COVID-19 Relief Bill May Be On Horizon

WASHINGTON (AP) – Democratic leaders have swung behind a bipartisan COVID-19 relief effort. They’re cutting their demands for a $2 trillion-plus measure by more than half in hopes of breaking a monthslong logjam and delivering much-sought aid at the end of a tempestuous congressional session. It’s aimed at budging Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who so far has been unwilling to abandon a $550 million Senate GOP plan that has failed twice this fall. The new plan would establish a $300 per week jobless benefit, send $160 billion to help state and local governments, revive popular “paycheck protection” subsidies for businesses, and bail out transit systems and airlines.