Page 8A
NATION/WORLD
East Oregonian
Friday, October 9, 2015
McCarthy abruptly withdraws
candidacy for House speaker
BY ERICA WERNER
Associated Press
WASHINGTON
—
Confronting insurmountable
obstacles, Majority Leader
Kevin McCarthy suddenly
withdrew from the contest
for speaker of the U.S. House
on
Thursday,
shocking
colleagues just before they
were to vote and producing
ever-deeper chaos for a
divided Congress.
“We need a new face,”
McCarthy declared after a
closed-door meeting where
House Republicans were
prepared to nominate him as
speaker but instead listened
in disbelief as he took himself
out of the running. “If we are
going to be strong, we’ve got
to be 100 percent united.”
Allies said that even
though he would certainly
have emerged the winner
from Thursday’s secret-ballot
election of Republicans,
McCarthy had concluded he
did not have a path to getting
the needed 218-vote majority
in the full House later this
month.
A small but determined
bloc of conservatives had
announced
they
were
opposing him, and they
commanded enough votes to
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These same lawmakers,
members of the hardline
House Freedom Caucus,
pushed outgoing Speaker
John Boehner to announce his
resignation just two weeks ago
E\WKUHDWHQLQJDÀRRUYRWHRQ
his speakership. Some of them
cheered the announcement by
Boehner’s No. 2.
“The establishment has lost
two speakers in two weeks. K
Street must be shaking in their
boots. Mitch McConnell must
be shaking in his boots, too,”
said Rep. Tim Huelskamp of
Kansas, naming the Repub-
lican majority leader of the
Senate.
One immediate impact,
however, might be to prolong
Boehner’s tenure. The Ohio
Republican, who had intended
to leave Oct. 30, said he would
stay on “until the House votes
to elect a new speaker.”
AP Photo/Evan Vucci
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of Calif. speaks during a news conference
on Capitol Hill in Washington Thursday after dropping out of the race to replace
House Speaker John Boehner, who is stepping down and retiring from Congress at
the end of the month.
“The establishment has lost two speakers
in two weeks. K Street must be shaking
in their boots. Mitch McConnell must be
shaking in his boots, too.”
Webster has the backing of
the Freedom Caucus, whose
members dismissed McCa-
rthy as a clone of Boehner.
Numerous other names
began to surface of possible
— Rep. Tim Huelskamp, Republican, Kansas candidates, and lawmakers
were openly discussing the
The man most widely
It all comes with Congress possibility of elevating a
seen as a potential speaker in in desperate need of steady “caretaker” speaker to serve
McCarthy’s place immedi- OHDGHUVKLSDVPDMRU¿VFDODQG for a short time.
“You understand it could
ately ruled it out.
budgetary deadlines loom,
be
a
quick end to your political
“While I am grateful for the starting with the need to raise
encouragement I’ve received, the government’s debt limit career,” remarked Rep. Lynn
I will not be a candidate,” said to avoid a market-shattering Westmoreland, R-Ga., one of
those discussed. He held up
Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, default in a month’s time.
the former vice presidential
“This is unprecedented his cellphone to show calls
nominee who now chairs the to have a small group, a tiny coming in from McCarthy.
The Republicans’ noon-
Ways and Means Committee. minority, hijack the party and
But Ryan was under intense blackmail the House,” said time meeting was adjourned
pressure
to
reconsider, Rep. Peter King of New York. moments after it began
including from Boehner and
McCarthy might have been with McCarthy making his
McCarthy himself.
able to eke out a win, but he jaw-dropping announcement
“I would hope he would” said that’s not how he wanted as his wife and kids looked on.
“Disbelief, from the
run, McCarthy said of Ryan.
to become speaker. It’s now
Establishment-minded unknown when the House surprise announcement by
Republicans expressed bitter GOP election will occur, and Boehner to the quick nature
frustration at the sway of the in doubt as to whether a sched- of this election to it now being
Freedom Caucus at a time XOHG2FWÀRRUYRWHE\ERWK postponed — it’s uncertainty
when Republicans command Democrats and Republicans on top of uncertainty,” said
freshman Rep. Ryan Costello
their largest House majority in will go forward.
80 years.
McCarthy’s two announced of Pennsylvania. “I’ve been
And stark uncertainty lies GOP rivals for speaker — here nine months, I’ve never
ahead as lawmakers question Reps. Jason Chaffetz of Utah seen anything like this. I’d bet
how any candidate backed by and Daniel Webster of Florida you most other members who
mainstream Republicans will — lack widespread support have been here 20 or 30 years
be able to prevail in the House. in the House GOP, although would say the same thing.”
EU agrees to
speed migrant
deportation,
buttress borders
LUXEMBOURG (AP)
— The European Union on
Thursday took measures to
buttress its porous external
borders and toughen up
its migrant return program
in an attempt to build a
credible refugee policy that
would continue to embrace
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yet punish those seeking
economic gain.
Facing their toughest
refugee emergency since
World War II, the 28 EU
nations committed to
speed up and intensify the
deportation of people who
do not qualify for asylum,
including more special
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those who might slip into
illegal residence.
It all was to underscore
one key message: Europe
feels overwhelmed and
needs to be far more
rigorous
in
sending
economic migrants back
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goodwill among its popu-
lation to continue harboring
true refugees.
“Increased return rates
should act as a deterrent to
irregular migration,” the
conclusions of the meeting
said.
More than 500,000
people have arrived this
year seeking sanctuary or
jobs. But of the people who
fail to obtain asylum or resi-
dency in the 28-nation EU,
less than 40 percent actually
go back, and all agree that
should change quickly.
