10 things you need to know today: October 30, 2015

1. Paul Ryan elected House speaker

Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) was elected to be speaker of the House on Thursday, a day after his fellow Republicans agreed to nominate him. Ryan received 236 votes. Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) got 184 votes, and Rep. Daniel Webster (R-Fla.) got nine. Ryan, who had vowed to run only if divided mainstream and hardline Republicans united behind him, called on the GOP and Democrats to wipe "the slate clean" and work together. "We are all in the same boat," said Ryan, at 45 the youngest speaker elected since 1869.

The Washington Post

2. Senate passes two-year budget deal

The Senate early Friday approved a two-year bipartisan budget agreement and sent it to President Obama, who was ready to sign it. The bipartisan deal would raise the debt ceiling and increase spending by $80 billion over two years, rolling back some of the automatic cuts on defense and social spending imposed in 2011. The accord averts the possibility of a government default on federal debts next week, and lifts the threat of a government shutdown through the rest of Obama's presidency.

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The New York Times

3. Last British resident held at Guantanamo released

The U.S. has released Shaker Aamer, the last British resident held at the controversial Guantanamo Bay prison, British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond confirmed Friday. Aamer, a Saudi national, was picked up in Afghanistan in 2001 and held at Guantanamo Bay starting in 2002. Aamer said he was in Afghanistan doing charity work; the U.S. said he led a unit of Taliban fighters. He was never charged with a crime and had been cleared for release since 2007. His wife is British, so he will be allowed to stay indefinitely in the U.K.

BBC News The Independent

4. Plane catches fire on Florida runway

An engine on a Dynamic Airways jetliner caught fire on a runway at the Fort Lauderdale, Florida, airport on Thursday. The 101 passengers and crew escaped using inflatable slides. Fifteen people were injured, with one suffering non-life-threatening burns and the others less severe injuries such as bruises and sprains. Investigators said another aircraft spotted fuel leaking from the Boeing 767 before the fire started as the plane was taxiing for takeoff on a flight to Venezuela.

USA Today

5. Court declines to immediately halt U.S. bulk surveillance

A federal appeals court on Thursday said the government's bulk collection of phone data could continue during the switch to new federal policies banning the counterterrorism surveillance technique, which was exposed in documents leaked by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden. Congress allowed a 180-day period for the data mining to continue during an "orderly transition." The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York said granting a request for an "abrupt end" to the program could disrupt efforts to spot terrorist threats.

Reuters

6. Economy slows down in third quarter

America's economic growth slowed in the third quarter as businesses cut back on their inventories. The annualized growth rate fell to 1.5 percent, from 3.9 percent in the second quarter. Solid consumer spending, fueled by employment and income gains, kept the numbers from being worse. Factory production is expected to stabilize heading into the holidays. "The headline is not indicative of how solidly the U.S. is growing," said Gennadiy Goldberg of TD Securities in New York.

Bloomberg Los Angeles Times

7. European leaders urge countries to protect Snowden as a whistleblower

The European Parliament on Thursday narrowly approved a resolution urging European Union nations to protect Edward Snowden, the leaker who exposed U.S. data-mining surveillance work, as a "whistle-blower and international human rights defender." The resolution is non-binding, but Snowden called it a "game-changer." It amounts to European leaders' most forceful expression of support yet for Snowden, who requested asylum in Russia and is living there with a three-year residency permit.

The New York Times

8. Imprisoned Saudi blogger wins European human rights prize

Saudi Arabian blogger Raif Badawi was awarded Europe's top human rights prize on Thursday for standing up for free expression in a conservative monarchy. Badawi was sentenced to 10 years in prison and 1,000 lashes for starting a website that included criticism of the country's religious establishment. European Parliament President Martin Schulz called on Saudi King Salman to free Badawi so he could receive the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought in France in December.

Los Angeles Times

9. Fugitive killed in shootout with Kentucky police

Fugitive Floyd Ray Cook was killed in a shootout with authorities in Kentucky early Friday. A manhunt for Cook began last Saturday after he allegedly shot and wounded a Tennessee police officer during a traffic stop, then shot at a Kentucky state trooper an hour later. Investigators had described him as "armed, dangerous, and desperate." Cook, 62, was convicted of rape in the 1970s, and was wanted for failing to comply with the sex offender registry. He also faced a methamphetamine trafficking indictment.

The Associated Press

10. Former student sentenced for prep school sexual assault

Owen Labrie, a former student at a prestigious New Hampshire prep school, was sentenced to one year in jail plus probation on Thursday for sexually assaulting a schoolmate, then 15. Labrie, 20, was found guilty in August of a felony charge of using a computer to lure an underage girl into a sexual encounter, and four misdemeanor charges. The 2014 incident exposed the "Senior Salute" tradition in which upperclassmen try to have sex with younger students. Labrie said the encounter was consensual, and maintained he and the girl did not have sex. The victim said she was raped.

ABC News