Connect with us

Published

on

Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) is seizing the moment in debt ceiling negotiations, staying out front in public messaging as he pushes the White House to change its debt limit posture while also keeping the right flank in his conference satisfied — for now.

Negotiators have yet to reach a deal, political dynamics could easily change depending on its final form and a bumpy weekend in the talks pose another challenge for him. But McCarthy’s public relations strategy on the debt limit has seen results so far. 

McCarthy united his far-flung conference to pass a bill that paired a debt limit increase with spending cuts and other GOP priorities. Shortly after, President Biden backed away from his no-negotiations stance and invited McCarthy and other congressional leaders to meet — though the White House has continued to frame the talks as a negotiation on the budget separate from the debt limit.

And after McCarthy expressed pessimism about how those talks were going, the structure of discussions was narrowed to be between just his deputies and the White House, cutting out congressional Democrats and Senate Republicans. 

House Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who some previously thought might have to step in to negotiate a compromise, has thrown his full support behind the Speaker to negotiate a deal.

The Speaker is holding frequent press conferences, gaggles, and TV interviews to advocate for spending cuts and policy reforms as a condition of raising the debt limit, a contrast to the press-shy President Biden. Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.) said he was “pretty impressed with his [Wednesday] press conference” that featured Republicans from both chambers.

A source familiar with McCarthy’s strategy said that his decision to be in front of the media shows his confidence in his policy asks and that the public will back him up in those.

McCarthy embraces an underdog, “House GOP vs. the world” message. 

“Here’s a Republican conference that none of you gave credibility to or thought we could achieve anything,” McCarthy said Tuesday.

With the talks amping up this week, the White House has appeared to back away from its longtime stance that it wants a “clean increase” without any other conditions, though it has still framed the negotiations in terms of the budget rather than the debt limit.

“He has the bully pulpit of the Speakership,” Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) said of McCarthy’s messaging in contrast to the Democrats. “We always struggle to get our message amplified.”

Public opinion surveys have shown that Democratic attacks on Republicans for holding the economy “hostage” are struggling to sway the electorate in their favor.

A May 17-18 Harvard/Harris poll found that 57 percent of voters think Democrats should cave their position to prevent a default, up from 55 percent in April, while 43 percent said Republicans should cave. 

Meanwhile, Economist/YouGov polls have found that McCarthy’s net job approval rating has dramatically improved in the months since January, when a 15-ballot saga ended with him being elected Speaker.

A May 13-16 survey found that 42 percent of adults approved of the way McCarthy was handling his job as Speaker, while 34 percent disapproved while 24 percent were not sure. In a January 21-24 survey, just 32 percent approved, while 37 percent disapproved and 32 percent were not sure.

And some Democratic messaging on the negotiations has conflicted.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said Monday that the GOP’s request for beefed-up work requirements for public assistance programs was a “nonstarter.” But later in the week, Biden signaled willingness to compromise on work requirements, though rejected any kind of significant change.

Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), chairwoman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said that she was being “watchful” of the White House in the negotiations now that congressional Democrats have been cut out of the room.

“The President’s done such a phenomenal job of leading the country over the last two years and keeping Democrats united behind core Democratic values, and I would urge them to continue to do so,” Jayapal said.

Some progressive Democrats have continued to hold out hope for a “clean” debt limit increase. 

“I want to believe that the White House is holding firm to its commitments and our values,” Huffman said.

Several Democrats suggest Biden could test a 14th Amendment strategy to raise the debt limit unilaterally without the help of Congress. While Biden said over the weekend that he thinks he has the authority to do so, he warned there may not be enough time to invoke that authority, have it litigated, and still avoid a default.

House Democrats have also filed a escape-hatch discharge petition plan to force a vote on a clean debt ceiling increase — though that would need support from at least five Republicans, who have shown no willingness to help.

McCarthy is not out of the woods yet, though. 

It remains unclear whether he will be able to secure a compromise that appeases the right flank of his conference — some of whom expect nothing less than the sweeping policy reforms and cuts that they passed in their April debt limit bill. And others are trying to throw more policy proposals, such as beefed-up border security measures, into the mix.

Political observers note that it takes just one GOP member to call a motion to vacate the chair and force a vote on ousting the Speaker.

