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At least 19 people contract fungal infection after California music festival, officials say

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At least 19 people contract fungal infection after California music festival, officials say


At least 19 people contracted valley fever, a fungal infection that in rare cases can be fatal, after attending an outdoor music festival in southern California in May, public health officials have reported.

The number of illnesses associated with the five-day Lightning in a Bottle event has almost quadrupled over the last month. Valley fever is caused by inhaling Coccidioides, a fungus endemic to the soil of the US south-west. New research shows that cases of the illness have risen dramatically in recent years.

It typically presents as a mild respiratory illness – most people will not become ill after an exposure – but a small subset of those infected can develop serious, debilitating or long-term problems.

More than 20,000 people attended Lightning in a Bottle, an electronic dance music festival, in Kern county between 22 and 27 May, according to the California department of public health. Nineteen people have confirmed diagnoses of the illness through a voluntary survey, including eight who were hospitalized, the CDPH said in a statement last month.

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Valley fever has been increasing in California, particularly in the central area of the state, for years as the climate crisis has rendered the landscape drier and hotter – conditions the fungus favors.

Between March 2000 and February 2021, there were 89,281 reported cases in 17 counties, according to a study published this year. There were 12 times as many incidents across counties in the state in 2018 than in 2000, according to the study. Since 2014 alone, reported cases in the US have almost doubled, and in California they have more than tripled.

There were more than 9,000 cases reported in the state last year, and more than 5,000 preliminary cases reported as of July 2024, the CDPH reported. The state public health department said the increase could be attributed to winter rains following years of drought, increased recognition and testing for the disease, and more “soil disturbance activities” in areas with a high risk.

Coccidioides grows in the dirt but can be become airborne when disturbed and can travel miles away.

Most people do not become ill after exposure to the fungus, but for those who do, experts have said that it is likely very few actually receive a valley fever diagnosis. Of those infected, about 40% of people develop a respiratory illness that can be mild while 1% have more severe outcomes, the Guardian reported in 2022.

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The California department of public health warns that the Central valley and central coast may face increased risk of valley fever through fall.

“We’re preparing for another possible increase in valley fever cases in the coming months, and we want Californians to know the signs and symptoms to detect it early,” Dr Tomás Aragón, the state public health officer, said in a statement. “If you have a lingering cough and fatigue, please talk to a doctor about valley fever, especially if you’ve been outdoors in dusty air in the Central valley or central coast regions.”



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California officials rip state's 'soft-on-crime' policies after mayor attacked by homeless criminal: 'Travesty' | Fox News Video

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California officials rip state's 'soft-on-crime' policies after mayor attacked by homeless criminal: 'Travesty' | Fox News Video


Marysville Mayor Chris Branscum and Councilman Dom Belza joined ‘Fox & Friends First’ to discuss why they blame the state’s crime policies, implemented under Kamala Harris, for the surge in violence after the random attack on the mayor.



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California doctor, 32, is killed after car smashes into her scooter

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California doctor, 32, is killed after car smashes into her scooter


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A 32-year-old doctor in California has died after she was fatally struck by a vehicle while riding an electric scooter.

Dr. Geohaira Sosa, a first-year psychiatry resident physician at UC Davis, lost her life at around 10.30am on August 29 after she was hit by the incoming vehicle in Sacramento. 

The collision occurred at near the 1200 block of Alhambra Boulevard, at the intersection of Folsom Boulevard. 

According to a GoFundMe launched by the UC Davis Department of Psychiatry, Sosa had started her residency two months ago after moving from Queens, New York. 

Dr. Geohaira Sosa, a first-year psychiatry resident physician at UC Davis, lost her life at around 10.30am on August 29 after she was hit by the incoming vehicle in Sacramento while riding her scooter

‘Geo was an absolutely beautiful person inside and out. Many of her co-interns who had the privilege and joy of spending time with Geo these past few months felt that she was becoming one of our own best friends.

