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(NEW YORK) — On Christmas Day, NASA is launching into space its biggest, most expensive and most powerful telescope yet.

The James Webb Space Telescope will rocket into the cosmos and orbit nearly 1 million miles away from Earth.

If the launch is successful, the telescope will spend five to 10 years studying the formation of the universe’s earliest galaxies, how they compare to today’s galaxies, how our solar system developed and if there is life on other planets.

ABC News explains how the telescope works, how it compares to its predecessor — the Hubble Telescope — and what needs to happen for the mission to go just right.

The history of the Webb Telescope

The Webb Telescope was jointly developed by NASA, the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency.

Development first began in 1996, when it was known as the Next Generation Space Telescope, before it was renamed in September 2002 after James Webb, who was the head of NASA in the 1960s and helped launch the Apollo program that eventually went to the moon.

The project suffered from numerous setbacks and delays, including a redesign into 2005, and ended up costing $10 billion.

Construction was completed in 2016, and the Webb Telescope underwent extensive testing before it was approved for launch.

How does it work?

The Webb Telescope is an infrared telescope, meaning it uses infrared radiation to detect objects in space.

It is able to observe celestial bodies, such as stars, nebulae and planets, that are too cool or too faint to be observed in visible light — what is visible to the human eye.

Infrared radiation is also able to pass through gas and dust, which appear opaque to the human eye, according to NASA.

This is different from the Hubble Telescope, which sees visible light, ultraviolet radiation and near-infrared radiation.

What are the goals of the Webb Telescope?

There are four goals of the Webb Telescope. Firstly, scientists want to study the first stars and galaxies formed right after the Big Bang.

Normally, humans wouldn’t be able to see this because, as light travels through the universe, it gets stretched and becomes infrared, which is invisible to the naked eye.

But an infrared telescope will be able to detect this light, which has been traveling toward Earth for more than 13 billion years, essentially allowing the Webb Big Bang to look back in time.

This leads to the second part of the mission: comparing the galaxies from the past to those of today.

Thirdly, because infrared radiation can pass through astronomical dust, which can’t be viewed on a visible-light telescope — such as Hubble — the Webb Telescope will be able to study how stars and planetary systems, such as our solar system, formed, NASA explained.

Lastly, the telescope will study planets outside of our solar system to see if there are any signs of life or if they have atmospheres capable of sustaining life.

What is needed for the mission to be successful?

According to a report conducted by an independent review board in 2018, there are 344 “single-point failures,” or steps that need to work for the mission to succeed.

The telescope will be tucked inside the nose of an Ariane 5 rocket and will be launched from the European Space Agency’s Spaceport in French Guiana around 7:20 a.m. ET, according to the official countdown.

It will separate from the rocket after the launch and begin unfolding. According to NASA, about 30 minutes after the launch, the solar panels will unfold so the telescope can get power from the sun.

About two hours later, the antenna will deploy, so the telescope can communicate back to Earth.

Three days later, the sunshield, which is 69.5 feet by 46.5 feet — about the size of a tennis court — will deploy.

In order for the instruments aboard to work, they need to be kept at extremely cold temperatures: -370 degrees Fahrenheit or lower. The sunshield protects the telescope from the heat of the sun and keeps the instruments cold.

Next, the mirrors will start unfolding and latching into place so they can reflect light.

Overall, it will take 29 days for the telescope to reach the final stop on its journey and settle into orbit nearly 1 million miles from Earth.

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(NEW YORK) — Revered journalist and author Joan Didion died Thursday at her home in New York City due to complications from Parkinson’s disease, her longtime publisher confirmed to ABC News. She was 87-years-old.

Didion was known as one of most incisive writers of her time, penning screenplays, novels and works of nonfiction, including two books about her own personal losses: “The Year of Magical Thinking” and “Blue Nights.”

“Joan was a brilliant observer and listener, a wise and subtle teller of truths about our present and future. She was fierce and fearless in her reporting. Her writing is timeless and powerful, and her prose has influenced millions,” her editor, Shelley Wanger, said in a statement. “She was a close and longtime friend, loved by many, including those of us who worked with her at Knopf. We will mourn her death but celebrate her life, knowing that her work will inspire generations of readers and writers to come.”

Born in Sacramento, Didion was a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, and went on to live in New York City, where she launched her career as a journalist, working at Vogue. Her first book, “Run River,” was published in 1963; other novels included “A Book of Common Prayer,” “Democracy” and “The Last Thing He Wanted.”

