In landmark day, GOP taps Ryan to become next speaker, House OKs bipartisan budget deal ADVERTISING In landmark day, GOP taps Ryan to become next speaker, House OKs bipartisan budget deal WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans embraced a new leader
In landmark day, GOP taps Ryan to become next speaker, House OKs bipartisan budget deal
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans embraced a new leader Wednesday and swiftly consented to a major budget-and-debt deal to avert a federal financial crisis, highlights of a day of dramatic fresh starts at the Capitol after years of division and disarray.
Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan, the 2012 GOP vice presidential candidate and a telegenic spokesman for conservative priorities, was nominated by his colleagues in a secret-ballot election to serve as speaker of the House, second in line to the presidency. The full House will confirm that choice on Thursday.
“This begins a new day in the House of Representatives,” Ryan, 45, said after the vote. “We are turning the page.”
Immediately after choosing Ryan to chart a new course for their fractured party, Republicans trooped onto the House floor to cast votes on a huge two-year budget deal struck in recent days between President Barack Obama and congressional leaders of both parties.
The agreement, approved 266-167, would raise the government’s borrowing limit through March of 2017, averting an unprecedented default just days away. It would also set the budget of the federal government for the next two years, lifting onerous spending caps and steering away from the brinkmanship and shutdown threats that have haunted Congress for years.
242 people rescued after boat capsizes near Lesbos, unclear how many were onboard
STOCKHOLM (AP) — The Greek coast guard said it rescued 242 people off the eastern island of Lesbos after the wooden boat they traveled in capsized, leaving at least three people dead.
It says rescuers continued to search the rough waters for more survivors and it is unclear how many people were on the boat when it went under Wednesday.
Sheriff fires deputy for tossing teen across classroom floor, saying she posed no danger
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A deputy who flipped a disruptive student out of her desk and tossed her across her math class floor was fired on Wednesday.
The sheriff called his actions “unacceptable,” and said videos recorded by her classmates show the girl posed no danger to anyone.
“What he should not have done is throw the student,” Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said. “Police officers make mistakes too. They’re human and they need to be held accountable, and that’s what we’ve done with Deputy Ben Fields.”
Civil rights groups praised the swift action against Fields, a veteran school resource officer and football coach at Spring Valley High School. Outrage spread quickly after videos of the white officer arresting the black teenager on Monday appeared on the Internet.
Lott thanked the FBI for investigating whether civil rights were violated, and school officials for promising to review how police are used for discipline.
Jewish activists vow to step up visits to sensitive holy site in Jerusalem
JERUSALEM (AP) — A new Israeli proclamation to uphold a ban on Jewish prayer at Jerusalem’s most sensitive holy site should have dealt a sobering blow to the die-hard activists who have spent years fighting for the right to worship at the spot, which is sacred to Muslims as well as Jews. Instead, it has only emboldened them.
The Jewish activists, whose visits to the site are at the center of a current round of violence are now pledging to step up their attempts to change the decades-old status quo by expanding their presence at the spot where the ancient Jewish Temple once stood.
A decade ago, there were only 200 or 300 Jewish visitors annually. Last year, activists say there were about 10,000.
“When we have 100,000 Jews visiting the Temple Mount, we will be able to demand Jewish prayer,” said Yehuda Glick, a leading activist who survived an attempt on his life last year by a Palestinian gunman.
What Jews call the Temple Mount is known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary, and it has become the focus of the conflict between Israel and its Arab neighbors.
Unmanned Army blimp breaks loose and floats over Pennsylvania before coming back down
MUNCY, Pa. (AP) — An unmanned Army surveillance blimp broke loose from its mooring in Maryland and floated over Pennsylvania for hours Wednesday with two fighter jets on its tail, triggering blackouts across the countryside as it dragged its tether across power lines.
The bulbous, 240-foot helium-filled blimp finally came down in a wooded hollow near Muncy, a small town about 80 miles north of Harrisburg, as people gawked in wonder and disbelief at the big, white, slow-moving craft.
The North American Aerospace Defense Command said the blimp escaped from its station at the military’s Aberdeen Proving Ground around 12:20 p.m. and drifted northward, climbing to about 16,000 feet. It covered approximately 150 miles in all over about 3½ hours.
As it drifted away, two F-16s were scrambled from a National Guard base at Atlantic City, New Jersey, to track it. NORAD spokesman Navy Capt. Scott Miller said there was never any intention of shooting it down.
The blimp — which cannot be steered remotely — eventually deflated and settled back to Earth on its own, according to Miller. He said there was an auto-deflate device aboard, but it was not deliberately activated, and it is unclear why the craft went limp.
