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WASHINGTON, May 17 (Reuters) - President Joe Biden and top U.S. congressional Republican Kevin McCarthy said on Wednesday they aimed to reach a deal by Sunday to raise the federal government's $31.4 trillion debt ceiling and avoid an economically catastrophic default. "We're going to come together because there's no alternative," Biden told reporters at the White House. Asked by reporters at the Capitol whether it's possible to reach a debt ceiling deal by the time Biden returns from a trip to Asia on Sunday, McCarthy replied, "It's doable. On Tuesday, Biden and McCarthy met for about an hour at the White House with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell and House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries. Asked on CNN if Biden wanted the debt limit agreement to last through 2025, White House spokesperson Karinne Jean-Pierre declined to answer.

☆ Confused about the debt ceiling? Here's what you need to know
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Emma Kinery | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

What is the debt ceiling? Unlike a credit card, though, the expenses were already approved by Congress, so the debt ceiling does not pertain to new spending. The debt ceiling was last raised in December 2021 by $2.5 trillion, capping the limit at $31.381 trillion. If Congress does not agree to lift the debt ceiling, the government will not have money to pay its bills and will default on its debt. The White House has remained steadfast that it is Congress's responsibility to raise the debt ceiling without conditions, as was done three times under the Trump administration.

The US could breach the debt ceiling and run out of money to pay its debts as soon as June 1. A White House official previously told Insider that Biden would stress that Congress "must take action to avoid default without conditions." Additionally, Wall Street's response to the debt-ceiling crisis is different this time around. Even so, he added, this debt-ceiling crisis "seems much more dangerous" than the ones from the Obama years. Biden has options to avoid a debt-ceiling crisis that don't involve CongressTuesday's meeting between Biden and congressional leadership aims to break through the logjam.

☆ A group of Democratic senators want to withhold $10 million in Supreme Court funding until it adopts a public code of ethics: report
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Madison Hall | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A group of fifteen Democratic senators sent a letter in March asking to withhold $10 million in Supreme Court funding. The senators said the $10 million should be withheld until a public code of ethics is instituted for the court. "Congress has broad authority to compel the Supreme Court to institute these reforms, which would join other requirements already legislatively mandated. At a Supreme Court ethics hearing on Tuesday, Republican Sen. Josh Hawley appeared to take umbrage at the Democratic senators' request, asserting the $10 million that would be cut from the Supreme Court's budget would directly impact their security. She added that cutting funding for the Supreme Court's security simply wasn't on the table.

☆ A $1 trillion platinum coin could save the US from economic catastrophe in less than a month. It would be fast, legal, and no bigger than a regular coin.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Juliana Kaplan | Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

One potential solution: Minting a trillion-dollar platinum coin to pay off debts and avert disaster. Some economists say that means it's time for a break-the-glass option: A trillion-dollar coin. The coin — which doesn't need to be bigger than your average purse change, and can be made quickly — is part of a potential debt ceiling loophole. Yes, a trillion-dollar coin is silly, but would Biden "rather not look silly and hurt seniors and hurt Medicare than the other way around?" Yellen has been critical of that route as well, saying in 2021 that she believes it is Congress' job to raise the debt ceiling.

WASHINGTON, May 2 (Reuters) - For months, the U.S. crisis over the debt limit has been a political abstraction. That's the length of time in which the House, Senate and the president are all physically in Washington, D.C. in May. There, Biden plans to "stress that Congress must take action to avoid default without conditions," a White House official said. After that ends on May 21, he will attend the May 24 meeting of the Quad Leaders’ Summit in Sydney, Australia, the White House said. Late on Monday, Schumer worked to fast-track a "clean" two-year debt limit suspension, so that it can come more quickly to the Senate floor for a vote.

