COVID-19 pandemic

Free school lunches, a pillar of Brazil's anti-poverty efforts, are now one of its main weapons against surging post-pandemic hunger. And that's not the only benefit.

The hearing had been scheduled for Tuesday, but U.S. District Judge Marcia Morales Howard approved a continuance until Dec. 13 because the state’s lead lawyer was diagnosed this weekend with pneumonia.

The scammers who defrauded the government spent lavishly on houses, luxury watches, diamond jewelry, strip clubs and gambling sprees. Authorities vow to track down the fraudsters.

In the CDC's Vital Signs report, the agency suggests more than double the number of health workers reported harassment at work in 2022 than in 2018, including threats, bullying and verbal abuse from patients and co-workers.

The Florida Supreme Court will take up a dispute about whether the University of Florida should return fees to students because of a campus shutdown early in the COVID-19 pandemic.

House Bill 415 would give the state oversight of the licensing and permitting process of temporary commercial kitchens around the state — think ghost kitchens or kitchens in portable trailers — which grew in popularity for take-out and delivery options as restaurants struggled.

Congress ended the temporary benefit meant to help low-income households with pandemic-era hardships. A huge increase in Social Security benefits may mean some households see further SNAP reductions.

Mr. Neon is once again opting out of putting up the "Big Orange" sign for Miami's New Year's Eve celebration due to COVID-19 fears, marking the sign's third consecutive absence.

The WHO chief remains optimistic but urges caution, noting that testing and sequencing rates remain low, vaccination gaps between rich and poor countries are still wide, and new variants continue to proliferate.

Brazil's far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, the favorite of most expats in South Florida, narrowly lost Sunday to leftwing former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Some warned that Brazil will now "turn into a Venezuela".

Biden's comments — made as officials try to convince Americans to get a new booster shot and the White House seeks $22 billion in new COVID funding — were "unfortunate," several epidemiologists said.

Americans' life expectancy dropped for the second year in a row and is the biggest drop since the 1920s. COVID-19 is driving the downward trend, according to CDC data.