GOVERNMENT
NEVADA
| Reno — Sally Jewell made an emotional pledge in her first address to Indian Country as the 51st U.S. Interior secretary, saying she’ll help right past wrongs against American Indians and work with tribes “nation-to-nation” to protect their sovereignty. Jewell fought back tears and paused to compose herself during remarks Thursday in Reno, Nev., to about 300 delegates of the National Congress of American Indians. WASHINGTON — A compromise to keep student loan interest rates low proved unwinnable before Monday’s deadline and interest rates on new loans are going to double — at least for a while — senators said Thursday. Sen. Tom Harkin, the chairman of the Senate education panel, said none of the proposals being circulating among lawmakers could win passage, and he urged lawmakers to extend the current rates for another year when they return from the July 4 recess. Harkin said his colleagues could retroactively lower the rates when they return from the holiday. “Let’s put this off for a year,” Harkin, D-Iowa, told reporters. WASHINGTON — Anthony Foxx, the mayor of Charlotte, N.C., and a political ally of President Barack Obama, was unanimously confirmed by the Senate Thursday to be transportation secretary. The Senate voted 100-0 in favor of Foxx. As secretary, the 42-year-old Foxx will oversee the agencies within the department that regulate the nation’s aviation, rail, transit and highway systems, as well as auto safety. WASHINGTON — The House has approved a bill extending whistle-blower protection to members of the military who are victims of sexual assault. The vote Thursday was 423-0 for the measure sponsored by Republican Rep. Jackie Walorski of Indiana. The bill would require the inspector general to investigate allegations of retaliation against a service member who reports a rape or sexual assault. The provision is already part of a sweeping defense policy bill that the House passed earlier this month. The bill now goes to the Senate.
NEW YORK
| New York — The creator of “The Sopranos” said at James Gandolfini’s funeral that the actor brought the traits of a sad boy, “amazed and confused,” to the role of Tony Soprano. “You were a good boy,” David Chase said Thursday at the ceremony at New York’s Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine. One of four speakers at the funeral, Chase gave his remarks in the form of a letter to Gandolfini. The 51-year-old actor best known for his role as mob boss Tony