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New variant EG.5 is on the rise as COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations go up

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:39 GMT

(CNN) — There’s a new coronavirus variant topping the leaderboard in the United States: EG.5.Nationally, EG.5 is causing about 17% of new COVID-19 cases in the country, compared with 16% for the next most common lineage, XBB.1.16, according to the latest estimates from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.EG may sound like a whole new flavor of the virus, but it’s not; it’s a spinoff of the XBB recombinant strain of the Omicron family. And it represents another incremental tweak to the virus rather than a major evolutionary leap like the original Omicron strain.Compared with its parent XBB.1.9.2, it has one extra mutation to its spike, at position 465. This mutation has appeared in other coronavirus variants before. Scientists aren’t sure exactly what new tricks it enables the virus to do, but variant hunters are paying attention because many of the new XBB descendants have adopted it.The 465 mutation is present in about 35% of coronavirus sequences repor...

Coral Springs ‘Big Brother’ star Luke Valentine ousted from show after using racial slur

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:39 GMT

(CNN) — Luke Valentine has been kicked off of “Big Brother 25” after using the n-word on Tuesday night’s live feed.“Luke violated the BIG BROTHER code of conduct and there is zero tolerance in the house for using a racial slur. He has been removed from the house,” CBS and the show’s producers said in a statement emailed to CNN. “His departure will be addressed in Thursday night’s show.”Valentine, who is White, was captured on camera using the slur during a conversation with fellow cast members Jared Fields, Hisam Goueli and Cory Wurtenberger.“We were in the f***ing (inaudible) room, n***er,” Valentine could be heard saying before he quickly attempted to laugh it off and added, “Dude…I’m sorry.”Fields, who is Black, then told Valentine “I don’t give a f**k.”Fields also told Valentine, “In situations that should be uncomfortable for a Black man, White people get more uncomfortable.”Valentine responded, “Well, I’m in trouble now. I’ve been in worse trouble.”He has yet to publicly ...

Man paralyzed in diving accident on Fourth of July in Fort Lauderdale sandbar

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:39 GMT

A 4th of July celebration turned tragic for one South Florida man after he suffered a severe injury from a diving accident that left him instantly paralyzed from the neck down.The incident occurred at the Fort Lauderdale sandbar, where Daniel Eisenberg dove off a boat into shallow waters, resulting in a broken neck.“I was headed to the water to meet up with some friends and to go out on a friend’s boat,” said Eisenberg. “It was shallow but it wasn’t anything too shallow. It was probably three to four feet [deep]. I took another jump and probably two to three hours after we got there, the water had completely gone out.”The tide had completely changed the water’s depth at the sandbar. “I instantly made impact,” said Eisenberg. Emergency services swiftly responded to the scene and rushed Eisenberg to a local hospital unconscious and in critical condition. Doctors quickly proceeded with an intense emergency spinal cord surgery to add...

M-DCPS, BCPS announce AP Psychology will be available for students after Florida Department of Education reverses decision

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:39 GMT

After the Florida Department of Education reversed their decision to limit an Advanced Placement Psychology class from being taught in public high schools, several South Florida counties announced that the course will be available for the students in the upcoming academic school year.The course has been taught in Florida for nearly 30 years.“We firmly believe that offering AP Psychology is the right thing to do,” said Broward County Public Schools Superintendent Peter Licata.“Miami-Dade Public Schools will be offering AP Psychology for the ’23-’24 school year,” said Miami-Dade County Schools Assistant Superintendent Lisette Alves. Advanced Placement Psychology will be taught in Miami-Dade and Broward County Public Schools this upcoming year, school district officials confirmed on Wednesday.“I think that’s amazing; it’s the right thing to do,” said Karla Hernandez-Mats, president of United Teachers of Dade.“There’s nothing wrong w...

Bell homers twice, Bryan De La Cruz’s HR in 9th helps Marlins rally late for 5-4 win over the Reds

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:39 GMT

CINCINNATI (AP) — Josh Bell homered twice and drove in four runs, Bryan De La Cruz hit the go-ahead shot in the ninth and the Miami Marlins rallied late for a 5-4 victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday.Trailing 4-1, Bell hit a game-tying three-run home run in the eighth inning before De La Cruz led off the ninth by going the opposite way to right field against Alexis Diaz (3-4). Bell gave the Marlins a 1-0 lead with a second-inning solo shot.Graham Ashcraft pitched seven impressive innings, Christian Encarnacion-Strand homered and drove in three runs for the Reds, who have lost eight of their past nine games.Spencer Steer also homered and Joey Votto had three hits for the Reds.Tanner Scott (6-4) pitched the eighth for the win. David Robertson allowed a hit before striking out Elly De La Cruz for his 17th save in 21 tries and third for the Marlins since being acquired in a trade with the New York Mets.Ashcraft extended his recent run of effective outings, allowing one run and ...

