US heads for debt-ceiling standoff as House Republicans refuse to budge

Hard-right Republicans say no to clean' debt ceiling increase, raising dire possibility of US defaulting on financial obligations

The US economy could be headed for a crisis manufactured by a handful of House Republicans.

The treasury secretary, Janet Yellen, informed congressional leaders on Thursday that the US has hit its debt ceiling, which limits the amount of money that the government can borrow to pay all of its bills. Yellen urged Congress to work as quickly as possible to raise the debt ceiling and prevent the US from defaulting on any of its financial obligations, which would have catastrophic consequences.