>>White House Rejects McCarthy Debt Limit Plan

(Washington, DC)  --  The White House is rejecting House Speaker Kevin McCarthy's plan to raise the debt limit.  The Republican leader rolled out a bill to lift the debt ceiling by one-point-five-trillion dollars that contains a number of spending cuts.  White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the legislation would "take a hatchet to programs Americans rely on every day to make ends meet."  She argued the bill would cut funding for education, veterans medical care, food programs and law enforcement.  Democrats and Republicans need to come together to pass legislation to raise the borrowing limit in the coming months to avoid defaulting on the nation's debt.  

 

>>Mortgage Rate See First Increase In Over A Month

(McLean, VA)  --  Mortgage rates are rising for the first time in over a month.  According to new data released by Freddie Mac on Thursday, a 30-year fixed mortgage rate went up to six-point-39-percent this week.  That's up from six-point-27-percent last week.  Freddie Mac's chief economist said the rising mortgage rates were due to shifting market expectations.

 

>>Stephen King, LeBron James Get Free Twitter Checkmarks

(San Francisco, CA)  --  Some celebrities are getting Twitter blue checkmarks even though they didn't pay for it.  The social media company on Thursday started removing the checkmarks from "legacy" accounts that didn't pay the monthly eight-dollar fee.  Celebrities like Jimmy Kimmel, Oprah Winfrey and Justine Bieber all lost their checkmarks.  Some celebrities like Stephen King and LeBron James, however, still have their checkmarks even though they swear they didn't pay for it.  On Thursday afternoon, Twitter CEO Elon Musk finally admitted that he gave them free checkmarks, and tweeted, "You're welcome."

 

>>Anheuser-Busch Receives Threats After Bud Light Backlash Against Transgender Spokesperson

(St. Louis, MO)  --  Beer giant Anheuser-Busch is getting threats following backlash over a Bud Light partnership with transgender social media star Dylan Mulvaney. The company told CNN that it worked with local law enforcement to keep its facilities secure. The Los Angeles police department also said it responded to a bomb threat at an Anheuser-Busch brewery in the area last week.  The company has been hit with major backlash over the campaign with Mulvaney including from celebrities like Kid Rock and Travis Tritt.