by Crisis ends: Biden signs deal on debt limit
President Joe Biden signed a bipartisan debt limit package on Saturday afternoon, avoiding a catastrophic bankruptcy shortly before the nation ran out of maneuvers to pay its bills on Monday. He has called the deal he negotiated with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy a necessary compromise that protected the Democrats’ key priorities while cutting some of the Republicans’ spending.
India rail disaster kills 275
Rescue workers waded through wreckage to extricate bodies and free people after two trains collided in India on Friday, killing 275 and injuring hundreds more in one of the world’s deadliest rail disasters in decades. Officials said on Sunday that an error in the electronic signaling system was the cause of the head-on collision with a freight train of a passenger train that was jammed with workers and students. The collision caused the Coromandel Express carriages to divert tracks, derailing the incoming Yesvantpur-Howrah Express from the other side. The Indian prime minister promised the “severe punishment” for anyone held responsible for the wreckage.
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Arlene, the first named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, weakens to a tropical depression
Tropical Storm Arlene, the first named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, weakened to a tropical depression on Saturday. Arlene emerged in the Gulf of Mexico Friday afternoon, and National Hurricane Center officials said it was expected to remain offshore and have minimal impact in Florida or any other land area as it snakes south. While the first named storm of the 2023 season is Arlene, it is actually the second storm of the year. A January system was classified as an unnamed subtropical storm in May.
Federal Judge Rejects Tennessee’s Controversial Anti-Draging Law, Declaring It Unconstitutional
In a major victory for LGBTQ advocates, a federal judge has overturned Tennessee’s controversial law restricting cross-dressing performance after hearings questioning the law’s necessity and broad language. Judge Thomas Parker delivered his ruling just after midnight on Friday, writing that “the Court finds that … the Adult Entertainment Act (“AEA”) is a FOUNDATION (sic) restriction on freedom of expression.” The bill banning “male and female impersonators” from performing in public spaces was signed into law by Gov. Bill Lee in early March. The bill was one of several coming out of the 2023 Legislative Session that was said to target LGBTQ Tennesseans.
Wildfire near Grayling, Michigan, burns more than 3,000 acres
Firefighters were at work Sunday to contain a wildfire in northern Michigan that grew to more than 3,000 acres a day earlier, officials said. The wildfire near the town of Grayling forced temporary evacuations and closed nearby Interstate 75 for most of Saturday, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources said in a press release. I-75 has since reopened and the evacuation order has been lifted.
The 2024 GOP race heats up as DeSantis fires at Trump
For months, Donald Trump has not suffered much offense from Ron DeSantis and other Republican presidential candidates. Now the game is on, at least as far as DeSantis is concerned. He made that clear in a series of talk show hits following his announcement and this week’s trips to Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, the states that will host the first Republican delegate contests in 2024. I think that’s one of the reasons he’s not in the White House right now,” DeSantis told radio host Jack Heath while touring New Hampshire.
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This is a compilation of stories from across the USA TODAY Network. Contributions: Associated Press.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Biden signs deal on debt limit, train derailment in India : Weekend News
