Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said her department estimates it will run out of funding by June 5 if lawmakers fail to raise or suspend the US debt ceiling. 

Washington

U.S Treasury to 'run out of funding' next month

The Secretary of the U.S. Treasury Janet Yellen now says that the Treasury Department has until June 5th before effectively they run out of money to pay their obligations. Remember the so-called X date and when the Treasury would exhaust all of its emergency resources to continue to fund its obligations that that would be June 1st which is Thursday coming up. She is now saying it will be June 5th and that will be the Monday following here and she goes into great detail here in a letter to Kevin McCarthy the Speaker of the House as well as other congressional leaders highlighting 130 billion dollars of scheduled payments in the first two days of June that include payments to veterans, social security and medicare recipients and then says the week after that more than 100 billion extra in payments are needed payments that she says they will be inadequate to satisfy. Kayleigh Lyon is joining us right now from our Washington D.C. Bureau. Kayleigh this letter the tone is the same but some of the details are different. Right the Treasury Secretary has said in recent days that she would try to get Congress a more specific estimate because in her recent letters to congressional leaders she has really given a range. She said early June potentially as early as June 1st. We know a lot of doubt has been cast over the last week on really June 1st being a hard deadline and now she's saying realistically looking at the numbers the Treasury's best estimate again this math is not perfect is that it will be June 5th when they run out of cash to get to pay the bill. So in theory this gives the negotiators that are still working here in Washington on a deal to raise the debt ceiling a little bit more wiggle room but she is not trying to abandon the sense of urgency. She says she needs Congress to protect the full faith and credit of the United States by acting as soon as possible. Again warning of the consequences of waiting until the last minute to do so. And I think the idea of singling out some of these social security and medicare payments the idea here that of course when you start to cut off something that is a lifeline literally a lifeline for a lot of folks there are consequences both economic and political. Kayleigh where do we stand in those negotiations right now? Well Ramin we're still looking for real news we thought perhaps we would have a deal by today or tomorrow thinking that if Congress needed 72 hours in the House to sit with the bill before a vote that that would be the timeline that needs to happen. This potentially gives negotiators a little bit more cover. I would say one of those negotiating on the behalf of the Republicans Congressman Gary Graves spoke in just the last hour saying that they are not any closer to a deal and that the White House has been difficult on work requirements. We have known for some time that that was going to be a sticking point issue as McCarthy had previously described stricter requirements for entitlements as a red line. Democrats though specifically those progressives really do not like it so it seems that there are still some details that they are hung up on even if we do seem like we're getting closer to consensus on the duration of spending caps and the ultimate debt ceiling left looking at two years and of course a 3 percent increase in defense spending. Well Kayleigh it's the timeline that I wanted to talk about and like you said it seems like Secretary Yellen did not let up in terms of her tone on the urgency of this situation but pushing out the X date by a couple of days here. I mean does this potentially take us past the weekend before we could see that deal. I mean I hope not sitting here in Washington. It could be a working weekend for us all Katie but in theory maybe it does provide a little bit more cover. Again though I would stress that this is just a best estimate. This isn't the Treasury guaranteeing that they can make it until June 5th because of course we also got the data out earlier this hour that the Treasury's cash pile is dwindling rapidly 38.8 billion dollars as of yesterday. That's the lowest level since 2017. So still the heat is on for a deal to get done. We're all just still waiting to actually. I just want to mention a couple of quick things here Kayleigh. We are actually learning the Treasury's auction schedule coming up here. Six bill auctions in next week. And remember that is a holiday shortened week. So four days here. But according to our reporting here and we credit Alex Harris for this that at least based on market pricing that would shift the X date closer to June 6th to June 9th. So maybe a little bit more time. But the fact that we're quibbling over a couple of days here and there certainly cause for concern. And Fitch Ratings also raising that concern right now with the press release out saying and this gets a little in the weeds here but they talk about defeasance in the commercial real estate market. And the idea here is that you can settle some of these commercial mortgage bond transactions using sovereign debt basically treasuries. And they're basically saying in their words that they have to review that defeasance methodology because of the higher stress assumptions for some of that collateral. Yeah. And of course this follows the warning we already got from Fitch earlier this week about the U.S. is Tripoli credit rating and that that could be at risk. And that really is what comes down to Janet Yellen's warning of getting too close to the X date too. She is trying to remind people of what happened in 2011 where we hadn't yet gotten to the X date. We actually did have a deal. And yet S&P Global Ratings still downgraded the U.S. because of how difficult it was because of the impasse that we saw. So that risk remains there even as we haggle over the exact date.

