Technologies

Omicron FAQ: 8 key things to know about the new COVID variant today

The CDC director expects cases in the US to rise, as the COVID omicron variant has now been confirmed in 16 states. Stay on top of the latest guidance here.

For the most up-to-date news and information about the coronavirus pandemic, visit the WHO and CDC websites.

The omicron variant of COVID-19 has now been confirmed in at least 16 US states and is «likely to rise,» Dr. Rochelle Walensky,director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said on Sunday on This Week. Although the delta variant of COVID makes up 99.9% of US cases, Walensky said, omicron is spreading quickly. A leading European health agency predicts omicron could become the dominant COVID strain in months (more below.)

There have been more than 5.2 million reported deaths worldwide due to COVID-19.

In the US, President Joe Biden is doubling down on urging vaccines and booster shots until more information becomes available. Experts caution it could be two or three weeks before we know exactly how contagious omicron is and if it can cause more severe illness than other mutations of the virus.

So far, the COVID-19 vaccines have proved to be highly effective in preventing hospitalization and death, with people who are unvaccinated being more than 10 times more likely to be hospitalized if infected. Vaccine-makers are optimistic the current vaccines authorized for use in the US will provide a degree of protection against omicron, too.

Here are eight important things to know about omicron today. For more on COVID boosters, here’s a trick to easily get an appointment and free ride. Here’s how you’ll soon get a COVID test kit for free and details on mixing and matching vaccines.

Omicron could become the dominant COVID variant in Europe in months

Omicron could become the most common COVID variant in months, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.

«Mathematical modelling [sic] indicates that the Omicron VOC is expected to cause over half of all SARS-CoV-2 infections in the EU/EEA within the next few months» due to early understandings of the omicron variant’s high transmissibility between people, the center said in a Dec. 2 brief.

Scientists studying the omicron variant in South Africa, where it was first reported to the World Health Organization, have said it’s spreading more than twice as fast as the delta variant. But what isn’t yet known is the spread is hastened because the mutations make it easier to spread among people, if vaccines are less effective against this strain or for some other reason. The study cited by the New York Times has not yet been published or peer-reviewed.

Omicron is already confirmed in 16 US states

First, it was Minnesota, then California and now Hawaii, New York and points in between. The US and other countries were already bracing for an increased caseload as colder weather and holiday revelry drove more people indoors together. Now, concerns over a winter surge of the dominant delta variant join concerns about omicron’s spread.

Omicron has similarities to the delta variant’s mutation

COVID latches onto cells using a spike protein in its structure. Omicron has more mutations than the delta variant, which is considered at least twice as contagious as previous strains. While it isn’t clear yet if omicron is more or less contagious than delta, the presence of those mutations is one cause of concern.

That may be one reason countries around the world have banned travel from some countries in southern Africa and increased travel restrictions that include a negative COVID test 24 hours before travel, regardless of vaccination status.

It isn’t clear how current vaccines will respond to omicron

Scientists are testing whether omicron could cause breakthrough infections in people who are fully vaccinated and reinfections for those who have antibodies from a prior COVID-19 infection. It may take two to three weeks before enough test data reveals how effective the Johnson & Johnson, Moderna and Pfizer vaccines are in protecting against the omicron mutation. Scientists are hopeful, however, that the current vaccines will continue to protect against the new variant.

«We think it’s likely that people will have substantial protection against severe disease caused by omicron,» said Ugur Sahin, co-founder of BioNTech, said uring an interview with Reuters on Tuesday. BioNTech worked with Pfizer to create one of the vaccines authorized in the US.

Still, the fact that omicron has rapidly mutated and spread has rung at least one alarm bell.

«The emergence of the highly mutated omicron variant underlines just how perilous and precarious our situation is,» Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, leader of the World Health Organization, said on Nov. 29.

Most PCR tests to identify the presence of COVID-19 in the body are free (COVID tests for international travel are the main exception). So it’s good news that the existing nasal swab test has been found to detect the omicron variant — a blood test or other procedure so far is unnecessary.

«Fortunately for us, the PCRs that we mostly use would pick up this very unusual variant that has a real large constellation of mutations,» Dr. Anthony Fauci, the president’s chief medical advisor, said in a Nov. 29 press briefing.

COVID PCR tests can identify the omicron variant

Moderna, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson are evaluating Plan B

Moderna: Moderna’s Chief Medical Officer Paul Burton told the BBC his company has hundreds of people examining the effectiveness of its current vaccine and booster with the variant. Moderna is also testing a COVID-19 vaccine that could protect against several mutated strains of the coronavirus looking at an omicron-specific booster vaccine. Burton said if Moderna needs to make a new vaccine modified for the variant, it could be available early in 2022.

Pfizer: A Pfizer spokesperson said the company is «constantly conducting surveillance efforts focused on monitoring for emerging variants that potentially escape protection from our vaccine.»