The next year, Didion married fellow writer John Gregory Dunne, who became her longtime collaborator. Together, they moved to California and worked on screenplays for “The Panic in Needle Park,” “Play It As It Lays,” based on her novel of the same name about Hollywood and depression, and “A Star Is Born,” among others.

In 1967, Didion and Dunne adopted their daughter, Quintana Roo.

Didion documented her time in California in the ’60s, including an unflinching look at the counterculture movement, in an essay collection, “Slouching Towards Bethlehem,” that became iconic.

“My only advantage as a reporter is that I am so physically small, so temperamentally unobtrusive, and so neurotically inarticulate that people tend to forget that my presence runs counter to their best interests. And it always does,” she wrote as part of that collection.

Alongside “The White Album,” a later collection of essays, Didion established herself as a storyteller for California in the second half of the 20th century.

Through the last two decades of the 20th century, Didion wrote about the Central Park Five, El Salvador and the Cold War, and plenty on American politics, among many other topics — sometimes as reporting and nonfiction essays, sometimes as novels.

“The narrative is made up of many such understandings, tacit agreements, small and large, to overlook the observable in the interests of obtaining a dramatic story line,” she wrote in a 1988 piece for The New York Review about presidential election campaigns.

Even as she had said “Goodbye to All That,” Didion kept a foot in New York for the rest of her life. Into the 2000s, Didion and Dunne lived in a New York City apartment, where Dunne died in late December 2003 of a sudden heart attack.

She wrote a memoir, “The Year of Magical Thinking,” as a sort of attempt to understand her husband’s death. With her characteristic specificity and thoughtfulness, she reported on her own thoughts in the year after Dunne’s death, a portrait that earned her the National Book Award for Fiction in 2005.

As her husband died, their daughter, Quintana, was in the hospital with pneumonia and septic shock. While Quintana ultimately survived that, she died a year and a half later, in August 2005, shortly before “The Year of Magical Thinking” was published, after a fall. After her daughter’s death, Didion wrote “Blue Nights,” published in 2011, a kaleidoscopic rumination on motherhood, illness and death, and Quintana.

Didion, a 2013 recipient of the National Medal of Arts and Humanities, had her latest essay collection, “Let Me Tell You What I Mean,” published earlier this year.

“All I knew then was what I couldn’t do,” Didion wrote about her college years, in a 1976 piece for the New York Times titled “Why I Write.” “All I knew then was what I wasn’t, and it took me some years to discover what I was.

Which was a writer.”

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(LOS ANGELES) — Two people were fatally shot, including a 14-year-old girl struck by a stray bullet that entered her dressing room, after officers opened fire during a confrontation with a suspect at a Los Angeles clothing store, police said.

The incident occurred shortly before noon Thursday at a Burlington store in North Hollywood, where Los Angeles police responded to reports of an assault with a deadly weapon, the Los Angeles Police Department said.

While searching for the suspect, “the officers encountered an individual who was in the process of assaulting another, and an officer-involved shooting occurred,” LAPD Capt. Stacy Spell told reporters during a news briefing.

The suspect, an adult man, was shot by police and declared dead at the scene, LAPD said.

A second person was also shot during the incident, whom LAPD later identified as a 14-year-old girl.

Police believe the teenager was struck by an officer’s bullet fired at the assault suspect that penetrated a wall into her dressing room, LAPD said in an update Thursday evening. She was found during a search for additional suspects and victims and pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

“At this time we believe it was a round coming from an officer,” LAPD Assistant Chief Dominic Choi told reporters Thursday evening.

The identities of the teenager and suspect have not been released.

A third person, a woman, was also injured during the alleged assault, Spell said, and was transported to the hospital. Investigators were still determining the extent and nature of her injuries.

It is also unclear if there was any connection between her and the suspect, Choi said.

Investigators were still determining what prompted the officers to open fire and what the alleged weapon was. Police have not found a gun during the search of the area at this time, Choi said.

“We’re at the very preliminary stages of this investigation,” Spell said. “There’s still a lot of surveillance video to review, there are witnesses to interview.”

Investigators will also be looking at police body-worn camera footage, which was on during the incident, Choi said. The officers involved in the shooting also still need to be interviewed, he said.

A Burlington spokesperson said the company is supporting authorities during the ongoing investigation.

