From full coverage of the debt ceiling and default deal, to Rosalynn Carter's recent diagnosis, here are the top national news stories from the past week.
'American Pickers' Frank Fritz and Mike Wolfe reunite
The tears were flowing.
Iowa native Frank Fritz and lifelong friend and reality-show co-star Mike Wolfe have reunited after nearly three years without seeing one another.
From left, Danielle Colby, Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz speak to their "American Pickers" fans at a 2010 LeClaire festival in honor of their History Channel reality show.
Photos: 'American Pickers' attend Kid Pickers Flea Market in LeClaire in 2018
Tony and Taylor Taronno of the Twin Cities, Minnesota, set up their booth during the Kid Pickers Flea Market in LeClaire on Saturday, June 30, 2018.
Andy Abeyta Quad-City Times
American Pickers star Mike Wolfe holds his six-year-old daughter Charlie Faeth Wolfe while talking to kids before the Kid Pickers Flea Market in LeClaire on Saturday, June 30, 2018. Wolfe and Frank Fritz from "American Pickers," plan to return to the LeClaire area to film episodes of the hit series from Monday, May 27 through Sunday, June 9.
Andy Abeyta Quad-City Times
Scott and Vicki Ballentine of Jamestown, Indiana, look through antiques during the Kid Pickers Flea Market in LeClaire on Saturday, June 30, 2018.
Andy Abeyta Quad-City Times
Oliver Cotterill, 10, left, and Shane Jensen, 9, of the Cedar Rapids area sell antiques and painted rocks while mom, Tina Burrus, handles the money during the Kid Pickers Flea Market in LeClaire on Saturday, June 30, 2018.
Andy Abeyta Quad-City Times
American Pickers star Mike Wolfe holds his six-year-old daughter Charlie Faeth Wolfe while getting the crowd ready to sell antiques during the Kid Pickers Flea Market in LeClaire on Saturday, June 30, 2018.
Andy Abeyta Quad-City Times
Brynnleigh Wernke, 7, of Farley, Iowa, has a unicorn painted on her face during the Kid Pickers Flea Market in LeClaire on Saturday, June 30, 2018.
Andy Abeyta Quad-City Times
Kid pickers pose for a photo with American Pickers star Mike Wolfe before the start of the Kid Pickers Flea Market in LeClaire on Saturday, June 30, 2018.
Andy Abeyta Quad-City Times
Lead singer and guitarist Maddie Jacobs, 16, of Finding Home, a band of young musicians from Sterling, Illinois, performs during the Kid Pickers Flea Market in LeClaire on Saturday, June 30, 2018.
Andy Abeyta Quad-City Times
Drummer Max Jacobs, 15, of Finding Home, a band of young musicians from Sterling, Illinois, performs during the Kid Pickers Flea Market in LeClaire on Saturday, June 30, 2018.
Andy Abeyta Quad-City Times
Violinist and pianist Molly Jacobs, 19, of Finding Home, a band of young musicians from Sterling, Illinois, performs during the Kid Pickers Flea Market in LeClaire on Saturday, June 30, 2018.
Andy Abeyta Quad-City Times
Backup vocalist Mary Kate, 13, of Finding Home, a band of young musicians from Sterling, Illinois, smiles while performing during the Kid Pickers Flea Market in LeClaire on Saturday, June 30, 2018.
Andy Abeyta Quad-City Times
Bass guitarist Menter Jacobs, 11, of Finding Home, a band of young musicians from Sterling, Illinois, smiles while performing during the Kid Pickers Flea Market in LeClaire on Saturday, June 30, 2018.
Andy Abeyta Quad-City Times
Hannah Thome, 9, left, and Niah Garza, 10, of Sterling play along the shore of the Mississippi River to cool down during the Kid Pickers Flea Market in LeClaire on Saturday, June 30, 2018.
Andy Abeyta Quad-City Times
Scenes from the Kid Pickers Flea Market in LeClaire on Saturday, June 30, 2018.
Andy Abeyta Quad-City Times
Scenes from the Kid Pickers Flea Market in LeClaire on Saturday, June 30, 2018.
Andy Abeyta Quad-City Times
Scenes from the Kid Pickers Flea Market in LeClaire on Saturday, June 30, 2018.
Andy Abeyta Quad-City Times
Scenes from the Kid Pickers Flea Market in LeClaire on Saturday, June 30, 2018.
Andy Abeyta Quad-City Times
Scenes from the Kid Pickers Flea Market in LeClaire on Saturday, June 30, 2018.
Andy Abeyta Quad-City Times
Scenes from the Kid Pickers Flea Market in LeClaire on Saturday, June 30, 2018.
Andy Abeyta Quad-City Times
Scenes from the Kid Pickers Flea Market in LeClaire on Saturday, June 30, 2018.
Andy Abeyta Quad-City Times
Scenes from the Kid Pickers Flea Market in LeClaire on Saturday, June 30, 2018.
Andy Abeyta Quad-City Times
Scenes from the Kid Pickers Flea Market in LeClaire on Saturday, June 30, 2018.
