NatioN aNdWorld/In BrIef
Debt limit meeting has been postponed
WASHINGTON — The White House says President Joe Biden’s follow-up meeting with congressional leaders on averting a potential debt default has been postponed until next week.
The meeting with Speaker Kevin McCarthy and the other leaders was originally set for today.
Staff level talks have been progressing privately for the past two days over a separate budget deal that could ease the debt ceiling vote.
The White House said those conversations will continue over the weekend. But McCarthy said there’s not enough progress.
S. Africa accused of providing weapons
CAPE TOWN, South Africa — The U.S. ambassador to South Africa has accused the country of providing weapons and ammunition to Russia.
Ambassador Reuben Brigety said the U.S. government was certain that military equipment was loaded onto a Russian cargo ship that docked secretly at a naval base near the city of Cape Town for three days in December. He says the weapons were then brought to Russia.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said an investigation was underway.
The AP has established that the vessel in question is tied to a Russian company sanctioned by the U.S. for transporting military equipment for the Russian government.
Crashed object into home is meteorite
HOPEWELL TOWNSHIP, N.J. — A metallic object that punched a hole in the roof of a central New Jersey home this week, smashing into a hardwood floor and bouncing around a bedroom, was a meteorite.
Scientists with The College of New Jersey determined the 6-by-4-inch object, which weighs about 2.2 pounds, is a rare stony chondrite meteorite.
They came to that conclusion after conducting a visual examination, making density measurements and scanning electron microscope images.
They were assisted in their work by a retired meteorite expert from Rutgers University and the American Museum of Natural History.
The family that owns the home discovered the black, potato-sized rock in a corner — still warm around 12:30 p.m. Monday.
Peloton 2 million recalls explained
Peloton is recalling more than 2 million of its exercise bikes in the U.S. because the bike’s seat post assembly can break during use, posing fall and injury hazards.
The recall includes approximately 2.2 million of the Peloton Bikes Model PL01. The bikes were sold in the U.S. from January 2018 through May 2023 for about $1,400.
They were sold at Peloton and Dick’s Sporting Goods stores nationwide and online at Amazon, Peloton and Dick’s websites.
Pollution limits proposed for US
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is proposing new limits on greenhouse gas emissions from coal- and gas-fired power plants.
It’s the most ambitious effort yet to reduce planet-warming pollution from the nation’s second-largest contributor to climate change.
The plan could force power plants to capture smokestack emissions using technology that isn’t widely used in the U.S. and would be the first time the federal government has restricted carbon dioxide emissions from existing power plants.
President Joe Biden calls the plan “a major step forward in the climate crisis and protecting public health.”
Biden’s judicial nominees advance
WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats moved three of President Joe Biden’s judicial nominees along party lines Thursday after weeks of delay due to California Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s extended absence.
With Feinstein now back and voting in the committee, the panel approved three federal district court judges that had been stuck without her vote: Charnelle Bjelkengren of Washington, S. Kato Crews of Colorado and Marian Gaston of California.
Feinstein’s 10-week absence recovering from shingles meant that the commit
tee’s votes were tied along party lines and Democrats could not advance any nominees without Republican support.
The 89 year-old California senator returned Wednesday after her bout with shingles