The House is on track to vote on the debt ceiling deal before the government runs out of money. The Republican primary is getting a little crowded. And are UFOs real? 👀 A NASA panel is looking into it. |
👋 Hey! I'm Laura Davis. It's Wednesday. Here's all the news you need to know. |
🤩 Good golly, Miss Dolly! Country music legend and absolute queen Dolly Parton just snagged not one, not two, but three brand-spankin' new Guinness World Records. See all of her titles here. |
House to vote on debt ceiling deal as default looms |
As his debt deal with President Joe Biden comes up for a vote in the House on Wednesday evening, Republican Kevin McCarthy's razor-thin speakership faces its biggest test since he grabbed the gavel in January. Any victory lap is contingent upon getting the deal through a Republican caucus filled with lawmakers who have fealty to slashing government spending. And there's no guarantee progressive Democrats, who held a conference call Monday to discuss the plan, will back up Biden either. Here's what to know ahead of the House debt ceiling vote. | U.S. Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy talks to reporters at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday as the House of Representatives is expected to vote on legislation negotiated between the White House and House Republicans to raise the debt ceiling until 2025 and avoid a federal default. Kevin Dietsch, Getty Images |
Pence, Christie to join crowded pool of GOP candidates |
The next presidential election is almost a year and a half away, but the race for commander-in-chief is getting awfully crowded. And the two newest names will all but certainly focus their fire on Trump. On Wednesday, it was reported that former New Jersey governor Chris Christie and former Vice President Mike Pence would throw their hats into the ring. |
What everyone's talking about |
Drones, weather (or spy) balloons, alien spaceships? All kinds of things are flying around out there, and NASA finally held its first public meeting on UFOs Wednesday. A year after launching a study into unexplained sightings, NASA televised the hearing featuring a panel of scientists, astronauts and other experts. Technically the group is studying unidentified anomalous phenomena, or UAPs, and trying to determine how data gathered from various sources can be analyzed to shed light on them. The panel's final report is expected this summer. Here's what they're talking about. | Deputy Director of Naval Intelligence Scott Bray points to a video display of a UAP during a hearing of the House Intelligence, Counterterrorism, Counterintelligence, and Counterproliferation Subcommittee hearing on "Unidentified Aerial Phenomena," on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, May 17, 2022, in Washington. Alex Brandon, AP |
Those weren't tourists. They were spies. |
Chinese citizens posing as tourists but suspected of being spies have made several attempts in recent years to gain access to military facilities, according to U.S. officials. Details about the incidents remain mostly classified, but officials say the military is taking a number of steps to make sure those bases are secure. |
| • | In one incident, a vehicle with Chinese citizens blew past a security checkpoint at Fort Wainwright in Fairbanks, Alaska, several soldiers told USA TODAY. The vehicle was eventually stopped, and a search found a drone inside the vehicle. The occupants claimed they were tourists who had gotten lost. A closer look at what's been happening. |
| Alaska hosts three large military bases – Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, and Fort Wainwright and Eielson Air Force Base near Fairbanks – and is key to homeland defense given its proximity to Russia, the ballistic missile threat from North Korea and, increasingly, China. Jessica Koscielniak, USA TODAY |
Laura L. Davis is an Audience Editor at USA TODAY. Send her an email at laura@usatoday.com or follow along with her adventures – and misadventures – on Twitter. Support quality journalism like this? Subscribe to USA TODAY here. | | | | A jury found Danny Masterson guilty on two counts of rape Wednesday at his Los Angeles retrial. The actor faces up to 30 years in prison. | | | | Many shared concerns over the district's teacher vacancies, with one student saying teachers are "scared to say anything that will get them fired." | | | | Trump's attack on his former press secretary draws criticism from conservatives who have normally been sympathetic to the 2024 candidate. | | | | Dr. John Forsyth went missing in Missouri more than a week ago. On Tuesday, authorities notified his family that his body had been found in Arkansas. | | | | One of the Marines reported the attack started after one of them asked someone in the group to stop lighting fireworks at the beach. | | | | Nguyet Le, 63, "beat her hands bloody trying to escape" the freezer with a broken door, according a lawsuit filed by her four children. | | | | An altercation led to a shootout between a bus driver and passenger while two other passengers were aboard in Charlotte, North Carolina. | | | | Columbia, South Carolina gas station owner Rick Chow was charged with murder after officials say he chased a 14-year-old boy and shot him in the back. | | | | According to IMS, Penske Entertainment will provide Robin Matthews with a new car. There were major injuries related to the flying tire. | | | | Police are investigating the death of an 11-month-old child left in a car during a Florida church service in which the parents were co-pastors. | | | | | | | Sign up for the news you want | Exclusive newsletters are part of your subscription, don't miss out! We're always working to add benefits for subscribers like you. | | | | | | |
