Good afternoon! It’s Monday, and I saw “House of Gucci” over the weekend and I can’t stop thinking about Adam Driver’s glasses and Lady Gaga’s red ski suit. Here’s what you need to know today.

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1. Omicron may be less dangerous than delta, Fauci says

As scientists around the world race to gather data on omicron, early reports from South Africa suggest the new variant doesn’t appear to cause severe illness and may not be driving up hospitalizations, U.S. health officials say.

“Thus far, it does not look like there’s a great degree of severity to it,” Dr. Anthony Fauci said yesterday on CNN’s State of the Union. “But we have really got to be careful before we make any determinations that it is less severe or it really doesn’t cause any severe illness, comparable to delta.”

But an official with the World Health Organization says that even if omicron is less dangerous than delta, some people will still need to be hospitalized and could die from the variant. [AP]

So far, omicron has been detected in 17 states, including Missouri and Wisconsin. [Washington Post]

2. New York City announces a sweeping vaccine mandate for all private employees

In what is being called one of the most aggressive steps to boost vaccination rates and curb coronavirus infections, New York City will require all private sector employees to get shots, effective Dec. 27, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced today.

“We in New York City have decided to use a preemptive strike to really do something bold to stop the further growth of COVID and the dangers it’s causing to all of us,” he said.

The move comes after federal courts have temporarily blocked a similar mandate from President Joe Biden that required vaccinations for businesses with 100 or more employees. [AP]

In Illinois, a state lawmaker today proposed legislation that would force the unvaccinated to pay for their own health expenses if they contract COVID-19. [Chicago Sun-Times]

3. Biden will hold a high-stakes call with Putin tomorrow

Ukraine is expected to take center stage in a video call tomorrow between President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Washington Post reports Putin is expected to give an ultimatum: Keep NATO out of Ukraine or Russia might begin an offensive campaign against its neighbor. Biden, meanwhile, will reportedly warn Putin that the U.S. and its allies will cut Russia from the international finance system if he invades Ukraine.

The call comes amid heightened tensions between the U.S. and Russia. According to the Post, U.S. intelligence has raised alarms that Russia could be planning a “multifront offensive as soon as early next year involving up to 175,000 troops.” [WaPo]

4. There were warning signs just hours before the deadly Michigan school shooting

The prosecutor overseeing the case against a 15-year-old student accused of carrying out last week’s deadly shooting at Oxford High School left open the possibility that school officials could be charged.

The news comes as questions are raised over whether school officials could have prevented the shooting.

The day before the attack, a teacher found the suspect, 15-year-old Ethan Crumbley, viewing images of bullets on his phone, reports The Washington Post. The suspect told a counselor and another staff member he had recently gone to a gun range with his mother.

Then, during the morning of the shooting, a teacher found a note on the suspect’s desk that had a drawing of a semi-automatic handgun and the words, “the thoughts won’t stop,” “help me,” and “blood everywhere,” according to the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office.

Crumbley was sent to the guidance counselor’s office, where he said the drawings were part of a video game he was designing. [AP]

5. Jussie Smollett takes the stand

Former Empire actor Jussie Smollett took the witness stand today in his defense against allegations he staged his own hate crime. Legal experts expected Smollett would tell his side of the story because of how bizarre the case is.

The only witnesses to the incident are brothers Abimbola and Olabinjo Osundairo, who say they were paid to carry out the hoax.

Smollett said he met Abimbola Osundairo at a club in 2017 during the fourth season of Empire. The two men did drugs together and went to a bathhouse in Boystown, where they did more drugs and made out, Smollett said.

Defense attorneys have suggested the brothers tried extorting Smollett by asking for $1 million each in order to not testify against him. [AP]

Here’s what else is happening

• The Biden administration announced a diplomatic boycott of the Winter Olympics in Beijing. [Axios]
• The Justice Department sued Texas today over new congressional and state legislature districts that it says discriminates against Latinos. [Washington Post]
• Remembrances pour in for Bob Dole, a longtime Senate Republican leader who died on Sunday at age 98. [NPR]
• An action-packed new trailer for The Matrix Resurrections hints at more twists and turns for Neo. [The Verge]

Oh, and one more thing …

A white Christmas may be in store for Chicago this year.

A senior meteorologist at AccuWeather told Block Club Chicago that the city has a better than 50% chance of seeing at least an inch of snowfall on Dec. 25. That’s because of La Niña, the colder counterpart to the heated El Niño.

“There looks like there could be a storm [this] week that produces some snow across the region, though there’s the possibility of a warmup the week before Christmas,” meteorologist John Feerick said. “There is probably another opportunity or two for snow after next week and before Christmas.” [Block Club Chicago]

Tell me something good …

What’s your favorite holiday tradition? Is there a place in Chicago you always hit up? Do you and your family or friends do anything fun together?

I ask because I had this very weird dream the other day that someone buzzed a large group of carolers into my building and they began singing in the central stairway. And despite the loud singing, I was moving around my apartment very quietly so they wouldn’t hear me. I don’t know what that was about, but I have very strange dreams.

Feel free to email me at therundown@wbez.org or tweet me at @whuntah, and your responses might be shared here this week.

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