Dispatches

Cassidy wins

The Democratic Party lost its last Senate seat in the Deep South as Republican Bill Cassidy defeated incumbent Mary Landrieu in a runoff election in Louisiana. Cassidy won 56 percent of the vote to Landrieu’s 44 percent by tying Landrieu to President Obama, who has a 39 percent approval rating in the state. Landrieu campaigned on the promise that her position as the chair of the Senate’s Energy Committee would help the oil-rich state. Yet after Republicans won the Senate majority, she could no longer hold the post. Beginning January, Republicans will hold 54 seats in the Senate, nine more than they currently hold.

Dec. 5

Obama picks Carter

President Barack Obama nominated Ashton Carter to replace Chuck Hagel as defense secretary after Hagel resigned under pressure in late November. Carter, who holds the second-in-command position of deputy defense secretary, formerly taught physics at Oxford and started working in the Pentagon under the Clinton administration. Analysts say he is more assertive than his predecessor and would be more likely to recommend using American power. But they also say the Defense Department has little foreign policy influence in the Obama administration. Carter will likely have a smooth confirmation, as he enjoys support from Senate Republicans.

Dec. 3

Hong Kong movement

Three leaders of the Hong Kong protests turned themselves in to the police in a largely symbolic gesture to press for free elections and encourage an end to the months-long protest. Police did not arrest Benny Tai, Chan Kin-man, and Chu Yiu-ming—the founders of Occupy Central—and only held them in the station for less than an hour. Another 65 protesters also surrendered at the station. Yet other protesters refused to back down so easily: Student leader Joshua Wong went on a hunger strike to pressure talks with the government, but had to end it four days later for health reasons.

Dec. 5

Orion in the sky

In what may be the first step toward taking humans to Mars, NASA launched the unmanned capsule Orion 3,600 miles into space, 15 times higher than the International Space Station. Orion made two trips around the earth before splashing down in the Pacific Ocean four hours later. NASA officials hope to send astronauts out on an Orion flight in seven years, but first need to ensure the craft can safely transport human beings. With their eyes fixed on Mars, NASA officials celebrated the successful test flight: “There’s your new spacecraft, America,” announced Mission Control’s Rob Navias.

Dec. 6

Hagupit hits the Philippines

At least 21 persons died and more than a million others evacuated into shelters as Typhoon Hagupit hit the central Philippines, an area still recovering from last year’s Typhoon Haiyan, which left 7,000 persons dead or missing. Hagupit made landfall in the resort town of San Juan, about 60 miles south of the capital of Manila, with maximum sustained winds of 53 mph and gusts of 62 mph. Thankfully, the devastation this time around was less than officials had expected. Two days later, Hagupit weakened to a tropical storm and officials allowed villagers to return home.

Nov. 30

Home for Christmas

A Qatari court cleared Matthew and Grace Huang of any wrongdoing in the death of their adopted daughter, Gloria, and four days later allowed the couple to return home to Los Angeles and reunite with their two adopted sons. The Huangs were imprisoned for a year after officials accused them of starving Gloria to death to harvest her organs. The Huangs said Gloria suffered from an eating disorder developed from childhood malnutrition in Ghana and chalked the accusations up to misunderstandings about cross-cultural adoption. Officials initially blocked the Christian couple at the airport and confiscated their passports, but eventually allowed them to leave. At Lake Avenue Church, Matthew Huang said worshipping with their church family was “something we longed for for so long.”

Dec. 4

Protest vote

House Republicans responded to President Obama’s executive action on immigration by passing a measure stating the president did not have the authority to grant legal status to millions of illegal immigrants. Supporters acknowledged the bill would not pass through the Democratic-led Senate, yet wanted to send a message of their anger. Some in the Republican Party want to use the House’s authority of spending to defund immigration policy changes, yet GOP leaders worry that such action would lead to another government shutdown that would hurt the party. Polls, however, continued to show the public opposes the executive order.