Hillary Clinton gets grilled. Paul Ryan is a cinch to be Speaker. And the Secret Service needs to wake up.
It’s Friday, and here are five things to know for your new day.
BENGHAZI HEARING
Grilling: Hope Hillary Clinton is taking a day off today. She probably needs it after her marathon 11-hour get-together yesterday with the Select Committee on Benghazi. GOPers hit her hard; Democrats tried to defend her. The general consensus? Clinton kept her cool and didn’t do any damage to her 2016 presidential hopes. Did we get any closer to understanding what happened on September 11, 2012? That’s still up for debate.
U.S. RAID
Rescue: A big story that got lost yesterday in the Benghazi buzz was the U.S. raid on an ISIS prison in Iraq. The raid was a success — 70 hostages facing “imminent mass execution” were rescued — but a U.S. service member was killed. That’s the first American combat death in Iraq since November 2011. The decision to attack was made after surveillance revealed mass graves had been dug inside the compound. The hostages said they were going to be killed after morning prayers.
POLITICS
Closer: It’s official. Paul Ryan is running for Speaker of the House. And he’ll probably get the job, now that he has the support of most House Republicans, including the conservative House Freedom Caucus. Ryan pretty much finagled a truce between angry conservatives and GOP leadership desperate to show that it can govern. How long this political peace lasts is anyone’s guess.
SECRET SERVICE
Napping: It’s been a rough couple of years for the Secret Service. First, there was the prostitution scandal in Colombia from a few years ago. Then there was the guy who jumped the fence and ran — through an unlocked door — all the way across the North Lawn into the White House. Heck, even a toddler breached the White House fence last year. Now comes word that the Secret Service is sleeping on the job — literally. Agents were warned this week after two officers — one at the White House — were caught napping at their posts this summer. The officers cited long hours and travel as the reasons for their fatigue.
WHALE DIES
Sad: Maris, a beloved female beluga whale at Atlanta’s Georgia Aquarium, died suddenly yesterday. Maris showed no signs of illness before her death, the aquarium said. Maris lived at the aquarium for 10 years, and had a calf this year that died in June shortly after birth. An autopsy is underway.