Speaker of the House election postponed
Rep. Kevin McCarthy dropped out of the speaker race right before House Republicans were scheduled to approve him prior to the official floor vote. Speaker John Boehner planned to leave office by Oct. 30, but will remain in the position until Republicans can agree on a successor. It’s always comforting when there are zero candidates to be third in line for the presidency.
Russian missiles in Syria
Anonymous U.S. intelligence sources reported that Russian missiles intended for a strike in Syria actually landed in Iran on Thursday. Russian officials said they hit their ISIS targets in Syria. Either way, I prefer it when discussions of things like “where those large missiles landed” are more clear-cut.
ISIS destroys arch in Palmyra
The Associated Press obtained video of ISIS destroying the 2,000-year-old Arch of Triumph in the ancient city of Palmyra last Wednesday. This is part of larger effort to destroy Syria’s cultural heritage. Silly ISIS — if you want to destroy history you’re going to have to blow up Wikipedia.
Investigation of VW
Volkswagen admitted to placing technology cheats on emissions tests in 11 million diesel cars. Das not auto. The German automaker announced on Friday that they might compensate owners of these not-so-green vehicles.
Chinese men are dying young
What do China and 1920s North Carolina have in common? A serious smoking problem. According to a new study in the Lancet Medical Journal, one-third of Chinese men will die young from smoking. A majority of men in China start smoking before age 20.
People Magazine speaks out on gun control
The celebrity gossip magazine took a break from analyzing Kylie Jenner’s lipstick to publish contact information for all 535 members of U.S. Congress. The magazine’s editorial director wrote on Wednesday that the nation is not doing enough to end gun violence. The issue was published in the wake of a mass shooting at an Oregon community college on Oct. 1.
Netflix raises price by a dollar
The price of a House of Cards addiction is now $9.99 a month (for newer Netflix users). Collegiates are panicking. Except we all know you are broke and streaming from your cousin’s best friend’s hairdresser’s account anyway.
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