The spokesperson said Pfizer could develop and produce a tailor-made vaccine against that variant in approximately 100 days.

Johnson & Johnson: Johnson & Johnson said it’s working with scientists in South Africa and around the world to evaluate the effectiveness of its COVID-19 vaccine against the omicron variant and has begun work on a new vaccine designed for omicron, if needed.

Booster shots and vaccines are urged to help prevent omicron’s spread

On Thursday, Biden announced a plan to help protect the US against the omicron variant this winter. It includes, among other things:

Outreach programs to contact people eligible to receive booster shots.
Making at-home COVID tests «free» for everyone.
Tighter travel restrictions that require a negative COVID test 24 hours before departure.
Paid time off for federal workers to get booster shots.
Securing antiviral pills as a treatment for people who become infected with COVID-19 (these are recommended but not yet FDA approved).
Sending 200 million more doses of COVID vaccine to international countries in the next 100 days (280 million have already been sent).

Omicron is pronounced these ways

The World Health Organization assigns Greek letters to key COVID variants to help the public easily remember and pronounce the different mutations of the virus. When first announced, search interest in the Greek letters «omicron» and «omega» climbed as people looked for information on the new variant. So far we’ve heard the new omicron variant pronounced by global health leaders as OH-me-cron, OH-mih-cron and OH-my-cron (some of this boils down to ancient Greek).

For additional COVID guidance, here’s what to know about new travel restrictions, how to store your vaccine card on your phone and what to do if you lose your vaccine card.

The information contained in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as health or medical advice. Always consult a physician or other qualified health provider regarding any questions you may have about a medical condition or health objectives.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Friday, Jan. 16

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Jan. 16.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? I thought it was exceptionally tough today, and was convinced 1-Across was «MAD» Max. (Spoiler, it’s not.) I also figured 1-Down was BOOZE, which did not work with 1-Across, and was wrong either way. Read on for all the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: ___ Max
Answer: HBO

4A clue: Where Marco Polo is played
Answer: POOL

5A clue: Overwhelming amount, metaphorically
Answer: FLOOD

6A clue: Reason for success in games like Candy Land and Chutes and Ladders
Answer: LUCK

7A clue: «That’s just the worst»
Answer: UGH

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Liquor, informally
Answer: HOOCH

2D clue: Winner of a Booker prize, fittingly
Answer: BOOK

3D clue: Antiquated
Answer: OLD

4D clue: Give a short promotion for
Answer: PLUG

5D clue: Winter malady
Answer: FLU

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Technologies

If the Verizon Outage Left Your iPhone Stuck in SOS Mode, Here’s How to Fix It

Even when you’re in an area with good cellular coverage, your iPhone status might read SOS. Here’s what to know.

Did you get caught up in Verizon’s massive outage this week? Millions of customers saw «SOS» at the top of their phone screen instead of the usual graph of connection bars. Verizon has since restored service, but some people are still seeing those three letters or getting spotty reception.

Unfortunately, when the network is down, there’s not a lot you can do to get reconnected — you have to wait for service to resume. But you could also see the same thing with any mobile provider when you venture out of cellular range or even when riding the subway. Still, seeing «SOS» on your iPhone can still make you anxious.

Let’s take a look at what Apple’s Emergency SOS modes are and see what you can do when your iPhone gets stuck in them, even after service is back online.

What exactly are Apple’s Emergency SOS modes?

When you see «SOS» as the status, it refers to a feature on the Apple iPhone (14 and newer) called Emergency SOS via Satellite, which lets you contact emergency services and share your location with them, even if you don’t have cellular network service. It’s a way to stay connected even when you’re out of coverage areas. For example, if you’re hiking in a remote wilderness and get injured, you can still contact emergency services.

Emergency SOS via Satellite is a separate feature from another feature on every iPhone, called simply Emergency SOS. That one requires an active service connection and calls your local emergency number, and shares your location information with emergency services.

So what’s the problem with SOS mode?

Once your iPhone loses service and enters its SOS mode, your device may struggle to reconnect to your network, even if you’re back in an area with service. You might notice that someone else in the area has service while you don’t, or vice versa. Fortunately, there are several ways to address this issue.