Hardline conservatives, however, insist such an upheaval is not being considered right now, signaling that McCarthy still has their support as negotiations continue.

“I’ve heard anybody talking about motion to vacate except for reporters who asked me about that,” said Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.), one of the 20 hardline conservatives who withheld support from McCarthy during the Speaker’s election. 

However, the conservative House Freedom Caucus on Thursday threw another wrinkle in the mix when it called for “no further discussion” on the debt ceiling, pressuring the Senate to pass the House GOP bill. That position became cloudy, though, when the group’s chairman, Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.), later said the position did not mean McCarthy and the White House should not talk at all.

And Friday, McCarthy hit pause on debt limit talks for much of the day as his top negotiator, Rep. Garret Graves (R-La.), said the White House was being “unreasonable.” The talks resumed that evening but made little progress before McCarthy is set to meet with Biden on Monday.

That threw another wild card into the mix: Former President Trump. Veterinarians warn dog owners of rise in deadly parvovirus The northern lights are heating up: Could they come to all 50 states?

“REPUBLICANS SHOULD NOT MAKE A DEAL ON THE DEBT CEILING UNLESS THEY GET EVERYTHING THEY WANT (Including the “kitchen sink”),” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Friday.

McCarthy had been careful to not contradict Trump earlier in the week when asked to respond to the former president downplaying the potential economic consequences of a default. 

“I think President Trump is a great negotiator. And I think that President Trump when does that, he’s trying to help the negotiation,” McCarthy said.

Continue Reading

Science

A Planet with a Death Wish: How HIP 67522 b Is Forcing Its Star to Explode

Published

on

By

A Planet with a Death Wish: How HIP 67522 b Is Forcing Its Star to Explode

Scientists have caught a planet with a death wish, which is an alien world, orbiting very near to its star, and so speedy that it is causing the star to go to its death with bursting explosions. HIP 67522 b is the planet, and it is of the same size as Jupiter with a seven-day orbit around its host star. These orbits are disturbing the magnetic field of the star and causing enormous blasting eruptions to blow back the planet and make it wrinkled. This is the first time that a planet is influencing the host star, as the astronomers reported in a study published on July 2, 2025, in the Journal Nature.

A Planet with a Death Wish: HIP 67522 b’s Fiery Orbit

As per the study by NASA, Ekaterina Ilin, the first author of the study and an astrophysicist at the Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy, said that the planet was observed to trigger the energetic flares. It has been predicted by the scientists that the waves are setting off explosions that are going to happen.

Magnetic Chaos: Planet Triggering Star’s Explosions

Stars are burning plasma, gigantic balls with charged particles or ions that move on their surface to form strong magnetic fields. Since the magnetic fields cannot cross each other, sometimes these field knots suddenly snap to launch flares of radiation known as solar flares, which are often accompanied by coronal mass ejections, also known as surface plasma.

As many planets have a magnetic field, scientists have long wondered whether the planets, having close orbits near their stars, might disturb these strong magnetic fields and trigger the explosions. For years, scientists have observed whether the planets can influence the magnetic behaviour of their host stars, especially the ones that are close to their orbits.

A New Era of Star-Planet Relationship Studies

A planet with a strong magnetic field orbits around a star which has a delicate magnetic field, then it might be bombarded with solar radiation. These interactions helps int he study of star and planet bond and further the evolution of atmospher and magnetic field.

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who’sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.


Pebble Halo Smart Ring Launched in India With In-Built Digital Display: Price, Features



Dolby Cinema Debuts in Pune Featuring Dolby Vision With 4K Laser Projection, Dolby Atmos

Continue Reading

US

Vladimir Putin tells Donald Trump he will not back down from goals in Ukraine, Kremlin says

Published

on

By

Vladimir Putin tells Donald Trump he will not back down from goals in Ukraine, Kremlin says

Vladimir Putin told Donald Trump he “will not back down” from Russia’s goals in Ukraine during a phone call today, the Kremlin has said.

The Russian president spoke to his US counterpart for almost an hour, and Mr Trump “again raised the issue of an early end to military action” in Ukraine, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters.

In response, Mr Putin said “Russia will not back down” from its aims there, which include “the elimination of the well-known root causes that led to the current state of affairs,” Mr Ushakov said.

