Copyright © 2022, Los Angeles Times | | | | Advertisement Nearly $135 billion provided by Congress to help small businesses struggling to survive the COVID-19 pandemic was left on the table Tuesday as the Paycheck Protection Program stopped accepting new applications.The program was so popular after Congress created it in March that it ran out of its initial $349 billion in less than two weeks and had to be replenished. But the second $310-billion round of forgivable payroll loans didn’t go as quickly after some large companies encountered public backlash and criticism from President Trump...…Copyright © 2022, Los Angeles Times | | | | Advertisement Nearly $135 billion provided by Congress to help small businesses struggling to survive the COVID-19 pandemic was left on the table Tuesday as the Paycheck Protection Program stopped accepting new applications.The program was so popular after Congress created it in March that it ran out of its initial $349 billion in less than two weeks and had to be replenished. But the second $310-billion round of forgivable payroll loans didn’t go as quickly after some large companies encountered public backlash and criticism from President Trump...WW…

Copyright © 2022, Los Angeles Times | | | | Advertisement One Los Angeles business owner allegedly went to Las Vegas and gambled away some of the $9 million he received in emergency government loans earmarked for his employees.A Texas man is accused of using his $1.5-million Paycheck Protection Program funds to pay off a mortgage, while another loan recipient in Georgia is charged with using his $2-million loan to buy a car, jewelry and to pay child support.A Washington, D.C., applicant fabricated Social Security numbers in an attempt to collect money for employees he didn’t really have,...…Copyright © 2022, Los Angeles Times | | | | Advertisement One Los Angeles business owner allegedly went to Las Vegas and gambled away some of the $9 million he received in emergency government loans earmarked for his employees.A Texas man is accused of using his $1.5-million Paycheck Protection Program funds to pay off a mortgage, while another loan recipient in Georgia is charged with using his $2-million loan to buy a car, jewelry and to pay child support.A Washington, D.C., applicant fabricated Social Security numbers in an attempt to collect money for employees he didn’t really have,...WW…

Copyright © 2022, Los Angeles Times | | | | Advertisement After initial resistance from some Republicans, Congress is inching closer to an agreement to extend at least some of the $600-a-week federal unemployment insurance subsidy approved this spring to help American workers hurt by the coronavirus crisis.When they return next week to begin talks on another major relief bill, lawmakers face a tight deadline to renew the popular benefit, which expires at the end of the month. The recent resurgence in COVID-19 cases in many states, including California, is Advertisement“The extra $600 per...…Copyright © 2022, Los Angeles Times | | | | Advertisement After initial resistance from some Republicans, Congress is inching closer to an agreement to extend at least some of the $600-a-week federal unemployment insurance subsidy approved this spring to help American workers hurt by the coronavirus crisis.When they return next week to begin talks on another major relief bill, lawmakers face a tight deadline to renew the popular benefit, which expires at the end of the month. The recent resurgence in COVID-19 cases in many states, including California, is Advertisement“The extra $600 per...WW…

Copyright © 2022, Los Angeles Times | | | | Advertisement Congressional leaders and the White House were close to a deal Monday over an emergency coronavirus package to replenish a small-business assistance program that ran out of funds last week, even as critics said misuse of the popular loan program by large companies had squeezed out smaller businesses.The now-depleted Paycheck Protection Program was designed to provide forgivable loans to small businesses if they kept workers on the payroll during the economic shutdown caused by the pandemic. It would receive an additional $310 billion...…Copyright © 2022, Los Angeles Times | | | | Advertisement Congressional leaders and the White House were close to a deal Monday over an emergency coronavirus package to replenish a small-business assistance program that ran out of funds last week, even as critics said misuse of the popular loan program by large companies had squeezed out smaller businesses.The now-depleted Paycheck Protection Program was designed to provide forgivable loans to small businesses if they kept workers on the payroll during the economic shutdown caused by the pandemic. It would receive an additional $310 billion...WW…

Copyright © 2022, Los Angeles Times | | | | Advertisement The Senate Intelligence Committee has sent a bipartisan letter to the Justice Department asking federal prosecutors to investigate Stephen K. Bannon, a former Trump confidant, for potentially lying to lawmakers during its investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.The letter, a copy of which was reviewed by The Times, was signed by the panel’s then-chairman, Republican Sen. Richard M. Burr, and its ranking Democrat, Sen. Mark Warner.For the record:It also raised concerns about testimony provided by family...…Copyright © 2022, Los Angeles Times | | | | Advertisement The Senate Intelligence Committee has sent a bipartisan letter to the Justice Department asking federal prosecutors to investigate Stephen K. Bannon, a former Trump confidant, for potentially lying to lawmakers during its investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.The letter, a copy of which was reviewed by The Times, was signed by the panel’s then-chairman, Republican Sen. Richard M. Burr, and its ranking Democrat, Sen. Mark Warner.For the record:It also raised concerns about testimony provided by family...WW…

