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Two Maryland residents monitored for hantavirus after sharing flight with infected cruise ship passenger
Two Maryland residents are being monitored for potential hantavirus exposure, according to the Maryland Department of Health.
Health officials said the Maryland residents were on a flight that included a passenger from the MV Hondius cruise ship who was infected with hantavirus.
Health authorities said they are taking these steps out of an abundance of caution. At this time, the risk to the public in Maryland remains “very low,” state health officials said.
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Maryland health officials said the two residents with potential hantavirus exposure were not on the MV Hondius cruise ship, but they were on a flight abroad with a passenger who has the virus.
The department declined to provide additional details about the residents, citing a need to protect their privacy.
The two Maryland residents are being monitored during the virus’s incubation period, which can range from four to 42 days. Officials said asymptomatic individuals are not considered infectious.
No hantavirus cases have been reported in Maryland since 2019, and Andes virus infections have never been identified in the state, officials said. Health authorities said they are coordinating with federal and international partners as the situation continues to evolve.
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According to the Maryland Department of Health, hantavirus is typically spread through contact with infected rodents, but the strain tied to the cruise ship – the Andes virus – is the only known type capable of person-to-person transmission.
“The hantaviruses that are found throughout the United States are not known to spread between people,” the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said.
Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) is a rare infectious disease that starts with flu-like symptoms and can quickly progress to life-threatening lung and heart problems. Several hantavirus strains can cause the illness, also known as hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome, according to Mayo Clinic.
Early symptoms of HPS can include fatigue, fever and muscle aches, with about half of all patients also experiencing headaches, dizziness, chills and abdominal problems, like nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, according to the CDC.
HPS has a nearly 40% fatality rate in those who are infected, according to the CDC. Similar hantavirus cases have been reported in Arizona, California and Georgia.
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‘Euphoria’ faces backlash after Sydney Sweeney’s most X-rated episode yet
“Euphoria” is once again facing backlash, with Sydney Sweeney going topless in the show’s most explicit scene this season.
During Sunday night’s episode, Sweeney’s character, Cassie Howard, wore a low-cut, polka dot bodysuit as she was jumping rope for her OnlyFans subscribers. She was also seen using a pleasure device on herself, mailing used underwear to her subscribers and even sucking her own toe in a video.
Sweeney’s Cassie finally reached her limit after an OnlyFans subscriber asked her to “fart into a jar” for $700.
Users on X weighed in on the latest episode.
“sydney sweeney they just cant be paying u enough for all this like the money cant be that good,” one user wrote.
Another added, “Does Sydney Sweeney really like doing this much nudity? Like I won’t police a woman if she enjoys this but woah #euphoria.”
Many called out “Euphoria” for taking this episode “too far.”
“#euphoria has gone too far WTF,” one user wrote. Another added, “the oversexuality of Cassie is ruining Euphoria for me.”
Cassie also embarked on a press tour after skyrocketing to fame thanks to her OnlyFans career. In one clip, Cassie appears as a guest on Trisha Paytas’ online show, where she leans into her views on modern political discourse.
“If a man today were to say that he wants a girlfriend who can cook or clean, he might as well be screaming the N-word,” Cassie tells Paytas.
An off-camera voice responds, “You sound like a Democrat.” Cassie laughs before replying with a derogatory slur: “I’m not r——-.”
SYDNEY SWEENEY REFUSES TO BE HOLLYWOOD’S POLITICAL ‘PAWN’ AMID MAGA BARBIE LABELING
In another clip, Cassie adds, “I just feel like American men have been treated like second-class citizens.”
“In the past, men used to be hunters, gatherers, and protectors. Now, they’re being forced to walk around on their tippy toes. It’s not natural,” she continues.
Fox News Digital has reached out to HBO for comment.
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Later in the episode, Alexa Demie’s character, Maddy Perez, tells Cassie: “You know what’s funny? The angrier these idiots get, the more money you make.”
Some social media users speculated that Sweeney was “not acting” in the episode and that her personal political beliefs were being reflected on screen.