Andy Abeyta Quad-City Times
Scenes from the Kid Pickers Flea Market in LeClaire on Saturday, June 30, 2018.
Andy Abeyta Quad-City Times
Scenes from the Kid Pickers Flea Market in LeClaire on Saturday, June 30, 2018.
Andy Abeyta Quad-City Times
Tina Turner fell in love with husband Erwin Bach when he delivered her a new Mercedes
Former first lady Rosalynn Carter has dementia, the Carter Center says
ATLANTA (AP) — Former first lady Rosalynn Carter has dementia and remains at home, her family has announced.
Carter, now 95, remains at home with former President Jimmy Carter, who has been at home receiving hospice care since early this year.
Photos: Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter through the years
Former President Jimmy Carter praised for his election observation work around the world
Habitat for Humanity homeowners reflect on Jimmy Carter's work
'She wants to perform': Celine Dion is doing 'everything she can' to get back on stage
Not real news: Here's a look at what didn't happen this week
A roundup of some of the most popular but completely untrue stories and visuals of the week. None of these are legit, even though they were shared widely on social media. The Associated Press checked them out. Here are the facts:
A 3D printed ‘Smart Egg’ is helping bird experts at Oregon Zoo save the critically endangered California condor.
Jury finds ‘That ’70s Show’ star Danny Masterson guilty of 2 out of 3 counts of rape in retrial
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A jury found “That ’70s Show” star Danny Masterson guilty of two out of three counts of rape Wednesday in a Los Angeles retrial in which the Church of Scientology played a central role.
The jury of seven women and five men reached the verdict after deliberating for seven days spread over two weeks. They could not reach a verdict on the third count, that alleged Masterson raped a longtime girlfriend. They had voted 8-4 in favor of conviction.
CEOs got smaller raises last year. It would still take a typical worker 2 lifetimes to make their annual pay. A closer look at the numbers.
After ballooning for years, CEO pay growth is finally slowing.
The typical compensation package for chief executives who run S&P 500 companies rose just 0.9% last year, to a median of $14.8 million, according to data analyzed for The Associated Press by Equilar. That means half the CEOs in the survey made more and half made less. It was the smallest increase since 2015.
Biden, GOP reach tentative deal to raise debt ceiling, avoid calamitous US default
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy reached an “agreement in principle” to raise the nation's legal debt ceiling late Saturday as they raced to strike a deal to limit federal spending and avert a potentially disastrous U.S. default.
WASHINGTON — Fending off a U.S. default, the Senate gave final approval late Thursday to a debt ceiling and budget cuts package, grinding into the night to wrap up work on the bipartisan deal and send it to President Joe Biden's desk to become law before the fast-approaching deadline.
The compromise package negotiated between Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy leaves neither Republicans nor Democrats fully pleased with the outcome. But the result, after weeks of hard-fought budget negotiations, shelves the volatile debt ceiling issue that risked upending the U.S. and global economy until 2025 after the next presidential election.
The debt ceiling has existed since 1917. Here's how it's impacted government spending ever since
The debt ceiling has existed since 1917. Here's how it's impacted government spending ever since
The Constitution gives Congress the power to borrow money on the United States’ credit and it has imposed a cap or ceiling on how much debt the Treasury can assume to pay for programs already approved. In the past, congressional votes to increase borrowing was a bipartisan affair, but in today’s highly partisan atmosphere, battles over the debt ceiling have brought the country to the brink of default.
By 2012, Republicans had raised the debt ceiling 54 times, and Democrats had upped it 40 times, according to an analysis bythe Guardian. Ronald Reagan boosted the debt ceiling 18 times, and Jimmy Carter and Lyndon Johnson each raised it 10 times.
Economists warn ofsevere consequencesif the United States does not resolve a debt ceiling crisis. Stock prices could tumble, interest rates could soar, and the country’s financial reputation could end in tatters. Domestic programs such as Medicare could be in jeopardy.
Stackercompiled a list of 10 key moments defining how the country’s debt ceiling affects its spending by reviewing news articles, government reports, and academic papers. Here is a look at how we got to where we are and how the crisis might be eased.
Joshua Roberts // Getty Images
When was the debt ceiling imposed?
Before 1917, Congress permitted the U.S. Treasury to borrow for specific programs, with each loan needing Congressional authorization in separate legislation. But when the country entered World War I, Congress began to allow the Treasury to sell war bonds, aka Liberty Bonds, as needed. The Second Liberty Bond Act of 1917 established a debt ceiling of $11.5 billion. Congress continued to permit the Treasury more latitude during the 1920s and 1930s until imposing an overall limit on federal debt in 1939 of $45 billion. That was about 10% above the total debt, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.
Universal History Archive // Getty Images
How often has the ceiling been changed?
The debt limit has been revised about 100 times since the end of World War II. It increased three-fold in the 1980s, from less than $1 trillion to nearly $3 trillion, then doubled in the next decade, to nearly $6 trillion in the 1990s, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. The ceiling doubled again in the 2000s to more than $12 trillion. The Budget Control Act of 2011 increased it by $900 billion and in addition, authorized the president to raise it by another $1.2 trillion. Separately legislators have suspended the ceiling seven times since 2013, and on a few occasions it has gone down.
