The scientist who identified omicron; decoding Mary, Queen of Scots; a view of the newborn universe

Also, the best places to live (if you only care about money) [View this email online]( [Best of NPR]( December 19, 2021 This week, we looked at the [a new view of the universe]( the [omicron variant's speed]( and the best places to live based on your [budget and level of education](. Plus, NPR's Scott Simon has a few recommendations. --------------------------------------------------------------- Scott’s weekly weigh-in [ Law enforcement witnesses rise to be sworn in as the Congressional Jan 6th commission hearing begins on July 27, 2021 in Washington, DC. At left is USCP Ofc. Harry Dunn.]( Bill O'Leary - Pool/Getty Images A good weekend to you, in these times of rising infections, tempestuous weather, and holiday hopes. Testimony continued before the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. Text messages from White House aides and Fox News hosts were revealed this week. [We interviewed Officer Harry Dunn,]( who [testified earlier this year]( about insurrectionists shouting racist slurs at him while he helped protect the Capitol. These vexing times were on my mind when I saw of photo of Albrecht Dürer's 1503 sketch, The Virgin and Child with a Flower on a Grassy Bank. [Here's the story of how it came to be sold two years ago]( at an estate sale and its potentially colossal value now. But I was deeply moved by the sketch, irrespective of any price tag. [My weekly essay on a mother and child, indelibly invoked in delicate lines, is here](. This moved me to hear once more one of the great, underappreciated holiday songs, Jess Winchester’s Let’s Make a Baby King. It’s country rock that opens in exultation, then opens our eyes for the story ahead. “Cause Mary saw the future / And the sadness it would bring.” Here is the late, great [Jesse Winchester’s original version]( and then the [Wynonna Judd version from 1993]( that became a huge hit. A Haitian soup called joumou received “protected cultural heritage status” by UNESCO this week. [Haiti’s ambassador to that body, Dominique Dupuy, described the history and heritage of this potage]( (sorry to show off my small knowledge of French). Many families make it on Sunday, so listen and start slicing, if you like! The ambassador seemed pleased to contemplate a vegetarian version I proposed: tofu joumou. She explained that great dishes change with times and personal touch. A true diplomat! [Scott Simon]( Scott Simon is one of NPR's most renowned news anchors. He is the host of [Weekend Edition Saturday]( and one of the hosts of the morning news podcast Up First. Be sure to listen to him every Saturday on your local NPR station, and follow him [on Twitter](. --------------------------------------------------------------- Newsletter continues after sponsor message --------------------------------------------------------------- In 2021, we’ve brought you the stories you need to hear – more in-depth conversations, more unheard voices. [Please donate to your NPR station]( so we can bring you more of what you love. by [Carol Ritchie]( Stories you may have missed [The most distant galaxy ever discovered, GN-z11, is shown within a Hubble Space Telescope deep sky survey and highlighted in the inset. This galaxy existed only 400 million years after the Big Bang.]( NASA, ESA, and P. Oesch (Yale University) NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, the most powerful space telescope ever, is waiting at a launch site in French Guiana. If all goes well when it blasts into space in the coming days, It should be able to detect infrared light from galaxies so far away that the light from them has been traveling through space for almost the entire history of the universe. In other words, [it should show us what the universe looked like as a newborn](. Omicron is spreading lightning-fast. The variant already accounts for about 3% of the cases that the CDC has analyzed — about a sevenfold jump from a week ago. What makes the variant spread so fast? New data showing [how it behaves inside human respiratory tract tissue offers tantalizing clues](. Sikhulile Moyo, the scientist in Botswana who identified omicron, was saddened by the quick travel bans put on South Africa. He and his team felt they'd made a contribution by [alerting the world to a dangerous variant](. But the bans cost businesses billions and delayed vaccine supplies. Said Moyo, "I would call it an unfair treatment of African countries." Nurse Sandra Lindsay rolled up her sleeve a year ago to become the first person in the U.S. to get the COVID-19 shot. Since then, she has devoted herself to motivating the vaccine-hesitant to get the jab. She shares five persuasive tips, [starting with what happens in the heart](. The House Jan. 6 committee voted to hold former President Donald Trump's chief of staff Mark Meadows [in contempt]( for refusing to cooperate with its investigation. Ahead of the vote, Republican Rep. Liz Cheney recited an eye-opening litany of text messages she said Mark Meadows received during the siege, including from Donald Trump Jr. and Fox News hosts Laura Ingraham and Sean Hannity. [You can read them here](. --------------------------------------------------------------- Editors' picks [Mary, Queen of Scots was executed in 1587. Researchers have shed new light on how she safeguarded the final letter that she wrote on the eve of her execution, using a technique known as the spiral lock.]( Hulton Archive/Getty Images Even queens worry about keeping their messages private. Right before her execution in 1587, Mary, Queen of Scots used an old-school method of sending an encrypted email that was so elaborate, the code wasn’t cracked until 2021. The spiral lock requires more than 30 steps to turn a letter into its own tamper-proof envelope. And yes, [there are videos to show you how to do it](. Moving to a bigger city can mean a bigger paycheck — and also bigger expenses. Researchers looked at the cities that offer the best financial deals depending on workers’ education levels — and none of the coastal metropolitan areas like New York and Los Angeles showed up on the list. If you’ve got a college degree, you'll find the best bang for your buck in Texas, West Virginia and South Carolina. If your highest education level is a high school degree, you’ll want to consider spots like Gallup, N.M., and Marquette, Mich. [Here’s the full list of the best and worst cities for your budget](. --------------------------------------------------------------- Listen to your local NPR station. Visit NPR.org to find your local station stream. [Listen Live]( [Facebook]( [Instagram]( [Twitter]( Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! [They can sign up here.]( Looking for more great content? [Check out all of our newsletter offerings]( — including Daily News, Politics, Health and more! You received this message because you're subscribed to Best of NPR emails. This email was sent by National Public Radio, Inc., 1111 North Capitol Street NE, Washington, DC 20002 [Unsubscribe]( | [Privacy Policy]( [NPR logo]