The bipartisan agreement to raise the debt limit cleared a key hurdle on Tuesday evening despite vehement criticism from many House Republicans. The House Rules Committee voted 7-6 to advance the legislation that codifies the bipartisan agreement struck between House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s team and negotiators from President Joe Biden’s administration. The rule will now go to the full House floor before the agreement comes to a full House vote. The rule passed after an hours-long deliberation in the committee that included multiple amendment proposals. The vote comes as Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has warned that the United States will be unable to satisfy its debt obligations come 5 June. The House of Representatives is set to vote But many House Republicans raised objections, including members of the House Freedom Caucus who had previously opposed Mr McCarthy’s bid for speaker in January. Rep Andy Biggs (R - AZ) told The Independent that Mr McCarthy’s deal with the White House was a repeat of his past behaviour. “When he was been in leadership for 13 years, it was not uncommon for him to be the point man to go negotiate a spending cap deal with the Democrats,” he said. Many Republicans criticised the fact that the legislation keeps in place Mr Biden’s student loan forgiveness, only claws back a small sliver of money meant to increase funding for the Internal Revenue Service and raises the debt limit until January 2025, after the 2024 presidential election. Rep Bob Good (R - VA) told The Independent that the bill symbolised a surrender from House Republican leadership. “We have literally come together and our leadership and their leadership and agreed on a Democrat bill,” Mr Good told The Independent. But many allies of Mr McCarthy also opposed the legislation. Rep Nancy Mace (R - SC), who voted for Mr McCarthy for speaker in January, announced her opposition to the bill. “Washington is, was and always will be lousy at responsibly spending your tax dollars,” she tweeted. “That won’t change unless we demand change.” Rep Chip Roy (R - TX) refuted the idea that conservatives would want the United States to default on its debt obligations. “The only person who would default in this town is Joe Biden unless Republicans default on the American dream by voting for this bad bill,” he said at a press conference. “That is why this group will oppose it, we will continue to fight it, today, tomorrow, and no matter what happens, there’s going to be a reckoning about what just occurred.” Mr Roy had tweeted on Monday that during the negotiations for the speakership, Republican leaders pledged that nothing would pass the Rules Committee without at least seven Republican votes and the committee would not allow for reporting out rules without unanimous Republican votes. During the negotiations, Mr Roy tried to stress his opposition and said why Republicans should oppose the bill. “We're not going to reduce spending through this deal. Unless we actually stand up and reduce spending it'll be on us to choose to,” he said during the hearing. “But this deal isn't going to reduce spending even though everybody's going around saying it will.” But some Republicans stressed that the agreement was the only one that could pass the House and Senate and end up on the president’s desk. “We only control one-half of one-third of government,” Rep Erin Houchin (R - IN) said. “There’s no better deal to be had.” Mr McCarthy expressed confidence in a press conference that he would have enough votes to raise the debt limit. “I’m not sure what in the bill people are concerned about,” he told reporters, saying it is the largest savings in congressional history. “We’re pulling money back for the hard-working taxpayers that are going to China. Are they opposed to work requirements for welfare?” On the Senate side, both Republican and Democratic leaders praised the agreement. “Congress will vote on legislation that locks in that important progress,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R - KY) said in remarks on the Senate floor. “Republicans have a tremendous opportunity to take on an existential challenge facing our economy and future generations of Americans. We have a chance to start bringing Washington Democrats’ reckless spending to heel.” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said the bill was a reasonable compromise. “Of course, nobody is getting everything they want – there is give on both sides – but this agreement is the responsible, prudent and very necessary way forward,” he said on the Senate floor. Mr Schumer said he would bring the bill up as quickly as possible for consideration before the default deadline on 5 June. Read More Biden ‘optimistic’ about McCarthy negotiations as AOC slams ‘dysfunctional’ debt ceiling system Debt ceiling deal reached between Biden and McCarthy Conservatives bark after the debt limit deal. Will they actually bite McCarthy? GOP chairman moves to hold FBI director Wray in contempt over Biden doc Utah Republican Chris Stewart planning to resign from Congress, AP source says Debt limit deal is in place, but budget deficit is still a multi-decade challenge for US government

The recent wave of military takeovers have all been in former French colonies - is this a coincidence?

Dozens of World War II veterans have traveled to Normandy this week to mark the 79th anniversary of D-Day, the decisive but deadly assault that led to the liberation of France and Western Europe from Nazi control

WASHINGTON Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis will return to traditional politicking next week in the presidential primary states

