“The amendment builds upon and strengthens the existing Office of Congressional Ethics by maintaining its primary area of focus of accepting and reviewing complaints from the public and referring them, if appropriate, to the Committee on Ethics,” Goodlatte said in a statement.
Democrats, led by Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, reacted angrily.
“Republicans claim they want to ‘drain the swamp,’ but the night before the new Congress gets sworn in, the House GOP has eliminated the only independent ethics oversight of their actions,” the California lawmaker said in a statement. “Evidently, ethics are the first casualty of the new Republican Congress.”
Chris Carson, president of the League of Women Voters, said Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., should be ashamed of himself and his leadership team.
“We all know the so-called House Ethics Committee is worthless for anything other than a whitewash – sweeping corruption under the rug. That’s why the independent Office of Congressional Ethics has been so important. The OCE works to stop corruption and that’s why Speaker Ryan is cutting its authority. Speaker Ryan is giving a green light to congressional corruption.”
The OCE was created in March 2008 after the cases of former Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham, R-Calif., who served more than seven years in prison on bribery and other charges; as well as cases of former Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio, who was charged in the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal and pleaded guilty to corruption charges and former Rep. William Jefferson, D-La., convicted on corruption in a separate case.

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The decision means the sentencing phase of his trial, now set to begin on Wednesday, can go ahead.
The self-described white supremacist was convicted in December for crimes connected to the racially motivated killing of nine African-American parishioners in the Emanuel AME Church in downtown Charleston.
He attended a Bible study in the basement of the historic black church known as “Mother Emanuel” on June 17, 2015 before producing a handgun and killing his victims, aged 26 to 87 years old.
Roof, 22, was first declared competent to stand trial by US District Judge Richard Gergel in November following a previous hearing closed to the public. Roof then chose to represent himself during jury selection of his trial, a strategy Gergel deemed “unwise. “
Roof participated passively in jury selection, then reinstated his lawyers as the prosecution sought to establish his guilt during trial.
However, his main defense attorney, the renowned death penalty expert David Bruck, called no witnesses of his own and did not significantly challenge any of the government’s witnesses, who included two survivors, one of them a woman who watched Roof execute her adult son before her eyes.
After being convicted of all 33 charges against him in December, Roof indicated he would again like to represent himself during the sentencing phase of the trial.
He has told the judge he does not plan to introduce any evidence or witnesses on his behalf, including any evidence of his mental health.
In his closing argument, Bruck said Roof had no real friends and is unable to make small talk. He noted that beyond Roof taking many photographs of himself with a gun and Confederate flag before committing his crimes, he also took hundreds of pictures of his cat.
During the sentencing portion of the trial, the jury will possibly hear testimony from dozens of witnesses called by the government, including relatives of the victims.
They may also hear from Roof himself, who has said he will make opening and closing statements during the next portion of the trial.
Other charges against Roof included hate crimes resulting in an attempt to kill; obstruction of exercise of religion resulting in death or an attempt to kill; and assorted firearms charges with the intent to commit murder or a violent crime.
Roof is also facing state murder charges in South Carolina, although that trial is not due to begin until January 17. State prosecutors also are seeking the death penalty.

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Parts of the South were bracing for more rain Tuesday, a day after severe storms killed at least four people in Alabama and one in Florida Monday.
The line of severe thunderstorms spawned several possible tornadoes, and the threat continued into early Tuesday for southern Alabama, southwest Georgia and the Florida Panhandle.
CBS Dothan, Alabama affiliate WTVY-TV reports , “Four people died Monday night when two trees toppled onto a house in southern Houston County during an apparent tornado. Three others in the home escaped without injury.”
The station quotes Houston County Emergency Management Director Chris Judah as sayhing, “It is a very dangerous scene. One of the trees cut the trailer in half.” He said those killed had huddled in one area of the mobile home while the other three were in another part.
Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley said in a statement on social media that the Houston County sheriff had told him about the deaths and he offered “prayers for those impacted.”
In Mossy Head, Florida, a 70-year-old man drowned Monday, apparently accidentally, the Walton County Sheriff’s Office says, adding that deputies found his car partially submerged “and his body floating face-down” near his trailer.
In Georgia, some of the heaviest rains were expected early Tuesday morning, forecasters said.
“There is a slight chance of damaging winds and tornadoes, however the highest probabilities are generally west of Interstate 75,” said Sid King, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Peachtree City, Georgia, near Atlanta.
Parts of south Georgia could see as much as 3 inches of total rainfall from all the storms produced by the system now moving across southern states, King said.
State emergency officials reported no injuries or deaths in Louisiana and Mississippi, but a trip to Walmart was memorable for some shoppers in Marksville, Louisiana, as severe weather blew out skylights in the store, sending water and glass cascading onto shoppers.
Marksville Fire Chief Jerry Bordelon said a fireworks stand in the Walmart parking lot was tossed 30 or 40 yards and mangled. The storm also knocked over 18-wheel truck trailers and punched holes in the Walmart’s roof. The fire department ordered shoppers to leave the store, but some didn’t want to leave even as managers closed it.
“Believe it or not, we had some people in there who were still trying to shop,” Bordelon said.
Walmart spokeswoman Erica Jones said the Arkansas-based company hopes to reopen the store Tuesday, but isn’t sure that will happen, citing needed repairs to a natural gas line.
Storms in central Mississippi near Mendenhall and Mount Olive were preliminarily identified as tornadoes by the National Weather Service, based in part on radar signatures. Both storms damaged farm buildings and homes. Other possible tornadoes will be surveyed later.
In Louisiana, there was also relatively serious damage in the southwestern parishes of Beauregard and Allen, including the town of Reeves. Some wind damage was also reported in Houston and throughout East Texas. Though Arkansas had also been included in warnings, there was only a stray report of hail in Jackson County in the northeast part of the state.
Tens of thousands lost power in Louisiana and Mississippi at the height of the storm, according to utilities.
Freddie Zeigler, a meteorologist in the Weather Service’s New Orleans office, said heavy winds were preceding the squall line, possibly contributing to power outages.
It was the second episode of heavy rain within days for some areas. An area stretching from Biloxi, Mississippi, through Alabama and across Macon and Augusta, Georgia, received more than 4 inches of rain Monday, according to radar estimates. Parts of southern Mississippi and southwest Alabama have received more than 8 inches of rain since Saturday. Though rivers along the Gulf Coast were rising rapidly Monday, only minor flooding was predicted.

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Police are searching for a 6-year-old boy who is believed to have wandered away from his home in suburban Denver on New Year’s Eve, authorities said.
The FBI and other law enforcement agencies helped in the hunt for David Puckett on Monday, going door-to-door within 2.5 miles of his home in Aurora. Bloodhounds and a helicopter have also been used.
An Amber Alert was issued and police said a $10,000 reward was offered.
Aurora police appealed for help to find David as quickly as possible partly because of coming cold weather, with lows expected in the upper teens.
“The public can help by physically searching their homes, automobiles, and any structures on their property where a child may be able to hide,” a police statement said.
Authorities have said that foul play isn’t suspected, but they said they have contacted registered sex offenders who live in the area and have searched nearby bodies of water.
Monday evening, police disclosed that someone outside the family had seen the boy the day he went missing, but they didn’t elaborate.
The FBI told the Denver Post that the agency assigned 50 agents to the case, including one who is highly specialized in missing children searches.
His mother on Sunday issued a tearful appeal for people to help find him and said he was only wearing a light jacket.
Police said David has wandered off before.

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