World
The GOP’s slim House majority is getting even tighter with Kevin McCarthy’s retirement
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker Mike Johnson’s margin for error in getting Republican priorities through the House is getting slimmer, complicating future votes and magnifying the ability of individual lawmakers to force concessions.
Republicans had just a 222-213 margin before Rep. George Santos of New York was expelled in a broad, bipartisan vote a week ago. Then, Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California announced Thursday he would be retiring at the end of the month. He was the first speaker ever booted from the position, a victim of a process he had agreed to implement that allowed just a few defections from within the GOP ranks to oust him.
The margins before both representatives’ exits allowed Republicans to lose up to four votes on a party-line ballot and still get a bill over the finish line, assuming every lawmaker was in attendance.
Now that margin is down to three votes. It could even drop to two if Democrats flip the Santos seat in a special election set for Feb. 13, which would leave their majority at 220-214.
Rep. Bill Johnson, R-Ohio, is also expected to leave to begin a new job as president of Youngstown State University. It’s unclear when he’ll begin that job, but it’s no later than March 15.
Practical impact
“It just makes everything harder. It’s just that simple,” said Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla. “You have to have perfect attendance, which is hard to get. And you have to have perfect agreement, which is damn hard to get.”
Looking ahead to 2024, the 11-term congressman from Oklahoma also noted that lawmakers during election years look to spend more time back in their congressional districts than in Washington, leaving the focus on the most basic functions of government — namely a spending bill to keep agencies and programs functioning.
“I just don’t see much in the way of major legislative accomplishments next year with the margins this narrow and government this divided,” he said.
Others see a rather muted impact. After all, the GOP’s narrow margin for error has already proven difficult for the party’s leaders to overcome.
It took McCarthy 15 votes to finally be elected speaker once the new Congress began in January. And that was only the beginning of his troubles.
The House’s staunchest conservatives brought the chamber to a standstill after he made an agreement with the White House in May that did not cut spending as much as they wanted. And then, when the House ousted McCarthy in October, Republicans cycled through three potential replacements before finally landing on Johnson.
How much harder could it really get?
“Clearly, I’d rather move from four to six than from four to two,” said Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., of the Republican voting cushion. “But I wouldn’t want to overstate the impact.”
Prospects for another speaker revolt?
It takes only one member of the House to make a motion to remove the speaker, or “vacate the chair.” Johnson has generated some grumbling from members, but they also seem more sympathetic to the difficulties he faces in getting House Republicans to unite on major legislation.
Rep. Garret Graves, R-La., one of McCarthy’s most trusted advisers, said the last thing many members want is to go down the same road as they did with McCarthy.
“Is there risk, yes, because you still have the one-member motion to vacate,” Graves said. “Risk, yes. Likely, no.”
He said, “There’s a lot of scar tissue within the conference.” Members who put themselves up for the job of speaker were attacked by their colleagues. Others were offended by the total number of votes they ended up getting. There’s not an appetite to repeat that process.
“The other reason that I don’t think it’s likely is because more people are coming to the realization that leading in this environment is really hard,” Graves said.
World
Christmas in Puerto Rico is a 45-day celebration with caroling, festive decorations, family feasts and more
Christmas, Navidad in Puerto Rico, extends far beyond Dec. 25.
The island proudly proclaims itself as having the “longest holiday season in the world,” according to the website Discover Puerto Rico.
On average, the holiday festivities in Puerto Rico last about 45 days, per the source, commencing right after Thanksgiving, and stretching all the way through mid-January.
The Christmas season in Puerto Rico typically lasts around 45 days. (iStock)
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The holiday season in Puerto Rico is full of rich traditions beloved by families.
One tradition those who visit Puerto Rico will immediately notice during the holiday season is decorations.
In Puerto Rico, decorations are typically put up by Thanksgiving, and kept up until the season concludes in mid-January, with opportune picture moments at every corner.
Parrandas, Christmas caroling, is a holiday staple.
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Carolers choose houses of family and friends to visit, typically starting around 10 p.m., performing aguinaldos (traditional Christmas songs), with not only their voices, but often with instruments as well, according to Discover Puerto Rico.
The group you begin caroling with is likely not the same group you end with.
In Puerto Rico, when carolers visit a house, they’ll often stop inside for conversation, food and drink before moving to the next residence.
Coquito is a popular beverage enjoyed during the holiday season in Puerto Rico. Coconut, vanilla and rum are among the ingredients. (Mayra Beltran/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)
Usually, the residences of the house visited will join the group for the next house, according to Discover Puerto Rico.
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A night of serenading loved ones can last quite a while, often stretching into the early morning hours of the following day, according to the source.
The biggest day of the holiday season in Puerto Rico actually isn’t Christmas, but instead, the night before.
In Puerto Rico, Dec. 24 is Nochebuena. On that day, loved ones gather for the exchange of gifts, caroling and a large feast.
Many families will also attend a midnight Mass on the day, known as Misa de Gallo.
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After Christmas passes, the festivities go on in Puerto Rico.
Another big event in the holiday lineup is Three Kings Day on Jan. 6, a holiday that “commemorates the visit that the Three Wise Men paid to Jesus after his birth,” according to Discover Puerto Rico.
On the eve of the day, children fill up a shoebox with grass to be left for camels to munch on while the Three Kings leave behind gifts for them, according to PuertoRico.com.
For a particularly festive Three Kings Day, Juana Díaz is the place to go, as it hosts the largest celebration in Puerto Rico for the holiday. In Juana Díaz, there is an annual festival and parade in honor of Three Kings Day that brings together over 25,000 people every year, according to Discover Puerto Rico.
Gifts are primarily exchanged between loved ones on Christmas Eve in Puerto Rico. (iStock)
Then, eight days later is Octavitas, a post-holiday celebration where families get together and celebrate one last time for the season.
The end of the holiday season is marked with the San Sebastián Street Festival.
This festival, spanning over multiple days, takes place in Old San Juan, and is filled with live music, dancing, shopping and parades.
Twin-engine plane crashed in largely residential neighborhood of Gramado shortly after takeoff, authorities say.
A small plane has crashed into a tourist hotspot in southern Brazil, killing all 10 people on board and injuring more than a dozen people on the ground, officials have said.
The twin-engine Piper PA-42-1000 hit the chimney of a home and the second floor of a different house before crashing into a shop in a largely residential neighbourhood of Gramado shortly after takeoff from Canela, Brazil’s Civil Defense agency said on Sunday.
Rio Grande do Sul Governor Eduardo Leite told a news conference that the aircraft’s owner and pilot, Luiz Claudio Galeazzi, was killed along with nine members of his family.
Leite said that 17 people on the ground were injured, 12 of whom were still receiving treatment in hospital.
Galeazzi’s company, Galeazzi & Associados, confirmed that its CEO and Galeazzi’s wife and three daughters had died in the crash.
“Luiz Galeazzi will be forever remembered for his dedication to his family and for his remarkable career as a leader of Galeazzi & Associados,” the company said in a post on LinkedIn.
“In this moment of immense pain, Galeazzi & Associados is deeply grateful for the expressions of solidarity and affection received from friends, colleagues and the community. We also sympathize with all those affected by the accident in the region.”
Gramado, located in the Serra Gaucha mountains, is a popular destination for vacationers, especially during the Christmas season.
The crash comes a little more than a year after Brazil suffered its worst air disaster in nearly two decades when a twin-engine plane crashed in the southeastern city of Vinhedo, killing all 62 people on board.
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