Over the past several years, Sweeney has been at the center of politically charged controversies, including her American Eagle campaign and her mother’s “MAGA”-themed birthday party.
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“Sydney Sweeney has infuriated the left once again,” one user wrote on X.
“Time when actors weren’t acting,” another user commented on Instagram. A third added, “To be honest, is Sydney Sweeney acting at this point??”
Others pushed back, noting that Sweeney is portraying a fictional character and that her lines should not be conflated with her real-life views.
“So we’re mad about the political views of fictional characters now?” one user wrote. “Libs will be angry about a fake TV show character,” another added.
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Ted Cruz labels AOC’s billionaire comments on American Revolution as ‘bizarrely foolish’
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, had some harsh words on Monday in response to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s, D-N.Y., recent comments on billionaires.
“Well, there’s a village somewhere that’s missing its idiot,” Cruz said on his podcast “Verdict.” “What she is saying there is bizarrely foolish and profoundly ideological.”
Cruz was responding to Ocasio-Cortez claiming that billionaires like Elon Musk didn’t “earn” their wealth without some “abuse” of the system.
TED CRUZ REMINDS AOC HER OWN DEMOCRATIC PARTY FOUNDED KKK, WROTE JIM CROW LAWS
“You can’t earn a billion dollars,” Ocasio-Cortez said Thursday. “You can get market power. You can break rules. You can do all sorts of things. You can abuse labor laws. You can pay people less than what they’re worth. But you can’t earn that, right? And so you have to create a myth…you have to create a myth of earning it.”
After receiving pushback, she doubled down on her comments, claiming that the original American Revolution was fought against “the billionaires of their time.”
“I want to talk about how this is in the heritage of our country, because America was founded… you look at Thomas Jefferson writing to Madison in revolt of British aristocracy,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “The American Revolution was against the billionaires of their time. And we are declaring independence from such an extreme marriage of wealth and power and the state that the voices of everyday people did not exist.”
CRUZ MOCKS OCASIO-CORTEZ IN SENATE FLOOR SPEECH, CHALLENGES DEMS TO ‘GO SEE THE BIDEN CAGES’
Cruz, who called out her comments on X when they went viral, elaborated on his opinion, explaining that many of the “billionaires” at the time largely helped to fund the Revolutionary War.
“No one had accumulated a billion dollars, but the richest people in America are the people who funded and supported the revolution against government power,” Cruz said. “And like the little Marxist that she is, she takes that story and turns it on its head and says the revolution was against the American free enterprise that actually funded the revolution, and what they were fighting for was giving government more power. She is the King George in this story.”
The Texas senator also accused Ocasio-Cortez of pushing communism by attempting to rewrite history and warned her that communistic nations have delivered devastating results.
“AOC, I’m sure she doesn’t know the facts, but every place her system of government has been implemented, communism, the result is crushing poverty, starvation, suffering, misery, and it’s also in terms of human rights, murder, torture, imprisonment and in China, at least concentration camps. That’s literally what the left is arguing for. And they don’t know enough, and they’re not honest enough to admit it,” Cruz said.
Fox News Digital reached out to Ocasio-Cortez’s office for comment.
After her comments claiming billionaires didn’t “earn” their fortunes received criticism, Ocasio-Cortez defended her claims on X.
“The single largest form of theft in America is wage theft. $50 billion a year are stolen from American workers,” she wrote. “Some people get enraged that I draw attention to this. That’s on them. Let them call me shrill, dumb, inexperienced, girly, uneducated — these folks will say anything to distract from or undercut the truth that working people are getting screwed, and giving people a fair shake means we must have a grown conversation about reigning in abuse of power.”
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California mayor accused of secretly working for China, spreading propaganda while in office: feds
A California mayor who has since resigned has been charged with acting as an illegal agent of the People’s Republic of China and has agreed to plead guilty, according to federal prosecutors who say she secretly worked to push pro-Beijing messaging inside the United States before she took office.
