COVID-19 pandemic | AP News

COVID-19 pandemic

This photo supplied by the U.S. Attorney's Office for Minnesota shows cash from a bag that was left at the home of a juror in a massive fraud case, June 2, 2024, outside Minneapolis, Minn. Authorities have confiscated cellphones and taken all seven defendants into custody as investigators try to determine who attempted to bribe the juror to acquit them on charges of stealing more than $40 million from a program meant to feed children during the pandemic. (U.S. Attorney's Office for Minnesota via AP)

Bag of cash doesn’t stop jurors from convicting 5 of 7 defendants in $40 million food fraud scheme

A jury has convicted five Minnesota residents and acquitted two others in a scheme to exploit the COVID-19 pandemic to steal more than $40 million from a program meant to feed children.

FILE - Jackson-Hinds Comprehensive Health Center nurse Maggie Bass, right, gives a COVID-19 vaccine to an unidentified person, Sept. 21, 2021, in Jackson, Miss. COVID-19 vaccines get updated each fall to match newer strains of the virus and government advisers on Wednesday, June 5, 2024, are urging that Americans' next shot target a strain called JN.1. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)

FDA advisers urge targeting JN.1 strain in recipe for fall’s COVID vaccines

This photo supplied by the U.S. Attorney's Office for Minnesota shows cash from a bag that was left at the home of a juror in a massive fraud case, June 2, 2024, outside Minneapolis, Minn. Authorities have confiscated cellphones and taken all seven defendants into custody as investigators try to determine who attempted to bribe the juror to acquit them on charges of stealing more than $40 million from a program meant to feed children during the pandemic. (U.S. Attorney's Office for Minnesota via AP)

Jury ends second day of deliberations without reaching verdict in fraud trial roiled by bag of cash

Dr. Anthony Fauci, former Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, testifies during a House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus pandemic at Capitol Hill, Monday, June 3, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)

Fauci testifies publicly before House panel on COVID origins and controversies

Tennis fans queue to buy beer during second round matches of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, Thursday, May 30, 2024. One player said a French Open spectator threw a piece of gum toward him. Another, No. 1-ranked Iga Swiatek, chastised the crowd at the main stadium for making too much noise during points. So the Grand Slam tournament decided enough was enough: As of Thursday, fans are banned from having alcohol in the stands. (AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias)

Sacré bleu! The French Open banned alcohol in the stands after fans were called out for rowdiness

Bag of cash doesn’t stop jurors from convicting 5 of 7 defendants in $40 million food fraud scheme

A jury convicted five Minnesota residents and acquitted two others on Friday for their roles in a scheme to steal more than $40 million that was supposed to feed children during the coronavirus pandemic.

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FILE - A soldier of the German Armed Forces Bundeswehr stands inside a new vaccination centre at the former Tempelhof airport in Berlin, Germany, before its opening on Monday, March 8, 2021. Germany has scrapped a requirement for its military servicepeople to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Members of the German military, the Bundeswehr, are required to get vaccinations against a number of diseases — including measles, mumps and flu. COVID-19 was added to the list in November 2021, meaning that anyone who refused to get vaccinated against it could face disciplinary measures. (Tobias Schwarz / Pool via AP, File)

Germany scraps a COVID-19 vaccination requirement for military servicepeople

Germany has scrapped a requirement for its military servicepeople to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO), observes the assembly, during the opening of the 77th World Health Assembly (WHA77) at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, Monday, May 27, 2024. (Salvatore Di Nolfi/Keystone via AP)

World Health Assembly hopes to reinforce pandemic preparedness after bold treaty project stalls

The World Health Organization is beginning its annual meeting with government ministers and other top envoys hoping to reinforce global preparedness for the next pandemic in the devastating wake of COVID-19.

Efforts to draft a pandemic treaty falter as countries disagree on how to respond to next emergency

A global treaty to fight pandemics like COVID is going to have to wait: After more than two years of negotiations, rich and poor countries have failed to come up with a plan for how the world might respond to the next pandemic.

FILE - A pro-democracy activist holds placards with a picture of Chinese citizen journalist Zhang Zhan outside the Chinese central government's liaison office in Hong Kong on Dec. 28, 2020. Zhang Zhan was released from prison after serving four years for charges related to reporting on the COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan, according to a video statement she released Tuesday, May 21, 2024, eight days after her sentence ended. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)

A citizen journalist imprisoned for ‘provoking trouble’ by reporting on COVID in China is released

Zhang Zhan, a citizen journalist, has been released from a Chinese prison after serving four years for charges related to reporting on the COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan, China.

