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With just eight weeks to go before the United States breaches the debt ceiling, the speaker of the House is telling the countrys largest financial institutions and investors in the nations stock markets that they need to start worrying about President Bidens no-compromise position.

I tried to sit down with the president and the president wont communicate, Speaker McCarthy said in an interview with Bloomberg TV.

Mr. Bidens position is that the House should pass a bill that raises the debt ceiling without preconditions or changes to the budget. Mr. McCarthy, though, sees this as his opportunity to extract concessions from the White House: Were never going to move a bill that just raises the debt ceiling. Ive been very clear with the president.

In the last two years, due to the administrations spending on Covid relief, infrastructure, healthcare, and climate protections, the federal government has added $3 trillion to the national debt.

Mr. McCarthy warned that the United States is on the brink of being crushed by interest payments on existing debt. Were gonna pay in the next 10 years $10.5 trillion just in interest. In 80 years, weve only spent $9 trillion on interest. Were about to be at the tipping point, he said.

As Democrats point out, the Trump administration added about $8 trillion to the national debt, primarily through tax cuts and emergency spending at the outset of the pandemic. Between the first quarter of 2020 and first quarter of 2021, the debt increased by $5 trillion. Under the Obama administration, the debt nearly doubled, to just under $20 trillion from about $10 trillion.

Messrs. Biden and McCarthy first met on February 1 to lay the framework for a debt ceiling negotiation. In the succeeding months, the two have traded letters but have had no other meetings. Mr. Biden reiterated his position that Congress should pass a clean increase rather than tie it to other issues like the southern border or welfare reform.

One solution offered by Republicans is to prioritize debt payments after the debt ceiling has been breached. Under such a policy, the government would still pay scheduled interest and principal on the national debt, including federal bonds, while spending on other programs would be subordinated based on what remaining funds are available. That could potentially impact spending on programs like Medicare, Social Security, and veterans benefits.

Secretary Yellen threw cold water on that proposal, telling the House Ways and Means Committee in early March that the plan is just default by another name.

We should not think that prioritization is a solution to the debt ceiling issue, she told the committee. Prioritization is simply not paying all of the governments bills when they come due.

Whether Mr. McCarthy retains the speakership depends on these negotiations. During the days-long voting process to win the gavel, he made a number of concessions to the conservative House Freedom Caucus and its ideological allies, including allowing for a rule change that permits any individual member to come to the floor and call for a vote of no confidence in the speaker.

If Mr. McCarthy fails to shore up his right flank and deliver on conservative priorities during these negotiations, he could find himself in another voting marathon, this time to win his job back.

Some say Mr. Bidens no-compromise strategy comes from being burned during debt ceiling negotiations in 2011 and 2013. In both of those cases, the United States came harrowingly close to a debt breach because of pressure from recently elected Tea Party representatives.

That standoff was the closest the United States has ever come to defaulting on its debts. At the time, Standard & Poors downgraded the countrys credit rating for the first time in history, to AA+ from AAA. In the weeks surrounding the negotiations, the S&P 500 index fell by more than 15 percent and 10-year Treasury yields dropped by more than a third.

According to an estimate from the Department of the Treasury, the debt ceiling will be breached in early June.

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McCarthy Says Investors, Wall Street Need To Be Worried About ... - The New York Sun

ID gun criminals

It is time for a Megans-type law to identify people who use guns to threaten law enforcement, the citizens of our city or each other.

We have the right to know which gun-toting cretins reside in our neighborhoods.

Its imperative that we contact our representatives at all three levels of government to demand this crucial legislation.

George Gastrinakis, Jersey City

Sponsor real debate in WNY

Kudos to reader Mark Bloomberg of West New York for his letter regarding the upcoming Mayoral election (Dig deeper on upcoming West New York mayoral race, March 31). His comments were spot on.

As a resident of West New York for 14 years, I have always been troubled by the lack of any meaningful input from candidates in local elections, which are consistently conducted solely by repeated and redundant mailings from candidates and their political supporters, with no opportunity for voters to question or challenge any of the claims and promises contained in said mailings.

As residents and taxpayers, voters deserve better.

It is bad enough that the main candidate is usually chosen by the Hudson County Democratic machine, with little or no opportunity for a successful challenge by an outsider, regardless of ones qualifications. It is about time that people who seek public office be required to prove their suitability for same based on something more substantive than being chosen by the machine. That applies to members of the slates as well.

Mr. Bloomberg raised several questions for which we deserve answers. It would be helpful and most welcome if the local media organized a live debate where voters can question the candidates and, one would hope, hear them extemporaneously address matters of concern to residents. It is the least we are entitled to and is something that should have been implemented a long time ago.