Eileen Wang, former mayor of Arcadia, California, has been charged with acting as an illegal agent of the People’s Republic of China and has agreed to plead guilty to the felony offense, the Justice Department announced. She now faces up to 10 years in federal prison along with a potential $250,000 fine, though any sentence would be determined by a federal judge..
Federal prosecutors say Wang admitted she acted “at the direction and control” of Chinese government officials from at least 2020 through 2022, coordinating with individuals in the U.S. to spread pro-Beijing messaging, all without notifying the U.S. Attorney General as required by law. The conduct described by prosecutors occurred before Wang took office on the Arcadia City Council in December 2022.
Arcadia city officials said the case is tied to Wang’s individual conduct and does not impact city operations.
“Individuals elected to public office in the United States should act only for the people of the United States that they represent,” Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg said.
CHINA SKIRTS US EFFORTS TO STIFF-ARM CCP INTERFERENCE BY BOLSTERING STATE, LOCAL RELATIONS
“It is deeply concerning that someone who previously received and executed directives from PRC government officials is now in a position of public trust at all.”
According to court documents, Wang worked alongside Yaoning “Mike” Sun, a convicted Chinese agent already serving a four-year federal prison sentence, to operate a website posing as a local Chinese American news outlet.
Prosecutors described the website as a propaganda arm for the Chinese Communist Party, saying it published content supplied directly by Chinese officials. Bottom of Form
In one exchange, a Chinese government official sent Wang a pre-written article denying allegations of forced labor and genocide in Xinjiang.
Minutes later, Wang posted it online and sent back the link. The official replied, “So fast, thank you everyone.”
In another instance, after making edits at Beijing’s request and touting more than 15,000 views, Wang responded, “Thank you leader.”
CHINA TARGETS US MILITARY MEMBERS IN OVERSEAS SPY OPERATIONS, FORMER CIA STATION CHIEF WARNS
Prosecutors also say Wang communicated with convicted PRC operative John Chen, a figure tied to China’s intelligence apparatus with connections to Chinese President Xi Jinping, asking him to distribute messaging and writing, “This is what the Ministry of Foreign Affairs wants to send.”
“Individuals in our country who covertly do the bidding of foreign governments undermine our democracy,” First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said. “This plea agreement is the latest success in our determination to defend the homeland against China’s efforts to corrupt our institutions.”
The FBI framed the case as a warning about foreign interference in American politics.
“By her own admission, Eileen Wang secretly served the interests of the Chinese government,” said FBI Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky. “Let this serve as a clear warning individuals who act on behalf of foreign governments to influence our democracy will be identified, investigated, and brought to justice.”
Despite the covert relationship, Wang was elected to the Arcadia City Council in November 2022 and later became mayor through the council’s rotating system. The conduct outlined by prosecutors occurred before she assumed office.
In her plea agreement, Wang admitted she never disclosed her work for the Chinese government either to federal authorities or to readers of her website and acknowledged she was acting inside the United States while doing so. She is expected to formally enter the guilty plea in federal court and has not yet been sentenced.
The agreement also makes clear that if Wang is not a U.S. citizen, her felony conviction could trigger deportation or denial of future citizenship. The plea agreement describes those as potential immigration consequences.
Wang has agreed to resign from public office and is expected to formally enter her guilty plea in the coming weeks as the FBI investigation continues.
Arcadia city officials said the case is tied to Wang’s individual conduct and does not impact city operations.
In a message to residents, City Manager Dominic Lazzaretto confirmed Wang has resigned from the City Council, vacating her role as mayor, following the federal charges.
“The allegations at the center of this case, that a foreign government sought to exert influence over a local elected official, are deeply troubling,” the city said in a statement. “We take them seriously.”
City officials said the conduct outlined in the case occurred before Wang took office in December 2022 and emphasized that no city resources or decision-making processes were affected.
“Following an internal review, we can confirm that no City finances, staff, or decision-making processes were involved,” the statement said.
Officials added that no other members of the City Council are under investigation and that city business is continuing as normal.
Fox News’ Matt Finn contributed to this report.
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