NEWS YOU OUGHT TO KNOW

Blue Bell pleads in ice cream listeria case; ex-CEO charged

AUSTIN (AP) — A Texas ice cream company has pleaded guilty to distributing contaminated goods and its former CEO has been charged with conspiracy and attempted wire fraud in connection to a 2015 listeria outbreak that left three people dead, federal prosecutors announced Friday.

Blue Bell Creameries agreed to pay more than $19 million in fines and forfeiture as part of a plea agreement on two misdemeanor counts for shipping contaminated ice cream, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Former CEO Paul Kruse was charged with seven felonies for allegedly concealing what the company knew about the listeria contamination. The case was filed in a federal court in Austin.

Prosecutors said the total sum to be paid by Blue Bell is second largest ever paid in a food-safety case.

Dallas County records 253 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, breaking daily high

DALLAS – Dallas County set a record high on Tuesday for new cases of daily COVID-19.

On top of the record number of cases in Dallas County, the health director says there have not been two consecutive weeks of reduced hospitalizations or deaths. This is a concern the county isn’t ready to move as fast as other parts of the state.