First strike under Biden kills Iran-backed fighter

A U.S. airstrike in Syria targeted facilities belonging to a powerful Iranian-backed Iraqi armed group, killing one fighter and wounding several others, an Iraqi militia official said Friday, signaling the first military action undertaken by U.S. President Joe Biden. Pentagon officials said the strikes were retaliation for recent attacks on U.S. interests in Iraq, including a rocket attack in northern Iraq on Feb. 15 that killed one civilian contractor and wounded a U.S. service member and other coalition troops. John Kirby, the Pentagon’s chief spokesman, said Friday that two Air Force F15E aircraft launched seven missiles, fully destroying nine facilities and heavily damaging two other facilities, rendering the two “functionally destroyed.”

>> A Whole Foods Market store in Detroit is receiving rapid COVID-19 testing for all of its 196 employees after 23 of them initially tested positive for the coronavirus.

The outbreak hit the store in Detroit’s Midtown, the city’s chief public health officer, Denise Fair, said Thursday.

“We have received a commitment from Whole Foods that no workers or close contacts of any employee who has tested positive will be allowed back to work until they have produced a negative test result,” Fair said. “This is a reminder to all grocery stores of the availability of vaccinations and the importance of getting their employees vaccinated to make sure this does not happen again.”

After additional testing and screening. some of the positive tests came back as false positives, a Whole Foods spokesman said.

Whole Foods said in a statement it is “diligently following all guidance from local health and food safety authorities.”

“The safety of our Team Members and customers remains our top priority, which is why we address any confirmed diagnosis in our stores with a comprehensive action plan that includes enhanced cleaning and contact tracing, “the statement said.

Mayor Mike Duggan announced this month that food service workers including grocery store workers who live or work in Detroit are eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine.