1. Paul Ryan to become Speaker of the House

Representative Paul Ryan (R-WI) told fellow Republicans Wednesday that he will take the position of Speaker of the House if the party unites behind him. His private meeting with House Republicans in the Capitol basement put him in line to take the position left vacant by the departure of John Boehner.

More: Ryan to be next Speaker of the House

2. Vice President Joe Biden announces he will not run for president

Syracuse University alumnus and Vice President Joe Biden announced Wednesday that he will not be running for president. The announcement, which took place in the Rose Garden of the White House, ends a three-month exploration period for Biden that began after the death of his son, Beau Biden, who was also an SU alumnus.

More: Biden will not enter presidential race

3. Russia President Vladimir Putin brings Syrian President al-Assad to Moscow

Russian President Vladimir Putin invited Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to Moscow last Tuesday to discuss their joint military campaign and the political climate in Syria. Putin told his Syrian counterpart that Russia is prepared to combat terrorism and aid in a political settlement to the Syrian civil war.

More: Putin, al-Assad meet

4. U.S. soldier dies in ISIS raid

An American soldier was killed while attempting to free prisoners held by Islamic State militants in Iraq on Thursday. Kurdish and United States troops performed a commando raid and freed about 70 prisoners and captured five ISIS militants, but it wasn’t the group of prisoners soldiers thought they would find. It was the first since the renewed military intervention here last year that an American soldier was killed in action in Iraq.

More: Soldier dies during raid in Iraq

5. Chafee ends presidential bid

Former Rhode Island governor and senator Lincoln Chafee dropped out of the Democratic presidential race on Friday. He made his announcement at a Democratic National Committee forum on women’s leadership.

More: Chafee drops out of presidential race

6. Hurricane Patricia reaches strongest winds ever recorded, weakens before hitting Mexico

Hurricane Patricia, which winds were measured at 200 mph before landfall — the strongest hurricane winds ever recorded — weakened before moving over southwestern Mexico on Friday. The storm made landfall as a Category 5 storm, but weakened quickly. No deaths or major damages have been reported.

More: Hurricane Patricia

7. Pope urges church to be more inclusive

Pope Francis urged church elders to be more inclusive about who deserves God’s love during the closing of a three-week summit on family at St. Peter’s Basilica. At the synod summit, clerics spoke of being open to divorced and unmarried couples but did not call for specific alterations in church policies.

More: Pope Francis

8. Crash at Oklahoma State parade kills 4, injures 40

Four people died and more than 40 others were injured after a car crashed into spectators at Oklahoma State University’s homecoming parade Saturday. The driver, Adacia Chambers, was arrested for suspicion of driving under the influence, but her lawyer said she was not drunk and is mentally ill. Chambers is currently facing four murder charges.

More: OSU crash

9. Obama administration calls for limit on testing in schools

The Obama administration called for a limit on testing in schools on Saturday so that no child would spent more than 2 percent of classroom instruction time taking tests. It urged Congress to reduce over testing through legislation governing public elementary and secondary schools in the country.

More: Testing limit

10. Earthquakes kills hundreds in Afghanistan and Pakistan

At least 300 people are dead and hundreds more injured after a massive earthquake struck villages in Afghanistan and Pakistan on Monday. The earthquake, with a magnitude of 7.5, caused landslides and avalanches as officials struggled to contact the remote regions most affected by the quake. The worst damage may be in a parts of Afghanistan controlled by Islamist militant groups.

More: Earthquake

11. World Health Organization says processed meats cause cancer

A panel of 22 international experts from the World Health Organization announced Monday that processed meats cause cancer and red meat likely does, too. The panel reviewed decades of research on the link between red meat, processed meats and cancer, as well as animal experiments, studies of human diet and health and cell processes.

More: Cancerous meat

12. Obama, Congress reach deal on budget

President Barack Obama and Congress reached a tentative deal to increase spending by $80 billion over the next two years — not including a $32 billion increase included in an emergency war fund — and cut spending on Medicare and Social Security disability benefits. The accord will also raise the federal borrowing limit, avoiding a default on debt if it passes through the House and Senate.

More: Budget deal

13. Carson passes Trump in presidential polls

Ben Carson overtook Donald Trump in the Republican presidential poll by The New York Times and CBS News, capturing 26 percent of Republican primary voters to Trump’s 22 percent. It is the first time Trump hasn’t been in the lead since the survey started in July.

More: Carson up in polls

Published on October 27, 2015 at 9:21 pm

Contact Jon: jrmettus@syr.edu | @jmettus