Kevin McCarthy finally became Speaker of the House after one last shocking meltdown.  Here's how it all happened.  —  It took four days and fifteen ballots, but Kevin McCarthy was elected Speaker of the House after securing a truce with conservative holdouts who had threatened to tank his nomination.

Police: 6-year-old shoots teacher in Virginia classroom  —  A 6-year-old student shot and wounded a teacher at his school in Virginia during an altercation inside a first-grade classroom Friday, police and school officials in the city of Newport News said.  Experts said a school shooting involving …

“We Don't Do This”: Adam Schiff and the Underbelly of American Censorship  —  Below is my column in the Hill on the recent disclosure of efforts by Rep. Adam Schiff (D., Cal.) to pressure Twitter to censor critics, including a columnist.  This effort occurred shortly after Schiff's office objected …

The January 6 Attack Is Not Over  —  This is an edition of The Atlantic Daily, a newsletter that guides you through the biggest stories of the day, helps you discover new ideas, and recommends the best in culture.  Sign up for it here.  —  On the second anniversary of the January 6 insurrection …

Proposed GOP select panel would be empowered to review ‘ongoing criminal investigations’  —  A proposed subcommittee to investigate “weaponization” of the federal government — a key demand of House conservatives who delivered Speaker Kevin McCarthy the gavel — would be given sweeping investigatory powers …

On Musk's Twitter, users looking to sell and trade child sex abuse material are still easily found  —  Twitter accounts that offer to trade or sell child sexual abuse material under thinly veiled terms and hashtags have remained online for months, even after CEO Elon Musk said he would combat child exploitation on the platform.

A very special Christmas mass for Orthodox Church of Ukraine  —  KYIV — On a frosty Saturday morning, several altar boys posed for group selfies next to the Dormition Cathedral of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra Monastery complex in the Ukrainian capital.  —  “It is for history!

Shootings Reported at Homes and Offices of 5 New Mexico Democrats  —  No one was injured in the shootings, which occurred in Albuquerque between Dec. 4 and Thursday.  The authorities are investigating whether they were related and politically motivated.  —  Federal and local authorities …

“Donald Trump Will Be in the Lead of His Obituary”: Ex-Rudy Giuliani Aide Dishes on Sweeping New CNN Doc  —  From 9/11 hero to Trump toady, a four-part CNN series will chronicle the epic fall of “America's Mayor.”  Consulting producer Ken Frydman, “dismayed” by his former boss's antics, hopes he'll “start caring about his legacy.”

US appeals court blocks ban on rapid-fire ‘bump stocks’  —  A Trump administration ban on bump stocks — devices that enable a shooter to rapidly fire multiple rounds from semi-automatic weapons after an initial trigger pull — was struck down Friday by a federal appeals court in New Orleans.

Judge suspends law license of lawyer for Alex Jones following Sandy Hook document leaks  —  A Connecticut judge suspended the law license of a lawyer for right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones after he allegedly improperly released court documents from the Sandy Hook defamation case.

Federal judges strike down SC's 1st Congressional District as racial gerrymandering  —  South Carolina lawmakers drew the coastal 1st Congressional District held by Republican Nancy Mace in such a way that it discriminates against Black voters and must be recrafted by the end of March, a panel of federal judges has concluded.