House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy (CA-23) fell short in securing enough votes yesterday after multiple rounds of voting to become speaker of the House, leaving the chamber at a standstill. McCarthy is the first speaker nominee since 1923 to fail to win the initial vote. The longest it took the House to elect a speaker was in 1856, lasting two months and consisting of 133 ballots.
Needing 218 votes to become speaker, McCarthy secured 202 in the third round of voting. The House then adjourned until 12 pm ET today. Democrats unanimously supported incoming Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (NY-8), while Rep. Jim Jordan (OH-4) won six votes from the GOP in the first round, 19 votes in the second round, and 20 in the third. See play-by-play here.
The House cannot resume business without a speaker. Members of the 118th Congress can\'t be sworn in, legislation can\'t be considered, and committee assignments can\'t be created, among other duties. Voting for the speaker will continue until a candidate secures a majority; it\'s unclear how long the process will take (see overview). |
Buffalo Bills’ safety Damar Hamlin remains in critical condition after he suffered a cardiac arrest on the field during a game against the Cincinnati Bengals Monday night.
The 24-year-old Hamlin collapsed following a tackle on the Bengals’ Tee Higgins, where he appeared to be hit in the chest by Higgins’ shoulder (see play). Medical personnel administered CPR and an automated external defibrillator for nearly 20 minutes before transferring him to a local hospital. The second-year University of Pittsburgh alum became a starter for the Bills this season.
It took the NFL one hour before the game was suspended indefinitely. The teams are battling for the AFC No. 1 seed before playoff week starts Jan. 14. NFL officials said yesterday the game would not be resumed this week, providing no further details.
A community toy drive, organized by Hamlin since 2020, has surged to more than $5.5M in donations, as of this writing. |
Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced founder of failed cryptocurrency exchange FTX, pleaded not guilty to eight felony counts in New York yesterday, including conspiracy, fraud, and money laundering. After extradition from the Bahamas in December, he was released on a $250M bail bond secured against his parents\' California home, where he was court-ordered to stay. A trial is set for October.
The 30-year-old is accused of secretly using billions of FTX deposits to cover losses at his separate investment firm, Alameda Research. Once valued around $32B, the exchange filed for bankruptcy in November after news it was illicitly transferring funds caused a surge in withdrawals it couldn\'t cover. Two of Bankman-Fried\'s closest former colleagues, Gary Wang and Caroline Ellison, pleaded guilty in December as they opted to cooperate with prosecutors.
The bail—reportedly one of the largest in history—was secured by Bankman-Fried\'s parents and two individuals whose identities the judge agreed to redact to remove them from media scrutiny. |
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