☆ Democrats harden their message on the debt ceiling while quietly paving the way for a deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Christina Wilkie | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

"He is not going to negotiate on the debt ceiling, that is not going to change." Schumer's maneuversIn the Senate, where Democrats have the majority, Schumer ripped a bill House Republicans passed last week. The measure would raise the debt ceiling in exchange for massive cuts to discretionary federal spending. There are two ways for Congress to avoid a looming debt default: The first is by voting to raise the statutory debt limit, currently set at $31.4 trillion. When Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell spoke on the Senate floor immediately after Schumer, he did not mention the debt ceiling.

☆ Factbox: U.S. debt ceiling standoff: Platinum coins, the 14th Amendment could be paths out
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

14TH AMENDMENTSection Four of 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, adopted after the 1861-1865 Civil War, states that the "validity of the public debt of the United States ... shall not be questioned." Some experts have suggested that Biden could invoke this amendment to raise the debt ceiling on his own if Congress does not act. BYPASS REPUBLICAN LEADERSHIPDemocrats and rank-and-file Republican allies in the House could bypass McCarthy and force a vote on a "clean" debt ceiling increase, free of spending cuts or other conditions. GET RID OF ITCongress could vote to abolish the debt ceiling entirely, which would eliminate the need to vote on the issue periodically but also erode Congress's authority on fiscal matters. Attempts to abolish the debt ceiling have gotten no traction in Congress in recent years.

WASHINGTON, April 24(Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a challenge by computer scientist Stephen Thaler to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's refusal to issue patents for inventions his artificial intelligence system created. According to Thaler, his DABUS system, short for Device for the Autonomous Bootstrapping of Unified Sentience, created unique prototypes for a beverage holder and emergency light beacon entirely on its own. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and a federal judge in Virginia rejected his patent applications for the inventions on the grounds that DABUS is not a person. Thaler has also applied for DABUS patents in other countries including the United Kingdom, South Africa, Australia and Saudi Arabia with limited success. The UK's Supreme Court heard Thaler's appeal of his loss there in March.

☆ Democrats warn large tech firms could evade competition policies under new trade rules
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Lauren Feiner | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

It's not the first time Democrats have raised concerns about tech provisions being included in trade agreements. The group urged Tai and Raimondo "not to put up for negotiation or discussion any digital trade text that conflicts" with the agenda set by the whole-of-government effort. "Big Tech wants to include an overly broad provision that would help large tech firms evade competition policies by claiming that such policies subject these firms to 'illegal trade discrimination,'" the Democrats wrote. "Tech companies could also weaponize these digital trade rules to undermine similar efforts by our trading partners." The letter cited a U.S. Chamber of Commerce blog post about a trade group coalition note advocating for strong digital trade provisions in the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF).

☆ Elon Musk says Twitter is using a Wikipedia list to help decide which news organizations are labeled 'government-funded media'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Sarah Jackson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Elon Musk says Twitter is relying on Wikipedia to help decide which news outlets to label "government-funded media." It recently labeled NPR "state-affiliated media," a move Musk later said might have been wrong, before changing it to "government-funded media." Elon Musk told as much to NPR reporter Bobby Allyn, and Twitter's Help Center page about government and state-affiliated media labels confirmed the policy. Twitter recently slapped a "state-affiliated media" label on NPR's Twitter account. Musk reportedly later admitted adding the "state-affiliated media" label to NPR's account might have been a mistake.

☆ Elon Musk reportedly admits Twitter may have been wrong to label NPR as 'state-affiliated media'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( Britney Nguyen | Aaron Mcdade | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Twitter added a "US state-affiliated media" label to NPR's account on Tuesday. NPR reported Thursday that Elon Musk told the outlet the tag might be an error after learning more about the outlet. The mention of the BBC, which did not see the label added to its accounts, remains on the page. A screenshot of NPR's Twitter profile on Wednesday shows a label reading "US state-affiliated media." Twitter/@NPR"We were disturbed to see last night that Twitter has labeled NPR as 'state-affiliated media,' a description that, per Twitter's own guidelines, does not apply to NPR," NPR President and CEO John Lansing said in a statement shared with Insider.

