Three Things for September 21
1. Minnesota anti-hunger programs charged with fraud
In Minnesota, 47 people have been charged with defrauding the government of $240 million in funds designed to help feed underprivileged children during the pandemic. Lists of fictitious children and false invoices were submitted by Feeding our Future, indicating thousands of children were being fed at locations throughout the state of Minnesota.
Amiee Bock, founder of Feeding Our Future, filed a lawsuit against Gov. Tim Waltz in 2020 when Waltz began to question the numbers. The lawsuit has been dismissed.
Now, Bock is among 47 defendants being charged with a variety of crimes, including wire fraud and conspiracy. Bock pled not guilty, claiming she was unaware of the happenings.
For more information, click here
2. In-land California sees record breaking rain levels amidst drought
On Monday, Sept. 19, record levels of rain were recorded all over northern and central California.
The University of California, Davis saw almost six inches of rain. Drivers were warned of flooded roads and bad weather conditions less than a week after the area recorded heat at a record 116 degrees, on Sept. 6.
Sacramento is receiving three times the amount of rain it usually does. For now, even record levels of rain will not end the drought.
“This little bit is not going to make much of a difference in the overall drought picture but the fact that we’re starting to see significant storms like this is favorable,” Chris Hintz, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Sacramento, told the Washington Post.
For more information, click here
3. Earthquake strikes Mexico
A 7.9 magnitude earthquake hit the pacific side of Mexico, on Sept. 19. The event left two dead and ten injured, according to the Associated Press.
September 19 marks the anniversary of two previous earthquakes in Mexico, in 1985 and 2017. In 1985, an 8.0 magnitude earthquake killed almost 9,500 people. In 2017, Mexico City saw a devastating earthquake of 7.1 magnitude leading to the deaths of more than 200 people as buildings fell.
Five tectonic plates lie under the surface of Mexico.
“The plates break when it is their time to break,” Xyoli Pérez-Campos, a researcher in the seismology department at the National Autonomous University of Mexico’s Geophysical Institute, told the Associated Press.
“What are they going to know about the calendar?”
For more information, click here