U.S. consumer spending sinks by record 13.6% in face of virus
Last month’s spending decline was far worse than the revised 6.9% drop in March, which itself had set a previous record for the steepest one-month fall in records dating to 1959.
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Clerk warns that thousands of mail-in ballots might not be counted; voters can still go to polls
Marion County Clerk Myra Eldridge told state officials “it is not too late” to extend the deadline for receipt of mailed ballots. She implored the Indiana Election Commission to act.
Holcomb’s plan for $61M in coronavirus relief involves technology
Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb’s application to the U.S. Department of Education provides a look at how he will spend federal education money that was set aside for state leaders to distribute how they choose.
Six ways Indianapolis Public Schools will be different when buildings reopen
With the next school year rapidly approaching, the state’s largest district is planning for the challenges it must tackle for staff and students to return safely for in-person instruction.
As restaurants reopen, here’s what diners should know about air flow and the coronavirus
How the virus is transmitted might be more important in restaurants than in many other venues because people linger there far longer.
U.S. House approves changes to business virus aid subsidy program
The new measure gives business owners 24 weeks to spend the federal aid—instead of eight as originally designed—and extends the program through the end of the year while also lengthening the the maturity date and deferral period of the loans.
Democrats accuse OSHA of not protecting front-line workers
Democrats are accusing the Trump administration for failing to protect front-line workers, including those at meatpacking plants and health care facilities where outbreaks of the disease are spiking.
Target, Walmart outbox department stores in reshaped world
The pandemic is dividing the industry into potential winners and losers, with Wall Street looking more favorably at e-commerce retailers and companies with well-established online sales.
State reports rise in new COVID-19 cases, deaths, testing
The Indiana State Department of Health on Thursday said 242,287 people have been tested so far, up from 235,333 in Wednesday’s report—an increase of 6,954.
U.S. economy shrank at 5% annual rate in first quarter
It was the biggest quarterly decline in more than a decade, since an 8.4% fall in the fourth quarter of 2008 during the depths of the financial crisis.
Another 2.1M file unemployment claims, including 26,278 in Indiana
About 41 million people have applied for aid since the virus outbreak intensified in March, but about half of them have gone back to work.
Mail-in voting could turn Election Day into Election Week
State election officials in some key battleground states have recently warned that it may take days to count what they expect will be a surge of ballots sent by mail out of concern for safety amid the pandemic.
Late-session spurt lifts Dow above 25,000 for the first time since early March
The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 553 points Wednesday, about 2.2 percent. Financial stocks and beaten-up industrials helped power the blue chips—a comeback that signals confidence in the recovery.
As pandemic delays continue, Minor League Baseball season facing growing doubts
According to more than a half-dozen general managers and player development executives, the best hope of salvaging even part of a minor league season might not come until late summer, and it could center more on intrasquad games rather than a full season.
Could pandemic put a damper on rising CEO compensation?
The pay gap between the boss and their workforces widened further last year, according to AP’s annual survey of executive compensation, but the impact of COVID-19 could eventually shrink that divide, or maybe even widen it.
U.S. House poised for first-ever proxy vote amid political wrangling
Deadlocked over the next big coronavirus relief bill, Congress is shifting its attention to a more modest overhaul of small-business aid in hopes of helping employers reopen shops and survive the pandemic.
Indiana regulators agree to hear utility request to raise rates in wake of pandemic losses
Two weeks after 10 Indiana utilities asked state regulators for permission to charge ratepayers for millions of dollars in revenue the utilities stand to lose because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the state has agreed to consider the matter.
Indiana’s COVID-19 case total rises by 359, deaths by 21
The Indiana State Department of Health said Wednesday that the cumulative death toll in the state rose to 1,871, up from 1,850 the previous day.
Indy PopCon calls off July extravaganza, plans online film festival
The comic and popular-culture convention was expected to draw about 40,000 people downtown to the Indiana Convention Center.
Marion County to ease more pandemic restrictions starting Friday
Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett on Wednesday said he will begin easing more of Marion County’s pandemic-related restrictions starting Friday, but most of the changes won’t take place until Monday.