Former Prime Minister Scott Morrison has revealed he was treated with medication for anxiety while serving in the Lodge. Morrison sharing the diagnosis during an extract of his forthcoming book.

Canberra

Scott Morrison reveals he was being treated for anxiety

An Australian journalist has been named as a key figure in Donald Trump's criminal trial. Dylan Howard, the former editor of the National Enquirer in the U.S. accused of buying and burying negative stories as part of a deal to help him become President.

New York

U.S. Presidential Election

The Australian journalist caught up in Trump trial

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Council of the City of Sydney

Reserve Bank set to raise interest rates, expert predicts

The Prime Minister has labelled the security guard murdered during the Bondi stabbing attack a 'national hero' during his funeral today. Mourners gathering at the Baitul Huda Mosque in Marsden Park, Sydney to honour Faraz Tahir.

Marsden Park

Mourners farewell Bondi security guard Faraz Tahir

After a crucial hearing, U.S. Supreme Court justices are weighing arguments for and against Donald Trump's claims of presidential immunity from 2020 election interference charges, but a ruling will take time.

U.S. Supreme Court weighs arguments on Trump immunity case

Disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction has been overturned after New York’s highest court ruled the trial judge improperly allowed women to testify about allegations against him that were not part of the case.

Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction overturned

Palestinians have begun evacuating Rafah as Israel steps up airstrikes. Israel plans to go forward with a ground operation in the southern Gaza city despite warnings from allies that it could cause mass casualties.

Jerusalem

Israel-Gaza War

Israel steps up airstrikes on Rafah ahead of ground operation

After weeks of delays, Haiti is due to swear in a presidential transition council. Gang violence has devastated the economy and social services are on the brink of collapse. Gang leaders say talks over Haiti's political future must include them.

Port-au-Prince

Haiti interim transition council to be sworn in

Israeli forces are carrying out "offensive action" across southern Lebanon, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said without specifying whether ground troops had crossed the border. He also claimed that "half of Hezbollah's commanders in southern Lebanon have been eliminated" in months of violence.

Beirut

Israel says forces carrying out 'offensive action' in south Lebanon

In a deal facilitated by Qatar, Russia and Ukraine will exchange nearly 50 displaced children due to Moscow's invasion, announced Maria Lvova-Belova, the Kremlin's children's rights commissioner, in Doha.

Doha

Ukraine Invasion

Russia and Ukraine to exchange dozens of displaced children

Rudy Giuliani, a former lawyer for Donald Trump, is among 18 people charged in Arizona with illegally seeking to claim the state's 2020 electoral votes for the then-U.S. president.

Phoenix

Giuliani indicted in election vote-rigging case

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Geographe

Mass whale stranding in southwest WA

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has completed a two-day trek of the Kokoda Track in Papua New Guinea, alongside PNG Prime Minister James Marape in commemoration of ANZAC Day

Kokoda

Australian Prime Minister's Kokoda pilgrimage

Five teenagers have appeared in court, after being arrested in connection with the stabbing of the Bishop in the Wakely church stabbing. Counter-terrorism police are continuing searches in south-west Sydney and Goulburn.

Wakeley

Teenagers face court over terrorism offences

U.S. President Joe Biden is expected to sign a law that sets a January 2025 deadline for Chinese parent company ByteDance to sell its U.S. operation. Lawmakers behind the ban have warned of national security risks from the popular social video app.

Biden to sign law that could ban TikTok in U.S.

