Debt crisis negotiations inch closer to a deal, but hard-right Republicans prepare for war.

President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy have reached a tentative agreement to raise the US legal debt ceiling, avoiding a catastrophic default. The deal includes some Republican demands for enhanced work requirements on recipients of food stamps, which had sparked an uproar from House Democrats. The legislative package could be drafted and shared with lawmakers in time for votes early next week in the House and later in the Senate. The deal would hold spending flat for 2024 and impose limits for 2025 in exchange for raising the debt limit for two years, pushing the volatile political issue past the next presidential election.