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CORONAVIRUS

Feds: 47 exploited pandemic to steal $250M from food program

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Federal authorities charged 47 people in Minnesota with conspiracy and other counts in what they said Tuesday was the largest fraud scheme yet to take advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic by stealing $250 million from a federal program that provides meals to low-income children. Prosecutors say the defendants created companies that claimed to be offering food to tens of thousands of children across Minnesota, then sought reimbursement for those meals through the U.S. Department of Agriculture's food nutrition programs. Prosecutors say few meals were actually served, ...

At UN, leaders confront COVID’s impact on global education

With COVID-related school disruptions setting back children around the world, activists implored world leaders Monday to prioritize school systems and restore educational budgets slashed when the pandemic hit. The summit on transforming education, held at the U.N. General Assembly ahead of the annual leaders' meeting, called on the world's nations to ensure that children everywhere from sub-Saharan Africa to the United States don't fall too far behind. "Seven years ago, I stood on this platform hoping that the voice of a teenage girl who took a bullet in standing up for her education ...

Changing COVID-19 rate shows it’s still here

BROWN COUNTY — The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has placed Brown County at medium COVID-19 community spread as of Thursday. Each week the CDC releases a countywide rating based on the COVID case rate and hospitalization rate. This information is updated on the CDC COVID-19 data ...

More COVID tests now available

ST. PAUL — Minnesotans can now order additional free at-home rapid tests online. Minnesotans who have previously ordered the full limit of eight tests from this program are now able to receive four additional tests per household at mn.gov/covid19/get-tested/at-home. Those who have not yet placed an order can receive up to 12 tests at once while supplies last. The federal government's free at-home test program was suspended earlier this month. "With the suspension of the federal mail order tests, Minnesota will continue to ensure access to free at-home rapid test kits for ...

Virus forces Lea Michele off Broadway stage in ‘Funny Girl’

Fans of Lea Michele hoping to finally see her singing and dancing in "Funny Girl" on Broadway will have to be patient. The "Glee" actor has tested positive for COVID-19 — missing Saturday's matinee and evening performance — and must now quarantine, slated to return to the show on Tuesday, Sept. 20. She only started on Tuesday. The bittersweet comedy tells the tale of Fanny Brice, a Jewish girl from New York in the 1920s who went from burlesque to Broadway stages despite criticism that she wasn't conventionally beautiful. "Funny Girl" is a musical that celebrates the oddballs, ...

German court keeps hearing farmer’s climate case against VW

BERLIN (AP) — Environmentalists claimed a small legal victory Friday after a court in Germany said it would continue hearing a case brought by a farmer seeking to force automaker Volkswagen to end the sale of combustion engine vehicles. Ulf Allhoff-Cramer says drier soil and heavier rains due to climate change are harming his fields, cattle and commercial forests. He argues that Volkswagen is partly to blame for this, as the mass production of vehicles running on gasoline contributes significantly to greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere. During a first hearing in May, a ...