Community Corner

The Week In Photos: Holidays; Omicron Worries; Oxford Shooting

Photos from the week: future of abortion rights in America in doubt; Rockefeller Christmas tree lights up; omicron on the rise; much more.

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Lights were turned on during the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting ceremony Wednesday in New York City.
Lights were turned on during the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting ceremony Wednesday in New York City. (Christopher Smith/Invision/AP)

ACROSS AMERICA — Below, Patch chronicles the top stories of the week in pictures.

The country is bracing for the spread of the COVID-19 omicron variant, mourners grieved at Oxford High School and the first lady unveiled holiday decorations at the White House.

Also, demonstrators gathered outside the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., as the court heard arguments in a case from Mississippi that could overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade decision nearly 50 years ago that legalized abortion in all 50 states.

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Abortion rights advocates carry posters featuring Supreme Court justices during a demonstrate in front of the U.S. Supreme Court building Wednesday. The court was hearing arguments in a case from Mississippi, where a 2018 law would ban abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, well before viability. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

A flock of birds swirls over the South Lawn of the White House before President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden attend the national Christmas tree lighting ceremony at the Ellipse near the White House Thursday. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

Mourners grieve at Oxford High School in Oxford, Michigan, Wednesday. Authorities say a 15-year-old sophomore opened fire at Oxford High School, killing four students and wounding seven other people on Tuesday. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

A car that was stranded earlier in the month remains under floodwaters in a field near Sumas, Washington, on Monday. People in Sumas, located near the Canadian border, were asked to evacuate voluntarily Saturday nightd, as communities in the area were still dealing with flooding from a storm earlier in the month. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

Fans storm the court after the Ohio State Buckeyes upset the Duke Blue Devils, 71-66, at Value City Arena on Tuesday in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)

Jonathan Rodriguez, 6, of Worcester, Massachusetts, focuses on a spinning toy as he receives a shot of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine Thursday at a Worcester Department of Health & Human Services mobile vaccination clinic. As the United States ecorded its first confirmed cases of the omicron variant, doctors across the country are experiencing a more imminent crisis with a delta variant that is sending record numbers of people to the hospital in New England and the Midwest. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Roberto Vega coats a Christmas tree in artificial snow at the Santa's Garden site in Miami, Florida, on Wednesday. Reports indicate a shortage of Christmas trees this year due to supply chain problems and other factors. Because of the issues, the owner of Santa's Garden, John Martinez, who gets his trees from farms in Canada, encourages people to find their Christmas trees early. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff kiss during an event Wednesday in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., to light the menorah to celebrate Hanukkah. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Air China flight crew members in hazmat suits walk through the arrivals area at Los Angeles International Airport Tuesday. Brazil and Japan joined the rapidly widening circle of countries to report cases of the omicron variant Tuesday. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

A Marine band plays holiday music in the Grand Foyer of the White House during a press preview of the White House holiday decorations Monday in Washington, D.C. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

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