Biden and McCarthy make progress on US debt ceiling deal.

President Joe Biden and top U.S. congressional Republican Kevin McCarthy are determined to reach a deal soon to raise the federal government's $31.4 trillion debt ceiling and avoid an economically catastrophic default. After a monthslong standoff, the Democratic president and the speaker of the House of Representatives on Tuesday agreed to negotiate directly on a deal. Republicans, who control the House by a 222-213 majority, for months had been insisting that Democrats agree to spending cuts in exchange for a deal to raise Congress's self-imposed debt limit.