Never Have I Emmer
The whirlwind saga to choose the next House speaker continues. After three rounds of secret votes late Tuesday night, House Republicans nominated Rep. Mike Johnson as their latest contender. The move came after Rep. Tom Emmer dropped out of the race just hours after he was selected as the GOP’s speaker designee. One of the two Israeli hostages recently released by Hamas told reporters she “went through hell,” during her two weeks in captivity. More than 200 others are still being held by the militant group. Meanwhile, Israel has continued its bombardment of Gaza, despite calls from UN Secretary General António Guterres for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire. And in headlines: former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows was reportedly granted immunity by special counsel Jack Smith, more than three dozen attorneys general are going after Instagram’s parent company for features they say are hurting kids, and the United Auto Workers union once again expanded its ongoing strike.