Gary O’Neil painted a bleak picture of the situation at Wolves and admitted “no magic wand” will fix their problems after a 3-2 loss at Ipswich in the Carabao Cup third round. Wolves slumped to a fifth defeat in eight matches under the former Bournemouth manager, who only took over on August 9 following the departure of Julen Lopetegui by mutual consent. O’Neil made 10 changes for the Portman Road clash and despite taking a 2-0 lead via goals by Hwang Hee-chan and Toti, the Premier League outfit were on the end of an upset after Championship high-flyers Ipswich responded through Omari Hutchinson, Freddie Ladapo and Jack Taylor. We are six weeks into a process and there is no magic wand Gary O'Neil Asked for a message to disgruntled Wolves supporters, O’Neil insisted: “To stick with the group. “We are six weeks into a process and there is no magic wand. I can guarantee you when I arrived the place was not running perfectly and ready to go into a Premier League season. “There are a lot of things that need fixing and of course I am willing to take responsibility, but the facts are you need some time to put things in place. That does not look like a team that I have worked with for very long at this moment, which it isn’t. “Do I accept that we need to get results? Of course. Do I want the fans to enjoy every game we play and come away and support the players? Of course and we will work tirelessly to make sure we get it there and we will get it there. “But there is no transfer window. The transfer window is closed and we are together as we are and need to get the maximum out of the group. “We’ve named a strong team with 11 players that should be capable of winning here and we don’t, so it is my responsibility to make sure we get some more out of them.” Life does not get any easier for Wolves with Manchester City set to visit on Saturday and it will be a return to Molineux for Matheus Nunes, who left in a £53million deal last month. O’Neil pointed out the club’s net spend this summer when asked to reflect on the issues at the Black Country outfit. “I think when I arrived the culture of the club needed a shift and some of it needs to move towards more togetherness,” O’Neil admitted. “Yeah, there is a big list of things that need fixing. Of course I understand it is my responsibility and people will say, ‘they did fine last year,’ but the truth is they got 41 points and we made an £80million profit on players in the summer. “So, we’re £80million short of where we were and last year we got 41 points. “We need to move it from that in a more difficult situation now than the club was then player-wise, so that’s the facts of the job. I think when I arrived the culture of the club needed a shift and some of it needs to move towards more togetherness Gary O'Neil “I understood that when I took the job, I understand it now and every weekend is not going to be rosy. We’re going to suffer some tough weekends and we’ll need to crack on and go again.” While Wolves were left to reflect on a sorry defeat, Ipswich’s highly-rated manager Kieran McKenna toasted his own first win against top-flight opposition. After Hwang and Toti netted within 15 minutes, the Championship’s second-placed club continued their terrific form with three unanswered goals. Chelsea loanee Hutchinson started the comeback with a right-footed effort from eight-yards before Ladapo fired home inside the area before half-time. Taylor completed the turnaround with a 25-yard thunderbolt and the 58th-minute strike sent Ipswich into the fourth round of the competition for the first time since 2010. “We need to enjoy tonight because it is the first time we’ve had a Premier League team here in quite a few years,” McKenna acknowledged. “It is 11 years since we beat a Premier League team so a good night for progress and the regrowth of this football club again, but it is a cup game. “The result tonight does not win us anything but it is really significant as a marker point for the development of the squad, so we’ll take it as that and enjoy it for a sign of progress.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live ‘We gifted them two goals’ says Millie Bright after England lose to Netherlands Manchester City hit by travel headache ahead of hectic fortnight Rob Edwards rues Luton’s lack of attacking quality after Carabao Cup exit

Climate campaigner Greta Thunberg was fined on Monday for disobeying Swedish police at a rally last month, but said she acted out of necessity due to global warming and...

UNIVERSITY CITY, Mo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct 5, 2023--

A woman was scammed into thinking she was dating an actor from Stranger Things and ended up divorcing her husband and sending money to the scammer. The ordeal suffered by McKala, a single mother from Kentucky, was shared on the YouTube show Catfished, where it was revealed she believed she was in a secret online relationship with Australian actor Dacre Montgomery, who plays Billy Hargrove in the Netflix series. Over a year, McKala shared online messages with a person she sincerely believed was Montgomery, despite never having seen or even spoken to him on the phone. McKala, an amateur actress and filmmaker, wanted so desperately to be with “Montgomery” that she filed for divorce from her husband and began sending him gift cards worth thousands of dollars. When she began to question how genuine their relationship was, McKala sought the help of the show Catfished. She explained how she had separated from her “very toxic” husband and joined an online creatives group, where she believes she met and “hit it off” with a user who later claimed to be Montgomery. McKala said: “I’m suspicious from the get-go, until he starts doing things that make me believe he is who he is.” In real life, Montgomery has been in a relationship with the model Liv Pollock since 2017, but McKala claimed the person she was talking to claimed the couple were unhappy and having issues. “He was venting to me after a few months about his partner, saying she is very controlling of him. He doesn’t get to do the things he wants to do. She’s always there. She’s always got to supervise,” she explained, “I kind of empathise with that because my ex-husband was that way.” After exchanging messages online for months, “Montgomery” asked McKala to be his girlfriend, despite the real Montgomery still being with his girlfriend. Victim Divorces Husband For Stranger Things Romance Scammer! www.youtube.com McKala was told that the pair were actually separated, but just keeping up appearances. She was further convinced by their lack of visibility on each other’s social media. She said: “He wasn’t posting about her. She wasn’t posting about him. The only thing that I have seen in the last two years...was a thing where she was posting about their five-year anniversary.” McKala dismissed the Catfished team’s concerns that she hadn’t spoken to him on the phone, arguing that his girlfriend was controlling and always “glued at his hip”. He sent her poetry, told her to watch Stranger Things and gave her an ultimatum between her husband and him. “Before I knew it, it was turning into $100, $200 gift cards,” she explained and estimated that in total she sent him around $10,000 worth. The Catfished team broke the news to McKala that there was no evidence the actor and his girlfriend were broken up, he made $150,000 per episode of Stranger Things and did not need gift cards. Investigations showed the cheque he had sent her was false and taken from the internet and even the lasagna he allegedly made was actually a picture taken from a Martha Stewart recipe. McKala was left heartbroken by the discovery but admitted that she was vulnerable to being taken advantage of by a scammer in this way. She explained: “If you’re someone like me, you’re afraid of abandonment and you’re a real big people pleaser and you’re very co-dependent... These scammers, they just kind of come in and they leech off that.” Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Martin Necas scored his second goal of the game with 9.7 seconds left in overtime, and the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Seattle Kraken 3-2 to snap a three-game skid