“At Burlington, our hearts are heavy as a result of the tragic incident that occurred today at our North Hollywood, CA store,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “Our top priority is always the safety and well-being of our customers and associates.”

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(NEW YORK) — A security assessment issued Thursday said there is no “credible” threat at this time ahead of next week’s New Year’s Eve celebration in New York City’s Times Square, which will bring back a limited crowd after last year’s virtual event.

Law enforcement agencies “have no information to indicate a credible, specific threat to, or associated with, the 2021-2022 Times Square New Year’s Eve Celebration,” according to the assessment, which was obtained by ABC News.

The threat assessment does indicate a general concern about “the sustained interest of homegrown violent extremists and domestic violent extremists in targeting mass gatherings despite the lack of information indicating a credible, specific threat.”

The city will allow 15,000 people at this year’s scaled-back ball drop, which was closed to crowds last year due to the pandemic. With spectators returning, law enforcement officials are concerned about lone offenders or small groups potentially targeting the event.

“[Homegrown violent extremists] are of particular concern due to their ability to remain undetected until operational, their willingness to attack civilians and soft targets, and their ability to inflict significant casualties with simple tactics,” the assessment stated.

Domestic terrorists could also be inspired to target the celebration, the assessment stated, citing “likely non-credible online posts mentioning the event as a potential opportunity to launch attacks.”

The FBI, Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Intelligence and Analysis, New York City Police Department, AMTRAK Police Department and Port Authority Police Department issued the threat assessment.

The city typically allows 58,000 people in viewing areas at the Times Square celebration. The smaller attendance at this year’s event will allow for social distancing, according to the mayor’s office, which announced the capacity limits Thursday as COVID-19 cases spike in the city.

Those who attend will be required to show proof of vaccination and wear masks, the office also announced. Guest entry will also begin at 3 p.m., which is “much later” than past years, it said.

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(NEW YORK) — Weather alerts are in effect from California to the Texas Panhandle, and rounds of heavy mountain snow, rain and strong winds are expected to impact much of the western U.S. in the coming days.

As of Thursday afternoon, mountain snow is falling at higher elevations in the Cascades down into the northern Sierra Nevada. Also, heavy rain is moving through parts of California, particularly through Southern California.

Officials are warning that torrential rain could trigger flash flooding, mudslides and debris flows, especially across regions burned by wildfires. A flood watch has been issued from Orange County, California, to San Diego.

Several feet of heavy mountain snow is expected to fall across much of the Sierra Nevada in California though Sunday. Some of the highest peaks in the Sierra Nevada could see up to 10 feet of snow by the end of the weekend.

Strong winds could increase avalanche risk in parts of the region, officials warn. An avalanche warning is in effect through at least Friday morning for parts of the region, including the greater Lake Tahoe area.

Also, the Rockies will eventually see at least a foot of snow heading into the weekend. Winter weather alerts are in effect across much of the mountain west with wind alerts in some areas as well.

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(BOSTON) — A former Boston College student charged with involuntary manslaughter in connection with her boyfriend’s suicide pleaded guilty Thursday as part of a plea deal.

Inyoung You, 23, changed her plea two years after initially pleading not guilty in Suffolk Superior Court in Boston in the death of her then-boyfriend, Alexander Urtula.

Urtula died by suicide at the age of 22 on May 20, 2019, the day of his graduation from Boston College. Prosecutors argued that You “directly contributed” to Urtula’s suicide through “escalating and unrelenting verbal, physical and psychological abuse that she admitted in court,” the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office said in a statement following Thursday’s hearing.

Prosecutors said You sent Urtula more than 47,000 text messages over the course of their 18-month-long relationship, in which she “repeatedly told the victim that he should kill himself or die and waged a campaign of abuse that stripped the victim of his free will,” the statement said.

“The abuse became more frequent, more overwhelming, and debilitating in the days and hours leading up to Mr. Urtula’s tragic death,” the district attorney’s office said.

As part of the plea deal, Judge Robert Ullmann sentenced You to 10 years probation, during which she is barred from profiting financially from the case. If she adheres to the terms of her probation, which also includes community service and mental health treatment, she can avoid a two-and-a-half-year jail sentence.

The sentence was recommended by prosecutors and You’s legal team and “made in close consultation with the Urtula family,” District Attorney Rachael Rollins said in a statement.

“It is consistent with their desire to seek accountability and closure and to protect the legacy of Alexander, a loving son, brother, and uncle,” Rollins continued. “They believe this is something Alexander would have wanted.”

