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COVID-19: Researcher Discovers 'Deltacron' Strain Combining Parts Of Both Variants COVID-19: Researcher Discovers 'Deltacron' Strain Combining Parts Of Both Variants
Covid-19: Researcher Discovers 'Deltacron' Strain Combining Parts Of Both Variants A COVID-19 strain that combines both the Omicron and Delta variants has been discovered by a researcher, according to a brand-new report. The strain has been labeled “Deltacron” by the researcher, Leondios Kostrikis, a biological sciences professor at the University of Cyprus because of its omicron-like genetic signatures within the delta genomes, Bloomberg reported on Saturday, Jan. 8. Kostrikis told Sigma TV that "we will see in the future if this strain is more pathological or more contagious or if it will prevail” over Delta and Omicron. To date, 25 cases of Deltacron have been identif…

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by Joe Lombardi
News
TikTok School-Shooting Threats Aren't Credible, Authorities Say TikTok School-Shooting Threats Aren't Credible, Authorities Say
TikTok School-Shooting Threats Aren't Credible, Authorities Say Several schools across the United States closed on Friday while others issued warnings and boosted security following what authorities said were unfounded threats on TikTok of a school shooting. The anonymous TikTok "challenges" -- which apparently originated in Arizona and didn't specify any school or area -- frightened parents from one end of the country to the other. Many said they were keeping their children home on Friday, despite assurances that they had nothing to worry about. Law enforcement agencies nonetheless boosted their presence at and around schools if for no other reason tha…

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by Jerry DeMarco
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NYC Health Chief Reinstates Indoor Public Mask Advisory As Omicron Concerns Grow NYC Health Chief Reinstates Indoor Public Mask Advisory As Omicron Concerns Grow
NYC Health Chief Reinstates Indoor Public Mask Advisory As Omicron Concerns Grow New York City's health chief "strongly" recommended Monday that everyone wear masks in indoor public settings at all times -- regardless of their vax status -- as concerns grows over the newest mutated strain of COVID. "Like at your grocery or in building lobbies, offices and retail stores,” Dr. David Chokshi, commissioner of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, told reporters. “When you’re indoors, regardless of whether you’re fully vaccinated or not, everyone should be wearing a mask." It's not a mandate -- just an advisory at this point. Theaters, restaurants, clu…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Potentially Harmful Chemicals Found In NJ Drinking Water Potentially Harmful Chemicals Found In NJ Drinking Water
Potentially Harmful Chemicals Found In NJ Drinking Water A New Jersey water company warned customers of potentially toxic chemicals in the drinking water Monday. The level of Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) in the water of all its customers in Carteret, Clark, Edison, Metuchen, South Plainfield and Woodbridge had exceeded acceptable regulatory standards, Middlesex Water Company said in a notice. Chemicals in PFOA have been linked to cancer. Middlesex Water in September was notified that PFOA samples were found at the treatment facility in South Plainfield. "Because we exceeded a drinking water standard, we were required to provide notice to custo…

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by Jon Craig & Cecilia Levine
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Drug Mule Caught With 15½ Pounds Of Coke Wrapped In Chocolate At Newark Airport Gets 30 Months Drug Mule Caught With 15½ Pounds Of Coke Wrapped In Chocolate At Newark Airport Gets 30 Months
Drug Mule Caught With 15½ Pounds Of Coke Wrapped In Chocolate At Newark Airport Gets 30 Months UPDATE: A Peruvian woman was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison for trying to smuggle nearly 15½ pounds of cocaine hidden in chocolate candy through Newark Airport. Yolanda Fonseca Melgarejo, 60, a legal permanent resident of the United States and a citizen of Peru, was nabbed after flying in from Lima in March 2019. She had seven kilos of coke "concealed within wrapped chocolate candy in her luggage," Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. Malgarejo took a deal from the government rather than risk trial, pleading guilty this past June to a single count of importing controlled s…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
$1 Million Powerball Ticket Sold In NJ $1 Million Powerball Ticket Sold In NJ
$1 Million Powerball Ticket Sold In NJ UPDATE: Two lottery tickets winning $1 million each were sold in New Jersey. A $1 million Powerball ticket was Saturday's drawing was sold in New Jersey. The retailer was not immediately announced. The million-dollar ticket wins the second-tier prize, but no one in the US won the top-tier prize of $457 million. No one across the country won the top prize as the jackpot for the next drawing Wednesday jumped to $472 million with a cash option of $342 million. The winning numbers from Saturday night's drawing were 5, 36, 39, 45, and 57. The Powerball drawn was 11 with a Power Play of 2X.

