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Just over a year since the first reported Covid-19 case in the US, the country nears 25 million infections - CNN

The US is again quickly approaching another grim milestone: 25 million Covid-19 cases in a little more than a year since the country reported its first infection.

(CNN)The US is again quickly approaching another grim milestone: 25 million Covid-19 cases in a little more than a year since the country reported its first infection. The devastating number is more than double the number of infections reported in India, which has the second-highest number of cases after the US, according to Johns Hopkins University data. And it's nearly triple the number of cases in Brazil -- with the third-highest number of cases in the world, according to Johns Hopkins. And while some states have reported encouraging trends in the past weeks, experts warn the US is still not out of the woods -- and Covid-19 variants could pose further challenges. Particularly one variant, which was first identified in the UK. It's now been detected in at least 22 states, according to data posted Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Washington state health officials announced Saturday they found the variant in "testing samples" in the state. "We're now in that second half of fighting this pandemic," Washington Secretary of Health Umair A. Shah said during a news conference. "It's very important for us to really double down on our efforts to prevent this strain as well as any strain from taking over, because we want to make sure that transmission does not happen in our state and the best way to do that is prevention, prevention, prevention." Earlier this month, the CDC warned the variant appeared to be more easily transmissible and its numbers in the US could see "rapid growth" in early 2021. Now scientists at the CDC are speaking with UK health officials to learn more about data suggesting the same variant could be more deadly. A UK report released Friday states there is "a realistic possibility" that the new variant has a higher death rate than other variants. "The data is mounting -- and some of it I can't share -- that clearly supports that B.1.1.7 is causing more severe illness and increased death," infectious disease expert Michael Osterholm said. "Already we know this variant has increased transmission, and so this is more very bad news." But National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Francis Collins said Saturday it's still too soon to tell if the variant is more deadly, telling MSNBC, "this is very preliminary data." "It looks as if, if you look at 1,000 people who got infected with Covid-19, generally about 1%, 10 of them, would die of it. Maybe with this virus, it would be 13 instead of 10," Collins said. "That's a small difference." He added that the numbers could possibly also be a "consequence of the fact that the UK health system is really overwhelmed." "That has an effect also on mortality," Collins added. The good news? Studies so far suggest vaccines will also protect against the variant and that the same measures that can help prevent infections -- including mask wearing, social distancing and regular hand washing -- continue to be key in the effort to curb the spread. More than 20 million vaccine doses administered in US CDC data shows more than 20.5 million vaccine doses have been administered across the country -- with more than 3 million Americans having received both doses. While the vaccine rollout throughout the country has been slower than officials had hoped, Dr. Anthony Fauci said Saturday that if Johnson & Johnson's vaccine is authorized for emergency use, the US could see a significant boost in available doses by May. That vaccine only requires one dose, instead of the two necessary for the current Covid-19 vaccines. "I would anticipate that within a period of likely no more than two weeks, that the data will be looked at by the Data and Safety Monitoring Board," Fauci told MSNBC. And if the data is strong enough, the next step would be presenting it to the Food and Drug Administration for an emergency use authorization, he said. "Let's say they do ... get an EUA in February, by the time they get a meaningful amount of doses, it likely will be a month or two following that," he said. "Once they get going into May, June, July, August, then you're going to see a sharp escalation of additional doses of this one-dose vaccine." Meanwhile, the FDA also told CNN Saturday that if absolutely necessary, "modest delays" between first and second doses of the current Covid-19 vaccines are not expected to decrease protection against the virus. The agency said it "recognizes that getting as many people as possible across the country fully immunized will help to curtail the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19 and should be a priority." Previously, the FDA had warned changes to vaccine schedules without appropriate data could put public health at risk. The CDC also updated its guidance to say second doses of vaccines may be scheduled up to six weeks after initial doses, if necessary, adding second doses should be administered as close as possible to the recommended interval -- three weeks after the first dose for the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine and four weeks for the Moderna vaccine. Hospital leader: 'We truly are in the darkest days' That all comes as the US continues to fight a brutal battle against the virus. More than 113,600 Americans are hospitalized with the virus nationwide, according to the COVID Tracking Project. Los Angeles County -- which for weeks has been the epicenter of the state's Covid-19 crisis -- has now surpassed 15,000 Covid-19 deaths, health officials said Saturday. And more than 6,800 people remain hospitalized with the virus -- 24% of whom are in the ICU. "While we are seeing some positive data in daily new cases and hospitalizations, we are far from out of the woods," Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said in a statement. "It is critically important we slow COVID-19 spread to decompress the strain on our healthcare system and save lives." In Georgia, one healthcare official described a grim image of the grip of the virus. "We truly are in the darkest days of this pandemic," Dr. Deepak Aggarwal, at the Northeast Georgia Medical Center, told CNN Saturday night. "We are seeing more than 200 patients per day now, than we normally see at this time of the year. " "And also, we're dealing with the increasing number of deaths. Our system normally deals with less than 10 deaths per month and we have already had 169 deaths as of January 21." CNN's Michael Nedelman, Lauren Mascarenhas, Elizabeth Cohen and Carma Hassan contributed to this report.

