The U.S. has surpassed its $31.4 trillion debt limit, leading the Treasury Department to implement extraordinary measures.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen notified Congressional leadership Thursday morning that she would begin implementing stopgap options to keep the government funded and avoid default. However, she has stressed the measures can only be used for a limited amount of time, likely through June.
Yellen has said it’s critical Congress act in a timely manner, warning that failure to address the debt ceiling would cause irreparable harm to the U.S. economy.
"I respectfully urge Congress to act promptly to protect the full faith and credit of the United States," Yellen wrote in Thursday’s letter to congressional leaders.
Republicans, led by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, are looking to use the additional time to negotiate with Democrats; they are hoping to cut spending in exchange for raising the debt ceiling. But, Democrats are so far refusing to make concessions.
"It is something that should be done without concessions. We should not be negotiating around it," White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Wednesday. "It is the basic duty of Congress to get that done."
The White House said Israel has agreed to put in place four-hour daily humanitarian pauses in its assault on Hamas in northern Gaza starting on Thursday, as the Biden administration said it has secured a second pathway for civilians to flee fighting.
Columnist and political analyst Jonathan Harris joined Cheddar News to break down what stood out from Wednesday's third Republican presidential primary debate.
Mississippi's largest county ran out of ballots during Wednesday's governor's election as some voters say they had to wait for up to an hour for new ballots to be printed before they could cast their votes.
Republican presidential candidates used the third debate of the GOP primary campaign to show their support for Israel and display at least some willingness to criticize Donald Trump.
The National Zoo's three giant pandas, Mei Xiang, Tian Tian and their cub Xiao Qi Ji. on Wednesday began their long trip to China, leaving behind an empty panda exhibit with no certainty that pandas ever would again take up residence there.
Palestinians living in the heart of Gaza’s largest city said Wednesday they could see and hear Israeli ground forces closing in from multiple directions, accelerating the exodus of thousands of civilians as food and water become scarce and urban fighting between Israel and Hamas heats up.
