Free Republic

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — President Joe Biden took his own playful swing at Philly’s infamously ornery sports fans — including one real close to home. “Phillies fans are the most virulent, obnoxious fans in the world,” he said Tuesday while campaigning in Florida.

The omicron variant of COVID-19 has shown signs of being less virulent than other strains, with early hospital data out of South Africa indicating that patients infected with the variant require less intensive care. Researchers at Steve Biko/Tshwane District Hospital Complex, a major hospital complex in Pretoria, South Africa’s capital and the center of the omicron outbreak, reported last week that the majority of patients in the COVID-19 ward there were asymptomatic. Their findings reflect similar trends at hospitals across the province as a whole, leading some infectious disease experts to be cautiously optimistic that omicron may manifest in a...

the first ten cases of the AY3 coronavirus strain based on the Delta strain had been found in Israel. The AY3 strain is based on the Delta variant, from which a number of further mutations have been found, including several considered more "virulent." Of those infected, eight had returned from abroad and two were infected inside Israel. ....This week, a representative of the Health Ministry in the Knesset said of the strain that it "causes concern and will lead us to lockdown" and expressed concern about the possibility of it being discovered in Israel, since it is a variant with...

SICK Queenslanders are being urged to stay home and consider wearing face masks against this year's strain of virulent flu. A five-year-old who died yesterday in Victoria was believed to be the sixth child killed by the virus in the past two weeks. In Queensland, there have been 1400 confirmed flu cases, three times as many as normal for this time of year. With the Ekka due to open in Brisbane tomorrow – a gathering of 500,000 people over 10 days – Queensland's Chief Health Officer, Jeanette Young, has urged those not vaccinated to consider staying away. People with chronic...

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Two teenagers were accused of gang-raping a woman and forcing her 12-year-old son to join in the attack, then beating him and pouring cleaning solution into his eyes. Authorities allege Avion Lawson, 14, and Nathan Walker, 16, were among a group of about 10 masked suspects who forced their way into the womanÂ’s apartment in a crime-ridden housing project the night of June 18. The two were being held without bail Friday on suspicion of armed sexual battery by multiple perpetrators, sexual performance by a child, armed home invasion and aggravated battery. Both were arrested...

Virulent TB in South Africa may imperil millions By MICHAEL WINES Published: January 27, 2007 JOHANNESBURG: More than a year after a virulent strain of tuberculosis killed 52 of 53 infected patients in a rural South African hospital, experts here and abroad say the disease has most likely spread to neighboring countries, and some say urgent action is essential to halt its advance. Several expressed concern at what they called South Africa's sluggish response to a health emergency that, left unchecked, could prove hugely expensive to contain and could threaten millions across sub-Saharan Africa. The director of the government's tuberculosis...

A bitter-sounding Sen. John Kerry dismissed the historic Iraqi election on Sunday, warning Americans not to "overhype" the watershed event. "No one in the United States should try to overhype this election," Kerry told NBC's "Meet the Press." The failed presidential candidate questioned the historic referendum's legitimacy, saying, "It's hard to say that something is legitimate when a whole portion of the country can't vote and doesn't vote." Kerry also pooh-poohed reports of a surprisingly high 72 percent turnout by Iraqi voters, insisting instead that the election has "gone as expected." Asked if he thought Iraq was now less of...

'Virulent avian flu bug puts humans at risk' January 28 2004 at 09:00AM By Tan Ee Lyn Hong Kong - The unusually large number of ducks dying from avian flu in southern China indicates that the virus has become more virulent, which will put more people at risk of contracting it, Hong Kong scientists said on Wednesday. They also raised the alarm about chilled and frozen poultry meat, saying the deadly H5N1 virus could survive for years in temperatures as low as -70°C, but repeated that it can be killed if meat is cooked properly. China confirmed on Tuesday that...