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‘She radiated joy, kindness, and authenticity. We hope to carry forward her spirit in our communities,’ the crowdfunding page read. 

The Puerto Rican was the first of her family to pursue medicine and was extremely proud of her roots. 

She had earned her bachelor’s degree in biology and psychology at Queens College as a first-generation college student. 

According to a GoFundMe launched by the UC Davis Department of Psychiatry, Sosa had started her residency two months ago after moving down from Queens, New York

According to a GoFundMe launched by the UC Davis Department of Psychiatry, Sosa had started her residency two months ago after moving down from Queens, New York

The Puerto Rican was the first of her family to pursue medicine and was extremely proud of her roots

The Puerto Rican was the first of her family to pursue medicine and was extremely proud of her roots

Sosa acted as a mental health ambassador for low-income college students with mental illnesses

Sosa acted as a mental health ambassador for low-income college students with mental illnesses

According to the The Sacramento Bee, Sosa had attained a master’s degree in urban bioethics and attended medical school at Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University.  

She had also worked on a newsletter providing health education to current and former incarcerated people. 

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Apart from this, Sosa acted as a mental health ambassador for low-income college students with mental illnesses. 

The crowdfunding page has raised $36,396 – significantly more than its original goal of $30,000.  

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Leading ex-California Democratic state senator defects to GOP – Washington Examiner

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Leading ex-California Democratic state senator defects to GOP – Washington Examiner


A former California Democratic state Senate leader has defected to the Republican Party.

Former California State Senate Democratic Majority Leader Gloria Romero announced her decision at a press conference hosted by Republican commentator Steve Hilton, who livestreamed it on his X account. She was joined by several leading Republican legislators.

Former state Sen. Gloria Romero of Los Angeles speaks during a news conference organized by the Californians for Safer Communities Coalition, Thursday, April 18, 2024, in Culver City, California. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)

“In this Capitol behind me, I served as both Senate Democratic Caucus chair and the Senate majority leader. But today I say goodbye. Adios! I’ve had enough,” she said.

Romero recalled her role as the Democratic convention delegate for the Rev. Jesse Jackson, then for former President Barack Obama at three separate conventions. She said her heroes growing up were Democratic titans Franklin D. Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, and Robert F. Kennedy.

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“This is not the Democratic Party that I once championed,” she said. “I do not recognize it anymore, and I cannot continue. I changed my voting registration today as the sun was rising to Republican, which has, under Donald Trump, become the champion of working people … and indeed, I will vote for Donald Trump this fall.”

For her reasoning, she accused the Democrats of stifling democracy, going so far as to compare them to Latin American dictators. She said the party rigs primaries against candidates, such as Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and executed a “political coup” against President Joe Biden.

Romero also hit the Democrats on women’s rights, criticizing the undermining of Title IX protections, and going too far on abortion. Immigration, crime, and the rising cost of living were topics of her criticism as well.

“But perhaps my biggest disconnect with my old party now has been over school choice, education freedom, and the right to have quality schools for all, especially as congressman Kevin Kiley and I have fought together, especially for school choice for poor and minority children who are trapped in chronically failing schools,” she added.

Romero concluded that she left the party “with sadness, but it is with the belief that this is best for the future. I stayed for as long as I could. I tried reforms, I spoke out, I voted. Today, I turn to the future. A land of opportunity and free speech. I am excited to join a party that was started by the greatest American, Abraham Lincoln, and the challenges of building a new great republic.”

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CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

After leaving office in 2010, Romero has been increasingly critical of the Democratic Party. In a November 2021 op-ed for the California Globe, she warned about a decline of the party unless an overhaul was undertaken.

“As a lifetime Democrat, I am horrified to see a Democratic Party I once revered—a party that sent us to the moon and back and inspired a new generation of youth like me with messaging replete with opportunity, hope, optimism, and belief in working-class Americans—now on the path to irrelevance and political extinction across major swaths of our country,” she wrote.



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