Governor to lead business development trip to Qatar
Indiana’s delegation is scheduled to leave Indianapolis on Monday, July 5, and return Friday, July 9.
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House passes $700B transportation and water bill, making its pitch on infrastructure
The package provides $343 billion for roads, bridges and safety programs, $109 billion for transit agencies and $95 billion for rail. It also includes $117 billion for drinking water programs and $51 billion for wastewater infrastructure.
U.S. jobless claims fall to 364,000, a new pandemic low
Last week’s drop in jobless claims nationally was steeper than economists had expected. Applications for unemployment benefits have now fallen in 10 of the past 12 weeks.
IRS faces 35M unprocessed tax returns as backlog swells, watchdog says
The support line for individual income tax returns received about 85 million calls, with only about 3% reaching a customer service representative, according to the taxpayer advocate report.
Indiana FSSA chief Jennifer Sullivan takes out-of-state job
Sullivan—who took a high-profile role in statewide televised weekly press conferences during the pandemic—will be departing after the longest tenure of any secretary in the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration’s 30-year history.
Joining Trump at border, GOP congressman eyes path to power
Whatever the future may hold, Rep. Jim Banks, 41, is working aggressively to play a prominent role in it. A politician with mountaintop ambition, he is rising in the ranks of the House Republicans—and in the estimation of the mercurial Donald Trump.
Consumer confidence up in June to highest level since pandemic
The proportions of consumers planning to purchase homes, automobiles and major appliances all rose in June, as did intentions to take vacations.
NCAA D1 Council recommends allowing athletes to profit off name, image, likeness
The 24-member NCAA Division I Board of Directors is expected to approve the historic recommendation Wednesday, the eve of the July 1 date that athletes rights advocates have been pointing toward with anticipation for months.
Judge dismisses government antitrust lawsuits against Facebook
U.S. District Judge James Boasberg ruled Monday that the lawsuits were “legally insufficient” and didn’t provide enough evidence to prove that Facebook was a monopoly.
States hesitant to adopt digital COVID vaccine verification
Far more states have banned proof-of-vaccination policies than have created smartphone-based programs for people to digitally display their vaccination status.
Bipartisan infrastructure deal back on track after Biden’s walk-back
Republican senators who brokered the agreement with the White House and Democrats to fund badly needed investments in roads, bridges, water and broadband indicated they were satisfied with President Biden’s comments that he was dropping the both-or-nothing approach.
‘Blindsided’ GOP senators put infrastructure deal in doubt
Livid over President Joe Biden’s refusal to sign a bipartisan infrastructure deal without separate passage of his broader priorities, Republican senators Friday were frantically considering options.
China slams U.S. curbs on solar materials as economic attack
The U.S. move is a potential hurdle for President Joe Biden’s ambition to promote solar power. Hoshine is one of the biggest global suppliers of polysilicon, a material used to make solar panels.
Congress repeals Trump-era regulations on payday lenders
Congress on Thursday overturned a set of regulations enacted in the final days of the Trump administration that effectively allowed payday lenders to avoid state laws capping interest rates.
U.S. jobless claims tick down to 411,000 as pandemic fades
The Labor Department said Thursday that jobless claims declined by 7,000 from the previous week, to 411,000. The number of weekly applications for unemployment aid has fallen steadily this year, from about 900,000 in January.
White House replaces regulator for mortgage giants after Supreme Court ruling
The White House replaced the regulator who oversees mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac after the Supreme Court ruled that the leadership structure of the Federal Housing Finance Agency was unconstitutional.
Economic study: IndyParks’ green impact goes well beyond plants, trees
Each dollar spent on Indianapolis Parks and Recreation generated about $3.13 in the local economy in 2019, with an economic impact of $106.8 million that year, researchers at IU’s Public Policy Institute estimated.
Bipartisan senators reach tentative plan on infrastructure
The group had been narrowing on a much smaller but still sizable $1 trillion proposal of road, highway and other traditional infrastructure projects.
House panel pushes legislation targeting Big Tech’s power
The ambitious legislation could curb the market power of tech giants Facebook, Google, Amazon and Apple and force them to sever their dominant platforms from their other lines of business.
Caine: Marion County’s goal of July 4 full reopening will depend on data
Indianapolis’ goal of fully eliminating pandemic-related restrictions by Independence Day isn’t set in stone, local officials said Tuesday.