The explosion in Mogadishu, Somalia, killed at least eight people and injured nine others. A news website affiliated with Al Shabab said the militants claimed responsibility for the attack.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson of Britain apologized in Parliament for attending a garden party at Downing Street in 2020 while the country was under a strict coronavirus lockdown. Mr. Johnson had not previously admitted to being at the gathering.

President Biden said Republican lawmakers have abused the filibuster and voiced his support for changing Senate rules to pass new voting rights protections.

Officials said the fire that killed 12 people started when a lighter ignited the tree. Investigators determined that a 5-year-old boy, who told the police he had been playing with the lighter, was the only person in the part of the apartment where the fire began.

Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, White House Covid-19 adviser, and Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, responded to criticism about scarce coronavirus tests and confusing guidance.

Dr. Anthony S. Fauci refuted claims by Senator Rand Paul, Republican of Kentucky, that he was undermining scientists with opposing views.

The city of Chicago and the Chicago Teachers Union agreed to return to in-person learning in a deal that would include additional testing and metrics to close schools with major virus outbreaks.

The World Health Organization warned that more than half of people in Europe could be infected with the Omicron coronavirus variant in the next six to eight weeks.

The groundbreaking procedure offers hope to hundreds of thousands of other patients with failing organs.

Chicago public schools remained closed after negotiations stagnated between the teachers' union and the city over in-person classes and pandemic safety.