Good morning. Congress voted to remove Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) as Speaker of the House on Tuesday. The vote was a close one with 216-210 votes to oust him. Eight Republicans voted against McCarthy, in a historic move to remove a speaker from their own party.
Most of the Republican Congress members supported him including all four of Long Island’s U.S. Reps. Andrew Garbarino, Anthony D’Esposito, George Santos and Nick LaLota. LaLota said the removal was an attempted coup of the government and that McCarthy is a “personification of a common-sense conservative.”
Meanwhile, all of Connecticut’s Democratic congressional delegation voted to depose McCarthy, including John Larson, Joe Courtney, Rosa DeLauro, Jim Himes and Jahana Hayes. DeLauro said McCarthy allowed right-wing extremism to corrupt Congress and prevented legislators from performing their duties with “baseless investigations into President Biden.”
Here’s a bite-sized look at what else we are hearing:
A Sacred Heart University student is in a medically induced coma after crashing into an Uber driver on campus on Friday. Tyler Delk crashed into a vehicle carrying four female students. He is being treated for multiple injuries to his head, chest and spleen at Saint Vincent Medical Center's ICU. Two students were already discharged. Another student is stable, but also undergoing intensive care. A GoFundMe page to raise funds to cover Delk’s medical costs has already reached over $50,000 of its $60,000 goal.
The family of a student hurt in the Farmingdale bus crash is suing the school district for $12 million in injuries and medical costs. This is the first lawsuit involved in the crash to seek a specific monetary amount. Kimberly and Corey Ellis are suing on behalf of their 14-year-old daughter who suffered broken bones, head wounds and disfigurement from the crash. District officials were advised not to comment on the suit by their lawyers. Two more lawsuits challenge the bus company.
New York’s largest teachers union is calling for the state Department of Education to no longer require students to complete Regents exams. Melinda Person, president of New York State United Teachers, said the exams should instead be optional, allowing students alternate routes towards graduation. Students have had to pass at least four exams in order to graduate since the 1990s. A state advisory commission is expected to release a revision plan for graduation requirements on Monday, Nov. 13.
Nearly 200 employees will be laid off from Sikorsky Aircraft this fall. The Connecticut-based helicopter manufacturer announced the layoffs in a statement on Tuesday. The manufacturer said the layoffs are due to material shortages and programs no longer requiring substantial employee support. U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) said most of the employees being laid off are engineers. More than half of Sikorsky’s 13,000 employees reside in Connecticut.
Six University of Connecticut professors were overpaid while on sabbatical, according to a state audit. The professors claim that no university bylaws were violated, but a CT Insider review found that’s not the case. Four professors did not return to work a year after their scheduled sabbatical ended and five professors received over $700,000 in overpayments. UConn spokeswoman Stephanie Reitz told Hearst Connecticut Media that the school did not violate any of its policies — and that the audit is incorrect.
Electric Boat received a $967 million contract to construct new submarines for the U.S. Navy. Electric Boat will design a new iteration of the Virginia Class submarine over the next 12 months. The new submarine will be equipped with a new mid-section to carry 28 additional Tomahawk cruise missiles and modifications for commando teams.
Two more people were infected with West Nile Virus in Suffolk County. The cases were from the towns of Brookhaven and Riverhead. Both patients are over 50-years-old and became ill with symptoms in September and they have since recovered. Four people have become infected with West Nile virus this season so far. Residents are recommended to use insect repellent, and stay indoors after dusk to prevent virus infection via mosquito bites.
