Omicron XBB rapidly spreads in the United States this Holiday season

Data from CDC

With a total death count of 1,088,481 accounting for 10% of the total infection count of 100,622,056 in the United States as of December 29, Covid-19 continues to mutate into many variants and subvariants.

The variant of Omicron subvariant XBB has quickly spread throughout the United States during the Holiday season. According to Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), before December 24, the dominant variant of omicron was BQ.1 or BQ.1.1. Data gathered on December 24 now shows an Omicron variant called XBB becoming one of the most dominant strains.

Here is the data showing the rise in the XBB subvariant since December 2022. XBB subvariant is known to be a trigger of a new COVID-19 this winter. Also, XBB variant illnesses will be slightly different from those recorded in earlier outbreaks because the XBB subvariant is the most immune-evasive form of SARS-CoV-2, and the CDC has been closely tracking this variant.

Health Officials and CDC recommend wearing masks indoors to minimize getting this XBB subvariant this winter. Since the pandemic started, all Americans aged 5+ may take vaccines and boosters to protect themselves from the worst symptoms caused by the Covid-19 virus, including death.

Currently, 47,146,355 Americans which is only 15.1% of the total population are vaccinated with booster shots. The vaccines and the two boosters are available free of charge, but the 2023 booster may be the last free booster shots available for Covid-19. Better get them while they are still free. Please check your eligibility and availability at https://www.vaccines.gov/. Don’t struggle with multiple variants and subvariants of Covid-19, especially when some of them are becoming immune-evasive.

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Biden signs Native Hawaiian Survivors of Gender-Based Violence Law

President Biden signed into law legislation led by Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) to allow Native Hawaiian survivors of gender-based violence to access critical programs and resources provided by Congress through the Violence Against Woman Act (VAWA). According to the News release, The reauthorization of VAWA-which was signed into law in March, 2022-provides funding to Native Hawaiian survivors of all types of sexual and gender-based violence, including sexual assault, sex trafficking, dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking.

Senator Hirono’s legislation amends VAWA to ensure Native Hawaiian organizations can serve the Native Hawaiian community. This bill passed the Senate unanimously last month and passed in the House on a voice vote earlier this month.

According to the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, more than two-thirds of sex trafficking victims in Hawaii are Native Hawaiian women and girls, and only 37% of child sex trafficking cases are reported. Recently, the Hawaii State Commission on the Status of Women released the “Holoi a Nalo Wahine Oiwi” report says “further underlines the disproportionate impacts” that sex trafficking, sexual exploitation, and domestic violence have on Native Hawaiian women and girls.

Senate Hirono has been working against these gender-based sexual crimes. She raised a voice to the legislatures to protect the Native Hawaiian community from sexual exploitation at a full Judiciary Committee hearing and emphasized the need for the FBI to include the Native Hawaiian community. She addresses the missing and murdered indigenous people crisis and violence against Native communities.

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U.S Airlines have cancelled and delayed flights due to the “Arctic Blast”

Over 3,000 flights were canceled and 5,000 were delayed as of Tuesday night in the U.S. Southwest Airlines is one of them. Southwest Airlines canceled 2,886 flights on Monday that indicated 70% of the flight schedule. Travelers were stranded at the airports and couldn’t make their Christmas dinner tables on time.

DOT is investigating Southwest Airlines and looking into this travel mayhem as a whole. “USDOT is concerned by Southwest Airlines’ disproportionate and unacceptable rate of cancellations and delays as well as the failure to properly support customers experiencing a cancellation or delay,” the department said.

Southwest declined to comment late on Monday on the USDOT statement but pointed to a statement it issued earlier offering “heartfelt apologies” and said, “with consecutive days of extreme winter weather across our network behind us, continuing challenges are impacting our customers and employees in a significant way that is unacceptable.” According to Reuters.com.

Winter blizzards hit the U.S. significantly hard this Christmas weekend from coast to coast and especially in West New York, Erie county, and Buffalo city. They each got a historical century winter storm that left dozens of people dead in the freezing cold. Kathy Hochul, the governor of NY stated at the news conference, to not travel to west NY, as it is like a warzone. The Governor of NY has issued a state of emergency.