Kwaito artist Thebe Mogane a no-show after being paid R10k deposit for performance - Johannesburg Sunday World

Johannesburg – Kwaito artist Thebe Mogane is in hot water after a no-show for his performance at Fafatse Cafe in Maseru, Lesotho, on December 31, for which he was paid a R10 000 deposit. Berry Matseletsele from Lasberry Entertainment, which organised the gig,…

Johannesburg – Kwaito artist Thebe Mogane is in hot water after a no-show for his performance at Fafatse Cafe in Maseru, Lesotho, on December 31, for which he was paid a R10 000 deposit. Berry Matseletsele from Lasberry Entertainment, which organised the gig, said that he incurred the wrath of the crowd after they were told that the muso was no longer coming. Though the organisers pleaded with the sold-out crowd to be calm, their pleas fell on deaf ears as they hurled insults at them. Matseletsele told Sunday World, His no-show caused a lot of reputational damage for us. It was embarrassing to explain to the fans that he did not pitch for the gig. Some fans did not believe us, they thought we had duped them into believing that he was part of the show to attract more crowds. Also read: Car crash involving Isibaya actress claimed two lives Though Thebe has lost his shine in South Africa, he is still a hit in the Kingdom of Lesotho. The organisers have since taken him to court after the Abuti Bula Boot hitmaker failed to pay back the money. Sunday World is in possession of the contract, court papers and proof of payment to the fading kwaito musicians bank account. Matseletsele said: I was disappointed in Thebe when he decided to honour another event when we were the ones who booked him first. He failed to honour our agreement not to accept other bookings in Maseru on that day, he went ahead and took another and failed to pitch for our gig. What irritates me the most is that he is no longer taking our calls. He had the audacity to lie when the authorities called him regarding this matter. Matseletsele further added, I dont think we will ever work with him in the future because he is treating us like no-bodies. Mogane, who released his debut album Tempy Pusher in 1995, refused to comment. Follow @SundayWorldZA on Twitter and @sundayworldza on Instagram, or like our Facebook Page, Sunday World, by clicking here for the latest breaking news in South Africa. To Subscribe to Sunday World, click here. Sunday World Theo Nyhaba

Porsche answers the question of which is fastest: Taycan Turbo, GT3 RS or GT3 Cup? | Wheels - News24

Porsche test drivers see which is the fastest car around the Sandown International Raceway, the Taycan Turbo, GT3 RS or GT3 Cup?

• Porsche's breadth of cars is illustrated by a race between an electric car, supercar, and a racing car.  • Zuffenhausen's finest is on show as the Taycan Turbo takes on a 911 GT3 RS, and a GT3 Cup car. • Porsche Track Experience instructors Luke Youlden, Tony D'Alberto, and Chris Pither battle at the Sandown International Raceway.  Porsche's success on and off the race track is well documented. From the Dakar Rally to World Endurance Championship, Zuffenhausen's finest has numerous accolades in motorsport.  There's even a one-make racing series featuring the 911, called the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup and is one of 20 Porsche-specific racing series' that take place around the world featuring the GT3 Cup car. In recent years, the company has moved the goalposts forward in terms of technology of their road cars. It launched its first hybrid supercar, the 918 Spyder, that was in production between 2013 and 2015.  The 918 was one of three hypercars using a hybrid system that arrived on the scene around six years ago, its rivals include the Ferrari LaFerrari and the McLaren P1.  The carmaker was also developing a completely electric-powered vehicle to bring to market called the Taycan. I saw it for the first time at the 2019 Frankfurt motor show and Porsche promised supercar-beating acceleration with zero emissions while still being able to seat four adults comfortably.  The Taycan is available locally in four different variations: Turbo S, Taycan Turbo, Taycan 4S, and a new rear-wheel-drive model.  Of course, Porsche is also known ballistic road cars and the GT3 RS is arguably the pinnacle of a normally-aspirated powered Porsche. It is a lightweight, high-revving race car with number plates. It is decked out in sports seats and even has a roll-cage.  Porsche recently brought three different models together to see which one would be the quickest around the Sandown International Raceway. The trio is a GT3 Cup car, Taycan Turbo and a GT3 RS.  The EV produces 500kW and reaches 100km/h from standstill in 3.2 seconds courtesy of launch control with a top speed of 260km/h. The Taycan is the only four-wheel-drive car of the three.  The GT3 Cup is powered by a four-litre flat-six engine and produces 357kW which go to the rear-wheels only. It uses a six-speed sequential dog-type transmission.  The GT3 RS has 382kW and 470Nm, it weighs just 1430kg and can reach 100km/h in 3.2 seconds with a top speed of 312km/h. Porsche says: "We went to Sandown International Raceway with Porsche Track Experience instructors, Luke Youlden, Tony D’Alberto and Chris Pither, to find out."