| There is, in President Biden's words, a "meteor headed to crash into our economy" in the next two weeks, one that is wholly in the power of Congress to deflect, and one that leaders in both parties say they want to stop. Yet Biden warned today he can't guarantee Congress will be able to stop a giant space rock from smashing into the economy and potentially denting it for a generation. "If I could, I would. But I can't," he said today.  Biden spoke on the debt limit on Monday. (Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post) | I'm talking about raising the debt ceiling, under a century-old law that gives a now-broken Congress authority over how and whether the U.S. pays its debts. The Treasury Department said it won't be able to pay any more bills by about Oct. 18, causing the U.S. to default on its loans and potentially sending the country into a recession like the 2008 financial crisis. This is a big deal and will consume Congress over the next two weeks. Here's what the impasse is about. Democrats want: Republican votes to help them raise the debt ceiling. Since Republicans said they're filibustering it, a bill to raise the debt ceiling will need 10 Republican votes along with all 50 Democrats. Democrats correctly point out that they voted to raise the debt ceiling when Donald Trump was president, and that raising the debt limit in part pays for spending under Trump. (The U.S. is in debt because it regularly spends more than it takes in.) Republicans want: Democrats to raise the debt ceiling on their own, specifically by folding it into their social-safety net/climate change spending bill that they are pushing through without any Republican votes. The goal here is to make Democrats' legislation even more expensive and try to slow it down as much as possible. "Since your party wishes to govern alone, it must handle the debt limit alone as well," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said in a recent letter to Biden. Democrats have offered a potential compromise: Let Senate Democrats raise the debt ceiling with just Democratic votes. Such a plan means that Senate Republicans would back down from their filibuster threat, but these same Republicans could also vote "no" to raising the debt limit. Democrats wouldn't have to tack it onto their social-safety-net bill, which isn't even done yet. This is where Biden, speaking publicly about this on Monday, spent most of his time trying to seek an opening with Republicans: "Their obstruction and irresponsibility knows absolutely no bounds," he said. But McConnell blocked such a compromise last week and shows no signs of budging. It's a fight centered on legislative process that the average American rarely needs to pay attention to – until it affects their retirement. In the Senate, someone has to give, and soon. So, he's running?  Supporters at a rally attended by former president Donald Trump in Georgia in September. (REUTERS/Dustin Chambers) | Donald Trump is itching to run for presidency again in 2024. (Yes, constitutionally he can do that.) So much so, that as Biden's Afghanistan withdrawal went awry this summer, "Trump began talking again with advisers about whether he should announce his 2024 campaign for president right away," report The Post's Michael Scherer and Josh Dawsey. They report: "I'm running," he says to people constantly, according to two advisers. This is as firm a confirmation we've received so far that Trump is going to run for president again. As you can imagine, Republicans are very much split about whether that's a great or horrible thing for their party and the country. Your Pandora Papers cheat sheet What it is: A name for nearly 12 million documents tracing what the world's elite do with their money, obtained by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. Post journalists helped track the money, and their investigation published this weekend. Generally what they found: If you're rich and motivated, whether you're a world leader or a criminal, you can hide your money from the tax man. And you can do it, perhaps surprisingly, in the United States, like through a financial firm in a little red brick building in Sioux Falls, S.D. The documents "illuminate a hidden world that has allowed government leaders, a monarch, billionaires and criminals to shield their assets," writes The Post Executive Editor, Sally Buzbee.  In downtown Sioux Falls, S.D., is a financial firm housing some of the world's elite finances. (Salwan Georges/The Washington Post) | If you're interested in more: Key findings from the Pandora papers The global reaction — Australia and Britain have promised to investigate A video explaining how it's all connected Post reporters answer reader questions | 
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