US Domestic News Roundup: Serena Williams announces pregnancy on Met Gala red carpet; Senator Manchin introduces new U.S. energy permitting bill and more

If Congress fails to act, some legal experts say Democratic President Joe Biden has another option to avert a crisis: Invoke the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution to ensure the United States can continue to pay its bills. Hollywood writers strike over pay in streaming TV 'gig economy' Thousands of film and television writers were headed to picket lines on Tuesday after union negotiators called a strike, sending Hollywood into turmoil and disrupting TV production as the industry wrestles with the shift to streaming.

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Serena Williams announces pregnancy on Met Gala red carpet

Serena Williams confirmed she is expecting baby number two on Monday, telling reporters at the star-studded Met Gala in New York that there were "three of us" on the red carpet, where she arrived with husband Alexis Ohanian. The 23-times major winner announced last year that she was "evolving away from tennis," writing in a Vogue magazine article that she wanted to grow her family after welcoming daughter Olympia in 2017.

Senator Manchin introduces new U.S. energy permitting bill

U.S. Senator Joe Manchin introduced on Tuesday his latest measure to speed permitting of both fossil fuel and renewable energy projects, as he tries to win support from both major parties after similar bills failed several times last year. The legislation, Building American Energy Security Act, sets a two-year limit on environmental reviews of major federal energy projects and one year for smaller ones, reduces court delays over energy projects, and directs the U.S. president to designate at least 25 high level energy projects and prioritize their permitting.

Senate panel to examine US Supreme Court ethics as questions swirl

Ethics concerns relating to U.S. Supreme Court justices are set to be scrutinized on Tuesday by a Senate panel during a hearing called amid revelations about luxury trips and real estate transactions involving members of the nation's top judicial body. None of the nine justices will appear at the Judiciary Committee hearing, with Chief Justice John Roberts on Friday declining an invitation by Senator Dick Durbin, the panel's Democratic chairman, for him to testify. Instead, the committee will hear from lawyers and academics versed in the subject.

New Mexico rivers rage, fields dry after slow federal fire aid

Rivers are roaring in northern New Mexico after a big snowpack. But sacred pastures Jimmy Sanchez's family has irrigated for seven generations are dry. Sanchez has labored in snow, mud and ice to clear centuries-old irrigation ditches of fallen trees and debris left in the wake of the state's worst-ever wildfire, which was started by the federal government in what was supposed to have been a controlled burn.

Hollywood writers to strike as streaming shift upends TV business

Thousands of film and television writers will go on strike starting Tuesday, throwing Hollywood into turmoil as the entertainment business grapples with seismic changes triggered by the global streaming TV boom. The Writers Guild of America (WGA) called its first work stoppage in 15 years after failing to reach an agreement for higher pay from studios such as Walt Disney Co and Netflix Inc. The last strike lasted 100 days and cost the California economy more than $2 billion.

Analysis-Biden travel, Congress recess to squeeze debt limit timeline even more

For months, the U.S. crisis over the debt limit has been a political abstraction. Not anymore. The U.S. Treasury's new June 1 estimated deadline for Congress to raise the debt ceiling or risk default has ratcheted up the heat on Washington's lawmakers to avert an economic crisis.

Explainer-Could Biden avert a debt default by using the 14th Amendment?

The divided U.S. Congress is running out of time to raise the federal government's $31.4 trillion debt ceiling, with the Treasury Department warning it could be unable to pay its bills as soon as June 1. If Congress fails to act, some legal experts say Democratic President Joe Biden has another option to avert a crisis: Invoke the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution to ensure the United States can continue to pay its bills.

Hollywood writers strike over pay in streaming TV 'gig economy'

Thousands of film and television writers were headed to picket lines on Tuesday after union negotiators called a strike, sending Hollywood into turmoil and disrupting TV production as the industry wrestles with the shift to streaming. The Writers Guild of America (WGA) said its leadership unanimously supported its first work stoppage in 15 years after failing to reach an agreement for higher pay from studios such as Walt Disney Co and Netflix Inc. "The companies' behavior has created a gig economy inside a union workforce," said the WGA, which represents roughly 11,500 writers.

Jared Leto wears giant 'Choupette' costume to Met Gala

An enormous fluffy, white, blue-eyed Burmese cat mascot ascended the Metropolitan Museum of Art steps on Monday in homage to Karl Lagerfeld's beloved pet "Choupette," who later revealed himself as actor Jared Leto, bringing a whole new meaning to this year's Met Gala dress code "in honor of Karl." In another homage to the famous feline, American rapper and singer Doja Cat wore a prosthetic cat nose and a hooded Oscar de la Renta gown fitted with cat ears.

US may default on June 1 without debt ceiling hike; Biden, McCarthy to meet

U.S. President Joe Biden on Monday summoned the four top congressional leaders to the White House next week after the Treasury warned the government could run short of cash to pay its bills by June. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a letter to Congress that the agency will be unlikely to meet all U.S. government payment obligations "potentially as early as June 1" without action by Congress.