Last night when my viewing of the SF Giants game was interrupted by reports about Israel’s retaliatory strikes in Iran, I texted my sister: “Aside from WWIII starting, this is a pretty good game.” So take what I’m about to say with a grain of salt, and understand my full disclosure that this feeling could be fleeting. But consider this: Israel delivered a carefully calibrated attack in Iran and Iran seems to be standing down. With a full jury panel in place, Trump is at long last standing trial. Speaker Mike Johnson is finally standing up to the crazies and pushing (bipartisan!) Ukraine aid through the House. And Taylor’s new album dropped. For the first time in a long time, I think we may have just had a pretty good week. Oh, and the Giants won the game.

+ “In an extraordinary move, more Democrats (165) supported the measure than Republicans (151). The Democratic votes were necessary to overcome opposition from Speaker Mike Johnson’s right flank, who will likely only increase their calls to oust him.” House takes key step forward on foreign aid bills with Democratic support, setting up final vote Saturday.

+ Susan Glasser in The New Yorker: Did Mike Johnson Just Get Religion on Ukraine? “On Wednesday, Johnson sounded like Republicans used to sound. Before Trump. Before Marjorie Taylor Greene, the Trump favorite who talks of ‘Jewish space lasers’ and echoes Russian propaganda about ‘Ukrainian Nazis,’ became a force in the House. A Republican like the ones who once bashed Democrats for not being tough enough on Putin. Listening to Johnson brought to mind the scene in ‘The Lord of the Rings’ when the evil spell possessing the good King Théoden is broken and he suddenly returns to himself—an accommodationist no more, revivified, ready to fight.”

+ “‘I think he’s made some hard choices and he’s putting his job in peril as a result,’ said Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.). ‘I don’t think I agree with him politically on anything, but I do think he has integrity. And I do think he’s acting like a leader.'” How Johnson and Biden locked arms on Ukraine.