☆ Twitter labeled NPR as a 'state-affiliated media' and scrubbed its name from a policy page that contradicted the move
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Britney Nguyen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Twitter added a "US state-affiliated media" label to NPR's account on Tuesday. A page on Twitter's Help Center removed a previous mention of NPR as an example of outlets "not defined as state-affiliated media." The mention of the BBC, which did not see the label added to its accounts, remains on the page. A screenshot of NPR's Twitter profile on Wednesday shows a label reading "US state-affiliated media." Twitter/@NPR"We were disturbed to see last night that Twitter has labeled NPR as 'state-affiliated media,' a description that, per Twitter's own guidelines, does not apply to NPR," NPR President and CEO John Lansing said in a statement shared with Insider.

☆ TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew has the internet eating out of his hand
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-25 | by ( Hallam Bullock | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Well, court filings have laid bare the company's excessive spending habits on luxury estate, hotels and, of course, a yacht. Shou Zi Chew said the average TikTok user was "an adult well past college age." Wall Street says TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew had a "disaster" day in Congress. Wall Street may have dubbed Chew's testimony a "disaster," but by the end of it, Chew had the internet eating out of his hand. Google Bard is already behind in the AI wars.

It's something that the Treasury and regulators did in the depths of the 2008 global financial crisis, but regulatory reforms in 2010 required a streamlined approval from Congress. Meanwhile, hardline Republicans oppose any increase in the current $250,000 Federal Deposit Insurance Corp insurance limit. Yellen explained to the U.S. Senate on March 16 that there would be no guarantee for deposits in banks not deemed a systemic threat, spooking community banks. A temporary systemwide deposit guarantee is needed to stop the bleeding," Ackman said on Twitter after Yellen's testimony to a Senate committee on Wednesday. Yellen is due to testify later on Thursday before the U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government.

☆ Jim Jordan's push for Alvin Bragg's testimony on Trump probe is 'unprecedented,' Manhattan DA's office says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Brian Schwartz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

A push from House Republicans to get Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg to testify about his probe and expected indictment of former President Donald Trump is "unprecedented," an advisor to Bragg told GOP lawmakers Thursday. In responding to Republicans, Dubeck questioned congressional authority to look into Bragg's investigation. "Congress is not the appropriate branch to review pending criminal matters," Dubeck said in the letter to Jordan and the two other House Republicans dated Thursday. "To assist Congress in understanding the ways in which the DA's Office has used federal funds, we are preparing and will submit a letter describing its use of federal fund," Dubeck said. Dubeck's response to House Republicans comes as Jordan and other Trump defenders leverage the power of their committees to try to discredit the Manhattan investigation.

☆ Chuck Schumer vows to fight the latest GOP attempt to block student-loan forgiveness in Congress 'with everything we have'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The GAO confirmed to the GOP lawmakers that the debt relief is a rule that can be subject to oversight. The Government Accountability Office confirmed to the GOP lawmakers that it considers Biden's debt relief plan a rule, and "no exception applies." Since Biden announced his debt relief, Republicans have criticized the policy and introduced legislation to block the president from implementing loan forgiveness. "We will continue to fight this cruel Republican attempt to end student debt relief with everything we have." Biden's debt relief plan is currently blocked due to two conservative-backed lawsuits that paused its implementation in November.

March 17 (Reuters) - A computer scientist who has waged a global campaign for patents covering inventions conceived by his artificial intelligence system asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday to hear his case. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and a Virginia federal court rejected patent applications for the inventions on the grounds that DABUS is not a person. Thaler has also applied for DABUS patents in other countries, including the United Kingdom, South Africa, Australia and Saudi Arabia. The UK's Supreme Court heard his case there earlier this month. The case is Thaler v. Vidal, U.S. Supreme Court.