Joan Palermo, West New York

Investigate Dems, too

New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg was famous for putting Jose Alba in jail for defending himself against two people who tried to rob him as a clerk in a bodega. Public outcry demanded his release, which happened.

Now, Bragg has upped his game by changing the rules on the time frame as to when to indict someone and to change a misdemeanor to a felony, even though the statute of limitations has expired. His target is former President Donald Trump. As Jonathan Turley wrote in the New York Post, Trump would be better off robbing Stormy with a gun, since Alvin Bragg has a history of throwing out these types of crimes. But this change now opens the door to former elected officials and others.

Former President Bill Clinton should be concerned; after all, he gave a federal job to his then-paramour, Monica Lewinsky, so she could be in Washington, D.C., so their affair could continue. Hunter Biden is fair game. Hunter Biden lied on his gun form and that lie apparently just escaped the Justice Department. Then there is James Biden, brother of the president, who is involved in the deals with foreign countries along with Hunter during the time Joe Biden was vice president. Joe Biden is untouchable as president. I am sure if President Trump did the same deals as the Biden family he would be arrested and in prison.

Recently former Speaker and multimillionaire Nancy Pelosi said no one is above the law; she is correct. So, Nancy Pelosi and her husband, Paul, should be investigated for the money they made. The former speaker knew about deals that received favorable treatment from Congress.

While Barak Obamas presidency was considered clean, I say otherwise. Taxpayers had to pay damages to various Tea Party groups who claimed the president put the IRS on them. Investigative reporter Mike Taibbi said the same thing happened to him, now under the Biden administration. Taibbi received the Twitter files on the emails from various department heads essentially, shutting down speech labeled misinformation. I call it a violation of the First Amendment.

While some may applaud this indictment, dictators around the world can say the U.S. has lost its moral authority. This is something dictators do to get rid of the competition.

Yvonne Balcer, Jersey City

Send letters to the editor and guest columns for The Jersey Journal to jjletters@jjournal.com.

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Notify residents of gun criminals in neighborhood; Real debate needed in WNY election; If Trump can be indict - NJ.com

Staff at Woodland View Care Home in Droitwich threw Edna Warner a Westlife-themed tea party to celebrate her big day on Saturday.

And after Worcester News appealed for help to make Edna's birthday wish come true - two members of the band contacted her and she now has tickets for a Westlifeshow.

At her Westlife-themed party, the walls were covered in photos of the Irish stars, along with a sign which read: Westlifes biggest fan.

But her ultimate wish was to get a special message from her idols, especially Mark Feehily, her favourite band member.

And it was a dream come true for Edna, as Mark sent her a special video message to thank her for support over the years.

He said: "Hello Edna, how are you doing? Its Mark Feehily here and I hear that youre a little bit of a Westlife fan.

I hear that you have celebrated a fantastic 101st birthday. Wow, thats amazing.

I can only hope that I get anywhere near that myself.

I think youre in the newspapers and everything so you must be having a great time.

I just wanted to send a message saying hello and sending lots of love and thank you very much for all the support and once again happy birthday and I hope youve celebrated in style.

Once again, lots of love. Bye Bye.

The care home held a Westlife-themed tea party for Edna (Image: SWNS)

The excitement didnt stop there either, with fellow Westlife member Nicky Byrne calling her up on facetime.

During the call Edna told Nicky how excited she was, and made him laugh with her advice on how to live to her ripe old age.

Just behave yourself - and do as you're told, she said.

Nicky jokingly added: "So, I just need to behave myself? Not eat healthy or anything - just behave myself. That is some really good advice."

READ MORE:Moment nan's 101st birthday dream comes true when Westlife star facetimes her

Edna, who was born in Dulwich, south London, in 1922, has never seen Westlife perform live but enjoys watching their Wembley tour videos in the cinema room at the care home.

Now, however, the mum-of-three said has been offered tickets to go and see the band in Cardiff in July.

The former bank clerk who moved into the home in November 2021 said: I have been a super fan as long as I have been going.

Mark is definitely my favourite, and my favourite song is You Raise Me Up.

Lisa Dews, home manager, said: "Edna had an amazing day.

"Just to see how happy she is, she's still saying how happy she is that Westlife have called her. It's absolutely unbelievable."

Edna's 101st birthday cake (Image: SWNS)

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Photos from 101-year-old Westlife fan's birthday party | Worcester ... - Worcester News

The coordinator of Friendly Call has described the recently held Friendly Call tea party at City Hall as a huge success.

Friendly Call, which is part of the Cork City Partnership, is a free service in Cork City providing a daily phone call to older people or individuals who may feel lonely, isolated and vulnerable.

