House Financial Services Chairman Patrick McHenry says U.S. won't default this year - "The Takeout"
CBSN
The U.S. will not default on its debt obligations this year, says GOP Congressman Patrick McHenry, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee; he is attempting to broker a deal between the White House and hardline conservatives to increase the government's borrowing limit.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen wrote in a letter Thursday the U.S. had reached its congressionally imposed $31.4 trillion debt ceiling and payments to certain federal employee retirement funds would be restricted or suspended to buy time for Congress to act. Severe global economic consequences could hit in late spring if the limit is not raised.
Conservatives in Congress are seeking spending cuts to Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security in exchange for increasing the nation's borrowing capacity. "The American people are sick of it. They want some responsibility used when it comes to spending their hard-earned money," Republican Rep. Scott Perry of Pennsylvania told CBS News.

The peace and tranquility of Muir Woods, just north of San Francisco – home to 500+ acres of old-growth redwoods – make it just about the last place you'd expect to find a fight brewing. "The fact that they're taking down whole groups of signs about climate change and our nation's history is disappointing, and embarrassing," said retired U.S. Park Ranger Lucy Scott In:

We share our planet with maybe 10 million species of plants, animals, birds, fish, fungi and bugs. And to help identify them, millions of people are using a free phone app. "Currently we have about six million people using the platform every month," said Scott Loarie, the executive director of iNaturalist, a nonprofit.

At ski resorts across the West this winter, viral images showed chairlifts idling over brown terrain in places normally renowned for their frosty appeal. Iconic mountain towns like Aspen, Colorado, and Park City, Utah, were seen with shockingly bare slopes, as the region endured a historic snow drought that experts warn could bring water shortages and wildfires in the months ahead. In:










