New York City on Monday issued an advisory strongly recommending that everyone wear masks indoors in public places at all times regardless of vaccination status, amid concern about the new, highly mutated strain of the coronavirus named omicron.

“I’m also issuing a commissioners advisory strongly recommending that all New Yorkers wear a mask at all times when indoors and in a public setting. Like at your grocery or in building lobbies, offices and retail stores,” Dr. Dave Chokshi, commissioner of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, told reporters during an update on the coronavirus situation.

Outgoing Mayor Bill de Blasio and Chokshi said New York City has not identified any cases of omicron so far. They both emphasized that vaccination remains the most crucial tool available to fight Covid-19.

“There are no omicron cases here in New York City at this moment. It is very likely there will be, but there are no cases at this moment,” de Blasio said during the update. “Our entire focus once again is going to be on vaccination. Based on everything we know, vaccination is crucial to any strategy for addressing omicron.”

(CNN)Scientists have created the world's first living, self-healing robots using stem cells from frogs.

Named xenobots after the African clawed frog (Xenopus laevis) from which they take their stem cells, the machines are less than a millimeter (0.04 inches) wide -- small enough to travel inside human bodies. They can walk and swim, survive for weeks without food, and work together in groups.

These are "entirely new life-forms," said the University of Vermont, which conducted the research with Tufts University's Allen Discovery Center.

Stem cells are unspecialized cells that have the ability to develop into different cell types. The researchers scraped living stem cells from frog embryos, and left them to incubate. Then, the cells were cut and reshaped into specific "body forms" designed by a supercomputer -- forms "never seen in nature," according to a news release from the University of Vermont.

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) said she ended a call Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) after she says Boebert "doubled down on her rhetoric."

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What they're saying: "I graciously accepted a call from Rep. Lauren Boebert in the hope of receiving a direct apology," Omar said in an emailed statement.

"Rep. Boebert refused to publicly acknowledge her hurtful and dangerous comments," she added. "She instead doubled down on her rhetoric and I decided to end the unproductive call."

"I believe in engaging with those we disagree with respectfully, but not when"that disagreement is rooted in outright bigotry and hate."

The disruptions for Kennedy Brady and her family, as well as so many others, come as various governments scramble to place restrictions on travel, closing their borders to southern African countries amid concern about the potentially dangerous variant, dubbed omicron. Those rule changes are already having ripple effects for travelers as the holiday season gets underway.

Travelers have been left stuck abroad, desperately trying to get home amid a slew of cancellations, while others are scratching plans to see loved ones in other countries — for many the latest in a series of pandemic-induced travel frustrations, coming only weeks after the United States lifted its ban on visitors from 33 countries. Travel medicine experts say while the restrictions may allow time to learn more about the variant’s dangers, the concerns leave international travelers to determine how much they’re willing to deal with.

“We felt like we’ve come out of this long, dark tunnel,” said Julian Harrison, the owner of Premier Tours, a Philadelphia-based travel agency that specializes in African tours. “And this has started all over again, basically.”

For many, the latest jolt to travel was a reminder of early pandemic days, when borders closed, airports shuttered and flights were grounded overnight. In the aftermath of omicron’s discovery, the European Union, the United States and other nations moved to stop travel to South Africa and nearby countries — travel bans that will largely go into effect Monday, even as African officials and some public health experts condemn the move. Two nations went even further: Israel barred all foreigners from entering, while Morocco announced it was suspending incoming flights for two weeks.

The omicron coronavirus variant has been detected in Canada, the country’s health minister said Sunday, marking the first identification of the variant in North America as cases continue to emerge around the globe.

Two cases in Ontario were confirmed as the omicron variant, which has been called a “variant of concern” by the World Health Organization, Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos said.

Donald Trump’s favorite in the Alabama Senate race is treading water. His pick in Pennsylvania just bowed out of the GOP primary after losing custody of his children. In Alaska and North Carolina, two other Trump-endorsed Senate candidates are behind in primary election polls.

Trump may still have an iron grip on the Republican Party, but the limits of his powers are being exposed in 2022 Senate primaries. A number of his preferred Senate candidates are discovering that the former president’s endorsement is no guarantee of success in a crowded primary, leaving Trump to decide just how much political capital to further expend on their behalf.

“I think that Trump voters are ready, willing and able to take his word on a particular candidate they don’t know much about,” said Gregg Keller, a Republican political strategist who maintains that a Trump endorsement is “highly effective.” “But if and when he has made political mistakes along those lines, it’s been on behalf of the wrong candidate or not at the right time.”

Trump has endorsed in 15 Senate contests to date. While roughly half are for incumbents who are expected to cruise to the GOP nomination, he’s also waded into other nomination fights where his imprimatur was once thought to be determinative. So far, it hasn’t worked out that way.

Actor Matthew McConaughey announced Sunday he has no immediate plans to enter politics, closing the door on a potential bid for governor of Texas in 2022.

What they’re saying: "As a simple kid born in the little town of Uvale, Texas, it never occurred to me that one day I would be considered for political leadership. It’s a humbling and inspiring path to ponder," the Oscar-winning actor said in a video posted to Twitter.

"It is also a path that I am choosing not to take at this moment," McConaughey continued.

McConaughey said he instead plans to "continue to work and invest the bounty I have by supporting entrepreneurs, businesses and foundations that I believe… are creating pathways for people to succeed in life."

(CNN)Queen Elizabeth will have one less realm next week when Barbados severs its final imperial links to Britain by removing the 95-year-old as its head of state and declaring itself a republic.

The former British colony -- which gained independence in 1966 -- revived its plan to become a republic last September with the country's governor general, Sandra Mason, saying, "the time has come to fully leave our colonial past behind."

Mason, a 73-year-old former jurist, will be sworn in as the first-ever president of the island nation of just under 300,000 at a ceremony late on Monday night. The Barbadian parliament elected Mason last month.

Present at the festivities will be Prince Charles, heir to the British throne and future head of the Commonwealth, a 54-member organization of mostly former British territories. He accepted an invitation from Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley to be guest of honor at the transition celebrations, according to Clarence House.