Free Republic

* House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy failed in a third vote to secure enough votes to be elected Speaker, throwing the party into into uncertainty. * After the first ballot resulted in votes for several Republicans, the latest round saw McCarthy’s opponents coalesce around a new contender: Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, a longtime McCarthy ally. * It is the first time in 100 years that the majority party has failed to coalesce around a candidate for Speaker, and it was uncertain what McCarthy’s next steps would be.

Nancy is a long-running Surreal Humor Newspaper Comic strip originally created by Ernie Bushmiller. The strip centers on a precocious 8-year old girl, her Aunt Fritzi, and her best friend Sluggo. The character first appeared in 1933 in Fritzi Ritz, a strip that had been created in 1922 by Larry Whittington (Bushmiller took over in 1925). Nancy proved to be so popular as a character that, in 1938, the strip was retitled to her name. Bushmiller continued to draw the strip until his death in 1982. It was subsequently taken over by Al Plastino (on the Sunday strips) and Mark...