'The View' has drawn criticism for frequently showing pre-recorded episodes, especially on Fridays when Whoopi Goldberg is absent

His shoes have been worn by everyone from Diana, Princess of Wales, to Beyoncé, but legendary designer Jimmy Choo said his greatest achievement is setting up his own fashion school. Professor Choo – as he’s known to his students – set up the JCA London Fashion Academy in September 2021, calling it his “dream”. “I feel very proud – I know my dream has come true,” he told the PA news agency ahead of the masters students presenting their final collections. “My father said to me: whatever you learn, put it back to the industry. So we are lucky we have the JCA – I can put all my spirit and my knowledge, [and] give back to the students.” Before becoming a professor, Choo, 74, made his name with glamorous high-fashion footwear. After moving from his native Malaysia to study in the UK, he set up his eponymous brand in 1996 – designing heels for Diana, as well as being worn on red carpets all over the world and getting a nod in an episode of Sex And The City (when Sarah Jessica Parker’s fashion-obsessed character Carrie Bradshaw famously laments: “I lost my Choo!”) He’s delighted with the JCA Academy, but in a nod to his glittering career, Choo added: “I’ve had a lot of proud moments, from personally designing shoes for Princess Diana and other incredible VIPs [to] seeing emerging designers that I’ve mentored succeeding in their careers.” And while he’s an industry veteran, Choo said he’s still constantly learning. “The best piece of advice I received was to learn as much as possible,” he said, which is particularly important in the fashion industry where “everything changes”. He said: “The material, design, machinery, fabric – everything changes. So you have to adapt. Whatever you do, you must learn something.” Sustainability is one of the biggest areas of change in the fashion industry. “Now people [are] talking about sustainability – how to help the environment and that kind of thing,” Choo explained. “Everyone has to think about the future of the earth – if you spend so much and waste so many things, nature will be in trouble and so will we.” He looks to his students for inspiration, who “never fail to amaze me”. “Sophie Park was one of our footwear designers who made shoes out of plant-based materials such as cacti, pineapple and leaves. Olivia Black and Polly McKevitt both have collections made out of deadstock and materials that would have otherwise been discarded.” Choo enjoys working with young people because “they will listen to you”, and added: “They’re also very down to earth, willing to learn – that’s very important.” In turn, Choo emphasises to his students the importance of asking questions. “You have to ask why,” he said, giving the example of making a suit that doesn’t fit right and questioning why you can’t button the jacket up. “Because you’ve cut the pattern wrong, so your button cannot close. [With] only one inch, you made the whole thing difficult. The key to success, according to Choo, is collaboration – something which isn’t necessarily the norm in the highly competitive fashion industry. At the JCA, he said he never wants anyone to think they’re “better than you, [or] you’re better than me”, he said. “If you’re better than anyone we should share their ideas and the whole thing benefits. We cannot be selfish.” It’s something he suggests is missing from the wider fashion industry. “Of course it’s important to own your ideas, but creativity flourishes when you can bounce ideas off other people. I think it’s important to have a network of people that you can speak openly with in the interest of improving and sparking creativity.” Among all the good advice propelling Choo’s career to the stratosphere, what was the worst he ever got? “Maybe it’s when someone told me I should retire.” Read More The grown-up guide to getting ‘balletcore’ right From tradwife dresses to racist polo shirts: What happens when your clothes become political weapons? Birkenstock or bust: How a deeply uncool shoe became a modern must-have This is shoe designer Jimmy Choo’s proudest achievement See Madonna’s extravagant tour outfits – including an updated cone bra Birkenstock or bust: How a deeply uncool shoe became a modern must-have

A social media influencer is among a growing number of people who have been arrested this week as looting around Philadelphia continued for a second night Wednesday in the aftermath of peaceful protests against a judge's decision to dismiss all charges against a former Philadelphia police officer in a fatal traffic stop shooting.