Morning rush hour in central London turned chaotic Wednesday as five escaped military horses galloped at full speed through busy city streets, injuring at least four people. All five horses were rounded up and given veterinary care.

London

Runaway horses cause peak-hour chaos in London

The United Nations is calling for an inquiry after bodies were found beneath Gaza's Nasser Hospital, in the city of Khan Younis. The hospital was recently abandoned by Israeli troops who said they’d finished searching it for Hamas fighters.

Sderot

U.N. calls for inquiry after unmarked graves found in Gaza

People living in Athens have seen the sky turn orange. It was caused by clouds of dust from the Sahara desert, which blew in from Northern Africa blanketing much of Greece.

Athens

'Apocalyptic' orange haze descends on Athens

Thousands have lined the streets of Sydney's CBD to honour veterans and those who made the ultimate sacrifice for the annual Anzac Day march.

Thousands of veterans take part in ANZAC Day marches

President Joe Biden has signed a bill into law that provides billions of dollars of new U.S. aid to Ukraine for its war with Russia. The legislation also includes $26 billion for Israel, as well as $1 billion in humanitarian assistance to Gaza. Biden also signed a separate bill tied to the aid package that bans TikTok in the U.S. if its owner fails to divest the video app.

Biden signs Ukraine, Israel aid, TikTok ban package

A North Korean delegation led by a cabinet minister for international trade is visiting Iran, according to state media. The rare public visit signals increased cooperation between the two countries, which are believed to have secret military ties.

Pyongyang

North Korea delegation visits Iran in rare public trip

The German government plans to resume cooperation with the United Nations agency for Palestinians (UNRWA) in Gaza. The announcement comes after a new report concluded that Israel had not provided enough evidence to back up its claims that hundreds of UNRWA staff are military operatives in so-called terrorist groups in Gaza.

Berlin

Germany to resume funding UNRWA Palestinian agency

The United States Justice Department has agreed to pay almost $139 million to victims of sex abuser Larry Nassar, for its bungled investigation into the former USA Gymnastics team doctor. For nearly two decades, Nassar subjected hundreds of people to abuse under the guise of performing medical treatment.

Justice Dept. to pay $139 million to USA Gymnastics abuse victims

The United Nations called for “a clear, transparent and credible investigation” of mass graves uncovered at two major hospitals in war-torn Gaza that were raided by Israeli troops. Credible investigators must have access to the sites, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters.

U.N. calls for investigation into Gaza mass graves

A bishop whose stabbing was live streamed while delivering a church service wants his video to remain online, supporting X founder Elon Musk's stance. The technology company is currently in a legal fight with Australia’s e-Safety commissioner over the graphic video.

Stabbed Sydney bishop supports Musk stance

Seven juveniles have been arrested and a further five are being interviewed by police, after a series of raids by counterterrorism police in the south-west Sydney suburb of Greenacre. The arrests follow the stabbing a bishop.

Teenagers arrested in ongoing Sydney anti-terror raids

The US Senate has passed a 95 Billion dollar aid package providing aid to Ukraine and Israel, humanitarian relief for Gaza, as well as 8 Billion dollars for security in Taiwan. Part of that package is a provision that could lead to a nationwide ban on TikTok.

U.S. Senate approves $95b aid package for Israel and Ukraine

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken is heading to Shanghai and Beijing for three days of talks with senior Chinese officials as US-China ties are at a critical point. His visit also comes amid rising concern in Europe over Chinese espionage with several suspected spies detained in Germany and the UK.

Beijing

Blinken heads to China amid rising concern in Europe

After a tribal welcome to the mountains of Papua New Guinea, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has spent the night camping on the Kokoda Track in an Anzac Day trek aimed at drawing the two countries closer.

Prime Minister walking the Kokoda Track

Residents in New Delhi complained of breathing problems after a massive fire broke out at a Ghazipur landfill the day before. Large plumes of smoke continued to rise from the burning landfill in the city’s eastern district, where excavators were seen removing piles of garbage to deescalate the fire.