Domestic
Republicans eagerly elected Rep. Mike Johnson as House speaker on Wednesday, elevating a deeply conservative but lesser-known leader to the seat of U.S. power and ending for now the political chaos in their majority. He replaced former speaker Kevin McCarthy, who was ousted in a motion to vacate the position on Oct. 7. Johnson, 51, of Louisiana, swept through on the first ballot with support from all Republicans anxious to put the past weeks of tumult behind and get on with the business of governing. He was quickly sworn into office. “We are ready to get to work again,” he said after taking the gavel. To the American people watching he said, “our mission here is to serve you well and to restore the people’s faith in this House.”
An Alaska Airlines flight on its way to San Francisco from Everett’s Paine Field was diverted to Portland on Sunday after officials said an off-duty pilot tried to shut off the plane’s engine. The Seattle-based airline company said in a statement that Flight 2059, operated by Horizon Air, reported a credible security threat related to the off-duty Alaska Airlines pilot, who was traveling in the flight deck jump seat. After the plane was diverted to Portland International Airport, the off-duty pilot was taken into custody. All passengers on board were able to book a later flight to San Francisco.
International
Hurricane Otis ripped across Mexico’s southern Pacific coast as a powerful Category 5 storm early Wednesday, tearing through buildings in the resort city of Acapulco, sending sheets of earth down steep mountainsides and leaving large swaths of the southwestern state of Guerrero without power or cell phone service. While little is known about possible deaths or the full extent of the damage—the main highway into Acapulco was impassable—experts are calling Otis the strongest storm in history to make landfall along the Eastern Pacific Coast. By mid-morning, Otis had weakened to a tropical storm, yet many on the coast were left reeling.
The battle to decide who will run crisis-wracked Argentina is heading to a runoff vote next month between left wing candidate Sergio Massa and far right libertarian Javier Milei, according to data released by Argentina’s National Electoral Chamber after the first round of voting on Sunday. After polls closed Massa received the highest number of votes—8,877,325, accounting for 36.33 percent of the total. Milei received 7,373,876 votes—roughly 30.18 percent. Third place candidate Patricia Bullrich got 23.82 percent and conceded defeat late Sunday night. Each is vying for the nation’s trust at a moment of widespread disillusionment with the country’s elite and its management of the country. The results have highlighted a strong showing for the government coalition supporting Massa, who is currently Economic Minister, as Argentina finds itself in the most serious financial crisis of the last twenty years. Turnout was over 75 percent, with more than 25 million Argentinians casting their ballots and over 90 percent of votes had been counted, the election body said.