The Urtula family read a victim impact statement during the hearing and shared a photo of him with his nephews.

“We bear no feelings of anger or reprisal. We believe that time will take us through in the moments we mourn and celebrate his life,” the family said, according to the Associated Press.

You declined the opportunity to speak in court and her lawyer, Steven Kim, said she was “very distraught,” the AP reported. You is a “wonderful young woman who has deep, deep remorse,” Kim said, according to the AP.

The case has drawn comparisons to that of Michelle Carter, who was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in 2017 three years after her then-boyfriend, Conrad Roy III, died by suicide. Carter, who had sent Roy texts urging him to kill himself, was sentenced to 15 months in jail. She was released about three months early in 2020.

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(RICHMOND, Va.) — A time capsule estimated to be more than 130 years old, unearthed from the base of a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee, was opened Wednesday in Richmond, Virginia, and the artifacts showed a snapshot of life in the Confederate capital.

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam watched intently as historians used tools to painstakingly open the corroded box. After hours of working to unseal it, the team — wearing blue gloves — pulled out the first artifact: a thin maroon-colored book.

“It’s very wet,” Kate Ridgeway, a conservator with the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, said as she peered into the rusted time capsule.

“We are trying to preserve what we can of this book,” she said.

Conservators pulled out other items: what appeared to be a coin, a few books of varying size and color, what appeared to be an envelope. Some of the items were difficult to identify given their condition.

The Washington Post reported that one of the books appears to be an almanac from 1875, and a copy of “The Huguenot Lovers: A Tale of the Old Dominion.”

Teams quickly worked to “stabilize” the artifacts, Ridgeway told reporters in the room, so that they could be worked on. As for how long it takes to stabilize them, historians said it depends on how wet the items are.

The time capsule was found by construction crews in early December. Crews taking apart the removed statue’s base came across an area that looked “different,” according to a release from Northam’s office, and chiseled out a section of the 1,200-pound granite block to reveal it.

The capsule is estimated by experts to date back to 1887. According to the governor’s office, records show that, “37 Richmond residents, organizations, and businesses contributed about 60 objects to the capsule, many of which are believed to be related to the Confederacy.”

There was also speculation that there would be more very rare and valuable artifacts in the time capsule. ABC News-affiliate WJLA-TV reports that there were rumors of an incredibly rare photograph of the casket of former President Abraham Lincoln. Some have wondered if this is not the official time capsule, speculating that the dimensions and material differ from historical reports, according to the Washington Post.

The pedestal stood beneath a bronze statue of Lee on horseback that was removed in September 2021, following nationwide racial justice protests after George Floyd was killed by police in Minneapolis.

The statue’s removal was slowed by lawsuits from some residents who opposed it being taken down, but the state’s Supreme Court okayed it.

As the capsule was opened, the state was making plans to create a new time capsule to reflect present-day Virginia.

“This monument and its time capsule reflected Virginia in 1890 — and it’s time to remove both, so that our public spaces better reflect who we are as a people in 2021,” Northam said in a September press release. “The past 18 months have seen historic change, from the pandemic to protests for racial justice that led to the removal of these monuments to a lost cause. It is fitting that we replace the old time capsule with a new one that tells that story.”

The state has selected 39 individuals to add artifacts to the 2021 time capsule, which are expected to include nods to the 2020 racial justice protests, as well as items, including face masks and vaccination cards, related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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(NEW YORK) — As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 5.3 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 812,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering.

About 61.7% of the population in the United States is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern.

Dec 23, 11:47 am
Nearly 30,000 Americans have died of COVID since Thanksgiving

An ABC News analysis of federal data finds that nearly 30,000 Americans have died of COVID-19 since Thanksgiving as the omicron variant spreads across the country.

The U.S. is currently averaging more than 1,200 deaths per day, an increase of 23.3% in the last month with death rates up across almost all age groups.

Nationwide, about 161,000 new COVID cases are being reported every day, up nearly 75% in the last month.

This marks the highest daily case average since Labor Day, and means the U.S. will likely surpass the daily peaks seen during the delta-fueled wave over the summer.

Fourteen states, including New York, New Jersey, Illinois and Wisconsin, are reporting their highest daily case numbers in about a year.

ABC News’ Arielle Mitropoulos

Dec 23, 10:41 am
AstraZeneca monoclonal antibody works against omicron, studies show

New studies are offering additional reassurance that AstraZeneca’s monoclonal antibody drug works against omicron.

