U.S. and world news for Jan. 6

Fourth day for speaker votes: The House of Representatives was scheduled to reconvene at noon and for a fourth day try to elect a Speaker of the House. Republican Congressman Kevin McCarthy lost multiple ballots again yesterday. Democrat Hakeem Jeffries of New York again got more votes than McCarthy each time, but not the 218 needed to be selected. In one of the ballots, Donald Trump received one vote.

Jan. 6 anniversary: It was two years ago today that a mob encouraged by Donald Trump invaded the Capitol as part of Trump’s attempted coup. Trump and others were seeking to overturn the government and keep Trump in power in the White House. President Biden marks the anniversary by awarding Presidential Citizen Medals to a dozen law enforcement officers, election workers and others who demonstrated courage and selflessness.

Russian casualties: Ukrainian President Zelenskyy in a speech given from his office in Kyiv yesterday thanked President Biden and other Western leaders for supporting Ukraine against Russia. Zelenskyy said that so far at least 110,000 Russian troops have been killed in the war started in February when Russia invaded Ukraine. Russian President Putin has offered a three-day cease-fire, but Zelenskyy rejected that offer as being a trick. Putin today offered a 36-hour cease-fire for today and tomorrow.

Unemployment rate: Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 223,000 in December, and the unemployment rate edged down to 3.5%, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Notable job gains occurred in leisure and hospitality, health care, construction, and social assistance.

Hamlin makes progress: Buffalo Bills’ player Damar Hamlin is reported making good progress at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center. He suffered cardiac arrest on the field during a game against the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday night. His doctors said he awoke briefly and asked who won the football game.

Southwest expects big loss: Southwest Airlines in a report sent to the Securities and Exchange Commission said today that it expects to report a loss for the fourth quarter of 2022 of between $725 million and $825 million. It says that between Dec. 23 and Dec. 31 it had to cancel more than 16,700 flights. Southwest said that even though fuel and oil prices were down, other expenses were up, especially reimbursements it made to passengers.

Cover photo: Tyler Merbler / Wikimedia Commons