BY JEAN-MARIE BRALLEY
STAFF WRITER
Republicans gain control of Congress
The midterm election on Nov. 4th was a victory for the Republicans as they gained control of the Senate and enhanced their majority in the House to the largest number since World War II. CNN reported Nov. 5th that this means the GOP has “the power to pin down President Barack Obama during his last two years in office.”
Republican Speaker of the House, John Boehner said, “This is not a time for celebration. It’s time for the government to start getting results and implementing solutions to the challenges facing our country, starting with our still-struggling economy.”
Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said, “The message from voters is clear: they want us to work together. I look forward to working with Sen. McConnell (the likely new Senate majority leader) to get things done for the middle class.”
White House encourages swift confirmation of Lynch as attorney general
President Obama announced Saturday that Loretta Lynch, U.S. attorney from Brooklyn, N.Y., is his nominee to replace Eric Holder as attorney general of the United States, according to a Fox News article.
Lynch, who was selected by the president on Friday, will be the first African-American woman to hold the office of attorney general if she receives Senate confirmation.
It remains to be seen when the Senate confirmation process of Lynch’s nomination will commence. The White House is pushing for it to begin soon, but both Republicans and Democrats say that “it would be difficult and damaging to the nominee politically to try to push her through while Democrats control the Senate.”
For the full story, including reaction and background on Lynch, click here.
U.S. marine jailed in Mexico back home in America
Marine Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi was released Oct. 31st from a Mexican prison after being held for 214 days for what he says was an accident – namely, crossing the border with weapons in his truck.
Back in the U.S., the Afghanistan war veteran “is now hoping for an opportunity to ‘decompress’ while getting much-needed treatment for his diagnosed post-traumatic stress disorder,” reports Fox News. It appears that the argument Tahmooressi needed appropriate PTSD treatment was what brought about his release.
In a separate article, Fox News also reports Tahmooressi as thankful for the all the support he experienced from American citizens.
He said, “I’m going to be OK, everyone. I’ll be just fine, I promise you.”
Brittany Maynard follows through with plan of assisted suicide
Brittany Maynard, who suffered from terminal brain cancer and whose planned assisted suicide made national headlines, followed through with her statements and took her own life with legally-prescribed drugs on Nov. 1st in Oregon.
She left a farewell message to her loved ones and to the world on Facebook.
Maynard previously said she told her story in the hopes of spreading the passage of “right-to-die laws” throughout the country.
LifeSiteNews reports, “Opponents of assisted suicide mourned Brittany’s death, and criticized the manner in which her illness and death were used, via a well-coordinated media campaign, to promote the agenda of the euthanasia and assisted suicide lobby.”