Massapequa, NY
News
COVID-19: Return Of Mask Mandates? Uncertainty Surrounds Climb In Omicron-Fueled Reinfections COVID-19: Return Of Mask Mandates? Uncertainty Surrounds Climb In Omicron-Fueled Reinfections
Covid-19: Return Of Mask Mandates? Uncertainty Surrounds Climb In Omicron-Fueled Reinfections More places are bringing back indoor mask mandates as the now dominant COVID-19 Omicron strain is not only reinfecting many who have already had the virus but those who have been vaccinated and boosted. The BA.5 variant (the official name for Omicron) made up about 65 percent of US cases in the weeklong period ending Saturday, July 16, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). And the wave is being felt nationwide. The Staten Island Ferry has reduced service due to an increasing number of workers being out sick. In Boston, with cases up around 40 percent in a…

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by Joe Lombardi
Massapequa, NY
News
COVID-19: Newly Emerging Omicron Mutant Strain Sparking Concerns Among Scientists COVID-19: Newly Emerging Omicron Mutant Strain Sparking Concerns Among Scientists
Covid-19: Newly Emerging Omicron Mutant Strain Sparking Concerns Among Scientists More people are contracting the Omicron strain of COVID-19 multiple times in quicker sequences compared to other subvariants, and a newly emerging mutant of the strain is sparking concerns among scientists. The BA.5 strain is now the most dominant COVID variant in the US, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).  A new mutation of the Omicron strain -- identified as BA.2.75 -- is being described as perhaps the most contagious yet. "Previous infections from Omicron are not giving us the same antibody protection against the newer variants," Dr. Alok Patel of St…

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by Joe Lombardi
Fairfax, VA
Police & Fire
McLean Man Sentenced To 3 Years In $1.6M In Fraud Scheme: Feds McLean Man Sentenced To 3 Years In $1.6M In Fraud Scheme: Feds
McLean Man Sentenced To 3 Years In $1.6M In Fraud Scheme: Feds A 33-year-old McLean man was sentenced to three years in prison earlier this month for his role in a five-year scam that bilked more than 1,300 people — mostly elderly — out of $1.6 million, the Department of Justice said.  A court ruled that Bruhaspaty Prasad, 33, worked with scam artists based at a call center in India to steal money from unsuspecting victims, a U.S. Attorney said in a news release.  Their alleged grift is one that anyone online has likely come across in recent years.  In the scam, victims would get an unsolicited phone call or a pop-up window on a website…

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by Josh Lanier
Port Chester, NY
Politics
Meet Willow: White House Has A Cat For First Time In More Than 12 Years Meet Willow: White House Has A Cat For First Time In More Than 12 Years
Meet Willow: White House Has A Cat For First Time In More Than 12 Years Call it the Oval Pawffice. First lady Jill Biden announced that America’s first family has welcomed Willow, a 2-year-old, gray-and-white feline to the White House, making her the first cat in the Oval Office in more than a decade. Biden, a community college professor, said that she named the cat after her hometown of Willow Grove, Pennsylvania. “A farm cat from Pennsylvania, Willow made quite an impression on Dr. Biden in 2020 when she jumped up on the stage and interrupted her remarks during a campaign stop," Biden spokesperson Michael LaRosa said. "Seeing their immediate bond, the owner…

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by Zak Failla
Rivertowns, NY
News
COVID-19: 'Stealth Omicron,' A New Version Of Variant, Identified In US COVID-19: 'Stealth Omicron,' A New Version Of Variant, Identified In US
Covid-19: 'Stealth Omicron,' A New Version Of Variant, Identified In US A new sub-variant of the dominant COVID-19 Omicron strain could be on the rise, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The new strain, dubbed the “stealth” Omicron variant because it’s difficult to identify due to a lack of certain genetic characteristics, appears to be on the rise, with confirmed cases of the virus in at least 40 countries, including the United States. According to the WHO, Omicron, which is known as B.1.1.529, has three sub-variants: the original BA.1 that remains the dominant strain, the “stealth” BA.2, which is picking up steam, and the more elusive BA.3. Re…

