Month: January 2023

The U.S. House of Representatives voted to adjourn Wednesday night and push a seventh vote for House speaker into a third day, after Rep. Kevin McCarthy lost a sixth vote to lead Republicans as speaker of the House. The House reconvened shortly after 8 p.m. EST, when Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., raised a motion to adjourn until noon Thursday. A 15-minute electronic vote on the motion was taken after a verbal vote produced a rowdy response from both sides of the aisle. The vote to adjourn was 216 in favor and 214 opposed. The vote was split mostly along party lines with Republicans wanting to call it a night, and Democrats voting to stay for the crucial vote.

After meeting behind closed doors Wednesday night with some detractors for nearly three hours, McCarthy told reporters he didn’t believe another vote would deliver a different outcome: “I think it’s probably best that people work through some more. I don’t think a vote tonight does any difference, but I think a vote in the future will.” On Wednesday, McCarthy lost one more vote, a Republican who switched from supporting him to “present.” McCarthy had suggested Tuesday night that he might prevail with a lower majority, and if some of the 19 holdouts were to vote “present,” he could win. n – but it’s unlikely he wanted to lose a vote. Meanwhile, Democrats remained united behind Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, as he remained strong with all 212 Democratic votes on all six ballots.

It is the first time in roughly 100 years it’s taken more than one ballot to vote in a new speaker. The House cannot conduct any business until a new speaker is elected by a majority of members.

Editorial credit: Shirley Preston / Shutterstock.com

A Southern California man has been arrested for attempted murder and child abuse after California Highway Patrol officials say he intentionally drove a Tesla over a cliff on the Pacific Coast Highway with his wife and two children in the car.

California Highway Patrol confirmed the driver of the car, 41-year-old Dharmesh A. Patel, of Pasadena, California, will face attempted murder and child abuse charges for the Jan. 2 incident. Patel is being treated for his injuries and will be booked into San Mateo County Jail upon his release from the hospital. According to Patel’s arrest report, the other occupants of the car were a 41-year-old female, a 7-year-old female and a 4-year-old male. All were rescued after they survived the 250 foot drop over the cliff at Devil’s Slide and landed near the shoreline below, according to the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office. The vehicle flipped multiple times and landed mostly on its wheels. Rescuers were able to notice movement in the front seat while scanning the wrecked car from above with binoculars. Helicopters then assisted in rescuing the four people in the car.

The CHP said on Jan. 3 that investigators spent the evening of Jan. 2 interviewing witnesses and gathering evidence from the scene. They shared in a release noting Patel’s arrest: “Based on the evidence collected, investigators developed probable cause to believe this incident was an intentional act. There has been no determination as to what driving mode the Tesla was in; however, that does not appear to be a contributing factor in this incident.”

Editorial credit: Doug Meek / Shutterstock.com