L.A. County Reports 91% Increase in COVID Cases Over Past Week

Wednesday, December 29 (KTLA 5) – The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health reported 16,510 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday (up from 8,633), an increase of 91% over the past week. This represents one of the highest daily case counts of the pandemic. The department also said test positivity rates have doubled to 17.6% and daily hospitalizations jumped over 30% to 1,069. Public health officials are urging residents to scale down New Year’s events, limit gatherings to small numbers of people, and avoid crowds.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 59% of all U.S. infections are the omicron variant and 41% are the Delta variant, as of December 25. Health officials continue to remind residents that vaccines and boosters remain the best protection against severe illness. They also urge those who are sick or test positive to remain isolated, and that everyone should wear a mask when around people not from their household. The health department also urged people to continue getting tested to help reduce the spread of the virus.

One Dead in U.S. 20 Crash in La Porte County

Wednesday, December 29 (ABC 57) – Chance M. Van Dyne, 22, of Omaha, Nebraska, died following a crash on U.S. 20 Tuesday morning. At 11:57 a.m., La Porte County sheriff’s deputies responded to reports of a head-on crash near Wilhelm Road. Van Dyne was driving a white 1999 Ford Crown Victoria that, as found in an investigation, left the eastbound lanes and collided with the trailer of a yellow 1996 Freightliner. After the impact, a blue 2015 Peterbilt traveling westbound on U.S. 20 struck the driver’s side of the Ford. The drivers of both trucks were not injured.

LeBron James Defying Age in Seemingly Inevitable March to All-Time Scoring Title

Thursday, December 30 (Los Angeles Times) – LeBron James, now 37 years old, has spent 19 seasons in the NBA, becoming the greatest to spectators worldwide. The energy he plays with defies time, yet his age is significant to nearly every basketball player before him. “Where I’m at with it, I’m still playing at such a high level, I haven’t given it too much thought,” James said. “But I’m in Year 19 and I’m not going to do another 19, so I’m definitely halfway into my career. I’m on the other side of the hill.”

James has played almost 62,000 minutes between the regular season and playoffs, amounting to over 43 continuous days of basketball. This season, he’s scored 30+ points per game in 13 of 23 games and averaged 27.6 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 6.7 assists going into the matchup with Memphis on Wednesday. Currently, he’s aiming for records set by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Karl Malone, who remained productive into their late 30s. This is doable, if he can avoid further injuries, which sidelined him for 20 games last season.

“It’s still — I shouldn’t say it surprises me — but it’s just incredible for him to play at such a high level,” Frank Vogel said earlier this month. At 37, LeBron James continues to defy expectations.