Category: ESTA News

A surge in “walking pneumonia” in the Washington area has put the medical community on alert. Local media outlet WTOP reported this on the 14th under the title, “Emergency care centers report unprecedented surge of walking pneumonia in Washington area.”

According to the outlet, MedStar, which operates thirty-three urgent care centers in the D.C. area, reported 1,758 cases of walking pneumonia in October, a whopping 358% increase from 391 cases a year ago.

Walking pneumonia, which has less severe symptoms than general pneumonia, has increased the most, especially among adolescents aged 10 to 17, and has also been found to occur frequently in children aged 0 to 9.

The medical community believes that the reasons for the increase in walking pneumonia are ▲ fewer people wearing masks, ▲ not washing their hands frequently, ▲ fewer people coughing into their forearms, and ▲ people’s immunity has decreased due to the COVID period.

Walking pneumonia is usually accompanied by fever, cough, and sore throat, and the cough lasts for several days or several weeks.

In addition, some patients may develop asthma attacks, severe pneumonia, or brain infections.

Victims of domestic violence and stalking can now request to have their addresses removed from public records in Virginia.

Local media outlet WFXRFOX News recently reported that victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking, or child abduction have a Virginia state program that can protect them from their abusers, and that they should apply for it if necessary.

According to the outlet, the program is the Virginia Department of Justice’s “Address Confidentiality Program,” which provides a legal alternative address instead of removing the victim’s actual address from public records so that the abuser and others do not know the victim’s actual address. The Department of Justice will receive mail at the alternative address and safely deliver it to the victim. The alternative address provided to applicants will be the address of a state or local government agency.

“Since the COVID-19 pandemic, domestic violence hotline calls have increased by about 400%,” said an official from Rohnock Valley Family Services. “The Address Confidentiality Program helps victims feel safe and at ease and helps them focus on healing rather than living in fear.”

For more information about the program, please apply by emailing the address below.

Email: domestic.violence@oag.state.va.us.

The New York State Senate Democratic Party appears to have lost its “supermajority status” that could have overpowered the governor’s veto in the general election held on the 5th.

According to the results of the New York State Board of Elections’ general election, as of the 7th, the Democratic Party only secured 40 seats in the New York State Senate. The Democratic Party secured supermajority status in the 2020 and 2022 state Senate elections by winning 43 and 42 seats, respectively, which is more than two-thirds of the total seats.

Supermajority status is granted to a party that secures 42 seats, which is two-thirds of the total seats (63 seats) in the state Senate and can overpower the governor’s veto.

In this year’s general election, the Democratic Party lost one seat in the 17th Senate District (South Brooklyn) election when Democratic incumbent candidate Yiwen Chu lost to Republican candidate Steve Chan.

In addition, the 50th district election for the House of Representatives is also being held in a very close race, and as of the 7th, there is no winner. However, regardless of the results of the 50th district election, the Democratic Party has already lost its position as a large majority party due to its defeat in the 17th district election.

PATH Hoboken Station, which connects Manhattan and New Jersey, will be closed for 25 days for major renovations early next year. According to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PA), the station will be closed for 25 days from 11:59 p.m. on January 30 to 5 a.m. on February 25.

According to the PA, the work will include track repairs and station improvements. Accordingly, PATH will operate a free shuttle bus between Hoboken-Newport-Exchange Place during the station closure, NJ Transit will increase service on the 126 buses from Hoboken Station to Manhattan and Bergen County Light Rail during weekday rush hours.

NY Waterway will also extend the last ferry service at Hoboken Terminal to 10 p.m. on weekdays and midnight on weekends. Meanwhile, PA will hold informational sessions to fully explain alternative transportation options for passengers regarding the construction on July 12th at 5:30 p.m. in the Hoboken Terminal 1 Waiting Room, July 13th at 3:50 p.m. at the PA Office (2 Montgomery St., Jersey City, NJ), and July 10th at 6 p.m. online.

Two people were injured in a shooting near a McDonald’s on Manhattan’s Upper West Side on Halloween night. According to the New York City Police Department (NYPD), the suspect pulled the trigger on a group of six teenagers on a boat near Amsterdam Avenue and West 71st Street at around 6:30 p.m. on the 31st.

A 17-year-old male was shot in the leg and a 19-year-old male was shot in the shoulder, and the suspect fled the scene. The victims fled into the McDonald’s immediately after the shooting, causing a commotion in the area.

Police said both victims were treated at a nearby hospital and their injuries are not severe. Police are waiting for any witnesses to come forward with information.

A Baltimore trio has been indicted for kidnapping and murdering a marijuana dealer in Queens in July and then fleeing the scene. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York announced on the 23rd that the three suspects in the case, Jerome Waters, Calvin Israel, and William Barnett, were indicted on charges of kidnapping, robbery, and murder.

The suspects, who were living in Baltimore at the time of the July incident, drove to New York on the 24th after making a fake appointment with a marijuana dealer in Queens for a marijuana transaction. Immediately after confronting the dealer, the suspects threatened him with a gun, tied him up, and stole about 30 pounds of marijuana from the dealer’s location.

