What's in Kevin McCarthy's Deal With Conservatives  —  House speaker made pledges on what bills he would bring to the floor and agreed to make it easier to oust him  —  WASHINGTON—Kevin McCarthy's election early Saturday morning to be House speaker came only after 14 unsuccessful ballots …

Grant Wahl's Death Isn't a Tool for Covid Vaccine Disinformation Spreaders  —  Dr. Gounder is an infectious disease physician and epidemiologist.  She is the widow of the sports journalist Grant Wahl.  —  It was the end of the workday on Friday, Dec. 9, 2022.

A Lecturer Showed a Painting of the Prophet Muhammad.  She Lost Her Job.  —  After an outcry over the art history class by Muslim students, Hamline University officials said the incident was Islamophobic.  But many scholars say the work is a masterpiece.  —  Erika López Prater …

Area principals admit to withholding National Merit Awards from students  —  While Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent Michelle Reid claims the principal at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology withheld National Merit awards from students in a “one-time human error …

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 …

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.

Germany: Iranian held in suspected poison plot after US tip  —  A 32-year-old Iranian man has been detained in Germany following a tip from U.S. security officials that he could be planning an attack with deadly chemicals, officials said Sunday.  Police and prosecutors said the man …

McCarthy opponent: ‘A little temporary conflict is necessary in this town’  —  Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) on Sunday dismissed the tensions that simmered as the House voted for its Speaker, saying Capitol Hill needs conflict to bring lawmakers to the debate table.

Boebert's backers urge her to ‘tone down the nasty rhetoric’  —  Debbie Hartman voted for Lauren Boebert for Congress in 2020 and again in 2022, delighted by Boebert's unequivocal defense of cultural issues that animate the Republican Party's far right flank.

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 …

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 …

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.