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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 ...

Public Health clinics have Moderna booster

The FDA and CDC now recommend a single COVID-19 bivalent booster dose. The bivalent booster dose specifically targets certain omicron sub-variants along with the original coronavirus strain. Both Moderna and Pfizer were approved for emergency use authorization on Sept. 2. The Moderna booster dose will be available for those 18 years and older who are at least 2 months from either their primary COVID-19 vaccine series or last booster dose. The Pfizer booster dose will be available for those 12 years and older who are at least 2 months from either their primary COVID-19 vaccine series or ...

GOP gives thumbs down to Biden’s $47B emergency request

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden's request for more than $47 billion in emergency funding to help Ukraine and tackle COVID-19, monkeypox and natural disasters is encountering deep skepticism from Senate Republicans, signaling a showdown ahead. The early resistance on the size and scope of the spending request points to the fraught negotiations to come as Congress labors to pass a stopgap spending bill that would keep the federal government running past Oct. 1 or risk a federal shutdown. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said Wednesday that while Ukraine aid "is ...

Holiday air travel tops pre-pandemic levels for the 1st time

For the first time since COVID-19 brought air travel to a standstill, the number of people streaming through U.S. airport-security checkpoints over a holiday weekend exceeded pre-pandemic levels. The summer travel season ended on a busy note as more than 8.7 million people passed through security in the last four days, topping the Labor Day weekend of 2019. That is a first for a holiday weekend, the Transportation Security Administration said Tuesday. The busiest day was Friday, when TSA screened 2.48 million travelers. After a problem-plagued start to the summer, travelers ...

Free nursing assistant training program extended

ST. PAUL — A $2.4 million investment to continue Minnesota’s free nursing assistant training program to strengthen the state’s health care workforce pipeline, was announced last week by Gov. Tim Walz. The Next Generation Nursing Assistant initiative provides Minnesotans with free training, books, uniforms, and covers the cost of the certification exam. The initiative has so far recruited and trained 1,370 Minnesotans. “By bolstering our health care workforce and providing pathways to life-long careers, this initiative continues to benefit Minnesotans in the short- and ...

UK to begin rollout of new COVID-19 vaccination campaign

LONDON (AP) — The U.K. will begin its autumn COVID-19 vaccination campaign in the coming weeks after authorizing booster shots made by Pfizer and Moderna that have been modified to target both the original virus and the widely circulating omicron variant. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency said Saturday that it had approved the Pfizer vaccine for used in people age 12 and older after finding it was both safe and effective. The agency authorized the Moderna vaccine last month. The government will offer the vaccine to everyone age 50 and over, as well as ...