After a week of meetings on the debt ceiling, Congress, the White House and the country still do not have a clear path forward to avoid a cataclysmic default with just four days when both the House and Senate are scheduled to be in session before June 1, when the US could default on its obligations. On one hand, it looks like this could go to the brink. On the other, there have been pockets of progress over the intervening days and signs that some of the most stringent and hardened positions negotiators have been echoing over the last three months are slowly beginning to soften.

WASHINGTON XCast Labs, a company accused of helping make billions of illegal robocalls, was sued on Friday by

Elon Musk has named former NBCUniversal advertising chief Linda Yaccarino as Twitter's new CEO, as the company tries

By Richard Cowan WASHINGTON The Washington standoff over raising the U.S. government's $31.4 trillion borrowing limit is adding

Gimena Páez could barely pay her bills

By Jeff Mason WASHINGTON President Joe Biden is expected to meet with Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and

Twitter is getting a new boss after current CEO Elon Musk announced on Friday that he has found a replacement: advertising executive Linda Yaccarino. The tech billionaire named the new chief executive less than a month after she interviewed him on a panel, titled “Twitter 2.0: From Conversations to Partnerships”, hosted by her current employer NBCUniversal. The event gave an insight into how she views both the tech billionaire and her vision for the future of Twitter, revealing some significant concerns she had about his takeover of the company. When discussing his tenure so far as the head of Twitter, Mr Musk said it had been “entertaining”, adding “train wrecks arguably are entertaining.” Ms Yaccarino responded: “Train wrecks happen sometimes if you’re dedicated [but] you’ve got to be dedicated to fixing them.” After noting that he had gone from a “consumer of a product you loved, to now the owner”, she added: “It might be a ‘be careful what you ask for’ type of thing.” She also said she did not always like his tweets and suggested Mr Musk should be “held to a different or higher standard” as both the most-followed account on Twitter and its owner. “A lot of people think you might be too provocative,” she said, adding that he should give up his late-night tweeting. “Will you commit to being a little more specific and not tweet after 3am?” she asked. “People in this room would like to see that. It would make them feel more confident.” Twitter is seen by Mr Musk as an accelerant to his goal of creating an “everything app”, which he has called X. This will allow users to conduct business on the platform, which will be a big draw for advertisers who can target customers with direct in-app purchases. It is a vision that Ms Yaccarino appeared to favour in her meeting with Mr Musk. In one of her relatively rare tweets, she also recently expressed another shared goal for how “Twitter 2.0” will look: the return of the short-form video-sharing feature Periscope. She also encouraged Mr Musk to reinstate Twitter’s Influence Council of marketers and advertising executives that allowed industry figures to give direct feedback on how they wanted the platform to look. She told Mr Musk: “The people in this room are your accelerated path to profitability. But there’s a decent bit of sceptics in the room... There’s people who cannot separate the man, his opinions, and the microphone that he now owns.” Ms Yaccarino will now potentially take charge of that microphone, offering a way for advertisers who left the platform to credibly distance themselves from the controversial billionaire. The Independent has contacted NBCUniversal for comment, and Twitter responded with its customary poop emoji. Read More Twitter backlash after Elon Musk gives blue tick to users without consent Elon Musk announces Linda Yaccarino as new CEO of Twitter Elon Musk says he has hired new CEO of Twitter Elon Musk warns people not to trust Twitter’s new feature

Welcome to Travel Week, a seven-day stretch where we celebrate our wanderlust with the best buys on everything from stylish packing cubes to keep you organized to once-in-a-lifetime vacations. Whether you’re planning a local staycation or traveling across the world, adventure awaits. Away we go!

Gimena Páez could barely pay her bills

By Moira Warburton WASHINGTON Lawmakers in the U.S. Congress should have their pay frozen until the fight over

By Lewis Krauskopf NEW YORK A U.S. stocks rally is leaving behind smaller companies, a sign that investors

David Risher had a rocky first week at his job.