POLITICO Playbook: Inside the 28 minutes that saved Kevin McCarthy  —  Presented by With help from Eli Okun and Garrett Ross  —  DRIVING THE DAY  —  For the first time all week, House Republicans were jubilant and KEVIN McCARTHY's smile finally seemed genuine.

Now Fighting for Ukraine: Volunteers Seeking Revenge Against Russia  —  Chechens, Crimean Tatars and people from the former Soviet republics, all with deep historical grievances against Moscow, are eagerly taking up arms for Kyiv.  —  KYIV REGION, Ukraine — The sharp crack of sniper fire rang out across the snowbound valley.

Time is not on Ukraine's side  —  Condoleezza Rice was secretary of state from 2005 to 2009.  Robert M. Gates was secretary of defense from 2006 to 2011.  —  When it comes to the war in Ukraine, about the only thing that's certain right now is that the fighting and destruction will continue.

Benedict's Burial Leaves Francis Alone, and Unbound  —  Liberal supporters of Francis, a pope never shy about exercising power, now anticipate a late-breaking season of change.  —  VATICAN CITY — Since the first day of his papacy nearly a decade ago, Pope Francis has had to navigate …

For GOP, Speaker Debacle Has Roots in Newt Gingrich's Revolt  —  Mr. Gingrich began the zero-sum politics that mutated into the brand of the Tea Party and Trump M.A.G.A. Republicans and that presaged the raucous speaker battle in the House.  —  WASHINGTON — Newt Gingrich was disdainful.

What we know about the XBB.1.5 COVID variant sweeping the Northeast  —  The XBB.1.5 omicron subvariant is raising concerns of a potential surge in COVID-19 cases as it sweeps across the Northeast.  —  Officials have warned in recent weeks that the strain is highly transmissible …

CREEPY: OB-GYN Hypes Medication Abortion as ‘Extrarordinarily Safe’ — For Whom?  —  Text to Speech Font Size  —  On Wednesday's PBS NewsHour, viewers received a bucket of happy talk about medication abortions from Dr. Jennifer Villavicencio.  Twice, she insisted the use of mifepristone was …

There Are Many Questions About George Santos, but Latest Leftist Complaint Is Incredibly Dumb  —  There are a ton of valid questions that one might ask about Rep. George Santos (R-NY) who seems to be following in the grand tradition of Joe Biden and lying — a lot — about his background and a variety of aspects of his life.

It's Tempting to Laugh at McCarthy's Struggles, but History Shows That This Type of Chaos Is Not a Joke  —  In recent days, we've watched congressional Republicans reap the whirlwind.  In campaigning for the 2021 midterm elections, the G.O.P. rode a wave of extremism, saying little …

From battlefield to internet sleuthing: Exposing U.S. white supremacy  —  NBC News' Courtney Kube has the story of veteran Kristofer Goldsmith who is on a mission to expose far-right extremism despite some saying his tactics are co...

Riddle solved: Why was Roman concrete so durable?  —  An unexpected ancient manufacturing strategy may hold the key to designing concrete that lasts for millennia. … The ancient Romans were masters of engineering, constructing vast networks of roads, aqueducts, ports, and massive buildings …