McCarthy relents on key conservative demand — but uncertainty remains over speaker bid  —  Kevin McCarthy has made perhaps his biggest concession so far to the band of conservatives standing in the way of his path to speaker.  Yet it's not clear if it will be enough to clinch his gavel.

A Comprehensive Guide to Why a Ron DeSantis Presidency Would Be as Terrifying as a Trump One  —  His bigoted policies and authoritarian behavior make him just as bad a pick for the top job in Washington.  —  Ron DeSantis has not (yet) said if he will run for president in 2024 …

Inside the Jan. 6 committee's massive new evidence trove  —  The Jan. 6 select committee has unloaded a vast database of its underlying evidence — emails between Trump attorneys, text messages among horrified White House aides and outside advisers, internal communications among security …

Ukrainian Attack Kills 63 Russian Soldiers in East, Moscow Says … A Russian proxy official called the attack in Donetsk a ‘massive blow.’  —  Ukrainian missiles struck a building that housed Russian soldiers in an occupied city in Donetsk early on New Year's Day, according to Russian proxy officials and the Ukrainian military.

Teen Romanced by George Santos: He Lied to Me, Too  —  Pedro Vilarva was 18 when Santos, then 26, swept him off his feet and fed him malarkey.  —  A man who was 18 years old when he began dating and then moved in with George Santos—while the future congressman was married to a woman—says he was lied to, too.

Alleged Islamic extremist who attacked NYPD cops with machete was on FBI watchlist: sources  —  The alleged Islamic extremist who attacked multiple NYPD officers with a machete near the New Year's Eve ball drop in Times Square has been identified as 19-year-old Trevor Bickford …

Ex-Capitol police chief: FBI, DHS, Pentagon failed on Jan. 6  —  Former chief Steven Sund warns in a new book that the Capitol is still not safe from domestic terror attacks  —  In a new firsthand account of the frantic efforts of Capitol Police officers to protect Congress and themselves …

Lula Becomes Brazil's President, With Bolsonaro in Florida  —  Brazil inaugurates its new president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, on Sunday.  Facing investigations, former President Jair Bolsonaro has taken refuge in Orlando.  —  President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva took the reins …

Culture wars: House Republicans attack Defense Department for ‘woke’ social policies  —  Rachel Looker Tom Vanden BrookUSA TODAY  —  WASHINGTON - House Republicans plan to open a new front in the culture wars: attacking the Pentagon for its “woke” social policies.  —  GOP leaders have won an early skirmish.

A Heavily Armed Man Caused Panic at a Supermarket.  But Did He Break the Law?  —  In states with permissive gun laws, police and prosecutors have limited tools at their disposal when a heavily armed individual sows fear or panic in public.  —  ATLANTA — Two days after a gunman killed 10 people …

Trump's New Year's Eve party at Mar-a-Lago: Who was there (and who wasn't)?  —  The former president made a statement about the state of the nation that was not so uplifting heading into the new year.  —  PALM BEACH — Former President Donald Trump rang in the New Year on Saturday night …

The Privatization of Policing  —  David, 26, is shoplifting peanut butter from the Stadium Shopping Center in Portland, Ore. He has been living on the streets for about a month.  Already addicted to heroin, he had started using fentanyl four days earlier.  The store's personnel spot …

14 Guards, Inmates Killed as Gunmen Attack a Mexican Border Prison  —  Mexico City (AP) — Ten guards and four inmates were killed early Sunday when gunmen in armored vehicles attacked a state prison in Ciudad Juarez across the border from El Paso, Texas, according to state officials.