Texas hospital reports its 1st case of lambda COVID-19 variant

A major Texas hospital system has reported its first case of the lambda COVID-19 variant, as the state reels from the rampant delta variant.

Houston Methodist Hospital, which operates eight hospitals in its network, said the first lambda case was confirmed Monday.

The lambda variant was first detected in Peru in December 2020, according to the World Health Organization and makes up 81% of COVID-19 cases sequenced in the country since April 2021, according to a June WHO report. Currently, WHO designates lambda as a “variant of interest.”

Houston Methodist had a little over 100 COVID-19 patients across the hospital system last week. That number rose to 185 Monday, with a majority of those infected being unvaccinated, according to a statement released by the hospital Monday.

Among those infections, about 85% have been diagnosed with the delta variant, hospital officials said.

“We’re seeing an alarming spike in the number of COVID-19 cases across the Houston area, with the steepest increase happening over the weekend,” Houston Methodist said. “The increased hospitalizations add stress to many of our hospitals that are nearing capacity.”

Hospital president and CEO Dr. Marc Boom stressed it is “imperative” that the community “get vaccinated and decrease virus spread.”

Despite the report of the lambda variant, experts at Houston Methodist say delta is still the primary concern in the U.S.

“The lambda is the dominant variant in Peru and Peru has had a very difficult time with COVID-19. It shares mutations in common with the alpha variants, the beta, the gamma, which is the dominant variant in Brazil,” Dr. Wesley Long, medical director of Diagnostic Microbiology at Houston Methodist, told ABC News.

“I don’t think there’s sufficient evidence at this point that we should be more concerned about lambda than delta, I still think delta is the primary concern for us. There’s a lot more evidence that we have that delta is much more contagious, the viral loads are much higher,” he added.

The lambda variant “has been associated with substantive rates of community transmission in multiple countries, with rising prevalence over time concurrent with increased COVID-19 incidence,” the WHO said in its June report. In June, the variant was detected in 29 countries.

The delta variant, which was first detected in India in December, now accounts for about 83% of all sequenced COVID-19 cases in the United States, Center for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said during a Senate hearing Tuesday. The WHO designates delta as a “variant of concern.”

Long noted that Houston Methodist has seen its positivity rate increase and hospitalizations rise, but the situation on the ground is still “far below” the winter peak.

“[Infections are] on the increase. How many more cases are we going to get?” Long said. “We’re going to need more folks to get vaccinated and folks who aren’t vaccinated in particular to practice all the safe practices that we learned through the pandemic to help slow the spread of COVID. All those are critically important to keep this delta wave under control.”

At the moment, 51% of Texas’ state population aged 12 and up is fully vaccinated, according to state data.

BREAKING: Unvaccinated Trump Supporter Who Spread AntiVaxx LIES DIES FROM COVID

On Tuesday, the Cape Cod Timesreported that Linda Zuern, a former member of the Bourne, Massachusetts Board of Selectmen and a Trump-supporting figure in the local Republican Party, had died of COVID-19.

Zuern died at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston of severe complications caused by COVID-19, according to the report. She was 70 years old and had not been vaccinated.

“She was a strong woman who believed in speaking the truth and defending our freedoms in America.”

 Republican State Committeewoman Deborah Dugan told the Cape Cod Times. Dugan was at Zuern’s bedside when she died. “I would describe her to people as a little woman but a mighty warrior.”

For months, Zuern, a member of the pro-Trump group the United Cape Patriots, had promoted conspiracy theories about the pandemic on Facebook.

She has shared articles accusing the World Health Organization of a coverup of the “Wuhan Virus” and claiming COVID-19 is cover for “globalists” to usher in “U.N. Agenda 2030” — a sustainable development initiative right-wing conspiracy theorists assert is a plot to create a one world government.

Zuern promoted the use of hydroxychloroquine as a treatment of COVID-19 during a Barnstable County Assembly of Delegates meeting in December and questioned whether officials “had looked into preventative measures that people could use besides a vaccine to help build up their immune system,” the Cape Cod Times reported.

Peter Meier, chair of the Board of Selectmen, said Zuern cared deeply about others. “She definitely left her mark on the community,” he added.

According to the report, Zuern and her mother contracted COVID-19 while returning home from a trip to South Dakota — a state where Republican-motivated policies have let the virus propagate with little control

Drone Attack Reported Near Baghdad International Airport Where US Troops Are Stationed

Earlier, unconfirmed reports detailed that Iran-backed militias were beginning to turn to fixed-wing drone attacks in the region so that strikes could go undetected on defensive systems. US officials previously stated that the threat was one of the bigger concerns for US service members.

Preliminary reports have indicated that a drone attack has struck a military facility near Baghdad International Airport in Iraq that houses US service members, it was revealed Monday.

It’s presently unclear if the incident has caused any injuries, fatalities, or structural damages. Iraqi officials have not yet confirmed initial reports.

Citing al-Sharq TV, Egyptian outlet el Balad reported that the drones targeting the military camp had been “booby trapped.”
The latest incident comes several days after an unidentified drone dropped multiple explosive projectiles toward the same facility. At the time, Press TV cited a security source who informed Shafaq News that the drone targeted a wall at the base.

Drone strikes in the region are not uncommon by any measure. Two drone strikes were previously downed by air defense systems at Iraq’s Ain al-Asad Air Base in early June, with another drone attack being carried out against a US State Department facility near the Baghdad airport just days later.

Man robbed after filming p0rn at abandoned building in Mississippi

Police are investigating a case involving a robbery, a shooting, an adult film and a naked man running through a residential neighborhood.

WTOK reports the Meridian Police Department is investigating the armed robbery, which happened at an abandoned alternative school while three people were making an adult film around noon Sunday.

Police say the robber, who was still naked from shooting the film, made the victim send him $200 through Cash App. The victim tried to run away but was chased and shot at by the naked gunman, who put several holes in his car.

“In my seven years of doing this, this is one of the most unique incidents that I’ve ever run across,” said detective Rochester Anderson.

Police have the names of the two suspects they believe were involved in the robbery but are waiting on additional evidence before making arrests.

Guy drops the idea for car companies to drop retro cars like Jordan’s

And yeah, why aren’t we doing this?

Influencer Sophia Cheung Falls to Her Death While Taking Selfie

Sophia Cheung, a 32-year-old Hong Kong-based social media influencer died after falling from the edge of a waterfall near a renowned hiking destination there, according to reports.

On Saturday, Cheung was hiking near Ha Pak Lai, a popular park surrounded by Pineapple Mountain. She was reportedly taking a photo near the edge of a waterfall on the Tsing Dai stream, when she slipped and fell into a 16-foot-deep pool.

Her friends called the police and she was subsequently rushed to the Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital in Hong Kong’s Chai Wan district, where she was pronounced dead.

Cheung, who had nearly 25,000 followers on Instagram, was known to take scenic pictures while exploring Hong Kong, performing hiking stunts and for her nature photography.

The bio of her handle read, “life should be not dumb”. Her social media posts have been flooded with comments from followers expressing grief at the news of her death…

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Groove Kennedy “Bubblegum”

Producer Groove Kennedy knocks it out of the park with the first single that he actually raps on in Bubblegum. Bubblegum is a trending sound on Tik Tok, and appears to be climbing the charts. It is also starting to get FM radio play with spins in Florida (103.1 Miami) and in Georgia. Bubblegum is featured on the Jesus Rode a Dinosaur album, Evil, in Diana