In reversal, U.S. to heighten efforts to collect billions in unpaid COVID loans

The Biden administration plans to aggressively pursue thousands of small businesses that may have missed payments on an estimated $30 billion in overdue loans.

School staffing shortages are leading to larger class sizes across the U.S.

The shortages had other effects on school life, including disruptions in student transportation, fewer extracurricular activities and a reduction in student services, according to data from a federal survey.

The Great Grift: COVID-19 aid thieves bought fancy cars, a Pokémon card – even a private island

Nearly 3,200 defendants have been charged with COVID-19 relief fraud, according to the U.S. Justice Department. About $1.4 billion in stolen pandemic aid has been seized.

Food insecurity shot up last year with inflation and the end of pandemic-era aid, a new report says

Analysts and food security professionals point to the dual impact last year of high inflation and the gradual expiration of multiple pandemic-era government assistance measures.

Having a harder time accessing health care? You’re not alone – and it’s making us sicker

The health care workforce shrank at the same time demand exploded, and patients say finding a provider is 'pretty much impossible.'

COVID vaccine supply still lagging more than a month after rollout

Appointments can be hard to get, but health officials are urging people to be persistent and get the vaccine to protect against the most severe effects of the disease.

Some criticize uneven distribution of pandemic debit cards for groceries

More than 20,000 Maine students were left out of the pandemic relief program that provided up to $120 per child to spend on food.

Rollout of pandemic food benefit cards to schoolchildren confuses many Mainers

'All I could think of is that this was a scam,' Betsy Mayo, of Gray, said of the EBT card her 11-year-old daughter – and roughly 150,000 other schoolchildren in the state – recently received.

Lovell’s Historic House Tour

Schools lost track of homeless kids during pandemic. Many face steep path to recovery

Homeless kids often fell through the cracks during the tumult of the COVID pandemic, when many schools struggled to keep track of families with unstable housing.