US: John Boehner elected Speaker in House of Representative

The 112th Congress of the United States was called and John Boehner was elected as Speaker in the House of Representatives.

In his first address as the House’s top member, Boehner focused on cutting the government’s record deficit and creating jobs. He replaced Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat whose party lost to the Republicans last year in the mid-term elections. Our spending has caught up with us, and our debt will soon eclipse the size of our entire economy. Hard work and tough decisions will be required, said Boehner. Before Boehner spoke, Pelosi addressed the lawmakers and introduced Boehner. In the House of Representatives, 87 new Republican members and nine new Democrats were sworn in at noon, shifting control of the chamber officially to the Republican party. Republicans now hold a 242-193 edge in the House.

Republicans take House in US mid-term polls

In the US midterm elections, Democrats are facing a battle to hold on to the Senate, with Republicans looking certain to take control of the House of Representatives.
Republicans scored the first key election wins on Tuesday after a long and bitter campaign that could sweep Democrats from power in Congress and slam the brakes on President Barack Obama’s agenda. Anxiety over the stumbling economy and discontent with Obama propelled Republicans to the threshold of huge gains that could give them a majority in the House of Representatives and perhaps even the Senate. Republicans picked up their first Senate seat from Democrats in Indiana. They also held Senate seats in Kentucky, where Republican Rand Paul became the first conservative Tea Party candidate to win a Senate race, and in Ohio. Polls have closed in nine states, although it could be hours before many winners are determined. Voting will end in other states over the next five hours. Opinion polls and independent analysts project Republicans will win at least 50 House seats, far more than the 39 they need to take control and topple Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi from power. More than 90 Democratic seats are in danger, according to the nonpartisan Cook Political Report. Dozens of races are considered too close to call. Republicans are also expected to make big gains in the Senate, but it will be more difficult for them to pick up the 10 seats they need for a majority. They would need to prevail in seven of eight tight races across the country. Republican control of even one chamber of Congress would likely spark legislative gridlock, weakening Obama’s hand in fights over the extension of soon-to-expire income-tax cuts and the passage of comprehensive energy or immigration bills.

Peace Deal Possible in 6 Months: Mahmoud Abbas

RAMALLAH: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas says he has told Israel’s defense minister a peace deal could be reached in six months if Israel freezes settlement construction during that time.

Abbas says he made the proposal when he spoke on the phone with Ehud Barak three weeks ago. Abbas told Israel’s Haaretz daily in an interview published Wednesday that he has not received an Israeli response.

Israel has rejected Palestinian and U.S. demands that it freeze settlement building in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, war-won lands the Palestinians want for a future state.

Israel has announced restrictions on new housing construction in the West Bank, but Abbas says he won’t resume peace talks without a freeze that also covers east Jerusalem.

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Peace Deal Possible in 6 Months: Mahmoud Abbas was first posted on December 16, 2009 at 4:15 pm.

Time Person of the year 2009

Time Person of the year 2009 latest news updates :- Bernanke is TIME’s 2009 Person of the Year. Federal Reserve chair beat out Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Usain Bolt.

“The winner is Ben Bernanke, Chairman of the Federal Reserve, the most powerful, least understood government force shaping our lives,” Stengel said.

Stengel described the cover as a “throwback cover, like a Person of the Year cover from the ’40s or ’50s.”

“He was the great scholar of the Depression, and basically he saw what looked like another Depression coming and he decided he would do whatever it takes to forestall that,” Stengel said. “And basically he did.

Stengel admitted that Bernanke has made mistakes, but said that “in terms of influencing the economy this year, he’s the guy.”

* TIME’s No. 2 runner-up after Bernanke was Gen. Stanley McChrystal, commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan. Stengel told TODAY’s Matt Lauer and Meredith Vieira that McChrystal came “very close” to usurping Bernanke’s Person of the Year cover: “He really was the prime mover behind the change in Afghanistan strategy.”

* No. 3: The Chinese worker — an acknowledgement of an increasingly influential group of people in one of the world’s most powerful economies.

* No. 4: Nancy Pelosi, U.S. Speaker of the House.

* No. 5: Usain Bolt, Jamaican sprinter and Olympic gold medalist.

* Other contenders included Steve Jobs, co-founder and chief executive of Apple Inc., and President Barack Obama, who was named Person of the Year in 2008. “Obama could be Person of the Year every year, but not this year,” Stengel commented.

In the end, it was Bernanke’s sway over a global financial crisis that touched millions — if not billions — of lives led to TIME’s decision. “He is influencing how the economy operates,” Stengel explained.

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Time Person of the year 2009 was first posted on December 16, 2009 at 7:35 pm.