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WASHINGTON, Jan. 3-- Representative Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, was elected the new speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Thursday, the first day of a new, divided Congress. Pelosi, 78, is the only woman who has held the office before and is among a few elected officials to return to the post. She was the House speaker from 2007 to 2011 when her Democratic Party controlled the lower chamber. For her second speakership, Pelosi defeated Republican nominee Kevin McCarthy in a roll-call vote Thursday, winning 220 votes out of a total of 430 present, according to cnn. | 