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by Zak Failla
Paterson, NJ
News
Imprisoned Gunman Who Killed Wife, Good Samaritan At Clifton Church Wants New Trial Imprisoned Gunman Who Killed Wife, Good Samaritan At Clifton Church Wants New Trial
Imprisoned Gunman Who Killed Wife, Good Samaritan At Clifton Church Wants New Trial A convict who's 10 years into serving two life sentences for shooting and killing his wife and a congregant at a Clifton church wants New Jersey's highest court to overturn his conviction. Joseph "Sanish" Pallipurath, 40, argues in an appeal to the state Supreme Court that his attorney should have mounted an insanity defense during his trial in Superior Court in Paterson in 2011. Reshma James, 24, had been trying to flee an abusive arranged marriage in India that continued after Pallipurath brought her back with him to California, prosecutors said at the time. James obtained a r…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Pelham, NY
News
COVID-19: Newly Discovered Strain Could Be Worse Than Delta Variant, Scientists Fear COVID-19: Newly Discovered Strain Could Be Worse Than Delta Variant, Scientists Fear
Covid-19: Newly Discovered Strain Could Be Worse Than Delta Variant, Scientists Fear Updated story - COVID-19: New Variant's 50 Mutations Make It Different From Original Virus, NIH Director Says A new COVID-19 variant that could be worse than the Delta strain is sparking concerns among scientists. The B.1.1.529 strain, now known as Omicron, could become a "variant of concern" as soon as Friday, Nov. 26, when the World Health Organization holds an emergency meeting. It is now spreading rapidly in parts of South Africa after first being detected in neighboring Botswana.  The new variant has already shown a large number of mutations, and scientists fear it…

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by Joe Lombardi
Englewood, NJ
News
Authorities: Street Evangelist Violates Judge's Order, Stalks Englewood Abortion Doc Again Authorities: Street Evangelist Violates Judge's Order, Stalks Englewood Abortion Doc Again
Authorities: Street Evangelist Violates Judge's Order, Stalks Englewood Abortion Doc Again A self-described Christian missionary from Bergenfield who was accused of using a drone to peer into the second-floor office of an Englewood abortion doctor was arrested again Friday morning for violating a restraining order, authorities said. A Superior Court judge in March ordered Daniel Stephen Courney, 37, not to return to Metropolitan Medical Associates on Engle Street as a condition of his release after city police charged him with stalking the doctor. He was back Friday morning -- and recorded it on Facebook. Officers responding to a call of excessive noise by a small group of peopl…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Newark, NJ
Police & Fire
NJ Man Reunited With Family After 18 Years Dies In Highway Crash NJ Man Reunited With Family After 18 Years Dies In Highway Crash
NJ Man Reunited With Family After 18 Years Dies In Highway Crash A 55-year-old Bergenfield man was killed in a crash on Route 1&9 just two weeks after bringing his family to the US from India after 18 years apart, according to authorities and those who knew him. Roy Thomas was driving a box truck when he ran into the back of a tractor trailer at a high rate of speed in Newark near the Kearny border early Tuesday morning,  Acting Essex County Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens, II, and Newark Public Safety Director Brian A. O’Hara said. Thomas was pronounced dead at the scene just after 3 a.m. The driver of the tractor trailer remained at the …

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by Cecilia Levine
Cherry Hill, NJ
News
FEDS: India-Based Phone Scammers Admit Conning Elderly NJ Victims Out Of $600,000 FEDS: India-Based Phone Scammers Admit Conning Elderly NJ Victims Out Of $600,000
Feds: India-Based Phone Scammers Admit Conning Elderly NJ Victims Out Of $600,000 Two Indian nationals admitted Wednesday that they conned mostly elderly New Jersey victims out of $600,000 through a variety of phone scams, including posing as government officials and online support techs. Zeeshan Khan, 22, and Maaz Ahmed Shamsi, 24, operated India-based call centers that made robocalls to mostly elderly U.S. residents, Acting U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Rachael A. Honig said. Once contact was made, members of the international ring “would coerce or trick the victims into sending large sums of cash through physical shipments or wire transfers to other members of the cons…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Worcester, MA
News
COVID-19: Cape Cod Cluster Among Vaccinated Led To Mask Shift; 'The War Has Changed' CDC Says COVID-19: Cape Cod Cluster Among Vaccinated Led To Mask Shift; 'The War Has Changed' CDC Says
Covid-19: Cape Cod Cluster Among Vaccinated Led To Mask Shift; 'The War Has Changed' CDC Says A cluster of hundreds of COVID-19 cases on Cape Cod, many involving vaccinated people, prompted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to change its policy on mask-wearing this week. The July 4th outbreak in Provincetown, Massachusetts showed that vaccinated people infected with the Delta variant could spread the virus. A total of nearly 900 infections have been linked to the cluster. The high viral load of the Delta variant, which was first discovered in India late last year, makes it possible for vaccinated who become infected through breakthrough cases to spread the virus i…

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by Joe Lombardi
Chappaqua, NY
News
COVID-19: Delta Variant As Contagious As Chickenpox, Internal CDC Document Says COVID-19: Delta Variant As Contagious As Chickenpox, Internal CDC Document Says
Covid-19: Delta Variant As Contagious As Chickenpox, Internal CDC Document Says The Delta variant, which now accounts for about 85 percent of new COVID-19 cases in the United States, is as contagious as chickenpox, according to internal documents by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC). Details of those documents were reported on Friday, July 30 by both The Washington Post and New York Times. The high viral load of the Delta variant makes it possible for vaccinated who become infected through breakthrough cases to spread the virus in some cases, the CDC now says. “We have studies that have now shown that even on the first swab on somebody with a…

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by Joe Lombardi