Biden wants an extra $4 billion for disaster relief

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House will seek an additional $4 billion to address natural disasters as part of its supplemental funding request, bringing the total to $16 billion — a sign that wildfires, flooding and hurricanes that have intensified during a period of climate change are imposing ever higher costs on U.S. taxpayers. The Biden administration had initially requested $12 billion in extra funding for the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s disaster relief fund, which helps with rescue and relief efforts. But a spokesperson in the Office of Management and Budget, Shelby Wagenseller, said that the fires in Hawaii and Louisiana as well as flooding in Vermont and Hurricane Idalia striking Florida and other Southeastern states mean that a total of $16 billion is needed.

Man gets 2-year prison sentence in pandemic fraud case to buy alpaca farm

BOSTON (AP) — A former pizzeria owner has been sentenced to two years in prison for using over $660,000 in fraudulently obtained pandemic relief funds to buy an alpaca farm. In 2020, Dana McIntyre, 59, of Grafton, Vermont, submitted a fraudulent application for a Paycheck Protection Program loan, prosecutors said. He inflated information about the pizzeria’s employees and payroll expenses and falsified a tax form to try to qualify the business for a larger loan amount. After receiving the loan, McIntyre, formerly of Massachusetts, sold his pizzeria and used nearly all of the money to buy an alpaca farm in Vermont and eight alpacas, the U.S. attorney’s office in Boston said.

More than 85,000 highchairs are under recall after two dozen reports of falls

NEW YORK (AP) — More than 85,000 highchairs sold at major retailers across North America are being recalled due to a fall hazard that has resulted in a handful of injuries, according to federal regulators. Toy and nursery product company TOMY International Inc. is recalling about 83,000 of its Boon Flair and Flair Elite Highchairs sold in the U.S. — and another 2,850 in Canada, the Oak Brook, Illinois-based distributor and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said. According to this week’s recall notice, the bolts securing the highchairs’ seats can loosen, allowing the seats to detach. TOMY has received 34 reports to date of the chair separating from the base, the CPSC said Thursday. This has lead to two dozen falls that resulted in 11 injuries, like bruising or scratches.

Schooner that sank in Lake Michigan in 1881 found intact, miles off Wis. coastline

ALGOMA, Wis. (AP) — Shipwreck hunters have discovered the intact remains of a schooner that sank in Lake Michigan in 1881 and is so well-preserved it still contains the crew’s possessions in its final resting spot miles from Wisconsin’s coastline. Wisconsin maritime historians Brendon Baillod and Robert Jaeck found the 156-year-old Trinidad in July off Algoma at a depth of about 270 feet. They used side-scan sonar to hone in on its location based on survivor accounts in historical records. “The wreck is among the best-preserved shipwrecks in Wisconsin waters with her deck-house still intact, containing the crew’s possessions and her anchors and deck gear still present,” states a Thursday news release announcing the Trinidad’s discovery. The 140-foot-long schooner was built at Grand Island, New York, in 1867 by shipwright William Keefe, and was used primarily in the grain trade between Milwaukee, Chicago and Oswego, New York.