The suspects then parked a U-Haul van on 208th Street near 32nd Drive, not far from Crocheron Park, shot and killed the dealer in the vehicle, and then fled to Maryland. According to prosecutors, among the three suspects indicted, Waters and Israel were arrested in Maryland on the 25th, while Barnett is currently on the run.

The suspects face up to life in prison if convicted.

The Maryland State Board of Education has made it mandatory for public school students to report their criminal and criminal records.

The state board of education held an emergency meeting on the 22nd and unanimously passed a rule requiring all information about students who have been involved in, or have been convicted of, a violent crime to be shared with the school system when they transfer or enrol. This includes murder, arson, armed carjacking, and sexual assault, and is intended to prevent situations that threaten the safety of teachers and students in schools.

State Superintendent Carrie Wright sent a letter to 24 school districts, ordering them to immediately implement the new rule. “Previously, when a student transferred to a different school after committing a violent crime, it was optional to report their criminal record to the new school,” Wright said. “Under the new mandatory student crime reporting rule, the school system must clearly and transparently share information about transfer students who may pose a threat to the school and students.”

The new reporting requirement for students’ criminal and criminal backgrounds comes after a 17-year-old student who transferred from Anne Arundel County to Howard High School in Howard County was arrested on suspicion of first-degree murder on May 15. Three lawmakers, including state Sen. Clarence Lamb, called for the requirement.

According to Howard County police, the Howard High student, who is suspected of a shooting murder in Columbia around 2:14 a.m. on May 12, was arrested at the school at around 12:45 p.m. at the time of his arrest. The suspect was found to be carrying a loaded gun in his backpack and was wearing an electronic ankle monitor for juvenile probation.

The Howard County Board of Education said it would not have approved the transfer if it had known of the student’s criminal record, including the attempted murder charge. “This lack of communication can actually cause significant harm and harm,” the Howard County Board of Education said.

The Howard County Board of Education has formed a safety and security advisory committee and asked the Maryland Department of Youth Services to review the cases of 48 students who have been detained or disciplined.

The number of drug overdose deaths in New York City is on the decline. According to a report released by the New York City Department of Health on the 17th, the number of drug overdose deaths in 2023 will be 3,046, a decrease of 0.78% (24 people) from the previous year’s 3,070. It is the first decline last year after increasing for three consecutive years from 2020 to 2022. However, the racial gap has deepened.

While the number of whites decreased by 12.8% (101 people) from 792 the previous year to 691, the number of blacks increased by 1.4% (15 people) from 1,057 the previous year to 1,072, and the number of Latinos increased by 2.3% (24 people) from 1,053 the previous year to 1,077.

The analysis is that while the number of whites and Asians decreased, the number of blacks and Latinos is still increasing. In terms of racial ratio, blacks and Latinos each accounted for 35% of the total, or 70%, while whites accounted for 23%, Asians 1%, and other races 5%, with blacks and Latinos overwhelmingly outnumbering them.

By borough, the Bronx recorded the most deaths at 30%, followed by Brooklyn at 26%, Manhattan at 24%, Queens at 16%, and Staten Island at 5%. In particular, the mortality rate increased in some low-income areas of Manhattan’s East Harlem and the Bronx, while the mortality rate decreased by 9% in wealthier areas. By gender, 69.4% were male and 26.6% were female.

The most common narcotic drugs that led to death were opioids and fentanyl, followed by cocaine, alcohol, and heroin.

Nearly six out of ten New Jersey residents support deporting illegal immigrants. In addition, more than half of residents said that the legal immigration process should be more difficult, showing that perceptions of immigration are changing negatively. According to the results of a poll of New Jersey voters released by Stockton University on the 17th, 57% of all respondents said they support national efforts to deport illegal immigrants.

By party, 89% of Republican respondents, 56% of independents, and 33% of Democratic respondents supported deporting illegal immigrants. Perceptions of expanding legal immigration also showed a negative change. In the 2022 survey, the number of respondents who were for and against the question of whether legal immigration should be expanded was tied at 34% each, but in this poll, 51% responded that the legal immigration process should be more difficult, while only 20% said that the immigration process should be made easier.

This change in New Jersey residents’ perception of immigration is analyzed as being due to growing dissatisfaction with the southern border crisis. Meanwhile, 73% of all respondents were in favor of legalizing abortion. In addition, 58% of respondents opposed the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, which guaranteed abortion rights.

Perceptions of the economy varied depending on political party affiliation. About 80% of Democratic supporters thought the economy was optimistic, while only 25% of Republican supporters said they were optimistic.

This survey was conducted from the 10th to the 14th with 616 registered New Jersey voters. The margin of error is ±3.9%.

Three historic universities in Virginia that have been open for over 100 years are facing financial difficulties due to a significant decrease in the number of students enrolled and are on the verge of closure. Local media outlet WRIC reported on the 8th, citing a report from the Virginia Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC), that three universities, Virginia State University in Chesterfield County, Mary Washington University in Fredericksburg, and Radford University in Radford, are at risk of closure due to financial problems, although not immediately.

According to the outlet, Virginia State University, which opened in 1882, has maintained low tuition fees to provide educational services to the traditionally underprivileged, but this has led to a continued decline in school revenue in recent years. Radford University, which opened in 1910, and Mary Washington University, which opened in 1908, are being cited as the cause of their crisis due to a significant decrease in the number of students enrolled.