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<ul class="summary-list"><li>Lawmakers are mulling a proposal to pump billions into restaurants as Omicron rages.</li><li>The Washington Post first reported on early talks between senators from both sides of the aisle.</li></ul>As the US shatters records for the number of COVID-19 cases, some members of Congress are mulling a fresh round of economic relief for businesses.The Washington Post's Tony Romm <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2022/01/05/congress-omicron-coronavirus-aid/">first reported</a> that lawmakers from both parties were in talks about potentially proposing to pump billions into businesses, including hard-hit ones like restaurants. The Post reported that Sens. Ben Cardin, a Democrat from Maryland, and Roger Wicker, a Mississippi Republican — who are reportedly leading the talks — had put together a $68 billion proposal in December."We started with restaurants but we're prepared to expand it if we can have the necessary support," Cardin told reporters on Wednesday. "There's other industries that have legitimate concerns."He said that lawmakers are looking at "how much is needed" for the <keyword id="11898236" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="restaurant" source="Orion">restaurant</keyword> fund. In May 2021, the White House opened the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/restaurants-bars-pandemic-relief-grants-restaurant-revitalization-fund-rrf-2021-3">Restaurant Revitalization Fund</a> for applications, with $28.6 billion from the American Rescue Plan up for grabs. They received <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/biden-restaurant-relief-186000-applied-2-days-american-rescue-plan-2021-5">186,000 applications</a> in the first two days alone.A White House official told Insider on Wednesday that the Biden administration is "continuing to closely track" the Omicron wave though no final decision had been made to push for another relief plan."But we are not in the same place we were last year," the official said, adding that there were still leftover funds from <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/stimulus-biden-signs-trillion-covid-relief-package-checks-direct-payments-2021-3">the $1.9 trillion stimulus law</a> that could be repurposed and the unemployment rate had fallen significantly since early 2021.Any legislation would need at least 10 GOP senators to back the bill so it clears the Senate and reaches Biden's desk. It could be an uphill struggle for Democrats to get the support from Senate Republicans weary of additional government spending.Republican Sen. Kevin Cramer of North Dakota, told Insider that he's open to a targeted relief package for restaurants, saying it's been the hardest hit sector and one of the last to recover."I would be open to reasonable discussions in a bipartisan way," Cramer said, saying he's not yet convinced of the need but that he thinks "we are starting the process."For any package to get those 10 necessary Republican votes, it would have to focus on providing aid to businesses, Cramer said — "keeping people working, keeping things being produced, as opposed to just free money somewhere.""I think there's some members who are interested in some more COVID relief for restaurants and other things, and that could certainly become part of a package," key GOP Senator Roy Blunt told Insider.The Missouri Republican said he thinks there's an "opportunity" to explore new payments to businesses after <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/democrats-bench-build-back-better-face-obstacles-with-voting-rights-2022-1">Congress' upcoming negotiations over election reform</a>, and he hopes to take advantage of some "real appropriations work" as Democrats continue "their reckless spending spree."It's unlikely that the relief plan will include additional direct payments or federal unemployment benefits. The Biden administration didn't push to renew the $300 unemployment supplement beyond September, and the White House has said any additional <keyword id="11922603" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="stimulus" source="Orion">stimulus</keyword> checks would be up to Congress.Some senior Democrats are throwing their support behind the effort to assemble another COVID-19 relief package, including Sen. Ron Wyden, chair of the Senate Finance Committee. "I think the need is very significant," he told Insider."There are a lot of people who tell us that they're going to be falling between the cracks — that there was a big, big problem before the new variant — and it's gotten greater in the last few weeks," Wyden said.