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by Cecilia Levine
Business
Popular Fried Chicken Joint Opening 14 Locations In North Jersey, Report Says Popular Fried Chicken Joint Opening 14 Locations In North Jersey, Report Says
Popular Fried Chicken Joint Opening 14 Locations In North Jersey, Report Says A popular fast food joint renowned for its juicy and flavorful fried chicken is opening more than a dozen locations throughout the Garden State, reports say. Dave’s Hot Chicken, based in East Hollywood, now has 20 stores in the U.S. and Canada and plans to open 14 more in New Jersey, according to BoozyBurbs. Specific New Jersey locations have not yet been announced, the report says. First opened in 2017, the chain specializes in crispy, juicy and spicy fried chicken tenders and sliders along with classic sides like cheese fries, macaroni and cheese and kale slaw, its website says. Spice l…

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by Valerie Musson
News
Indian NJ Dad Who Abducted Son Four Years Ago Captured In England, Extradited To US Indian NJ Dad Who Abducted Son Four Years Ago Captured In England, Extradited To US
Indian NJ Dad Who Abducted Son Four Years Ago Captured In England, Extradited To US A federal magistrate judge on Friday ordered the detention of a former New Jersey resident who was captured in England after kidnapping his son four years ago. Amitkumar Kanubhai Patel, 38, “obstructed the parental rights of his child’s mother by kidnapping the child and failing to return him to the United States when ordered to do so,” Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig said. He even told the mother that he was “never bringing the child back to the United States,” Honig said. Patel, most recently of Vadodara, India, had lived with the Cherry Hill woman from August 2015 through Ju…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Weather
New Forecast: Huge Hurricane Larry Churning In Atlantic; Latest Projected Path New Forecast: Huge Hurricane Larry Churning In Atlantic; Latest Projected Path
New Forecast: Huge Hurricane Larry Churning In Atlantic; Latest Projected Path Forecasters are watching powerful Hurricane Larry churning in the Atlantic Basin, warning it could wind up being an even stronger storm than Ida, which left a trail of destruction through multiple states. The latest projected track for the Category 3 storm, packed with 115 mile-per-hour winds, still keeps it well off the US coast. But impacts from Larry "will be far-reaching even though the storm may stay hundreds of miles away from the Atlantic beaches from Florida to Maine, AccuWeather says. Potential for severe thunderstorms and flash flooding across parts of the Northeast on Wednes…

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by Joe Lombardi
News
COVID-19: NJ Suffers Highest Daily Death Total In 3 Months, Blamed on Delta Variant, State Says COVID-19: NJ Suffers Highest Daily Death Total In 3 Months, Blamed on Delta Variant, State Says
Covid-19: NJ Suffers Highest Daily Death Total In 3 Months, Blamed on Delta Variant, State Says New Jersey reported 20 newly confirmed COVID-19 deaths in its latest statistical summary, the highest single-day death total this summer, state officials said. The 20 latest COVID fatalities did not occur on the same day, but all were confirmed as positive on Tuesday. It marked the highest total coronavirus deaths in the Garden State reported in one day since 25 deaths due to COVID were announced by the state Health Department on May 26. New Jersey’s seven-day average for confirmed COVID-19 cases - at 1,494 on Tuesday -- rose 20% in just a week and nearly 300% in one month, state data shows…

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by Jon Craig
News
COVID-19: Unvaccinated Are More Than Twice As Likely To Get Virus A Second Time, CDC Says COVID-19: Unvaccinated Are More Than Twice As Likely To Get Virus A Second Time, CDC Says
Covid-19: Unvaccinated Are More Than Twice As Likely To Get Virus A Second Time, CDC Says A new study by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that COVID-19 vaccines offer better and more protection against reinfection of the virus than just natural immunity among those who already have been infected. On Friday, Aug. 6, the CDC released the findings of a new study of nearly 1,000 Americans who previously tested positive for COVID-19 but remained unvaccinated. According to the study, those who were unvaccinated proved to be more than twice as likely to become infected for a second time than those who were fully vaccinated against the virus. Researchers …

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by Zak Failla
News
Opioids Drive Highest Number Of OD Deaths Ever In US, While NJ Holds Steady, CDC Reports Opioids Drive Highest Number Of OD Deaths Ever In US, While NJ Holds Steady, CDC Reports
Opioids Drive Highest Number Of OD Deaths Ever In US, While NJ Holds Steady, CDC Reports Call it a statistical oddity: Despite an historic spike in drug overdose deaths across the United States last year, the total reported for New Jersey ticked up barely 1% over 2019 – compared with an increase of more than 32% in New York, over 17% in Pennsylvania and more than 10% in Connecticut, the CDC reported. More than 93,000 people across the country died from drug overdoses amid last year’s COVID-19 pandemic, according to the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics. That total represented a 29.4% increase from the 72,151 deaths projected nationwide for 2019, according to an annual…

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by Jerry DeMarco