The phrase “root causes” is shorthand for Moscow’s argument that it was compelled to invade Ukraine in order to prevent the country from joining NATO.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Trump and Putin’s latest call on Ukraine

Ukraine and its European allies say this is a pretext to justify what they call an imperial-style war, but Mr Trump has previously shown sympathy with Russia.

At the same time, Mr Putin told the US president that Russia is ready to continue negotiating, the aide said.

The Russian president said any prospective peace deal must see Ukraine give up its NATO bid and recognise his country’s territorial gains.

More on Donald Trump

Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands June 25, 2025. Pic: Reuters
Image:
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, seen with Mr Trump in June, is pushing for Ukraine to join NATO. Pic: Reuters

He also briefed Mr Trump on agreements made last month, which saw Russia and Ukraine exchange prisoners of war and dead soldiers.

Specific dates for the third round of peace talks in Istanbul were not discussed – nor was the US decision to halt some shipments of critical weapons to Ukraine.

Mr Putin and Mr Trump’s call came after the Pentagon confirmed some weapons due to be sent to Ukraine have been held as it reviews military stockpiles.

The paused shipments include air defence missiles and precision-guided artillery, two people familiar with the situation have said.

Read more:
Putin threatens nuclear strike

Western brands on Russian shelves despite sanctions

Follow The World
Follow The World

Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday

Tap to follow

The decision led to Ukraine calling in the acting US envoy to Kyiv on Wednesday to underline the importance of military aid from Washington.

Kyiv also cautioned that the move would weaken Ukraine’s ability to defend itself against intensifying Russian airstrikes and battlefield advances.

Mr Putin and Mr Trump’s phone call was the sixth they have publicly disclosed since the US president returned to the White House in January.

Continue Reading

UK

Diogo Jota’s joyous final weeks make his death even more devastating to comprehend

Published

on

By

Diogo Jota's joyous final weeks make his death even more devastating to comprehend

The joy that filled the final weeks of Diogo Jota’s life makes his death even more devastating to comprehend for his family and millions of fans worldwide.

The most illustrious title of his career was won in May, when he paraded through Liverpool with his teammates and the Premier League trophy.

More success came with Portugal as he won the Nations League for a second time alongside Cristiano Ronaldo in June.

And then came the bliss at marrying his childhood love Rute Cardoso, watched by their three children.

Latest: Liverpool players pay tribute to Jota

Just yesterday Jota posted a video from the ceremony on social media alongside the message “a day we will never forget”.

The happiest of days was remembered before the tragedy that killed Jota and his brother Andre Felipe in northwest Spain.

Diogo Jota and wife Rute
Pic: rutecfcardoso14/Instagram
Image:
Diogo Jota and wife Rute. Pic: rutecfcardoso14/Instagram

Brothers – whose careers both developed at their hometown club, Porto – so tragically dying together.

“Football has lost two great men,” Porto president Andre Villas-Boas said, as fans descended on the club’s stadium to mourn.

At Anfield, Liverpool fans are grieving the versatile forward who was so often in the shadow of Mohamed Salah, as he was under Ronaldo at Portugal.

But he knew how to sacrifice stardom to contribute to the squad.

Liverpool's Diogo Jota holds the  Premier League trophy with Wataru Endo and teammates.
PIc: Reuters
Image:
Diogo Jota holds the Premier League trophy with Wataru Endo and teammates. PIc: Reuters

The last of his 65 Liverpool goals was the winner in the Merseyside derby against neighbours Everton in April – helping the club become the record 20-time champions of England.

A Premier League winners’ medal joining those from the FA Cup and League Cup, won by the 28-year-old after he joined the Reds in 2020.

It was Wolverhampton Wanderers who gave Jota a platform to shine in England after he joined from Atletico Madrid.

Promotion was gained to the Premier League in 2018, and they more than just avoided relegation, but secured back-to-back top-seven finishes.

Jota was a reason why.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Fans react to Jota death

He was also why Wolves could embark on such a memorable European campaign, and scored two hat-tricks in the run-up to the Europa League quarter-finals in 2020.

“The memories he created will never be forgotten,” Wolves said.

For the football world, the loss of such a talent so young will be hard to comprehend.

And so many are reflecting on the fragility of life as football grieves from Liverpool to Portugal – and beyond.

Continue Reading

Trending