Congress is weighing a fresh stimulus package for restaurants and other businesses as Omicron rages

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Basilico's Pasta e Vino in Huntington Beach says it's "requiring proof" patrons aren't vaccinated. </li><li>In June, the restaurant was fined $165,520 for failing to meet California's COVID-19 regulations. </li><li>Meanwhile, COVID-19 cases surge in California and across the US.</li></ul>An Italian eatery in California is requiring patrons to show proof of being unvaccinated and discourages masks despite a local surge in COVID-19 cases.Basilico's Pasta e Vino in Huntington Beach, California, shared a Facebook post on July 22 with photos showing <a href="https://www.facebook.com/basilicoshb/posts/4197035290332561">two anti-vaccination signs on its windows</a> that say: "We have zero tolerance for treasonous, anti-American stupidity. Thank you for pondering.""More American counties, cities, and businesses doubling down on anti-American lockdown mandates? Well 'Basilico's Pasta e Vino' just tripled down," the restaurant's Facebook post caption reads. "From day one, never complied, banned masks, and now ... requiring proof of being Un-vaccinated!"California's COVID-19 response website currently advises <a href="https://covid19.ca.gov/masks-and-ppe/">unvaccinated people to wear masks in restaurants and for everyone to use them while dining indoors</a>. Basilico's disregard for COVID-19 prevention has not gone unnoticed by the Department of Industrial Relations (DIR), which issued the establishment <a href="https://www.dir.ca.gov/dosh/Coronavirus/Citations/06.17.2021-Basilicos-Pasta-e-Vino_1507030.pdf?fbclid=IwAR25WCzVUZ7RJ3Mw4c8cQYOHfQ_WGWK_bmFeEh_XbqO7v1iMQM8QVhmsc6o">five citations</a> on June 17, with fines totaling $165,520 due to be paid this July.The violations in the DIR's report range from "serious" to "willful-serious" and demonstrate a failure to provide sufficient COVID-19 protection to both employees and diners, according to the report. The DIR's inspection found that the restaurant failed to "provide face coverings and ensure they were worn by employees" indoors, according to its report.Although Basilico's appears to be maintaining its anti-vaccination stance, according to a <a href="https://projects.propublica.org/coronavirus/bailouts/loans/basilicos-pasta-e-vino-inc-4150217710">ProPublica database</a>, the restaurant accepted $57,738 in <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/paycheck-protection-program-extended-what-owners-need-to-know-2020-7">Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funding</a>. Through the PPP, small businesses could apply for federally backed loans that would help them stay afloat during the pandemic by covering expenses and maintaining staff levels.<div type="image" title="The exterior and porch of Basilico's Pasta e Vino, a restaurant in Huntington Beach California." height="3113" width="4941" msid="84904307" hostid="261"></div>The restaurant's opposition to vaccines and mask-wearing comes as the highly infectious COVID-19 <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-wont-lift-travel-restrictions-covid-19-delta-variant-2021-7">Delta variant surges</a> throughout the country.As of Wednesday, California reported <a href="https://covid19.ca.gov/">3,830,008 Covid-19 cases with 14.2 new cases per 100,000 people</a>. And, according to <a href="https://public.tableau.com/views/COVID-19HospitalsDashboard/Hospitals?%3Aembed=y&amp;%3AshowVizHome=noe=no">data released</a> by the California Public <keyword id="6354750" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="health">Health</keyword> Department, positive COVID-19 patients admitted to the ICU in the state nearly tripled since the start of July. Representatives for Basilico's, the DIR, and the California Public Health Department did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.As Insider's Aria Bendix reported, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cdc-fully-vaccinated-people-can-spread-delta-variant-2021-7?IR=C">the nation's rise in cases prompted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to update its mask guidelines</a> on Tuesday after new evidence suggested that some vaccinated people infected with the <keyword id="11357594" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="delta-variant">Delta variant</keyword> could spread the virus."Information on the Delta variant from several states and other countries indicates that, on rare occasions, some vaccinated people infected with the Delta variant after vaccination may be contagious and spread the virus to others," CDC director Rochelle Walensky said in a Tuesday press call.However, Walensky said, vaccines continue to prove to be highly effective in preventing serious cases: "The vast majority of transmission, the vast majority of severe disease, hospitalization, and death is almost exclusively happening among unvaccinated people."<div type="image" title="Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and top infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci testify before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee July 20, 2021 on Capitol Hill" height="2761" width="4017" msid="84904312" hostid="261"></div>Elsewhere in the country, some restaurants are beginning to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/restaurants-require-vaccine-card-vaccine-passport-indoor-dining-2021-7?r=US&amp;IR=TIR=T">require patrons to show proof of vaccination</a>.Danny Meyer, CEO of Union Square Hospitality Group, which owns Gramercy Tavern, Manhatta, and Union Square Cafe, told CNBC on Thursday his <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/07/29/danny-meyers-union-square-hospitality-group-to-require-indoor-diners-show-proof-of-covid-shots.html">restaurants will require indoor diners and drinkers to prove they have been vaccinated</a>. Dame, a New York City restaurant that opened during the pandemic, is also <a href="https://www.insider.com/nyc-restaurant-only-serving-vaccinated-diners-proof-required-2021-7">requiring diners to show proof of vaccination</a>, as Insider's Rachel Askinasi reported."We've been anxiously watching the NYC infection rate creep back up," owner Patricia Howard told Insider. "We can't control whether the person next to us on the subway is wearing a mask, but we can control who gets to come through our doors."

