For now, the threat of a financial catastrophe appears to have eased.
Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy walking to the House chamber on Wednesday |
The United States isn't going to send the global economy into a tailspin -- probably. And in part, that's because Kevin McCarthy turns out to be a far better politician than many expected. Heading into a showdown over the need to raise the US government's borrowing authority before an early June deadline, the big question was whether the speaker could get his deal with US President Joe Biden through the radical Republican-run House. Well, McCarthy did just that, going a long way toward alleviating fears that Uncle Sam could run out of cash and disastrously default on his debts. The pact still has to make it through the Senate, where some hardline Republicans are promising to kick up a stink. But the threat of a US debt default pitching the world economy into chaos may have passed. So what happened? McCarthy was able to wring sufficient concessions from Biden to persuade most Republicans that he emerged the winner in a negotiation that was really about who holds most of the power in Washington, DC. And he was able to neutralize remaining opposition from hardline GOP lawmakers by attracting scores of Democratic House votes for the bill. For Biden, the deal represented a strategic defeat, since he'd vowed never to negotiate with Republicans over raising the debt ceiling. He also agreed to tighter requirements for the poor to access certain government benefits, which could hurt some of the most vulnerable Americans. But it also seems like a victory. The president avoided an unprecedented US debt default that could have threatened the economic security of millions of Americans and had worldwide reverberations. Such a meltdown could have sparked a recession and ended his reelection hopes, while opening the door to a return to the Oval Office for Republican front runner Donald Trump. So Biden probably deserves credit for giving the McCarthy enough room to claim a win -- the key to any political pact with an adversary. The threat isn't over. The hard right of the Republican Party wanted far greater concessions from Biden, and is now mulling an attempt to unseat McCarthy as speaker -- even if there's no sign that anyone else would do a better job. But for now, the threat of a financial catastrophe appears to have eased. And a world already gripped by crises has reason to believe that the US didn't saddle it with yet another. |
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Inflation in Europe has fallen to its slowest pace since Russia invaded Ukraine.
Mexico is launching a new app to speed up its asylum process, despite immigration experts' criticism of a similar US app.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned of consequences for "very specific individuals" after three people were killed while trying to enter a closed bomb shelter.
And Mars is making its live streaming debut. Meanwhile in America, the National Eating Disorders Association took its AI chatbot offline after complaints it was offering "harmful" advice. The White House says Biden is fine after tripping on a sandbag and falling on stage at an Air Force Academy commencement. And a conservative think tank fighting to unseal Prince Harry's US immigration file will soon have its a day in court. |
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'I'm concerned about ... having an incident that could very, very quickly spiral out of control' |
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin warned Thursday that frozen communications with China could result in "an incident that could very, very quickly spiral out of control." "(Y)ou've heard me talk a number of times about the importance of countries, with large, with significant capabilities, being able to talk to each other so you can manage crises and prevent things from spiraling out of control unnecessarily," Austin said at a news conference Thursday in Japan with Japanese Minster of Defense Yasukazu Hamada, CNN's Haley Britzky reports. "And as we take a look at some of the things that China is doing in the international airspace in the region and international waterways, you know, the provocative intercepts of our aircraft and also our allies' aircraft, that's very concerning, and we would hope that they would alter their actions. But since they haven't yet, I'm concerned about, at some point, having an incident that could very, very quickly spiral out of control," Austin said, adding that he would "welcome any opportunity to engage" with China's leadership.
The Pentagon said earlier this week that China refused a US proposal for Austin to meet with his Chinese counterpart Li Shangfu at a security forum in Singapore this week. China's defense ministry blamed the US for their refusal, saying the responsibility for ongoing tension between the two countries' militaries "lies entirely with the US side." |
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