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VIRUS OUTBREAK-IDAHO
South Idaho meatpacking plant hit with virus outbreak
BURLEY, Idaho (AP) — Health officials say dozens of workers at a meatpacking plant in southwestern Idaho have tested positive for COVID-19. The South Central Public Health District said Tuesday that 44 employees at Ida-Beef in the small city of Burley tested positive. Officials say none of the workers have been hospitalized and there are no fatalities linked to the outbreak. It's the second food processing plant in the region to be hit by the coronavirus in recent days. About 50 workers with potato products company Rite Stuff Foods in nearby Jerome last week tested positive.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-BENEFITS FRAUD
Huge Washington unemployment fraud warning to other states
SEATTLE (AP) — Washington state's race to help newly laid-off residents as the coronavirus pandemic ravaged the economy left it vulnerable to fraud. Last week officials hinted at the scope of the damage done: hundreds of millions of dollars paid out in fake claims. Much of it apparently went to a West African fraud ring using identities stolen in prior data breaches, such as the massive 2017 Equifax breach. Authorities have tried to claw back as much money as possible and blocked hundreds of millions more from being paid, but Washington’s experience is nevertheless a cautionary tale. By late last week, attacks had been detected in at least nine states.
WOLVES ATTACK CATTLE
State to try nonlethal measures after wolves attack cattle
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Washington Fish and Wildlife officials say the agency won’t shoot the wolves in a small pack that has attacked three calves in rural northeastern Washington. The Capital Press reports the three attacks in fewer than 30 days crossed the threshold for the department to consider lethal removal. The department said Friday it is “exploring additional avenues for responsive nonlethal deterrents.” Fish and Wildlife says it has placed flashing lights along the pasture where the attacks happened. Two wolf-livestock conflict monitors from the Cattle Producers of Washington are assigned to the area.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-YELLOWSTONE
Yellowstone: Memorial Day traffic in Wyoming resembled 2019
YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. (AP) — The northern half of Yellowstone National Park remains closed due to the coronavirus but Memorial Day weekend traffic in the park’s southern half was similar to last year. Yellowstone has been open since May 18 through its two Wyoming entrances. Yellowstone’s other three gates in Montana remain closed to park tourists and will open no sooner than Monday. A snowstorm forced the Wyoming entrances to close Saturday. After that, park officials say Memorial Day weekend traffic for those gates was similar to last year. Almost 4,700 vehicles entered through the two Wyoming gates Sunday and Monday, compared to about 4,800 on those days last year.
IDAHO UNEMPLOYMENT
Idaho's unemployment rate reaches record high in April
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Idaho’s unemployment rate swung from a record low to a record high in the span of a month, spurred by job losses from the coronavirus pandemic. Idaho Department of Labor officials say April’s unemployment rate reached 11.5%. That’s a 9 point jump in the seasonally-adjusted number compared to the record low 2.5% rate recorded in March. Nearly 103,000 Idaho residents were unemployed last month, according to the department, an 81,000 person increase. A tally from Johns Hopkins University shows that there have been more than 2,600 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the state so far.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-OREGON
Judge won't dismiss order tossing out virus restrictions
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A rural Oregon judge says he won’t dismiss his ruling which tossed out Oregon Gov. Kate Brown’s stay-at-home orders to fight the spread of the coronavirus. The Oregonian/OregonLive reports that Baker County Circuit Judge Matthew B. Shirtcliff told the state Supreme Court Tuesday he will not alter the preliminary injunction that declared Brown’s directives “null and void.″ The Supreme Court last week stayed Shirtcliff’s original ruling. The state Supreme Court will now accept further legal briefing until June 2 before it decides whether it should uphold or dismiss Shirtcliff’s preliminary injunction.
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