"The United States is a nation of laws, badly written and randomly enforced," noted the late musician and satirist Frank Zappa. I often think of that snarky comment as I write about the sausage-making process in city councils, state legislatures, and the federal government. Did I mention that California's state government has 518 agencies, boards, and commissions?

As the United States nears 1 million deaths from Covid-19, a movement is growing to memorialize the astronomical loss of life and preserve their legacies.

Marked By Covid—a San Francisco-based nonprofit cofounded by Kristin Urquiza, who lost her 65-year-old father to Covid in June 2020—is campaigning to establish a federally recognized national holiday to memorialize victims of the pandemic. The grassroots organization is also working with cities nationwide to create physical monuments, as well as an augmented reality component dedicated to those who have been lost.

U.S. airlines endured one of the most difficult times in their history during the pandemic as air travel was brought to a near standstill, pilots and workers were in short supply, and stock prices cratered. 

Now they’re staring down yet another crisis as jet fuel prices soar following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

For consumers, the increasing cost of fuel will mean higher travel expenses, as airlines pass on rising costs. Airfares are expected to rise 7% each month until June, according to estimates from the price-booking mobile app Hopper.

A new study shows that only one-third of Americans have returned to the office, but a large majority are engaging in their favorite pastimes, such as eating out, traveling, and attending crowded entertainment venues.

The University of Southern California will only offer remote learning classes at least during its first week of the spring session, the school said Friday.

The new semester begins Jan. 10. Students can still move into the dorms, but students and staff will be required to show proof of COVID-19 booster shots as soon as they are eligible.

USC’s move comes in the wake of nine University of California undergraduate campuses announcing a similar switch to remote learning in the wake of the omicron variant’s spread.

United Airlines and Delta Air Lines (DAL.N)have canceled hundreds of Christmas Eve flights, as the spreading COVID-19 Omicron variant takes a toll on its flight crews and other workers.

Chicago-based United on Thursday canceled 120 flights for Friday, while Atlanta-based Delta said it had canceled about 90. Both said they were working to contact passengers so they would not be stranded at airports.

Multiple airlines across the United States canceled hundreds of flights on Christmas eve, citing a nationwide surge in Omicron cases which has directly impacted employees and flight crew.

The cancellations come as more than 109 million Americans are expected to travel 50 miles or more via airplanes and other forms of transportation to visit friends and family over the festive period.

Passengers travelling home for Christmas have been hit with disruption worldwide after airline companies cancelled more than 3,000 flights on Friday, according to a flight tracking website.

The surge of Christmas Eve cancellations came as the rapidly spreading Omicron coronavirus variant meant carriers were unable to staff their flights.

On Monday, Sony Pictures Entertainment hosted a raucous premiere for “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” a superhero adventure widely expected to generate a new COVID-era record opening weekend. The red carpet outside Westwood’s Regency Village theater —  where industry elites and A-listers gathered after showing proof of full vaccination and a negative PCR test to watch Peter Parker save the world — was filled with fans, journalists and social media influencers all vying to get a look at stars Tom Holland and Zendaya. Many people in the crowd were screaming and unmasked.

People often equate resilience with toughness. The steely core, an ability to rise above hardship, to bend in the wind, to stick it out, to grin and bear it.