CHICAGO CANCELS SCHOOL OMNICRON

Chicago officials canceled classes in the nation's third-largest school district on Wednesday amid a dispute with the teachers' union, the latest disruption to U.S. education and life as the Omicron variant spurs a record-setting COVID-19 surge.

The move came after the teachers' union voted late on Tuesday to return to remote learning and pushed for more rigorous safety protocols, citing concerns about the rapid spread of the highly infectious Omicron variant that has upended air travel, Broadway shows and back-to-office plans in recent weeks.

The rolling seven-day average number of new COVID-19 cases in the United States hit 540,000, a new high for an eighth consecutive day on Tuesday. The country shattered global records for a single day with nearly 1 million new infections on Monday, according to a Reuters tally.

The Chicago Teachers Union urged its members to stay out of the classroom and work remotely through Jan. 18, or return sooner if the city reached minimum health-safety thresholds set last year as a condition for in-person learning.

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