Congress punts on debt ceiling: The House of Representatives passed a bill today that extends the nation’s debt limit until May 18th, effectively tabling the issue for another couple of months. This time, the GOP majority didn’t ask for spending cuts in exchange for the increase; rather, it simply demanded that both houses of congress pass a budget before April 15th. Otherwise, per the bill, all members of both bodies will have their salaries withheld (there’s some debate over whether or not this provision is constitutional). Also, while the majority of Republicans did vote for the bill, enough defected that John Boehner had to rally up a couple of Democrats to get it passed. Harry Reid says it’ll fly through the Senate without issue. (Photo credit: AP) source
Thirty hostages and at least 11 Islamist militants were killed on Thursday when Algerian forces stormed a desert gas plant in a bid to free many dozens of Western and local captives, an Algerian security source said.
Details remained scant - including for Western governments, some of which did little to disguise irritation at being kept in the dark by Algeria before the raid and its bloody outcome.
Two Japanese, two Britons and a French national were among at least seven foreigners killed, the source told Reuters. Eight of the dead hostages were Algerian. The nationalities of the rest, as well as of perhaps dozens more who escaped, were unclear.
One of the worst international hostage situations in the modern era has now come to an end; unfortunately, Thursday evening brought about what many would consider to be the worst possible outcome. Our thoughts go out to the family and friends of the deceased.
UPDATE: Information from varying sources is wildly different, according to USA Today, with some suggesting just a few casualties and others, including the Reuters report, suggesting as many as 30 people have died.
My life is in your hands, Mr. President. If you accept the demands, I live; if you don’t accept the demands, then I die.American al-Qaeda hostage Warren Weinstein • Speaking in a video directed towards President Obama, in which the terror group demands a halt to airstrikes in multiple countries and al-Qaeda and Taliban prisoner releases. ”It’s important you accept the demands and act quickly and don’t delay,” Weinstein claims. “There’ll be no benefit in delaying, it will just make things more difficult for me.” It seems likely that Weinstein didn’t write these words.
Are you all willing to condemn Ronald Reagan for trading weapons [to Iran] for hostages? We all know that was done.
Ron Paul, challenging Michele Bachmann’s assertion that America cannot negotiate for hostages with terrorists. Obviously, Iran is a state rather than an assemblage of terrorists, which was the retort his comment drew, but it does highlight the lack of nuance being expressed in this conversation.
Be sure to check out all the further debate coverage over at DC Decoder!
Hey, suspects who held this bank hostage for hours: Guess what the army of police officers did when they finally caught you. That’s right, they Chased you out of there! Ha ha ha ha ha, we’re so clever, we’ve been saving that one up for hours. By the way, one hostage was minorly injured but the suspects were caught and every other hostage (including the one above) was safe, with some released while the incident was still taking place. source
Look. This was a scary incident. This guy, Clay Duke, could’ve hurt a lot of people. But … man. This video makes us wonder. He started firing, and managed to hit absolutely nobody. They initially thought he was firing blanks at the Panama City, Fla. school board members … but no. He’s just perhaps the worst gunman ever. (That giant, inexplicable “V” on the wall? Also Duke’s handiwork.) During the incident, a security guard shot at Duke, who later shot himself in the head and died. And we have the entire thing on video. Wanna know more? Well, a reporter on the scene wrote an entertaining, colorful eyewitness account. Worth the read. source
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