US: 44 indicted in Puerto Rico in $1.2M scheme to obtain pandemic relief funds; NYC lost 5.3% of its population — nearly a half-million people — since COVID, with most heading South, and other C-Virus related stories

AP

US: 44 indicted in Puerto Rico in $1.2M scheme to obtain pandemic relief funds:

A federal grand jury in Puerto Rico indicted 44 people accused in a $1.2 million scheme to illegally obtain pandemic relief funds, authorities said Thursday.

The suspects are accused of submitting at least 52 loan applications to obtain federal recovery funds that US Attorney Stephen Muldrow said they used “to support their own personal lifestyles, taking needed resources from those whose legitimate businesses were suffering from losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Muldrow said several of the suspects are professional baseball coaches and players, with the majority based in Puerto Rico.

Authorities alleged the suspects submitted applications using fake tax documents, payroll records, ID cards and bank records. --->READ MORE HERE

NYC lost 5.3% of its population — nearly a half-million people — since COVID, with most heading South:

New York City’s population is continuing to flounder in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic — and most city-dwellers have flocked to southern states, new data shows.

The US Census Bureau revealed Thursday that the Big Apple’s population is 5.3% lower than it was when the novel coronavirus first hit the country. Over 468,200 people fled the city between April 2020 and July 2022.

Only three other major cities suffered worse population losses — San Francisco lost a baffling 7.5% of its citizens, while Revere in Massachusetts lost 5.9% and Louisiana’s Lake Charles lost 6.9%.

New York City suffered a massive flight in the first year of the pandemic, with nearly 281,700 people ditching the five boroughs. The flight trickled in 2021, with 123,100 people moving out.

“New York remained the nation’s largest city, despite its recent population decline. At 8.3 million, its population was more than twice that of the next largest city, Los Angeles, with a population of nearly 4 million,” said Crystal Delbé, a statistician in the Census Bureau’s Population Division.

Previous Census data proved that Manhattan was the only borough to see a resurgence in its population in the last several years. --->READ MORE HERE

Follow links below to relevant/related stories and resources:

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USA TODAY: Coronavirus Updates

WSJ: Coronavirus Live Updates

YAHOO NEWS: Coronavirus Live Updates

NEW YORK POST: Coronavirus The Latest

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