A California restaurant asking patrons for proof they're unvaccinated was once fined $165,520 for not protecting staff and diners from COVID

Even in this age of jet travel and space tourism, highways hold an irresistible charm for travellers out to have an up, close and personal experience of the wide roads stretching ahead for miles, uninterrupted views of a breathtaking landscape, the occasional flyways and the not-so-familiar villages and towns rushing by. It’s even better than chugging along the countryside in a train. You can stop any time you want – to sample some chatpati chaat and a steaming cuppa of chai at a roadside dhaba; to talk to people; to take a dekko at local interests or simply laze an hour or two in shine or rain with the greens around you and the fresh smell of soil floating in the air. 
 
Now that our <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Chugging-Up-7-Mesmerising-Mountain-Train-RidesIn-India/articleshow/24288850.cms">train series</a> is over (but we promise to bring you more as soon as new and exotic routes come up), we are back with a more exciting roadmap of <keyword id="168020" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="expressways">expressways</keyword> that criss-cross the entire country, connecting the four metros and many of the Tier I cities, and going much beyond the urban landscape. Infrastructure development in India has undergone a sea change over the past few years and the country currently boasts the <keyword id="2034191" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Second-largest-road-network">second largest road network</keyword> in the world, with a road length of over 4,689,842 km, as per 2013 data from the <keyword id="6404450" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Ministry-of-Road-Transport-and-Highways">Ministry of Road Transport and Highways</keyword>. 
 Starting from FY2012-13, the <keyword id="44734" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="Indian-Government">Indian government</keyword> will be also putting $17 billion over the next five years, being sourced through public-private partnership (<keyword id="6361580" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="PPP">PPP</keyword>) road projects. This will be used by the <keyword id="87432" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="National-Highways-Authority-of-India">National Highways Authority of India</keyword> (<keyword id="49448" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="nhai">NHAI</keyword>) for the planned series of <keyword id="174913" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="BOT">BOT</keyword> (build, operate and transfer) highways. In spite of several bottlenecks, the NHAI has set up impressive targets and aims to develop 20 km/day, in a bid to fast-track the country’s <keyword id="2034194" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Road-network-expansion">road network expansion</keyword>. 
 As of July 2013, <keyword id="6373156" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="National-Highways">national highways</keyword> account for 79,116 km, connecting all major cities and state capitals. Expressways, however, differ a bit in the sense they are controlled-access highways like the <keyword id="610047" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="freeways">freeways</keyword> or <keyword id="1333990" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="motorways">motorways</keyword> or autobahnen in the US and Europe, essentially designed for high-speed traffic. As of now, most of the expressways in India are 6-8 lane <keyword id="120837" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="toll-roads">toll roads</keyword> and cover a total distance of nearly 1,208.19 km. India expects to add another 3,530 km of expressways by 2014 as projects under construction get completed. Another massive programme is also under way to expand the network and the Indian government plans to add an additional 18,637 km of expressways by 2022. 
 So are you ready to emerge on another breath-taking <keyword id="6374782" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="journey">journey</keyword> with us, literally a journey of thousand miles and more? We will bring you the super expressways zone-wise – so that you know which route to choose when travelling North or South, East or West. And it will be a beautiful journey as art and cultural critic <keyword id="2034192" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Dave-Hickey">Dave Hickey</keyword> so rightly said – Beauty is and always will be blue skies and open highway. 
 
