
White House and Republicans still at odds over spending as debt ceiling talks continue
CBSN
Washington — House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said Wednesday that House Republicans and the White House remain "far apart" on reaching consensus on a plan to address the debt ceiling as the threat of a historic default on the nation's debt grows.
McCarthy told reporters on Capitol Hill that the GOP negotiators, Reps. Patrick McHenry and Garret Graves, are resuming talks with Biden administration officials on the White House campus in hopes of brokering a deal to avert a default on the country's $31.4 trillion debt.
But the speaker warned "there's a number of places that we are still far apart" and said "it didn't seem like it'd be this hard" to reach an agreement. McCarthy reiterated the GOP's demands to slash federal spending rather than freeze it at current levels, and again vowed not to bring a clean bill solely addressing the debt limit to the House floor, as the White House and Democrats have been pushing for.

Robert Morris, founding pastor of Gateway Church, a megachurch in Southlake, Texas, has been indicted on five counts of lewd or indecent acts with a child, stemming from alleged incidents dating back to the 1980s, the Oklahoma attorney general's office announced Wednesday. We are aware of the actions being taken by the legal authorities in Oklahoma and are grateful for the work of the justice system in holding abusers accountable for their actions. We continue to pray for Cindy Clemishire and her family, for the members and staff of Gateway Church, and for all of those impacted by this terrible situation.