WASHINGTON (AP) — The honeymoon might be over before it even begins for House Speaker-in-waiting Paul Ryan when he is elevated to the top job this week.
The Wisconsin Republican, on track to prevail in secret-ballot GOP elections Wednesday and in a full House vote Thursday, would take over at a moment of chaos notable even for a Congress where crisis has become routine.
Today most of the country celebrates Columbus Day: schools are closed and many communities will host parades in honor of Christopher Columbus, the Italian navigator who set sail under the patronage of the Spanish crown in search of a Western route to Asia.
It is undisputed that Columbus's arrival on Oct. 12, 1492, in what is now the Bahamas, forever changed the course of human events. And yet, across the country there is a growing movement to discard the holiday and to expunge Columbus from his honored place in history.