“We need to see Europe
upping its game,” Britain’s
interior minister, Theresa
May, said.
“If there is no return
policy there is no basis for
the refugee policy,” said
French Interior Minister
Bernard Cazeneuve, adding
agreements should be
quickly made with many of
the developing nations from
where tens of thousands of
economic migrants leave in
desperation for a better life
in Europe.
At the same time, he
put to the EU nations a
far-reaching plan to beef
up the external borders
by committing member
states to contribute more
personnel to the EU’s border
agency and eventually set
up a largely autonomous
international “corps” that
could intervene wherever a
crisis appears.
)UHQFKRI¿FLDOVVDLGWKDW
in the short term, member
states would be obliged to
contribute more personnel
to the Frontex border agency
based on their population,
wealth and other criteria.
Last week, Frontex
appealed for 775 additional
staff to deal with the migrant
crisis in Greece and Italy. It
would roughly double the
staff the agency has there
now, mainly on some 30
vessels in the Mediterra-
nean.
In the long term, France
proposes a multinational
European border guard
corps which would have
much more autonomy to act
and contain crises.
To further deal with the
mass movement of migrants
through the Balkans, EU
ministers discussed better
cooperation with their coun-
terparts from the region and
the nations bordering Syria,
from where many refugees
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Several ministers lauded
a better understanding at the
meeting between Balkan
nations, which have often
fought over who should
take charge of the refugees
transiting through their
countries.
“That is much more
HI¿FLHQW WKDQ WKURZLQJ WKH
problems at one another,”
said
Dutch
Foreign
Minister Bert Koenders. “It
is a complex humanitarian
crisis demanding concrete
cooperation.”
U.S. airman who thwarted French
train attack stabbed in brawl
SACRAMENTO, Calif.
(AP) — Airman 1st Class
Spencer Stone, celebrated
as a hero for helping to stop
a terror attack on a French
train over the summer,
was stabbed and seriously
wounded outside a bar in his
hometown early Thursday
in what police said was an
alcohol-related brawl.
Stone, 23, was knifed
three times in the upper body
but was expected to survive
after about two hours of
surgery, said Dr. J. Douglas
.LUNFKLHIPHGLFDORI¿FHUDW
UC Davis Medical Center.
“This incident is not
related to terrorism in any
way,” Deputy Police Chief
Ken Bernard said. “We
know it’s not related to what
occurred in France.”
A grainy surveillance
video from a camera outside
a liquor store showed a man
who appeared to be Stone
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at an intersection. The group
spilled into the street as
people took swings at each
other, and one person got
knocked down.
Police said two assailants
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arrests were made.
Bernard said Stone was
out with four friends when
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another group of people.
The deputy chief would not
say what sparked the argu-
ment. He said there was no
evidence the assailants knew
who Stone was.
Bernard said he did not
know whether Stone was
drinking, but others were.
Kirk said Stone remained
heavily sedated in the
hospital’s intensive care unit.
He declined to discuss any
details about the surgery or
whether any vital organs
were damaged in the stab-
bing, beyond saying Stone
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The airman arrived at the
nearby hospital conscious
despite his wounds, the
doctor said.
A&P Liquors via AP
This frame from video provided by A&P Liquors, shows
a group of people, including U.S. airman Spencer
Stone, fighting outside a bar in Sacramento, Calif.
“I suspect given his
history of recent events he is
TXLWHD¿JKWHU´.LUNVDLG
He said Stone’s family
asked him to convey “their
deepest gratitude for all the
expressions of concern for
KLVZHOIDUHDWWKLVYHU\GLI¿-
cult time for them.”
In August, Stone and
two of his childhood friends
from Sacramento, National
Guardsman Alek Skarlatos
and college student Anthony
Sadler, were vacationing in
Europe when they sprang
into action aboard a Paris-
bound passenger train and
tackled Ayoub El-Khazzani,
a man with ties to radical
Islam. He had boarded the
train with a Kalashnikov
ULÀHDSLVWRODQGDER[FXWWHU
Stone, who is assigned to
Travis Air Force Base in Cali-
fornia, suffered a severely cut
thumb and a knife wound to
his neck during the struggle
with the gunman.
President Barack Obama
met with the three Americans
last month, praising them
for their quick thinking and
courage and calling them “the
very best of America.” They
were also awarded France’s
highest honor by President
Francois Hollande. The three
appeared on late-night talk
shows and received a parade
in their hometown.
The stabbing happened in
a busy area of central Sacra-
mento ringed with bars.
They’ve served our country with
courage and honor. They’ve left
behind loved ones to risk their lives
in protecting their country. They’ve
defended our freedoms and ideals.
They make us proud to be
Americans.
Join us for Veterans Day,
Wednesday, November 11, 2015 in
the East Oregonian and Hermiston
Herald, as we honor the men and
women of the U.S. Military. Their
courage, hard work and sacrifice
are the backbone of our nation,
protecting freedom, liberty, justice
and all we hold dear.
PRICES
1x4 - $ 40.00
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Full Color
Included
Private Party Only
Bring in or call 1-800-522-0255
with a photo and message to your
hero to give them a special thanks.
DEADLINE
Wednesday, November 5 th
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For more information call Paula at
541-278-2678 or 1-800-522-0255 or
Hermiston Herald at 541-564-4530.
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We are so
proud of you
for serving
your country.
Love Evelyn,
Joe and Cheryl
J OSEPH B. D AVIS
J OSEPH S MITH
Thank you for
your service!
Love always
Marcy, Julie &
Emily