House Republican sees debt limit, spending deal
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A veteran Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday predicted that Congress and President Barack Obama would strike a deal on both raising the debt limit temporarily and ending a 10-day old government shutdown.
Ex-Detroit mayor sentenced to 28 years on public corruption conviction
DETROIT (Reuters) – A federal judge sentenced former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick on Thursday to 28 years in prison on his conviction for public corruption charges including bribery and extortion that prosecutors said exacerbated the city’s financial…
Prioritizing which U.S. bills to pay would be ‘chaos’: Lew
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Obama administration said on Thursday that a looming U.S. default would hit everyone from Social Security pensioners to bondholders and urged Congress to raise the cap on government borrowing to avoid a crisis.
U.S. House Republicans weigh 6-week debt limit hike
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. House of Representatives Republicans are still weighing a short-term debt-limit increase, possibly for six weeks, with no decisions going into a closed-door party meeting on Thursday, according to a senior Republican aide.
U.S. will reconsider Egypt aid based on performance: Kerry
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – The United States will consider resuming aid to Egypt “on the basis of performance” that encourages democracy through elections, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Thursday, a day after Washington halted some aid to Cai…
Kerry postpones visit to Philippines as typhoon approaches
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Brunei (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Thursday called off a planned visit to the Philippines due to an approaching typhoon, a week after President Barack Obama also cancelled a trip to the U.S. ally because of th…
Latin American ministers urge Washington to fix fiscal impasse
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Latin American finance ministers warned U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew on Wednesday that the uncertainty over Washington’s public finances is having side effects in the region and that an eventual debt default would be “devasta…
Tax penalty for two Texans? Supreme Court weighs partner problem
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday grappled with a case about a steep penalty the Internal Revenue Service imposed on two Texas businessmen over a sham tax shelter, with legal arguments centered on whether their partnership shie…
Obama, Congress search for way out as pressure rises in fiscal stalemate
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – With pressure rising and no clear path forward for breaking their fiscal impasse, President Barack Obama launched a series of White House meetings with lawmakers on Wednesday to search for a way to end a government shutdown and r…
Republicans shift focus away from Obamacare toward fiscal issues
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – In a shift some Republicans hope will strengthen their hand in the fight over the U.S. debt limit, some of the party’s leaders in the House of Representatives are playing down demands to weaken “Obamacare” and focusing instead on…