The company’s EVUSHELD retains neutralization activity against omicron, according to “live” virus neutralization data from both University College Oxford and Washington University School of Medicine.

AstraZeneca announced last week that its antibody drug would likely retain protection against omicron. These studies add to that growing evidence.

AstraZeneca’s monoclonal antibody was authorized on Dec. 8, but for a narrow group of people. It is authorized as a way to prevent COVID-19 among people who are immune compromised, or people who are allergic to vaccine components. It is not authorized as a way to treat COVID-19 among people who have already tested positive.

There are three monoclonal antibody treatments currently authorized to treat people who already have COVID-19. Two of those treatments — those made by Eli Lilly and Regeneron — appear to have very little activity against omicron. A third treatment, made by Vir and GlaxoSmithKline, appears to work against omicron but is currently in short supply. The companies are working to scale up production.

ABC News’ Sony Salzman

Dec 23, 10:39 am
Cruise ship can’t enter Curacao or Aruba after 55 people test positive for COVID

A Royal Caribbean ship has been blocked from entering Curacao and Aruba after 55 crew members and guests tested positive for COVID-19.

The ship, named Odyssey of the Sea, set sail from Florida on Dec. 18 and had planned to visit the Caribbean  for eight nights.

According to the cruise line, 95% of all people onboard were fully vaccinated. The crew and guests who tested positive were all “fully vaccinated and mildly symptomatic or asymptomatic.”

Close contacts of the positive patients have been placed in quarantine and will be monitored for 24 hours prior to testing.

The ship will remain at sea and is scheduled to return to Florida on Dec. 26.

ABC News’ Mina Kaji

Dec 23, 9:56 am
FDA authorizes Merck pill for some

The Food and Drug Administration authorized Merck’s COVID-19 pill Thursday for certain patients.

The authorization is specifically for adults who are at high-risk for severe illness and don’t have access to other FDA-authorized treatments.

This is the second COVID-19 therapy available in pill form after Pfizer’s pill was authorized in patients aged 12 and older on Wednesday.

Children and teenagers are not eligible for Merck’s pill due to fears that the medication could negatively impact bone and cartilage growth.

COVID-19 patients seeking the pills must obtain a doctor’s prescription first.

ABC News’ Sony Salzman

Dec 23, 5:44 am
Rep. Jan Schakowsky tests positive for COVID

Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., has tested positive for COVID-19.

Schakowsky said her husband, Bob, had tested positive last week. After several negative tests, the lawmaker also tested positive on Tuesday night, she said on Twitter.

Both Schakowskys were vaccinated and received boosters. They’re now quarantining, she said.

“We got tested when we felt something was off, and now we can prevent exposure to our family and loved ones,” Schakowsky said. “I implore you to do the same before holiday gatherings this week and next. Get tested if you feel sick or have been around someone who tests positive.”

ABC News’s Ben Siegel

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(HOUSTON) — Exxon Mobil emergency response teams have extinguished a fire at the Baytown Refinery in Baytown, Texas.

“Our first priority is people in the community and in our facilities,” Exxon Mobil Baytown Area said in a statement on Twitter.

The company said there has been no adverse air quality monitoring impacts to the community.

“Around 1 a.m. on 12/23/2021, a fire occurred at our facility,” the company said on social media. “At this time, emergency vehicles and smoke may be noticeable to the community. We are coordinating with local officials, and working to resolve the issue as soon as possible.”

The causes of the incident have not yet been determined, according to Exxon Mobil. The company is working with authorities.

“All findings will be incorporated in our continuing effort to enhance our safety performance,” the company stated.

An information line has been set up for anyone affected by this incident at 1-800-241-9010.

Authorities in Texas said they were investigating a “major industrial accident” at the Exxon Mobil plant on Thursday morning.

“Some injuries have been reported. Please avoid the area,” the Harris County Sheriff’s Office said on Twitter.

Initial reports indicated some type of explosion occurred inside the plant, Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said. Four people were injured, with three taken from the scene by Lifeflight and one by ambulance, he said.

Videos posted on social media showed dense smoke rising from the facility.

“My mom lives right behind the plant and around 1 a.m. I heard a loud ‘boom’ and the house shaking,” Kendall Merritt, who lives nearby, told ABC News. “The sound was as if someone had slammed a door right in my ear.”

