Photo: Science Photo Library RF
1 Debt Ceiling Bill Passes The House, Senate Could Vote As Early As Today
With a 314 to 117 vote, the House of Representatives passed the debt ceiling bill yesterday, sending the legislation to the Senate. More Democrats than Republicans supported the bill, with 149 Republicans voting for the measure with 165 Democrats voting in favor. The bill would extend the debt limit for two years along with various cuts to spending and a clawback of unspent COVID relief funds. With almost a third of Republican representatives voting against the bill, a potential measure to remove Kevin McCarthy from the House Speakership will likely receive some backing. Once the bill was passed, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said it was time for the Senate to pass it quickly. In a press briefing, McConnell said he expects the Senate to vote on the bill either today or tomorrow. It’ll take 60 votes in the Senate to send it to President Joe Biden’s desk, and both McConnell and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer have made it clear that time is of the essence with the deadline for action before the country goes into default on Monday.
2 NASA Held Its First Public Meeting On UFOs
A 16-member panel of independent scientists held their first public briefing yesterday on the investigation into unidentified anomalous phenomena, known to most as UFOs, and said there’s “absolutely no convincing evidence” of extraterrestrial activity in any sightings they’ve studied. That’s not the same as saying that none of the sightings were alien craft, just that they don’t have enough data to draw any conclusions on the unexplained portion of reported sightings. Panel members say they’ve been dealing with harassment since the panel was formed last year, with panel chairman David Spergel saying yesterday that “We have a community of people who are completely convinced of the existence of UFOs. And we have a community of people who think addressing this question is ridiculous.” The panel made it clear that the stigma surrounding UFO sightings and reports is making it harder to figure out what’s going on, which could have serious consequences if these reports are of unknown technology being used by our Earthly adversaries.
3 Pence and Christie Set To Announce Presidential Campaigns Next Week
The wait is almost over for supporters of former Vice-President Mike Pence. Pence is expected to officially launch his candidacy for the Republican nomination for president next week in Iowa. Pence has scheduled a campaign kickoff event in Des Moines on his 64th birthday, June 7th, and is expected to release a video message that morning as part of his campaign launch. The field trying to win the Republican presidential nomination is expected to grow even larger, with former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie planning to formally launch his campaign next Tuesday evening, and North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum set to announce his bid for the nomination in Fargo on June 7th as well.