| |  |  | The Reuters Daily Briefing | Tuesday, December 28, 2021 by Hani Richter | Hello Here's what you need to know. Gunman kills four in Denver, China's local COVID-19 cases up for fourth day, and Apple closes its New York City stores as COVID-19 cases rise. | | | | | Today's biggest stories  People line up for COVID-19 tests on Broadway in SoHo, December 27, 2021. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly U.S. U.S. health authorities halved the recommended isolation time for Americans with asymptomatic cases of COVID-19 to five days.
A gunman killed four people and wounded three, including a police officer, in a Denver-area shooting spree that unfolded at several locations. Police killed the suspect.
President Joe Biden pledged to ease a shortage of COVID-19 tests as the Omicron variant threatened to overwhelm hospitals and stymied travel.
The official death toll in Kentucky from tornadoes that struck the state on Dec. 10 climbed to 77, with an infant in counted as the latest fatality.
A Colorado prosecutor went to court in a rare bid to seek a reduced term for a truck driver sentenced to 110 years in prison for vehicular homicide. Four motorists died in the fiery 2019 crash along a mountain highway. |  A medical worker collects a swab sample for COVID-19 nucleic acid testing in Xian, Shaanxi province, China December 27, 2021. World China's local coronavirus cases rose for a fourth day, with most infections reported by Xian, a northwestern city that has put its 13 million people under lockdown.
The United States said an attempt to suspend Somalia's prime minister was alarming and that it supports his efforts for quick and credible elections.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said that Israel would not automatically oppose a nuclear deal with Iran, but world powers must take a firmer position.
Australia recorded another record surge in COVID-19 infections as the Omicron variant disrupted reopening of the economy, while state leaders argued over domestic border controls.
Russia's Supreme Court ruled that the country's best-known human-rights group, Memorial, must be liquidated for breaking a law requiring groups to register as foreign agents |  A sign of Tencent is seen during the fourth World Internet Conference in Wuzhen, Zhejiang province, China, December 3, 2017. REUTERS/Aly Song Business Tencent Holdings' Riot Games said it will pay $100 million to settle a gender-based discrimination class-action lawsuit with California state agencies and current and former women employees.
A South African high court blocked Shell from conducting seismic testing off South Africa's pristine Wild Coast.
Apple closed its 12 New York City stores to indoor shopping because of the Omicron spread.
The U.S. auto-safety agency stepped up its probe into engine fires that have plagued some Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors vehicles for more than six years. | | | | | | | Video of the day  Israel tests second booster shot on health workers An Israeli hospital administered a second round of booster shots to a test group of health workers, in what it said was the first major study into whether additional boosters will help contend with Omicron. | | | | And finally… 'Harry Potter' cast recalls first kisses, horrible haircuts  Daniel Radcliffe remembered the embarrassing haircuts, Emma Watson found meeting up with her cast mates "an unexpected joy," and director Christopher Columbus recalls the movie sets as "the greatest playground in the world." | | | Thanks for spending part of your day with us. | | | | | |