☆ Dozens of Senate Republicans oppose overturning the law that made the disastrous 2003 Iraq invasion possible
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Bryan Metzger | John Haltiwanger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The Senate began the process on Thursday to repeal the 1991 and 2002 Iraq War AUMFs. "It should be easy to remove," quipped Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, a supporter of repeal. "I don't want to do anything that reduces the President's ability to kill somebody like Soleimani," said Republican Sen. Rick Scott of Florida. For Sen. Paul, repealing the Iraq War AUMFs — which he called "symbolic" — isn't going far enough. The 2001 AUMF opened the door for the invasion of Afghanistan, launching the longest war in US history.

☆ Analysis: Biden's focus on deficit in budget is targeted at Republicans
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Trevor Hunnicutt | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Biden's increasing emphasis on the deficit now doesn't mean the White House sees an imminent crisis looming from the nation's $32 trillion debt. Instead, the White House hopes to draw a sharp contrast with Republican threats to refuse to raise the debt limit without sharp spending cuts. Including this fiscal plan in Biden's agenda can help shore up his economic credibility before his expected 2024 re-election campaign, the White House believes. That doesn't mean that what the White House is proposing is going to happen, of course. Reuters GraphicsNearly six in ten people told Pew Research Center in January that reducing the deficit should be a top Biden administration priority.

☆ The fate of a post-2008 watchdog meant to protect Americans from another financial crisis is in the hands of a conservative Supreme Court
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | Jason Lalljee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The Supreme Court will take on a lower court's decision that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's funding structure is unconstitutional. CFPB was set up to prevent another 2008-like financial crisis and has cracked down on big banks and the student-loan industry. On Monday, the Supreme Court agreed to take a decision from the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, which ruled in October that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's (CFPB) funding structure is unconstitutional. The Supreme Court won't hear the case until next term, though, meaning a final decision isn't likely until the spring of 2024. Created in 2011 under former President Barack Obama, the CFPB was intended to protect Americans from another financial crisis following the 2008 recession.

☆ Elizabeth Warren urges the Supreme Court to strike down Trump-appointed judges' decision to imperil funding for a student-loan industry and consumer-rights watchdog
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Jason Lalljee | Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The Supreme Court will take on a lower court's decision that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's federal funding is unconstitutional. Senator Elizabeth Warren advocated for the Supreme Court to strike down that decision. "If the Supreme Court follows more than a century of law and historical precedent, it will strike down the Fifth Circuit's decision before it throws our financial markets and economy into chaos." McHenry, who now runs the House Financial Services Committee, has hinted at seeking stronger oversight for CFPB for months now. And that's on top of a longer context of Republicans challenging the CFPB's funding and decision making.

☆ Factbox: FACTBOX Possible U.S. debt-ceiling workarounds to avoid default
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Historians say that aimed to ensure the federal government would not repudiate its debts, as some ex-Confederate states had done. Some experts have suggested that Biden could invoke this amendment to raise the debt ceiling on his own if Congress does not act. Analysts say this would leave Treasury on the hook for higher interest payments and unsettle the market for Treasury bonds, which serve as a bedrock for the global financial system. GET RID OF ITCongress could vote to abolish the debt ceiling entirely, which would eliminate the need to vote on the issue periodically but also erode Congress's authority on fiscal matters. Attempts to abolish the debt ceiling have gotten no traction in Congress in recent years.

☆ Factbox: Possible U.S. debt-ceiling workarounds to avoid default
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Historians say that aimed to ensure the federal government would not repudiate its debts, as some ex-Confederate states had done. Some experts have suggested that Biden could invoke this amendment to raise the debt ceiling on his own if Congress does not act. That leaves only three possible dates for action in the first half of this year: March 27, May 22 and June 12. Analysts say this would leave Treasury on the hook for higher interest payments and unsettle the market for Treasury bonds, which serve as a bedrock for the global financial system. Attempts to abolish the debt ceiling have gotten no traction in Congress in recent years.

☆ Fed Chair Powell: It's Congress's job to raise the debt ceiling, we're not involved
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailFed Chair Powell: It's Congress's job to raise the debt ceiling, we're not involvedFed Chair Jerome Powell answers questions from reporters after the central bank announced it was raising interest rates another 25 basis points.

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