’s “Rigs to Reefs” program, an effort to transform oil platforms into underwater artificial reefs, was crafted by former Democratic Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez and signed into law by Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2010. Since then, not a single oil company has applied for the program, according to the State Lands Commission, which has jurisdiction over state waters.

The failure of the “Rigs to Reefs” program stands as a cautionary tale to those who have called for a drilling ban after thousands of gallons of crude oil washed ashore in Orange County in October.

“The question that we’ve been grappling with is how do we minimize risks to taxpayers and maximize the speed with which we can get these things gone,” state Sen. Bob Hertzberg (D-Van Nuys) told Times reporter Phil Willon. Hertzberg said the program was so complicated by political compromise that the permitting process became almost unworkable. For years, he’s made unsuccessful attempts to streamline it.

OUR MUST-READS FROM THE WEEKEND

Falling through a tattered safety net: There are thousands of people like John Maurer, whose mental illness, compounded by drug use, keeps them in a cycle of homelessness, hospitalization and jail.

Can former Scientologists take the church to court? Or are religious tribunals the only recourse? California courts are trying to decide whether signed agreements to submit any disputes to binding arbitration before a three-member board of practicing Scientologists may be enforced.

Fifty years later, a grateful epilogue to a Navy tragedy: The undersea discovery of a helicopter wreck brings together those affected by the crash off the San Diego coast.

CALIFORNIA

Crime on L.A. trains and buses is rising as riders return. On the public transit system — where ridership has rebounded to about 843,000 weekday daily riders from a pandemic low of about 363,800 — reports of violent crimes in 2021 through September were up 25% from the same time last year and 9% from 2019, according to L.A. County Metropolitan Transportation Authority data.

Authorities have identified four suspects in a smash-and-grab robbery at a Home Depot in Lakewood on Friday. The incident was one in a wave of so-called flash mob robberies that happened across L.A. last week.

Beverly Hills police are investigating antisemitic fliers left at residents’ homes. The fliers were found on the first day of Hanukkah on Sunday morning.

NATION-WORLD

Roe vs. Wade, the landmark 1973 ruling that declared a nationwide right to abortion, is facing its most serious challenge in 30 years in the Supreme Court. Supporters and opponents of abortion rights agree on at least one thing: that this case from Mississippi is pivotal.

In Iraq, a family mourns a daughter who died along with at least 26 others trying to cross by boat from France to the United Kingdom. More and more people fleeing conflict or poverty in Syria, Afghanistan, Sudan, Iraq, Eritrea or elsewhere are risking the journey in unseaworthy craft.

Josephine Baker escaped American racism in the 1920s by moving to Paris and even helped France fight the Nazis. On Tuesday, the late singer and dancer will receive the rarest of French honors — enshrinement in the Pantheon in Paris.

HOLLYWOOD AND THE ARTS

Award-winning composer-lyricist Stephen Sondheim took the Broadway musical to a higher level of emotional complexity. Sondheim, who died at age 91, began his Broadway career at age 27 as the lyricist for “West Side Story” and went on to change musical theater with shows such as “Company,” “Follies” and “Sweeney Todd.” Times theater critic Charles McNulty takes a closer look at Sondheim’s legacy.

Kirsten Dunst has done something more than just grow up on screen. In her choice of roles, she has let viewers in on each phase of her life. Dunst’s latest collaboration is with director Jane Campion in “The Power of the Dog,” and the role has brought strong reviews and growing awards momentum for Dunst. Recently, she sat down for an interview that will launch the L.A. Times’ second season of The Envelope podcast.

Natasha Rothwell has found her voice on the HBO comedy “Insecure” as a writer, actor and director. But getting there took a lot of growth. She says writing for “Saturday Night Live” years ago negatively influenced how she carried herself.

How much Beatles is too much? Our experts gorge on “The Beatles: Get Back,” director Peter Jackson’s nearly eight-hour docuseries.

BUSINESS

Black Friday in at least some Southern California stores appeared to be ho-hum. Among the factors cited: the shift to earlier holiday shopping and online sales, the pandemic, uncertainty around a long-brewing supply chain crisis, and rising prices.

Speaking of supply chain issues and all those container ships sitting off the coast: Many logistics companies are having their most profitable year ever.

SPORTS

USC is hiring Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley to turn around the Trojans football program. Riley is considered among the most innovative minds in football. Here’s why columnist Bill Plaschke calls Riley’s hiring nothing short of miraculous.

OPINION

What to do about homeless encampments in California? Banning them may have more support than some liberals think, columnist Erika D. Smith writes. But coming up with answers to the many moral questions surrounding the issue isn’t easy.

The newest mountain lion to be enlisted into the National Park Service study of Southern California cougars is a young female named P-99. Let’s build a better future for these amazing creatures in L.A., The Times’ editorial board writes.

WHAT OUR EDITORS ARE READING

How Virgil Abloh brought something new to high fashion. This 2018 article profiles the artistic director of menswear at Louis Vuitton and the creator of the streetwear label Off-White. Abloh died of cancer at 41. (The New Yorker)

Latkes in America are a delicious but ahistorical Hanukkah delicacy. So, what is the story behind them? (The Atlantic)

ONLY IN L.A.

Ventura Boulevard. (We love it!) Balboa Boulevard. (We love it!) Burbank Boulevard. (We love it!) We love ... the San Fernando Valley. As do director Paul Thomas Anderson and Times awards columnist Glenn Whipp, who recently met up and roamed the streets where Anderson once traveled by bike as a teenager. It’s in this part of the Valley where Anderson’s latest film, “Licorice Pizza,” is set — albeit in the early 1970s. Take a not-too-nostalgic tour with them.

FROM THE ARCHIVES

The Hollywood Christmas Parade returned Sunday night for the first time since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, bringing marching bands, floats, balloons and celebrities to a 3.2-mile route in Hollywood. The origins of the parade date back to the late 1920s, when merchants converted a one-mile section of Hollywood Boulevard into Santa Claus Lane and included a small parade.

Take a stroll through history with these photos of the Hollywood Christmas Parade over the decades.

Nov. 23, 1949: The final float in Hollywood’s Santa Claus Lane Parade brought old Santa himself, riding a sleigh through an artificial snowstorm and accompanied by entertainer Eddie Cantor.

(Los Angeles Times)

Today’s newsletter was curated by Scott Sandell. Comments or ideas? Email us at headlines@latimes.com.