KEVIN McCARTHY is Speaker of the House.

Talks between the Biden Administration and Republican negotiators on the debt limit stuttered like a car with a faulty carburetor on Friday.

According to the Associated Press, they stopped when Kevin MCarthy, Speaker of the House, called for the talks to “pause.” They did, but resumed only to stop again.

“The president is confident there is a path forward,” said White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, but added that “we have serious differences.”

The deadline for raising the debt limit – now at $31 trillion – is June 1. After that, it’s possible the federal government could default on the money it owes.

A happy Zelensky heads to Japan

UKRAINIAN President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (Shutterstock).

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is heading to Japan for a G7 Summit, flush with the news that nation will have access to the F-16 warplanes made in America.

The New York Times reported that U.S. military will train Ukrainian pilots on the F-16, considered to be the world’s best fighter jet. It’s considered unlikely that the U.S. will provide the planes directly to Ukraine, but other nations using that jet would be likely to give or sell them to the embattled eastern European country.

The G7 Summit in Hiroshima is a meeting of the world’s seven leading Western powers plus Japan.

Also in the news … Jim Brown, considered by many to be the greatest running back in NFL history, died Friday at 87. He was also an actor and civil rights activist.

Sports: Dodgers hold all the Cards

The Los Angeles Dodgers began a road trip Friday with a 5-0 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals in the Gateway City.

A close game was broken open with four runs in the top of the eighth inning by the Blue Crew. Most of that came on a three-run homer by Mookie Betts.

Tony Gonsolin (2-1) got the win, working five innings and giving up just one hit. He struck out three batters.

The Los Angeles Angels led 3-0 early but the Minnesota Twins rallied to take a 4-3 lead. But the Halos also came back and finished with a 5-4 victory to improve their record to 24-22.

In high school sports, the Pacifica High School softball team won the Division 1 CIF-SS championship with a 15-9 victory over top-ranked Norco at Deanna Manning Stadium in Irvine.

Weather: Partly cloudy, etc., etc.

We’re not stuttering; the West Orange County area is in for partly cloudy skies on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. The forecast calls for a daytime high of 72 on Saturday with an overnight low of 60.

Sunday looks like 73 (60) and Monday is predicted for 72 (59).