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Sam Bankman-Fried released on $250 million Bail

The FTX founder, Sam Bankman-Fried (30) was released on Thursday with $250 million bail. He awaits trials for eight federal criminal charges related to alleged fraud which led to his crypto companies collapsing. He is under house arrest, and he will stay with his parents in California. Bankman-Fried was extradited from the Bahamas to Westchester County in New York on Wednesday night.
Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang, the two top executives of FTX pleaded guilty Wednesday related to fraud at FTX. Bankman-Fried’s lawyer and prosecutors agreed to issue the $250 million bond. On January 3, he will face his next hearing, enter his plea, and be arraigned.
Until his crypto empire collapsed, He was one of the billionaires in the world. He filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy for FTX and Alameda Research. His net worth went up to $26 billion and his net worth was $ 10.5 billion.
On November 11, 2022, Bankman-Fried was considered as having no material wealth, According to Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Bankman-Fried donated to the political campaigns. On December 12, 2022, Bankman-Fried was arrested in the Bahamas and extradited to the United States on December 21, 2022. The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York charged against Bankman-Fried, with wire fraud, commodities fraud, securities fraud, money laundering, and campaign finance law violations. Bankman-Fried faces up to 115 years in prison if he is convicted on all eight counts.
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Zelenskyy Arrives at DC to meet Biden

The hero of 2022, Ukraine President Zelenskyy visited the US to meet with President Biden and addressed both chambers of Congress. President Zelenskyy visited the U.S. for the first time and is greeted by President Biden and first lady Jill Biden in the White House on Wednesday.

“It’s important for the American people and for the world to hear directly from Mr. President, about Ukraine’s fight and the need to continue to stand together through 2023,” Mr. Biden stated while standing right next to the Zelenskyy in the White House East Room.

President Biden added “as long as it takes” he will support Ukraine and help restore infrastructure that was ruined by the Russian missile attack. He said that “We should be clear about what Russia is doing, and it is purposefully attacking Ukraine’s critical infrastructure, destroying the systems that provide heat and light to the Ukraine people during the coldest, darkest part of the year. Russia is using winter as a weapon,”

President Zelenskyy stated “We really fight for our common victory against this tyranny. And that is real life. And we will win. And I really want [to] win together. Not want, I am sure,” with Ukraine.

The U.S. announced recently that it will help provide Ukraine with $1.85 billion in military aid with a total of $22 billion which will include a Patriot missile battery for the first time to send to repel Russian missiles and aircraft. The new aid package also includes hundreds of thousands of mortars and artillery shells, dozens of armored vehicles, and specialized kits for the fighter jets.

According to CBS, The two leaders of the world exchanged their thoughts. Biden said the U.S. “stands with the great people of Ukraine,” and he called Zellenskyy a “great leader.” Zelenskyy said it was a “great honor” to be welcomed to the White House, and he appreciated Mr. Biden and said “from my heart, from the hearts of Ukrainians, all Ukrainians” for Biden’s “support and leadership.”

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M 6.4 Earthquake Jolts Ferndale, CA leading to loss of power for Tens of thousand residents

Photo from USGS

On December 20, 2022, 10:34:24 UTC, and 2: 34 local time, a magnitude 6.4 earthquake hit approximately 14.6 km (9.1 miles) southwest of Ferndale, in the Humboldt county, CA near the coast of northern California in the vicinity of the Mendocino triple junction. This is the region where the Pacific, North America, and Juan de Fuca/Gorda tectonic plates meet. According to USGS, this rupture occurred due to the strike-slip faulting on a steeply dipping fault striking either southeast or southwest. The location, depth, and faulting mechanism indicate that this event likely occurred within the subduction Gorda Plate.

As a result of this earthquake, tens of thousands have to go without power today. Roads and buildings were damaged. The 1320-foot-long Fernbridge that crossed the Eel river has been damaged by the earthquake. The Fernbridge is temporarily closed.

More than 80 aftershocks were reported on Tuesday morning and have left 2 people dead, and 11 people were injured. Last year, on December 20, 2021, a magnitude 6.2 earthquake occurred in the region.

Be prepared, officials said, now and always. The quake was yet another reminder of earthquake-prone California and the damage that can be done without any warning.

“Damage assessments are currently underway, with significant structural damages, including gas and water lines, observed in the Rio Dell community and moderate damages to properties throughout the Eel River Valley,” according to the Humboldt County Office of Emergency Services, in a statement. Details were not immediately available.

In the past century, there have been at least 40 other earthquakes of M6 or larger, including six earthquakes M7 or larger, within 250 km of the December 20, 2022 earthquake. These prior earthquakes primarily occurred along the Mendocino transform fault, in the Cascadia subduction zone, or within the Juan de Fuca/Gorda plate.

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Snow Storm As Big As 2009 Winter Storm Blizzard Expected for Christmas

Throughout US history, winter storm blizzards date back as far as 1816 to as late as 2009. The most vicious winter storm in recent history was the 1940 Armistice Day storm, which left at least 150 people dead. Most frequently occurring between November to January, the storms are known to originate from the Z streams in Arctic cold air and hover in North America in early winter. Weather authorities alert Americans to be ready to prepare for the winter with gear including food and emergency electricity.

