House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has called on President Biden to hold talks over a deal to raise the debt ceiling, warning that the US could default on its debt as early as July. McCarthy has proposed limiting government spending and reducing the national debt to grow the economy, and urged the president to act quickly to avoid a financial crisis and recession. The White House has said it is open to negotiations, but has not yet responded to McCarthy's letter.
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The House Foreign Affairs Committee has issued a subpoena to Secretary of State Antony Blinken for sensitive cables from the U.S. embassy in Kabul. The subpoena, signed by Chairman Rep. Michael McCaul, requests an internal dissent cable written by 23 State Department employees in Afghanistan. The document is seen as a vital piece of information as the committee investigates the withdrawal from Afghanistan and the Biden administration is facing criticism from both sides of the aisle. The State Department has yet to comment on the subpoena.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced a month-long pause on his controversial plan to change the country’s judicial system, in response to weeks of protests and a general strike. The Biden administration has been cautious in its criticism, but U.S. Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides suggested a visit from Netanyahu to the White House is imminent. The pause is seen as an attempt to cool things down without fully backing down, and it remains to be seen how the Biden administration will respond.
At least 39 people have died in a fire at an immigration detention center in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, near the U.S. border. 29 other people were seriously injured and taken to local hospitals for treatment, while images and video from the scene showed bodies covered in blankets lined up outside the facility. The cause of the fire is still under investigation, and the incident has sparked outrage among human rights activists.
Senators Sherrod Brown and Martin Gruenberg, Nellie Liang, and Michael Barr will be present to discuss the liquidity crisis and subsequent downfall of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, two of the largest bank failures in U.S. history.
President Joe Biden has signed an executive order to restrict the U.S. government's use of commercial spyware tools, which have been used to surveil human rights activists, journalists and dissidents around the world. The order sets guidelines for the companies that produce the spyware and is intended to protect citizens from the potential abuse of such tools. At least 50 U.S. government employees are suspected or confirmed to have been targeted with commercial spyware, and efforts to identify additional targeted personnel are ongoing.
After a controversy surrounding Michelangelo's iconic Renaissance masterpiece the "David" led to the resignation of the principal of a Florida charter school, Italian officials have reacted strongly and the Galleria dell'Accademia di Firenze has invited the school's parents and students to visit the museum and view the statue in person. The incident has highlighted the differences between the U.S. culture wars and Europe, where art is still widely seen as a source of beauty and inspiration.
North Korea has fired two short-range ballistic missiles into its eastern waters, with the missiles reaching a maximum altitude of 31 miles and landing outside of Japan's exclusive economic zone. This is likely to be seen as a show of force by North Korea as the U.S. and South Korea continue their military exercises in the region, and tensions between the two countries have been rising in recent months.