Coordinator Jackie Fitzgibbon said there were over 100 people in attendance at the event which took place in Millennium Hall at City Hall on Tuesday afternoon.

Weve about 400 people on the books and we knew some people couldnt get out and there was a lot of anxiety about coming out too, so in the end we got a really good turnout and we were delighted, she said.

The tea party celebrated Friendly Call clients and volunteers meeting face-to-face, for the first time for some, since the pandemic.

Ms Fitzgibbon said that prior to the pandemic, there would have been events organised regularly and that 2019 was the last in-person event before the country went into lockdown.

It was something we were hoping to resume and just wanted to ensure we got the right conditions there, she said. Before Christmas we were wondering would we have one, but then with the hospitals being so full over Christmas and a lot of our clients are elderly and a lot of them have medical conditions, so we thought its just not worth the risk.

Then, when the chief medical officer came out and said that elderly people should get back out there and start doing things last month we said we would go for it.

Ms Fitzgibbon said witnessing the clients meeting their volunteers was comparable to that of an airport scene where people are being reunited.

These people were friends, but didnt know who each other really were on the other hand so it was very heartwarming, she said.

She said there was lots of positive feedback from clients over the phones on Wednesday following the event and hopes that it will be the return of many more events to come.

Once you get out once and break the ice, youd be more inclined to get out and do some more things, thats what were hoping for anyway, she said.

She thanked all those involved in making the event a success, including Cork City Council for the use of Millennium Hall, Lord Mayor Deirdre Forde who was in attendance, and all the volunteers.

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Pictures: Friendly Call serves up a successful meet-up - EchoLive.ie

If youve ever been enamored with the icons of Fantasyland, you wont want to miss this delightful Joey Chou Fantasyland Spirit Jersey we found at Disneyland! This new Jersey is part of Chous collection of merchandise at the park we found earlier this week.

The Spirit Jersey is a very light pink with a gradient to light purple near the bottom. The breast features Dumbo holding his magic feather. On the bottom we see Cheshire Cat in a Mad Tea Party cup and a hippo from its a small world. Geometric patterns are in the background of the characters, consisting of rectangles, diamonds, circles, and triangles.

The back side features Disneyland Resort in white puffy lettering on the top. The bottom shows Tinker Bell above a castle, alongside the its a small world facade while Mickey and Minnie ride in a Mad Tea Party teacup.

We found this adorable new Spirit Jersey at the Emporium on Main Street, U.S.A.

Will you add this new Spirit Jersey to your collection? Let us know in the comments below!

Disney Parks recently released a massive collection of merchandise inspired by the cutesy art of Joey Chou at both Disneyland and Walt Disney World Resorts, featuring many of the Disney characters experiencing the attractions around the castle parks.

Many prominent attractions are included on his merchandise such as Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Pirates of the Caribbean, the Disneyland Railroad, and many more.

Chou is no stranger to the Disney parks. In fact, his art became the basis of an entire attraction in 2018, when Tokyo Disneyland refurbished their version of its a small world. Art in the queue and even in parts of the attraction itself was contributed by him, such as the massive mural of Mickey and Minnie in front of Cinderella Castle.

Figures designed in Chous art style dot the queue, with the children of the world welcoming guests to the happiest cruise that ever sailed!

Around the same time, Chou was also commissioned to do artwork for the Tokyo Disney Celebration Hotels, which opened in 2016 as the resorts first value properties. The two different sections Wish and Discover are each themed to different styles of Disney attractions. We were lucky enough to stay in the Discover rooms last year and get a close look at the mural done by him.

From left to right, we see Indiana Jones driving a Jeep from Indiana Jones Adventure towards a rolling boulder with Raging Spirits in the background. Next to that is the iconic scene of a dog holding a key away from caged pirates on Pirates of the Caribbean. A ship battle takes place in the background.

Next are Chip n Dale rowing along in one of the Beaver Brothers Explorer Canoes. Mount Prometheus and Fortress Explorations sit dead center as one of the Journey to the Center of the Earth vehicles bursts out the side of the mountain. In the oceans below, the giant squid attacks one of the 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea submarines.

Now we move back to Tokyo Disneyland, with Brer Rabbit, Brer Fox, and Brer Bear taking a plunge down Splash Mountain.

Next to them are the explorers stuck on a totem pole at the Jungle Cruise. And finally we have Stitch in The Enchanted Tiki Room: Stitch Presents Aloha e Komo Mai. A Jungle Cruise boat is directly beneath.

For more Disneyland Resort news and info, follow Disneyland News Today onTwitter,Facebook, andInstagram. For Disney Parks news worldwide, visit WDWNT.

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Joey Chou Fantasyland Spirit Jersey Arrives at Disneyland - WDW News Today