The northern lights flare in the sky over a farmhouse, late Friday, May 10, 2024, in Brunswick, Maine. Brilliant purple, green, yellow and pink hues of the Northern Lights were reported worldwide, with sightings in Germany, Switzerland, London, and the United States and Canada. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

Seeking the northern lights was a family affair for this AP photographer

Robert Bukaty has covered nearly every type of story and event for The Associated Press in his 30-year career, from the somber to the exhilarating: a mass shooting, COVID-19, presidents, political campaigns, ski racing — a lot of ski racing — Olympics, and everyday life in Maine.

FILE - Federal Reserve Board Chair Jerome Powell ends his news conference at the Federal Reserve in Washington, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. Powell has tested positive for Covid-19 late Thursday, May 16, 2024, and is experiencing symptoms, according to a statement from a Fed spokesperson. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell working from home after testing positive for COVID-19

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has tested positive for COVID-19 and is experiencing symptoms. Powell tested positive late Thursday.

North Carolina bill to curb mask-wearing in protests could make it illegal for medical reasons too

Republican lawmakers in North Carolina have proposed a bill that would enhance penalties for people wearing a mask during a crime or intentionally blocking traffic during protests.

FILE - A correctional officer closes the main gate at San Quentin State Prison in San Quentin, Calif., July 9, 2020. The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday, May 13, 2024, denied an appeal from California corrections officials who sought immunity from lawsuits claiming they acted with deliberate indifference when they caused a deadly COVID-19 outbreak at one of the world's most famous prisons four years ago. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)

Supreme Court denies California’s appeal for immunity for COVID-19 deaths at San Quentin prison

The Supreme Court has denied an appeal from California corrections officials who sought immunity from lawsuits claiming they acted with deliberate indifference when they caused a deadly COVID-19 outbreak at San Quentin prison four years ago.

FILE - A dose of a Moderna COVID-19 vaccine is prepared, Nov. 4, 2021, in Barboursville, W.Va. On Monday, May 13, 2024, a former West Virginia health office manager was sentenced to one year of probation for lying about whether or not he verified vendor invoices from a company claiming to have conducted COVID-19 tests for the state. (Sholten Singer/The Herald-Dispatch via AP, File)

Former West Virginia health official gets probation in COVID-19 payment investigation

A former West Virginia state health official has been sentenced to a year of probation for lying about whether or not he verified vendor invoices from a company claiming to have conducted COVID-19 tests for the state.

FILE - An Emirates Airbus A380 jumbo jet lands at Dubai International Airport in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Friday, Sept. 9, 2022. The long-haul carrier Emirates announced Monday, May 13, 2024, it saw record profits of $4.7 billion in 2023 as the airline fully took flight after the turbulent years of the coronavirus pandemic disrupted its operations.(AP Photo/Jon Gambrell, File)

Long-haul carrier Emirates sees $4.7 billion profit in 2023 as airline takes flight after pandemic

The long-haul carrier Emirates says it saw record profits of $4.7 billion in 2023 as the airline fully took flight after the turbulent years of the coronavirus pandemic disrupted its operations.

FILE - An employee takes the fingerprints of a woman who died from the new coronavirus before her remains are cremated at La Recoleta crematorium in Santiago, Chile, Saturday, June 27, 2020. Countries are still struggling to come up with an agreed-upon plan for how the world might respond to the next global outbreak. A ninth and final round of talks involving governments, advocacy groups and others to finalize a “pandemic treaty” is scheduled to end Friday, May 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix, File)

Countries struggle to draft ‘pandemic treaty’ to avoid mistakes made during COVID

After the devastation of the COVID-19 pandemic, leaders worldwide vowed to do better next time but are still struggling to finalize a global plan.

South Carolina Rep. Josiah Magnuson, R-Campobello, left, listens as House Minority Leader Todd Rutherford, D-Columbia, right, asks questions during a budget debate on Wednesday, May 8, 2024, in Columbia, S.C. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Collins)

1 lawmaker stops South Carolina health care consolidation bill that had overwhelming support

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A bill that would have consolidated six South Carolina heath care agencies and was overwhelmingly passed by both chambers of the General Assembly died on the session’s final day Thursday in a procedural move by a member angry he was mocked by his colleagues.

