Hey there! It’s Wednesday, and breaking news: The house from Home Alone is listed on Airbnb. Here’s what else you need to know today.

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1. Abortion rights are in doubt after Supreme Court hearing

The six conservative justices on Supreme Court appeared divided today about whether to entirely overturn Roe v. Wade, the court’s landmark ruling that established a constitutional right to abortions, reports The New York Times.

The argument comes in a case from Mississippi over a state law banning abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. State officials have asked the justices to reconsider Roe as part of their case.

The conservative justices appeared open to upholding the Mississippi law, the Times reports, but the broader issue of overruling Roe remains a big question. The justices are expected to announce a decision by the summer.

The court’s three liberal justices were united in arguing that Roe should stand.

Proponents of abortion rights argue that if the court upholds the Mississippi law but leaves Roe in place, it would amount to overturning the precedent. That’s because Roe prohibits states from banning abortions before fetal viability, or around 23 weeks. [NYT]

If Roe is overturned, it could mean the average American would have to travel about 125 miles to reach the nearest abortion provider, reports Axios. [Axios]

2. Omicron is in the U.S.

The first known case of the omicron variant in the U.S. has been identified, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced today.

The patient, who traveled from South Africa to California on Nov. 22, was fully vaccinated but had not gotten a booster shot, said Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious diseases expert. The person had mild symptoms, he said. [AP]

The news comes as the Biden administration is preparing to toughen coronavirus testing of all travelers entering the country in an effort to curb the spread of the new omicron variant, reports The Washington Post.

Among the measures being debated is a seven-day self-quarantine requirement for all travelers, including U.S. citizens, even if they test negative for COVID-19. And people who violate the requirement could be punished by fines and other penalties.

President Biden is expected to unveil an “enhanced winter COVID strategy” tomorrow, the newspaper reports. [WaPo]

3. How prepared is Chicago against omicron?

The emergence of the omicron variant in the U.S. comes as Chicago officials were already bracing for the possibility of another wave of infections, reports WBEZ’s Katie O’Connell.

Again, it’s worth remembering that much about omicron remains unknown. Scientists are trying to determine if the variant spreads easier, causes more severe illness and can evade protections from vaccines.

Dr. Allison Arwady, the city’s top public health official, said earlier this week that she anticipates Chicago will see a rise in cases as early as next week, which would be in line with what officials saw last year.

The city is averaging 454 cases per day as of Tuesday, down 25% from last week. But Arwady attributes the decline in case to a decrease in COVID-19 testing around the holidays. The city’s positivity rate is 3.6%, up from 3% the previous week.

Arwady says the city will ramp up its testing for variants, and she urges residents to get their shots and wear masks. [WBEZ]

4. Suspect in Michigan school shooting was charged as an adult

A 15-year-old sophomore accused of opening fire on his classmates at Oxford High School in Michigan yesterday, killing four people and wounding several others, is being charged as an adult, Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald said today.

McDonald identified the suspect as Ethan Crumbley, and he faces one count of terrorism causing death, four counts of first degree murder, seven counts of assault with intent to murder and 12 counts of possession of a firearm. [Detroit Free Press]

The semi-automatic handgun used in the shooting was bought by the boy’s father on Black Friday, Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard said yesterday. As the Detroit Free Press reports, authorities have not said how exactly the gun was purchased and whether it was a new weapon or a used one bought from someone else.

The newspaper also reports that multiple parents said their children heard rumors of violence taking place at the school on Tuesday, and “some took it seriously enough to prevent their children from attending classes in person.” [Detroit Free Press]

Among the students killed was Tate Myre, a 16-year-old football player who died in a patrol car as sheriff’s deputies drove him to a hospital. [Detroit Free Press]

5. Trump tested positive for COVID-19 before first presidential debate with Biden, writes former chief of staff

Three days before his first debate against Joe Biden, then-President Donald Trump tested positive for COVID-19, according to an upcoming book from Mark Meadows, who served as Trump’s last chief of staff. Trump shortly afterward took another test that gave a negative result, Meadows writes.

Trump, in a statement, called Meadows’s claims “fake news.”

The tests were taken on Sept. 26, 2020, according to Meadows. The White House never publicly disclosed those tests, and it wasn’t until Oct. 2 that Trump announced he had COVID-19. That sparked questions over whether Trump knew he was infected before his debate with Biden on Sept. 29.

In his book, Meadows writes that Trump looked “slightly” better before the debate compared to the previous days.

“His face, for the most part at least, had regained its usual light bronze hue, and the gravel in his voice was gone. But the dark circles under his eyes had deepened. As we walked into the venue around five o’clock in the evening, I could tell that he was moving more slowly than usual. He walked like he was carrying a little extra weight on his back.” [Guardian]

Here’s what else is happening

• The Jan. 6 panel today will vote on referring criminal contempt charges against a former Justice Department official who had promised to pursue false election fraud claims. [NPR]
• A former Chicago lifeguard supervisor is charged with assaulting a second underage victim. [WBEZ]
• One person is dead and 18 others have tested positive for COVID-19 at a Chicago VA hospital after a staff member showed up to work sick. [Chicago Sun-Times]
• Nearly 200 vehicles were towed during the first night of Chicago’s winter parking ban. [Chicago Sun-Times]

Oh, and one more thing …

Here’s a fun story for the holidays: A bakery in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood called Masa Madre blends Mexican ingredients into traditional Jewish pastries.

The co-owners of the bakery, Tamar Fasja Unikel and Elena Vazquez Felgueres, moved from Mexico City to Chicago a few years ago and decided to bring the flavors and ingredients from their Mexican-Jewish cultural upbringing to their adopted city, reports WBEZ’s Penny Hawthorne and Manuel Martinez.

“In my home in Mexico, we always had a very large dinner for Shabbat, and then the next morning a brunch, and after the brunch, we would walk to my grandmother’s house and have this huge meal with all of my cousins and aunts and uncles,” Fasja Unikel said. “So I miss that. But I feel like as my family grows, we’re going to keep that tradition going.” [WBEZ]

Tell me something good …

As the end of the year approaches, I’m seeing more and more “best of 2021” lists. So I’d like to know, what was the best movie, book, TV show, play, song, podcast or video game you enjoyed this year?

Ian Mason writes:

“My best of 2021 list would likely be extremely short, but Green Knight is a film that my thoughts keep returning to. It’s one of the few films we made a special trip to the theater to see, and it was everything I hoped it would be: weird, meandering, beautiful to look at (kind of like stars Dev Patel and Alicia Vikander), full of moral and existential questions, with an ecological subtext to boot.”

And Jessie writes:

“My personal favorite of 2021 was One Last Stop, Casey McQuiston’s sophomore novel about an impossible romance between August and the mysterious girl she meets on the train. It’s got everything: pancakes, psychics, drag queens, time travel and more!”

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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