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Here's the biggest news you missed this weekend

FBI searches Center for COVID Control headquarters amid investigations into testing business

The FBI on Saturday searched the headquarters of a nationwide string of coronavirus testing sites known as the Center for COVID Control. The company and its main lab, which has been reimbursed more than $124 million from the federal government for testing, are under investigation by state and federal officials. The search comes days after a consumer-protection lawsuit was filed against the company and its primary laboratory. The complaint alleges the company and lab "provide inaccurate and deceptive" test results and have fraudulently reported negative test results. USA TODAY began investigating the company in January after a reporter encountered a "pop-up" testing site operating out of a generator-powered shack in Chicago. Since then, people across at least 18 states have reached out to USA TODAY expressing concerns about the testing sites, and multiple agencies have launched investigations.

This suite at 4410 N. Knoxville Avenue in Peoria is one of three testing sites in the area run by the Center for 
Covid Control, a national company under investigation.
This suite at 4410 N. Knoxville Avenue in Peoria is one of three testing sites in the area run by the Center for Covid Control, a national company under investigation.

49ers make Packers pay in playoff stunner; Buccaneers fall to Rams

For three-plus quarters, the San Francisco 49ers found it virtually impossible to move the ball against the defense of the Green Bay Packers in Saturday night’s divisional playoff showdown at Lambeau Field. But a robust defensive showing, and game-changing plays from their special teams units led to a late-game momentum shift and paved the way for a stunning 13-10 victory. The 49ers will move on to play in their second NFC championship game in three seasons, and Aaron Rodgers once again failed to exact vengeance on the team that opted against drafting the Bay Area native with the first overall pick of the 2005 NFL draft. San Francisco will face the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC championship game after the Rams answered a wild rally from Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday.

San Francisco 49ers' Talanoa Hufanga reacts after running a blocked punt in for a touchdown during the second half of an NFC divisional playoff NFL football game against the Green Bay Packers Saturday, Jan. 22, 2022, in Green Bay, Wis.
San Francisco 49ers' Talanoa Hufanga reacts after running a blocked punt in for a touchdown during the second half of an NFC divisional playoff NFL football game against the Green Bay Packers Saturday, Jan. 22, 2022, in Green Bay, Wis.

California wildfire forces evacuations, highway closure

A section of California's famous Highway 1 was closed Saturday morning as a fire burning near the Pacific Ocean prompted evacuations close to the state's Big Sur region. The fire, which is being called the Colorado Fire, had burned around 100 acres, less than one-fifth of a square mile, when Monterey County officials ordered the evacuations Friday evening. By Saturday morning, it had burned 2.3 square miles and was 5% contained, officials said. Highway 1 was shut down in both directions from Andrew Molera State Park to Carmel-By-The-Sea due to the fire, California's Department of Transportation said. Firefighters from 13 agencies from around California's central coast responded to the fire as strong winds continued to push the fire west.

The Colorado Fire burns along Highway 1 near Big Sur, Calif., Saturday, Jan. 22, 2022.
The Colorado Fire burns along Highway 1 near Big Sur, Calif., Saturday, Jan. 22, 2022.

Real quick

Fauci says omicron infections could peak by mid-February

The nation's top infectious disease expert is "as confident as you can be" that most states will have reached a peak of omicron COVID-19 cases by mid-February. Dr. Anthony Fauci said Sunday that several states in the Northeast and Upper Midwest have seen cases peak and begin to decline sharply but that cases are still rising in the South and West. "You never want to be overconfident when you're dealing with this virus," Fauci said, adding that the coronavirus "surprised us in the past." Fauci said there may be "a bit more pain and suffering with hospitalizations" in parts of the country where a higher percentage of people have not been fully vaccinated or have not received a booster shot.

Dr. Anthony Fauci has been director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases since 1984.
Dr. Anthony Fauci has been director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases since 1984.

Monkeys who escaped after truck crash all accounted for

No more monkey business. The last of the escaped monkeys from a crash involving a truck towing a trailer load of 100 of the animals was accounted for by late Saturday, a day after the pickup collided with a dump truck on a highway, officials said. Several of the cynomolgus macaques escaped after the crash, prompting Pennsylvania Game Commission and other agencies to launch a search amid frigid weather. Crates littered the road as troopers searched for monkeys on foot, and firefighters used thermal imaging and a helicopter to try to locate the animals. Kristen Nordlund, a spokesperson with the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said that by Saturday evening, all of the monkeys had been accounted for, and three were dead after being euthanized.

The driver of a pickup transporting monkeys pulls a crate of monkeys off of state Route 54 at the intersection with Interstate 80 near Danville, Pa., Friday, Jan. 21, 2022, after the pickup and trailer were hit by a dump truck.
The driver of a pickup transporting monkeys pulls a crate of monkeys off of state Route 54 at the intersection with Interstate 80 near Danville, Pa., Friday, Jan. 21, 2022, after the pickup and trailer were hit by a dump truck.

Families of US Embassy staff in Ukraine must go home, State Department orders

The State Department on Sunday told staff at the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine that their families must go home, and the department warned travelers to avoid the country "due to the increased threats of Russian military action." The order came hours after Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated that the U.S. and NATO will forcefully support Ukraine should Russian troops invade. "If a single additional Russian force goes into Ukraine in an aggressive way, as I said, that would trigger a swift, a severe and a united response from us and from Europe," Blinken said during a CNN interview. While Blinken reemphasized that the U.S. is interested in a diplomatic solution to the conflict, he stressed "the choice is Vladimir Putin’s" as to whether war in Ukraine is inevitable.

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This is a compilation of stories from across the USA TODAY Network. Contributing: Associated Press.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: COVID-19, Green Bay Packers, Big Sur wildfire: Biggest news you missed