FILE - This undated photo provided by the Van Buren County Sheriff's Office in Paw Paw, Mich., shows stolen guns, ammunition and knives that were recovered Sept. 12, 2015, in Antwerp Township, Mich. The rate of guns stolen from cars in the U.S. has tripled over the last decade, making them the largest source of stolen guns in the country, a new analysis of FBI data by the gun-safety group Everytown found. (Van Buren County Sheriff's Office via AP)

Guns are being stolen from cars at triple the rate they were 10 years ago, a report finds

The rate of guns stolen from cars in the U.S. has tripled over the last decade, making them the largest source of stolen guns in the country.

FILE - In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, containers are unloaded from a cargo ship at Qingdao Port, east China's Shandong Province on Feb. 11, 2024. China's exports and imports returned to growth in April, suggesting that demand is improving despite an uneven economic recovery, according to customs data released Thursday, May 9, 2024. (Li Ziheng/Xinhua via AP, File)

China’s exports and imports return to growth in April as demand improves

China reported Thursday that its exports and imports returned to growth in April, suggesting that demand is improving despite an uneven economic recovery.

Mick Jagger, of the Rolling Stones, performs during the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival in New Orleans, Thursday, May 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)

The Rolling Stones are set to rock New Orleans Jazz Fest after two previous tries

The Rolling Stones made their first appearance at the 54-year-old New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.

FILE - The offices of Feeding Our Future are shown Jan. 27, 2022, in St. Anthony, Minn., a week after an FBI raid. Opening statements are expected Monday, April 29, 2024, in the fraud trial of seven defendants charged what federal prosecutors allege was a massive scheme to exploit lax rules during the COVID-19 pandemic and steal from a program meant to provide meals to low-income children in Minnesota. (Shari L. Gross/Star Tribune via AP, File)

7 Minnesotans accused in scheme to defraud pandemic food program go on trial

Seven Minnesotans have gone on trial for what prosecutors call a massive scheme to exploit lax rules during the COVID-19 pandemic and steal from a program meant to provide meals to low-income children.

FILE - Police tape cordons off the scene of a crime in Levittown, Pa., Saturday, March 16, 2024. Police departments reported a year-over-year increase in sworn officers in 2023 for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began and since the 2020 police killing of George Floyd spurred nationwide protests and increased scrutiny of police, according to a survey released by the Police Executive Research Forum. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

Police officer hiring in US increases in 2023 after years of decline, survey shows

U.S. police departments have reported a year-over-year increase in sworn officers for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic and the police killing of George Floyd.

FILE - A policeman moves journalists back from a farewell event held for the last group of medical workers who came from outside Wuhan to help the city during the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan in central China's Hubei province on April 15, 2020. The hunt for COVID-19 origins has gone dark in China. An AP investigation drawing on thousands of pages of undisclosed emails and documents and dozens of interviews found feuding officials and fear of blame ended meaningful Chinese and international efforts to trace the virus almost as soon as they began, despite years of public statements to the contrary. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)

Takeaways from AP report on how the search for the coronavirus origins turned toxic

The Chinese government froze meaningful efforts to trace the origins of the coronavirus pandemic, despite publicly declaring that it supported an open scientific inquiry, an Associated Press investigation has found.

FILE - A security person moves journalists away from the Wuhan Institute of Virology after a World Health Organization team arrived for a field visit in Wuhan in China's Hubei province on Feb. 3, 2021. The hunt for COVID-19 origins has gone dark in China. An AP investigation drawing on thousands of pages of undisclosed emails and documents and dozens of interviews found feuding officials and fear of blame ended meaningful Chinese and international efforts to trace the virus almost as soon as they began, despite years of public statements to the contrary. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)

Toxic: How the search for the origins of COVID-19 turned politically poisonous

The Chinese government froze meaningful efforts to trace the origins of the coronavirus pandemic, despite publicly declaring that it supported an open scientific inquiry, an Associated Press investigation has found.

FILE - North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, left, answers questions at a news conference in which he declared a state of emergency for North Carolina, March 10, 2020. Cooper’s decisions during the COVID-19 pandemic that resulted in bars being shuttered or severely restricted while restaurants that served alcohol could reopen were "illogical" and don't appear justified by evidence, a state appeals court ruled Tuesday, April 16, 2024. (Julia Wall/The News & Observer via AP, File)

Governor’s pandemic rules for bars violated North Carolina Constitution, appeals court says

A North Carolina appeals court says Gov. Roy Cooper’s executive orders to keep bars closed during the COVID-19 pandemic while allowing restaurants that also serve alcohol to reopen were “illogical.”

President Joe Biden listens as he meets with Iraq's Prime Minister Shia al-Sudani in the Oval Office of the White House, Monday, April 15, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Biden administration announces new partnership with 50 countries to stifle future pandemics

President Joe Biden’s administration is launching a program that will help 50 countries identify and respond to infectious diseases, with the goal of preventing pandemics like the COVID-19 outbreak.

Gymnast Evita Griskenas is shown during a press conference at the Team USA Media Summit Monday, April 15, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Brittainy Newman)

Paris-bound Olympians look forward to a post-COVID Games with fans in the stands

The biggest moments for many of this generation’s Olympic athletes came in front of mostly empty stands.

FILE - A traveler takes a nap as he waits for a ride outside Miami International Airport, Friday, July 1, 2022, in Miami. The Gallup survey, released Monday, April 15, 2024, says that a majority of Americans say they would feel better if they could have more sleep. But in the U.S., where the ethos of grinding and pulling yourself up by your own bootstraps is ubiquitous, getting enough sleep can seem like a dream. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee, File)

Dream on - or don’t. Americans say they aren’t getting enough sleep

It seems Americans don’t think they’re particularly well-rested. A new poll says that a majority of Americans say they would feel better if they could have more sleep.

FILE - A person types on a laptop keyboard, Monday, June 19, 2017, in North Andover, Mass. The leader of struggling telemedicine provider Teladoc Health has left, effective immediately, the company announced Friday, April 5, 2024. Teladoc gave no reason for the departure of CEO Jason Gorevic. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola, File)

Long-time Teladoc leader departs as virtual care provider struggles with post-COVID tumble

The leader of struggling telemedicine provider Teladoc Health has left effective immediately, the company announced Friday.

A farmer tends their fields in stifling temperatures as surrounding hills are choked by smoke from field and hill fires across the region, Thursday, April 4, 2024, in Luang Prabang, Laos. Financial officials of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations were meeting in the city to discuss ways to secure financing to help shift to more sustainable and less polluting agriculture and energy. (AP Photo/Elaine Kurtenbach)

Southeast Asian countries consider ways to boost ‘green financing’ as region chokes on smog

Senior finance and central bank officials from Southeast Asia and major economies are meeting in the scenic Laotian city of Luang Prabang to discuss ways to help the region build resilience against shocks like the COVID-19 pandemic and natural disasters brought on by climate change.

International travelers go down the escalator to get processed at the port of entry at Washington Dulles International Airport in Chantilly, Va. Monday, April 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

As international travel grows, so does US use of technology. A look at how it’s used at airports

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is expanding the use of technology to process the ever-growing number of passengers as travel booms following coronavirus pandemic-related slumps.

Jockeys compete in last Macao races at the Macao Jockey Club in Macao, Saturday, March 30, 2024. After more than 40 years, Macao’s horse racing track hosted its final races on Saturday, bringing an end to the sport in the city famous for its massive casinos. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte)

China’s gambling hub of Macao holds its final horse race, ending a tradition of over 40 years

After more than 40 years, Macao’s horse racing track has hosted its final races, bringing an end to the sport in the city famous for its massive casinos.

This 2006 electron microscope image provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria, which causes the disease tuberculosis. The number of U.S. tuberculosis cases in 2023 was the highest in a decade, according to a report released by the CDC on Thursday, March 28, 2024. (Janice Carr/CDC via AP)

US tuberculosis cases were at the highest level in a decade in 2023

The U.S. saw the most tuberculosis illnesses in a decade in 2023. That’s according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that was published Thursday.

Rev. William H. Lamar IV, top, and Rev. Cozette Thomas, right, pray with a parishioner during Palm Sunday services at the Metropolitan AME Church in Washington, Sunday, March 24, 2024. Lamar says their churches are still feeling the pandemic’s impact on attendance, even as they have rolled out robust online worship options to reach people. (AP Photo/Amanda Andrade-Rhoades)

Black pastors see popular Easter services as an opportunity to rebuild in-person worship attendance

As Black Protestants prepare for Easter this year, they hope to welcome more people to church than since the COVID-19 pandemic began four years ago.

In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, Chinese President Xi Jinping, center, walks with representatives from American business, strategic and academic communities at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, March 27, 2024. (Huang Jingwen/Xinhua via AP)

Chinese leader Xi issues a positive message at a meeting with US business leaders as ties improve

Chinese leader Xi Jinping has called for closer trade ties with the U.S. during a meeting with top American business leaders in Beijing.