The Senate passes a debt limit fast-track plan as lawmakers race to prevent a potentially catastrophic default. Fourteen Senate Republicans broke a filibuster to advance the debt limit process Thursday, breaking weeks of partisan deadlock on the issue. With that, Senate Democrats would be able to increase the debt limit on their own with just a simple majority of 51 votes. This comes as the State Department launches a review of its role in the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. Secretary of State Antony Blinken says the review will focus on the Trump administration’s last year and the first nine months of the Biden administration. And on the heels of the Afghanistan withdrawal, America’s top spy agency is reportedly changing how it trains its operatives. Sources say the CIA is moving away from the counterterrorism wars that have been the focus for the last 20 years. Instead, the agency says it will focus more on adversaries like China and Russia.
A mental health crisis grows, especially among teens. A new report found U.S. emergency room visits for suicide attempts by adolescent girls surged 51 percent in early 2021 compared to the same period in 2019. Surgeon general Dr. Vivek Murthy is warning of a “devastating” mental health crisis among the country’s youth. He pointed to social media and pop culture as part of the issue, saying it “erode[s] their sense of self-worth.”