Copyright © 2022, Los Angeles Times | | | | Advertisement Republican state legislators and elected officials detailed Tuesday the intense pressure they faced from then-President Trump and his lawyers to subvert the will of voters and submit to Congress false slates of electors backing him.Arizona state House Speaker Rusty Bowers, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and Georgia Secretary of State Chief Operating Officer Gabriel Sterling, all Republicans, testified at the fourth hearing of the House select committee investigating Jan. 6, 2021, about numerous lengthy phone calls and...…Copyright © 2022, Los Angeles Times | | | | Advertisement Republican state legislators and elected officials detailed Tuesday the intense pressure they faced from then-President Trump and his lawyers to subvert the will of voters and submit to Congress false slates of electors backing him.Arizona state House Speaker Rusty Bowers, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and Georgia Secretary of State Chief Operating Officer Gabriel Sterling, all Republicans, testified at the fourth hearing of the House select committee investigating Jan. 6, 2021, about numerous lengthy phone calls and...WW…

Copyright © 2022, Los Angeles Times | | | | Advertisement Senate Democratic leaders and President Biden have agreed to more narrowly target which Americans would be eligible for a $1,400 stimulus payment in the latest COVID-19 relief measure.To ease the bill’s way with moderate Senate Democrats, the proposed new version allows single filers with annual income under $75,000 to receive the full amount, phasing it out entirely for those with incomes of $80,000 and higher.Joint filers with annual incomes of less than $150,000 would each receive the full amount, but those above $160,000 would...…Copyright © 2022, Los Angeles Times | | | | Advertisement Senate Democratic leaders and President Biden have agreed to more narrowly target which Americans would be eligible for a $1,400 stimulus payment in the latest COVID-19 relief measure.To ease the bill’s way with moderate Senate Democrats, the proposed new version allows single filers with annual income under $75,000 to receive the full amount, phasing it out entirely for those with incomes of $80,000 and higher.Joint filers with annual incomes of less than $150,000 would each receive the full amount, but those above $160,000 would...WW…

Copyright © 2022, Los Angeles Times | | | | Advertisement Still taking refuge in a Capitol Hill office after violent Trump supporters besieged the House and Senate floors, Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Torrance) fired off a text message to every Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee.The committee “should start drafting articles of impeachment now, regardless of what leadership says,” he wrote in the 3:09 p.m. message. “We have seen the consequences of being weak against Trump and not holding him accountable these last couple months. If we don’t do anything besides send strongly worded press...…Copyright © 2022, Los Angeles Times | | | | Advertisement Still taking refuge in a Capitol Hill office after violent Trump supporters besieged the House and Senate floors, Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Torrance) fired off a text message to every Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee.The committee “should start drafting articles of impeachment now, regardless of what leadership says,” he wrote in the 3:09 p.m. message. “We have seen the consequences of being weak against Trump and not holding him accountable these last couple months. If we don’t do anything besides send strongly worded press...WW…

Copyright © 2022, Los Angeles Times | | | | Advertisement As Congress’ Democratic and Republican leaders for the past week tortuously negotiated a long-awaited $900-billion coronavirus relief package, President Trump remained mostly out of sight at the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue, tweeting falsely that he’d won reelection and hosting holiday parties despite a worsening pandemic.The president’s lack of interest in the legislative process isn’t just that of a brooding lame duck struggling to come to terms with defeat. It’s been a constant of his four years in the White House. Elected in...…Copyright © 2022, Los Angeles Times | | | | Advertisement As Congress’ Democratic and Republican leaders for the past week tortuously negotiated a long-awaited $900-billion coronavirus relief package, President Trump remained mostly out of sight at the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue, tweeting falsely that he’d won reelection and hosting holiday parties despite a worsening pandemic.The president’s lack of interest in the legislative process isn’t just that of a brooding lame duck struggling to come to terms with defeat. It’s been a constant of his four years in the White House. Elected in...WW…

Copyright © 2022, Los Angeles Times | | | | Advertisement Tens of thousands of low-income California seniors stopped receiving home deliveries of free food just as COVID-19 cases and deaths in the state were peaking, thanks to a century-old federal policy to include surplus cheese in government aid packages.As the coronavirus began to spread in March and , these needy Californians initially were able to have a box of dried food delivered to their homes each month at no cost because federal regulators granted a state request to temporarily waive certain rules governing the Commodity...…Copyright © 2022, Los Angeles Times | | | | Advertisement Tens of thousands of low-income California seniors stopped receiving home deliveries of free food just as COVID-19 cases and deaths in the state were peaking, thanks to a century-old federal policy to include surplus cheese in government aid packages.As the coronavirus began to spread in March and , these needy Californians initially were able to have a box of dried food delivered to their homes each month at no cost because federal regulators granted a state request to temporarily waive certain rules governing the Commodity...WW…