French MEP Véronique Trillet-Lenoir dies

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:39 GMT

Véronique Trillet-Lenoir, an oncologist and French member of European Parliament with the Renew Europe group, has died at the age of 66. The prominent health-focused MEP sat on the Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, as well as the public health subcommittee. She was also co-chair of the MEPs Against Cancer group. Announcing her death on X (formerly known as Twitter), Stéphane Séjourné, president of Renew, said that he had learned “with infinite sadness” of Trillet-Lenoir’s death. “A model of integrity, Véronique had made the health of Europeans and our health security her fight, based on her university experience and her career,” he said.Séjourné described Trillet-Lenoir as a “woman of commitments” full of humanity, benevolence and generosity. “Her struggles now become ours. We will commit to it with the same strength and the same determination,” said Séjourné.Fellow Renew MEP Monica Semedo posted on X that Trillet-Lenoi...

At least 6 killed in wildfires that devastated parts of the Hawaiian island of Maui, official says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:39 GMT

KAHULUI, Hawaii (AP) — A wildfire tore through the heart of Maui on Wednesday with alarming speed and ferocity, destroying dozens of homes and businesses in a historic tourist town, killing at least six people and injuring at least two dozen others, and forcing panicked residents to jump into the ocean to flee the flames.Fire was widespread in Lahaina Town, including on Front Street, a popular shopping and dining area, County of Maui spokesperson Mahina Martin said by phone early Wednesday.Photos posted by the county overnight showed a line of flames blazing across an intersection and leaping above buildings in the town center that dates to the 1700s and is on the National Register of Historic Places. Aerial video from after sunrise revealed entire blocks of buildings reduced to ash and thick smoke in the air.“Do NOT go to Lahaina Town,” the county tweeted hours before all roads in and out of West Maui’s biggest community were closed to everyone except emergency personnel....

Bystanders step in to help driver after rollover wreck involving MBTA truck in Dorchester

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:39 GMT

An MBTA service truck was involved in a rollover crash in Dorchester Wednesday afternoon. Video from Sky7HD shows a crowd of people helping the driver get out of the truck, which was on its side in the middle of Dorchester Avenue. The driver was able to get out of the passenger side as bystanders held the door open.The crash was close to the Ashmont Station. No other information was immediately available.This is a developing story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest updates.

Robbie Robertson, lead guitarist and songwriter of The Band, dies at 80

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:39 GMT

By Hillel Italie, Associated PressRobbie Robertson, The Band’s lead guitarist and songwriter who in such classics as “The Weight,” “Up on Cripple Creek” and “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” mined and helped reshape American music, has died at 80.Robertson died surrounded by family, a statement from his manager said.From their years as Bob Dylan’s masterful backing group to their own stardom as embodiments of old-fashioned community and virtuosity, The Band profoundly influenced popular music in the 1960s and ’70s, first by literally amplifying Dylan’s polarizing transition from folk artist to rock star and then by absorbing the works of Dylan and Dylan’s influences as they fashioned a new sound immersed in the American past.Robbie Robertson is presented with Toronto’s Key to the City while attending the “Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and the Band” press conference during the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival at TIFF ...

Robbie Robertson, soul of The Band, dies at 80

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:39 GMT

Robbie Robertson, The Band’s lead guitarist and songwriter who in such classics as “The Weight,” “Up on Cripple Creek” and “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” mined and helped reshape American music, has died at 80.Robertson died surrounded by family, a statement from his manager said.From their years as Bob Dylan’s masterful backing group to their own stardom as embodiments of old-fashioned community and virtuosity, The Band profoundly influenced popular music in the 1960s and ’70s, first by literally amplifying Dylan’s polarizing transition from folk artist to rock star and then by absorbing the works of Dylan and Dylan’s influences as they fashioned a new sound immersed in the American past.The Canadian-born Robertson was a high school dropout and one-man melting pot — part-Jewish, part-Mohawk and Cayuga — who fell in love with the seemingly limitless sounds and byways of his adopted country and wrote out of a se...