Indiana House bill would offer $150 million for COVID-19 learning recovery
The proposal would allow local schools, universities, and other organizations to apply for $150 million in competitive grants to help students catch up.
Democrats to ‘act big’ on $1.9T aid package; GOP wants plan split
Despite President Biden’s calls for unity, Democrats said the stubbornly high unemployment numbers and battered U.S. economy leave them unwilling to waste time courting Republican support that might not materialize.
Stocks claw back some lost ground; GameStop shares swing wildly
Investors continued to closely watch the wild swings in GameStop, AMC and several other stocks which have become targets for hordes of online investors who have sent them skyrocketing in recent days, taking on big hedge funds who have bet they will fall.
Indiana Senate passes COVID-19 liability protection bill
Senate Bill 1, authored by Republican Sen. Mark Messmer of Jasper, would shield businesses and individuals from coronavirus civil liability lawsuits unless there was gross negligence or willful or wanton misconduct that could be proven with “clear and convincing evidence.”
Biden opens sign-up window for uninsured in time of COVID-19
The most concrete short-term impact of Biden’s orders will come from reopening HealthCare.gov insurance markets as coverage has shrunk in the economic turmoil of the coronavirus pandemic.
School funding bill prompts questions about virtual learning
Proposals aimed at ensuring Indiana’s public schools receive full funding for all students during the coronavirus pandemic have prompted criticism from virtual learning supporters and one of the state’s top senators.
Butler to freeze tuition for first time in decades
The Indianapolis university said this will be the first time it has not raised tuition rates since 1983.
As Airlines close books on rotten 2020, new year gets off to slow start
On Thursday, Southwest, American and JetBlue reported that they lost a combined $3.5 billion in the final three months of the year. All issued dismal revenue outlooks for the current quarter.
Indiana reports 2,890 new COVID-19 cases, uptick in hospitalizations
The state has reported 288 new deaths over the past seven days, an average of 41.1 per day. That’s down from 389, or 55.6 per day, the previous week.
U.S. unemployment claims drop to still-high 847,000
Overall, nearly 4.8 million Americans received traditional state unemployment benefits the week of Jan. 16. That is down from nearly 5 million the week before.
U.S. economy shrank 3.5% in 2020 after growing 4% in final quarter
Thursday’s report from the Commerce Department estimated that the nation’s gross domestic product—its total output of goods and services—slowed sharply in the October-December quarter after a record 33.4% surge in the July-September quarter.
Indiana parent sues education board over virtual funding in the pandemic
The mother, who has two children who attend virtual schools in Indiana, argued that a rule to fully fund students who attend remotely because of the pandemic violates several laws and is unfair to children who were already enrolled in virtual schools.
Stocks have their worst day since October as Big Tech sinks
The sharp selling is a shift from the market’s recent record-setting run and comes as investors focus on the outlook for the economy and corporate profits amid a still-raging coronavirus pandemic.
Meijer, Walmart, Kroger begin offering COVID-19 vaccines by appointment
Gov. Eric Holcomb said Wednesday that the federal government, which controls the vaccine supply, is expected to increase Indiana’s weekly allotment by 16%, or about 13,000 extra doses, within three weeks, allowing the state to expand the program to big pharmacies.
House committee advances bills to create small business, learning loss grant programs
The Indiana House Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday unanimously voted to approve pandemic-related bills that would allocate $30 million to help small businesses and $150 million to help students struggling from learning loss.
Holcomb extends county-by-county restrictions for another month
The current executive order outlines restrictions based on the rate of infection in each county. Under the county-by-county system, each county is assigned a color each week that is based on its seven-day positivity rate and number of infected individuals per 100,000.
U.S. air travel hits lowest daily number in six months
New air travel restrictions enacted by the Biden administration and other nations to prevent the spread of new, more-contagious variants of the coronavirus might be affecting hopes for a speedy return to travel.
National Guard winding down work in Indiana nursing homes
The guardsmen were deployed to more than 500 nursing homes and long-term residential care facilities to help the nursing staff with routine health screenings, data entry and paperwork during a surge in COVID-19 cases.
Indiana reports 40 more deaths from COVID-19
Statewide hospitalizations due to COVID-19 dropped from 1,976 on Monday to 1,902 on Tuesday. The high mark was 3,460, set on Nov. 30.
Eli Lilly, Glaxo join forces to test COVID-19 antibody cocktail
GlaxoSmithKline and partner Vir Biotechnology Inc. have teamed up with Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly and Co. to test a combination of their COVID-19 antibody treatments to see whether they can better combat the virus and its variants together.
Resources
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDC Resources for Businesses and Employers OSHA Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for COVID-19 Indiana State Department of Health Indy Chamber Rapid Response Hub Small Business Administration The SBA is making low-interest loans for working capital available to Indiana small businesses. Indiana Unemployment Information Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Dashboard Critical Industries Hotline(for business and industry only)
877-820-0890
covidresponse@iedc.in.gov State’s virus-related executive orders State plan to reopen Indiana