Biden says debt-ceiling talks making progress, default not option

President Joe Biden on Thursday gave a brief update on talks about the budget and debt ceiling, saying negotiators are “making progress” and that all agree default is off the table. The president said he’d had several productive conversations with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Earlier Thursday, McCarthy continued to sound somewhat upbeat on Washington’s debt-ceiling standoff, as he said negotiators worked well past midnight and made some progress. “There’s still some outstanding issues, and I’ve directed our teams to work 24/7,” the California Republican told reporters.