Image: Wikimedia Commons

8 Super Expressways
In North India That Fulfil Your Need For Speed

Nickelback, Chris Brown, and other stars scored $200 million in taxpayer funds meant to keep arts groups afloat during the pandemic. They won't say what they did with the money.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The SBA raised the cap on Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) to $2 million. </li><li>Businesses may use funds to cover business expenses such as payroll and rent.</li><li>The SBA will begin approving loans greater than $500,000 on October 8.</li></ul>The <keyword id="11932022" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="small-business" source="Orion">Small Business</keyword> Administration has raised the cap on COVID-19 related loans from $500,000 to $2 million, to help small businesses <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/emergency-funding-for-small-businesses-affected-by-the-coronavirus-2020">recover from the COVID-19 pandemic</a>. Business owners may use the funds the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/forgivable-loans-avoid-layoffs-coronavirus-cares-paycheck-protection-economic-injury-2020-3">Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL)</a> towards operating expenses over 24 months such as payroll, rent, buying equipment and materials, or paying off debt. Funds may now also be used to prepay commercial debts and federal business debt. Businesses can apply for the increased loan amounts right away, the SBA said Thursday when it announced the revised caps. However, it will begin approving loans greater than $500,000 on October 8.Eligible applicants include small businesses with 500 or fewer employees, non-profits, independent contractors, freelancers/self-employed, and limited types of franchise affiliates that have been in business since January 31, 2020, according to SBA guidelines.The raised cap on the loans comes as <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/biden-to-unveil-strict-vaccination-requirement-for-federal-workers-2021-9">cases of the coronavirus are again on the rise,</a> fueled by the highly-transmissible Delta variant. The loans have been a lifeline for many small businesses that have experienced a range of economic obstacles, including lockdowns, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/labor-shortage-supply-chain-detroit-doughnut-shop-rising-costs-michigan-2021-9">labor shortages</a> and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/holiday-shopping-how-retail-business-owners-can-prepare-2021-8">supply chain issues.</a>Applications for the EIDL program and PPP loans are open. Businesses can <a href="https://covid19relief.sba.gov/#/">apply online through the SBA</a>. There are no application fees for loans of $25,000 or less. Loans greater than $25,000 require a $100 application fee and collateral. Loans greater than $500,000 require a $100 application fee, in addition to any associated fees for filing a lien on the applicant's assets. A personal guaranty is also required for loans greater than $200,000. Loan terms are 3.75% interest for businesses and 2.75% for non-profits, with a maximum period of 30 years. Borrowers will not have to begin repaying their loans until two years from origination. The SBA is also accepting new <a href="https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/loans/covid-19-relief-options/eidl/targeted-eidl-advance-supplemental-targeted-advance">applications</a> for <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/forgivable-loans-avoid-layoffs-coronavirus-cares-paycheck-protection-economic-injury-2020-3">EIDL advance grants</a> up to $10,000 for businesses of 300 or fewer employees in <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-minority-and-underserved-small-business-owners-can-get-ppp-2021-1">low-income communities</a>, and who can prove more than 30% reduction in revenue. EIDL applications will close on December 31, 2021, unless the program's funding runs out sooner.<h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/emergency-funding-for-small-businesses-affected-by-the-coronavirus-2020">For additional emergency funding available to small businesses, see our full list here. »</a></h3>

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Congress is weighing a fresh stimulus package for restaurants and other businesses as Omicron rages

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A California restaurant asking patrons for proof they're unvaccinated was once fined $165,520 for not protecting staff and diners from COVID

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8 Super Expressways In North India That Fulfil Your Need For Speed

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Nickelback, Chris Brown, and other stars scored $200 million in taxpayer funds meant to keep arts groups afloat during the pandemic. They won't say what they did with the money.

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Small businesses can now get up to $2 million in government loans to help them recover from the pandemic

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