Bipartisan group of lawmakers push for billions in additional aid for Restaurant Revitalization Fund
CBSN
A federal fund to help restaurants and bars slammed by the coronavirus pandemic got three times as many requests as it had money to support. Now, a group of lawmakers wants to refill the pot with an additional $60 billion in COVID relief money.
The Restaurant Revitalization Fund, part of the American Rescue Plan passed in March, provided $28.6 billion for businesses impacted by the pandemic. But more than 362,000 eligible businesses ended up applying for nearly $75 billion in assistance through the program during the program's window for applications — less than a month. A group of lawmakers is calling for more than double the fund's original amount to replenish it, which Democratic Senator Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona said will help fuel a full economic recovery. The lawmakers say the funding would not only cover the outstanding existing applications for the relief program, but also allow the Small Business Administration to continue outreach to businesses affected by the pandemic.Rodeo star Spencer Wright and his wife are making end-of-life preparations for their 3-year-old son after he was found unconscious in a creek, a close family friend said in updates posted on social media and confirmed to CBS affiliate KUTV. The boy had been playing on his tractor before he ended up in the water and a mile downstream.
The launch of Boeing's star-crossed Starliner spacecraft on its first piloted test flight is slipping to at least June 1 to give engineers more time to assess a small-but-persistent helium leak in the capsule's propulsion system, and its potential impact across all phases of flight, NASA announced Wednesday.
Washington — As former President Donald Trump's "hush money" criminal trial in New York proceeds to closing arguments next week, the legal focus is moving south. His attorneys and longtime aide Walt Nauta appeared before Florida federal Judge Aileen Cannon, where they sparred with prosecutors during two contentious, day-long hearings on Wednesday.