Read more: Best iPhone in 2026

What to do if you’re stuck in SOS mode

According to Apple, if you see «SOS» or «SOS only» in the status bar, you can do the following to help your device find a cellular network:

Make sure that you’re in an area with cellular network coverage. You can check in with people around you who appear to have service or verify with your service provider.
Turn your cellular data off and on. Go to Settings > Cellular and toggle Cellular Data on and off.
Restart your iPhone. On the iPhone X and later models, hold either of the volume buttons and the side button until the power off slider appears, and then drag the slider. Wait 30 seconds, then press and hold the side button to turn your iPhone back on. If you have an older iPhone model, here’s how to restart it.
Check for a carrier settings update. Your carrier may send out a carrier settings update to improve your cellular network connectivity and performance. As long as you’re connected to the internet, go to Settings > General > About and check to see if an update is available.
Turn your cellular line off and on. Go to Settings > Cellular > your phone number and toggle your cellular line on and off. If you’re not using an eSIM, remove the SIM card from your phone and reinsert it.
Update your iPhone. If the software has a bug, it may be causing issues with your cellular service. To check for a software update, go to Settings > General > Software Update. You’ll need internet for this to work, so Wi-Fi would be your only option if you can’t connect to cellular.
Reset your network settings. WARNING: This will reset all your Wi-Fi networks and passwords, cellular settings, and VPN settings. Only do this if you’ve tried all of the above first. If you’re fine with that, go to Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Reset > Reset Network Settings.

Lastly, if network connection issues persist, Apple suggests contacting your phone carrier to determine if there are any issues with your carrier or account that could be affecting your service, such as another outage in your area or an unpaid account.

Technologies

The Sequel to Subway Surfers Is Launching in February, and You Can Preregister Now

Subway Surfers was the most downloaded game of the 2010s, so the sequel has some big shoes to fill.

Of all the mobile games ever released, none of them is as popular as Subway Surfers. The iconic endless runner has put up 4.5 billion downloads since its initial release in 2012. After 14 years of unprecedented success, developer SYBO Games is ready to turn the page with the release of a sequel, Subway Surfers City.

SYBO says the game is set to launch on Feb. 26, and it’s available for preregistration on Google Play and iOS right now. SYBO also released a cinematic trailer showing off some new characters and environments.

The sequel features a new metropolis location with four districts to play through at launch, including The Docks, Southline, Sunrise Blvd and Delorean Park, along with four new characters. SYBO says that fresh content will be released every season, including new parts of the city to explore and a variety of cosmetic goodies to unlock.

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Based on the game’s screenshots, SYBO isn’t deviating too much from the core ideas of the original game, showing characters getting spotted, adding graffiti to a subway tunnel and mercilessly chased by The Guard and his dog until they’re caught.

Subway Surfers City will have several new mechanics that aren’t recycled from the old game, including a stomp mechanic that’ll unlock secrets and alternate paths.

The game also adds some new modes, including a finite runner mode where you can tour through the various environments to achieve specific goals, and an Events mode that will challenge you to a rotating gauntlet of missions. The Classic Endless mode makes its return to the new game, as does the ability to play the game offline, two things players loved about the original Subway Surfers.

Subway Surfers City will be free to play with in-app purchases, just like its predecessor.

Some big shoes to fill

Releasing a sequel that’s as beloved as the original will be tough, and SYBO has its work cut out for it. The original Subway Surfers was released in 2012, and while it’s not necessarily known for popularizing the genre of endless runner (that title goes to Temple Run), it quietly took over as the de facto leader in the genre.

Angry Birds was the first mobile franchise to surpass 1 billion downloads, a feat it accomplished in 2012 across its various games. Subway Surfers was the first to do it in a single game, accomplishing the feat in 2015. It later became the first game to hit 1 billion on the Google Play Store in 2018. It was likely the first game to hit 2 billion downloads, and was definitely the first to hit 3 billion and 4 billion. No other mobile game has ever reached 4 billion downloads.

According to SYBO, Subway Surfers has amassed 4.5 billion downloads as of Jan. 2026 and still boasts millions of monthly active players, despite being nearly a decade and a half old.

Its popularity has remained steady in modern times after many creators started using Subway Surfers gameplay as b-roll in their TikTok videos, a tactic that has been repeated by a professor at the University of California, San Diego during his lectures, which caused his registration rates to skyrocket. Starbucks got in on it with a game that had players collect Starbucks coffee cups for prizes.

Over two dozen companies and celebrities have done events for the game, including Demi Lovato, Walmart, the NFL Players Association and, arguably most famously, Burger King, which helped the game celebrate its 10th birthday with the Burger King Challenge. The prize for that challenge was unlocking the Burger King himself.

There aren’t many niches in gaming where Subway Surfers isn’t present. On top of its massive amount of downloads and use in social media videos, Subway Surfers is also one of the most popular games of all time for speedrunners, and by far the most popular such game for mobile.

The shoes the sequel needs to fill couldn’t be larger, but SYBO believes it’s up to the challenge.

«At its core, Subway Surfers City is the next chapter of Subway Surfers’nearly 15-year-long legacy,» said Mathias Gredal Nørvig, CEO of SYBO.»Subway Surfers City stars reimagined fan-favorite characters, whilesimultaneously introducing never-before-seen content and mechanics. It’sa balance of the classic game our players know and love, with a freshvibrancy that brings the crew’s universe to life in a whole new way.»