Republicans selected Majority Leader Steve Scalise as their candidate for speaker of the House of Representatives on Wednesday, but he may not have the necessary votes as war in the Middle East and a looming government shutdown underscored the urgent need to end the leadership vacuum. The party chose Scalise over Judiciary Committee chairman Jim Jordan in a secret vote to replace the overthrown Kevin McCarthy, but he can only afford four defectors if Democrats hold rank.

SEE HOW CLOSE THE ELECTION OF A NEW SPEAKER WILL BE

Caroline Ellison, the former CEO of the now-defunct crypto hedge fund Alameda Research, returned to the stand Wednesday to admit to doing things for Sam Bankman-Fried "because Sam told me to," including preparing seven different balance sheets for Genesis and continuing to repay Alameda Research's lenders with FTX customers' money  Ellison told the court that SBF had instructed her to come up with various ways to conceal billions in loans on the crypto hedge fund's balance sheets.

SEE HOW ELLISON'S TESTIMONY DEALT A BLOW TO SBF'S CASE

What makes a good or bad year for wine? It's a question that vexes not only vintners but also scientists, who've long looked to weather for the answer. A new study argues that climate change could contribute to superior vintages -- at least to a point. Good years are characterized by warmer temperatures, greater differences between winter and summer, and earlier, shorter growing seasons -- all conditions that are becoming more frequent as a result of human-caused planetary warming.

SEE HOW TOP VINEYARDS ARE COPING WITH CLIMATE CHANGE

What is the most expensive bottle of wine ever sold? Who bought it?

Wednesday's answer: Former Twitter founder/CEO Jack Dorsey posted the first tweet in 2006, reading "just setting up my twttr." The tweet sold as an NFT to crypto entrepreneur Sina Estavi for $2.9 million in 2022.