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 …

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 …

Mike Lindell Turns on Marjorie Taylor Greene Over Speaker Vote  —  TRUMP FOR SPEAKER  —  MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell isn't pleased with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) over her fervent support of Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) for House Speaker.  Instead, he argued Friday night …

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.

6-year-old in custody after shooting teacher in Virginia, police chief says  —  A 6-year-old boy was taken into police custody after he shot a teacher at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Virginia, Friday afternoon, Police Chief Steve Drew said in a news conference.

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...