This Christmas, which is in less than a week, is one of the biggest holidays in the world. However, the arctic storms headed toward much of the Northwest to the East are likely to make traveling quite hellish. “White Christmas” is wonderful unless seen from inside the Airport due to travel delays and cancellations.

According to weather.com, “The best chance for an inch of snow blanketing the ground on Christmas morning is in the higher elevations of the West and from the Northern Plains and upper Midwest into the eastern Great Lakes. However, areas from northern New England into portions of the Ohio Valley and Central Plains could also see a white Christmas, depending on where Winter Storm Elliott brings snow this week. Any snow that falls this week will not melt before Christmas due to the cold blast that arrives later this week.”

In recent the US history of winter blizzards, Virginia Beach, in the boundary between Virginia and North Carolina, saw its biggest snowfall of the Christmas season in 2010 with 13.4 inches. The city of Virginia Beach refers to warm and hot temperatures in summer and mild weather in Winter, some of the residents have never seen snowfall in winter until 2009 and 2010. At Christmas time, in the Northwest part of VA,  lived in towns, with at least 2 feet of snowfall in the year 2009.

On this Saturday, (Christmas Eve) Washington DC is expected a high of 26 F, and a low of 16 F with ice on the roads due to Thursday and Friday’s rain.

Stay warm this holiday season, and stay safe.

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Auroras can be Hurricanes too!

Last year, scientists announced a spectacular phenomenon: space hurricanes.

With 600 miles in diameter and multiple arms that rotate counterclockwise, with a calm center much like a real hurricane, this one is made from the aurora borealis or the “Northern lights.” Its “rain” is electrons.

Auroras naturally occur near the poles during the winter months (respectively), when particles from the Sun excite the molecules in the upper atmosphere of planet Earth.

However, this new “space hurricane” occurs much higher up the atmosphere, entering at higher latitudes than typical auroras. Of course, much like other auroras, space hurricanes can also disrupt radio waves passing through the upper atmosphere and impact satellite communication and navigation systems. It can also heat up the atmosphere. However, any known special health or safety risks on spacecraft or astronauts do not currently exist.

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Argentina vs France Will Play for the World Cup on Sunday

(Photo from sportingnews.com)

Argentina’s Messi will meet France’s Mbappé this coming Sunday to find out who the real winner of the World Cup is. Lionel Messi (35) and the rising star of the globe, Kylian Mbappe (23) will be the hot topic under the Holiday season food table worldwide this year.

Argentina won over Croatia 3:0 and France won over Morroco 2:0, finally rapping up this month-long competition between continent to continent, country to country, and drama-filled event.

The funny thing is as always when the final comes, people bet on who the winner of the World Cup. This year, however, experts say that Argentina and France are going to go neck the neck, and a clear winner has not been predicted.

This coming Sunday, we are going to set a table in the living room to watch the momentum of the glory. This sensational 2022 World Cup will lead the world as a whole at the end of the Year 2022. Officially, the FIFA rankings No.3 and No.4 will be fighting to become the 2022 World Cup winners, a glory allowed only once every 4 years.

With these World Cup games, the US fans enjoyed when the US Men’s team went up to the Round of 16.

Throughout World Cup history, Argentina and France met 12 times, and Argentina beat France six times, drew three times, and lost three times to France since July 15, 1930, according to sportingnews.com.

This World Cup will be played at 3 pm GMT (6 pm Local time) on Sunday, December 18. The US viewers will be able to watch it at 10 am EST and 7 am Pacific time.

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Severe Storm will visit the DMV before Santa

A severe storm moves from the West coast to the central US.

In some western states, Montana, Wyoming, and South Dakota are expecting snow up to 2 ft. In the meantime, the southern states of Texas, and Oklahoma were hit by flash flooding, hail, and tornadoes. This storm will affect more than 15 million Americans, according to Weather.com.

On the Northeast coast, residents are expecting cold blizzard weather which will arrive in the region around Thursday to DMV areas. Unlike other winter storms in recent years in the US, this storm brought heavy snowfall to the northwest coast, and it is heading to the east coast.

In some of the mountain regions on the west coast, roads are closed until next Monday due to avalanche advisory warnings. On the northeast coast, some states including New Jersey and Pennsylvania will have snow accumulation of about 3 to 6 inches. The Baltimore/Washington DC/ Northern Virginia regions will likely see the mix of snow with freezing rain as early as Wednesday evening, the National Weather Service predicts.

This storm system will reign in the DMV areas and most of the Northern Virginia counties are expected to encounter extreme ice accumulation on the roads. Some affected DMV areas will be the northern part of Fauquier, Loudoun, western Montgomery, western Howard, Frederick, and Carroll County.

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