Exxon Mobil’s Baytown complex covers 3,400 acres about 25 miles east of Houston, according to the company’s website. Its local refinery can process about 584,000 barrels of crude oil each day.

Gonzalez said there wasn’t an order for nearby residents to evacuate or shelter-in-place.

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As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 5.3 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 812,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering.

About 61.7% of the population in the United States is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Dec 23, 5:44 am
Rep. Jan Schakowsky tests positive for COVID

Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., has tested positive for COVID-19.

Schakowsky said her husband, Bob, had tested positive last week. After several negative tests, the lawmaker also tested positive on Tuesday night, she said on Twitter.

Both Schakowskys were vaccinated and received boosters. They’re now quarantining, she said.

“We got tested when we felt something was off, and now we can prevent exposure to our family and loved ones,” Schakowsky said. “I implore you to do the same before holiday gatherings this week and next. Get tested if you feel sick or have been around someone who tests positive.”

ABC News’s Ben Siegel

Dec 22, 10:58 pm
Rep. Jim Clyburn, majority whip, tests positive for COVID

Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., the No. 3 Democrat in the House, said Wednesday night that he had tested positive for COVID. The 81-year-old lawmaker said he’s vaccinated and currently asymptomatic.

“America is in a new phase of this pandemic. No one is immune,” he wrote. “I urge anyone who has not done so to protect themselves by getting vaccinated and boosted.”

He said he has been in quarantine since Sunday awaiting results and missed his granddaughter’s wedding because of testing positive.

Clyburn played a crucial role in getting President Joe Biden elected last year when he endorsed him ahead of the South Carolina primary. Biden won the contest and carried the momentum through to the presidency.

The congressman appeared on stage with Biden on Dec. 17 at South Carolina State University’s graduation ceremony. Biden gave the commencement address while Clyburn received his diploma after graduating in 1961 but missing the ceremony. Both were wearing masks on stage and Clyburn said he tested negative ahead of the ceremony.

Clyburn was the eighth member of Congress — six representatives and two senators — to publicly disclose they tested positive for COVID this week. Later on Wednesday, Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., became the ninth member to confirm a positive test.

ABC News’ Ben Siegel and Chris Howell

Dec 22, 7:54 pm
Critics Choice Awards postponed amid COVID-19 concerns

The Critics Choice Awards, initially scheduled to be held in person in Los Angeles next month, will be postponed, the association behind the film and television awards show announced Wednesday.

“After thoughtful consideration and candid conversations with our partners at The CW and TBS, we have collectively come to the conclusion that the prudent and responsible decision at this point is to postpone the 27th Annual Critics Choice Awards,” the Critics Choice Association said in a statement.

Organizers are working to find a new date during the upcoming awards season to hold the gala in person “with everyone’s safety and health remaining our top priority,” it said.

The Critics Choice Awards would have been the first major televised awards show of the season.

The announcement comes as the Los Angeles County health department reported 6,500 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, double the number from the day before and one of the steepest rises the county has seen during the pandemic.

The daily average case rate for the county has also more than doubled since last week, to 29 cases per 100,000 people. Test positivity has jumped to 4.5%, up from 1.9% last Thursday.

Health officials said new cases could reach over 20,000 by the end of the year due to the highly transmissible omicron variant.

ABC News’ Jason Nathanson and Nick Kerr

Dec 22, 7:36 pm
SCOTUS to decide fate of Biden vaccine mandates for large businesses, health care workers

The U.S. Supreme Court said Wednesday it will take up challenges to the Biden administration’s federal vaccine mandates for large businesses and health care workers, scheduling an expedited hearing for Jan. 7, 2022.

In a pair of orders accepting the cases, the high court put off immediate action on the mandates until after oral arguments next month.

Last week, a federal appeals court reinstated the emergency rule from the Labor Department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration requiring private companies with 100 or more employees to mandate vaccinations or conduct weekly testing to ensure workplace safety. Multiple Republican state attorneys general, business organizations and other groups appealed the decision to the Supreme Court.

The Biden administration has since said masks among unvaccinated employees must be enforced starting Jan. 10 and proof of vaccination or testing compliance begins Feb. 9. The requirement remains in effect.

A separate rule by the Department of Health and Human Services requiring vaccinations of workers at facilities that receive funds to treat Medicare and Medicaid patients remains on hold. The Biden administration has asked the justices to reinstate it.

ABC News’ Devin Dwyer

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