Jim Jordan speaks to reporters after House Republicans voted him out of contention to be the next Speaker of the House. EPA
Jim Jordan speaks to reporters after House Republicans voted him out of contention to be the next Speaker of the House. EPA
Jim Jordan speaks to reporters after House Republicans voted him out of contention to be the next Speaker of the House. EPA
Jim Jordan speaks to reporters after House Republicans voted him out of contention to be the next Speaker of the House. EPA

US Congress 'starting over' after Jim Jordan's speakership bid fails


Ellie Sennett
  • English
  • Arabic

The chaos in the US Congress shows no sign of abating after Republicans on Friday dropped hardline conservative Jim Jordan as their nominee for House speaker.

The decision was made behind closed doors after Mr Jordan failed for a third time to get enough votes to claim the speaker's gavel.

Majority Leader Steve Scalise, who clinched the Republican nomination just a week ago before also losing his bid, said his party is going to “come back and start over” on Monday.

This degree of uncertainty on Congressional leadership in the House is unprecedented.

Having no speaker means the House cannot debate legislation even as urgent items stack up, such as funding for Ukraine and Israel.

And Washington is hurtling towards another government shutdown in less than a month unless Congress can pass a funding bill.

Earlier on Friday, Mr Jordan attempted to convey confidence, saying the need for the House to respond to the Israel-Gaza war “made the case” for his confirmation.

“We certainly need to help Israel … But again, we can't do that. The House isn't open. All the more reason why we need to get the House open as soon as possible,” he told reporters.

After failing to endorse Mr Jordan on Friday, Republicans have no realistic or workable plan to unite the party's fractured majority around a single candidate for speaker.

The back and forth began with Republicans ousting their own speaker Kevin McCarthy earlier this month. The prolonged leadership battle has outlined divisions within the conservative party, who control the chamber by a narrow 221-212 margin.

The removal of Mr McCarthy was an unprecedented move and he had served less than one year in the job, managing challenges from hardline Republicans amid a narrow party majority control of the chamber after last year's midterm elections.

Results

ATP Dubai Championships on Monday (x indicates seed):

First round
Roger Federer (SUI x2) bt Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER) 6-4, 3-6, 6-1
Fernando Verdasco (ESP) bt Thomas Fabbiano (ITA) 3-6, 6-3, 6-2
Marton Fucsovics (HUN) bt Damir Dzumhur (BIH) 6-1, 7-6 (7/5)
Nikoloz Basilashvili (GEO) bt Karen Khachanov (RUS x4) 6-4, 6-1
Jan-Lennard Struff (GER) bt Milos Raonic (CAN x7) 6-4, 5-7, 6-4

Global state-owned investor ranking by size

1.

United States

2.

China

3.

UAE

4.

Japan

5

Norway

6.

Canada

7.

Singapore

8.

Australia

9.

Saudi Arabia

10.

South Korea

'THE WORST THING YOU CAN EAT'

Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.

Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines: 

Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.

Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.

Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.

Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.

Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.

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Director: Paul Weitz
Stars: Kevin Hart
3/5 stars

PLAY-OFF%20DRAW
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Your Guide to the Home
  • Level 1 has a valet service if you choose not to park in the basement level. This level houses all the kitchenware, including covetable brand French Bull, along with a wide array of outdoor furnishings, lamps and lighting solutions, textiles like curtains, towels, cushions and bedding, and plenty of other home accessories.
  • Level 2 features curated inspiration zones and solutions for bedrooms, living rooms and dining spaces. This is also where you’d go to customise your sofas and beds, and pick and choose from more than a dozen mattress options.
  • Level 3 features The Home’s “man cave” set-up and a display of industrial and rustic furnishings. This level also has a mother’s room, a play area for children with staff to watch over the kids, furniture for nurseries and children’s rooms, and the store’s design studio.
     
The specs

Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors

Power: 480kW

Torque: 850Nm

Transmission: Single-speed automatic

Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)

On sale: Now

How to get exposure to gold

Although you can buy gold easily on the Dubai markets, the problem with buying physical bars, coins or jewellery is that you then have storage, security and insurance issues.

A far easier option is to invest in a low-cost exchange traded fund (ETF) that invests in the precious metal instead, for example, ETFS Physical Gold (PHAU) and iShares Physical Gold (SGLN) both track physical gold. The VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF invests directly in mining companies.

Alternatively, BlackRock Gold & General seeks to achieve long-term capital growth primarily through an actively managed portfolio of gold mining, commodity and precious-metal related shares. Its largest portfolio holdings include gold miners Newcrest Mining, Barrick Gold Corp, Agnico Eagle Mines and the NewMont Goldcorp.

Brave investors could take on the added risk of buying individual gold mining stocks, many of which have performed wonderfully well lately.

London-listed Centamin is up more than 70 per cent in just three months, although in a sign of its volatility, it is down 5 per cent on two years ago. Trans-Siberian Gold, listed on London's alternative investment market (AIM) for small stocks, has seen its share price almost quadruple from 34p to 124p over the same period, but do not assume this kind of runaway growth can continue for long

However, buying individual equities like these is highly risky, as their share prices can crash just as quickly, which isn't what what you want from a supposedly safe haven.

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Updated: October 20, 2023, 7:59 PM