Ramin Talaie // Getty Images
Who else has a debt ceiling?
Among major Western countries, only Denmark has a ceiling on its debt and it is relatively much higher to its spending. After its debt neared 75% of the ceiling in 2010, the limit was more than doubled, the Council on Foreign Relations noted. Denmark put the limit in place in the 1990s when it delegated the country’s finances to its central bank. Unlike the U.S., Denmark does not let political drama interfere.
NIELS CHRISTIAN VILMANN // Getty Images
President Reagan campaigns against the federal debt
When Ronald Reagan ran for president in 1980, he blasted the size of the federal debt, then about $1 trillion. "So-called temporary increases or extensions in the debt ceiling have been allowed 21 times in these 10 years, and now I've been forced to ask for another increase in the debt ceiling or the government will be unable to function past the middle of February,” he said in a speech in February 1981 after taking office. “And I've only been here 16 days." But far from falling, the national debt tripled over the decade to $3 trillion, and President Reagan ended up raising the ceiling 18 times. He blamed Congress.
Wally McNamee // Getty Images
Speaker Gingrich upends Washington
Georgia’s Newt Gingrich became speaker of the House in 1994 when Republicans gained the majority, and the fiscal conservative zeroed in on trying toenact the deep budget cutshe favored. He refused to schedule a vote on increasing the limit until President Clinton agreed to the Republicans’ balanced budget. The result? Apartial government shutdownthat roiled the country over 21 days at the end of 1995 and the beginning of 1996, until the GOP gave way in the face ofpublic opposition.
Consolidated News Pictures // Getty Images
Debt ceiling crisis results in credit rating drop
Republican opposition to the Affordable Care Act led to an impasse over the debt limit in 2011, and spurred Standard & Poor’s to downgrade the U.S. credit rating. President Barack Obama and Congress came together on the Budget Control Act of 2011, which boosted the debt ceiling by $900 billion and authorized the president to raise it by another $1.2 trillion.
The White House // Getty Images
Crisis averted when ceiling suspended
During the debt ceiling crisis of 2013, the limit was suspended for a time and the Treasury took what is known as extraordinary measures, which typically include suspending new investments or payments to federal employees’ retirement accounts. The Government Accounting Office found there was nevertheless a cost to taxpayers. As the date neared when the Treasury would have no other options, some investors eschewed Treasury securities, worried they would not be paid on time. Others insisted on a greater return for the risk they faced.
Bill Clark // Getty Images
Suspending the debt ceiling for two years
The debt ceiling was suspended until July 31, 2021, under the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2019. The ceiling stood at $22 trillion when Congress passed the bill and since then the government has borrowed $6.5 trillion as of June 30, 2021. When it was reimposed in August, and the debt had climbed to $28.5 trillion, the Treasury again was faced with taking extraordinary measures to avoid defaulting on its loans. In October 2021, Democrats who control the House temporarily raised the borrowing limit to $28.9 trillion. The vote delayed the deadline for a default only until December 2021.
Tom Williams // Getty Images
Another debt ceiling deadline looms
As theDecember 2021 deadlineapproaches for another debt ceiling crisis, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York and the Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky held discussions on how to avert a default. The Treasury Department warned of a Dec. 15 deadline, after which it will be unable to meet its financial obligations. Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia suggested there may be a way to pass legislation with a simple majority instead of the 60 votes usually required. MeanwhileTreasury Secretary Janet Yellensaid she supports discarding the borrowing limit as it’s currently structured. Proposals that were introduced in Congress include appealing the limit outright or transferring authority over the borrowing limit to the Treasury Department.
Alex Wong // Getty Images
Biden, McCarthy reach final deal to prevent default, now must sell to Congress
WASHINGTON — With days to spare before a potential first-ever government default, President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy reached final agreement Sunday on a deal to raise the nation's debt ceiling and worked to ensure enough Republican and Democratic votes to pass the measure in the coming week.
Here's how Biden and McCarthy struck a debt limit deal and staved off a catastrophe
WASHINGTON — It was advice that Mitch McConnell had offered to Joe Biden once already: To resolve the debt limit standoff, he needed to strike a deal with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy — and McCarthy alone. But after the first meeting of the top four congressional leaders with the president in early May, the Senate minority leader felt the need to reemphasize his counsel.
After returning from the White House that day, McConnell called the president to privately urge him to "shrink the room" – meaning no direct involvement in the talks for himself, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
Biden marks Memorial Day lauding generations of fallen US troops who 'dared all and gave all'
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden lauded the sacrifice of generations of U.S. troops who “dared all and gave all” fighting for their country and called on Americans to ensure that their “sacrifice was not in vain” as he marked Memorial Day with the traditional wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery.
Biden was joined by first lady Jill Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and Harris’ husband, Douglas Emhoff, for the 155th National Memorial Day Observance. He had a moment of contemplation in front of the wreath, which was adorned with flowers and a red, white and blue bow, and then bowed his head in prayer.
