US News

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House has re-elected embattled Republican John Boehner speaker.

The Ohio lawmaker won a second, two-year term as leader with 220 votes, losing just a handful of votes in the Republican-controlled chamber.

The election of the speaker came as the House and Senate ushered in a new Congress Thursday.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.

DETROIT (AP) — Ford Motor Co. says its U.S. sales rose 2 percent in December, as strong sales of small cars made up for weak truck sales.

Sales of the Focus small car rose 58 percent from last December, while the Fiesta subcompact was up 53 percent. F-Series pickup truck sales were flat compared with last December. Sales of the new Ford Escape small SUV, which has been hit with several recalls, fell 21 percent.

WASHINGTON (AP) — More Americans sought unemployment benefits last week, though the winter holidays likely distorted the data for the second straight week.

The Labor Department says weekly applications rose by 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 372,000 in the week ended Dec. 29. The previous week's total was revised higher.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has been released from a New York hospital where she was treated for a blood clot in her head.

Clinton spokesman Philippe Reines says her doctors advised her that she has been making progress on all fronts and are confident she will make a full recovery.

He says Clinton is appreciative of the excellent care she received at New York-Presbyterian Hospital and is eager to get back to work. A date for her return to the State Department has not been set.

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks roared higher on Wall Street and around the world after Congress passed a last-minute budget deal to avert sweeping tax hikes and government spending cuts.

The Dow Jones industrial jumped 308 points to close at 13,412 Wednesday, the first trading day of the year. That's the biggest gain the Dow has had since December 2011.