House Democrats sound like they're willing to save Speaker Kevin McCarthy from his right-wing revolt — but he'll have to pay a price, Axios' Andrew Solender reports.

• "I'm not a cheap date," House Rules Committee Ranking Member Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) said, signaling his support would come at a cost.

Why it matters: If Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) can get just half a dozen Republicans to support him in his effort to take down McCarthy, it means the speaker would need some Democratic votes to survive.

What's happening: Gaetz last evening introduced his long-threatened "motion to vacate," meaning the House will vote this week on whether to remove McCarthy from the speakership.

• It would be the first time in 100+ years that a lawmaker actually forced such a vote.

McCarthy said in a three-word online response: "Bring it on."

Democrats have discussed using the motion to vacate as a chance to fundamentally realign the House.

• Specific concessions thrown out include greater Democratic representation on committees, forcing votes on Democratic bills and spiking votes on certain controversial Republican legislation.

Some centrist Democrats are already floating ideas for possible concessions McCarthy could offer:

• Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) cares most about strengthening the discharge petition — a tool to force votes on the minority party's bills if a majority of House members sign on.
• Rep. Wiley Nickel (D-N.C.) wants to see votes on bipartisan bills such as Ukraine aid and immigration reform. "If they want Democratic votes, there's going to be a price to pay," Nickel said. "If this whole process [allows] centrists to have a greater role, I think that's wonderful."

🥊 Reality check: It may all come down to House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), who has kept his cards close to his chest.

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Traffic to the top global news sites from Meta's Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) has cratered over the past year, Axios media trends expert Sara Fischer writes from Similarweb data.

• Why it matters: Website business models that depended on clicks from social media are now broken.

What's happening: Regulatory pressure and free speech concerns have pushed tech giants to abandon efforts to elevate quality information, leaving the public more susceptible to misinformation ahead of 2024.

• News companies are scrambling to find new ways to get traffic and make money, while simultaneously fighting to protect their work in the AI era.
• Publishers knew this day would come, and the trend has been apparent for over a year. But the velocity and severity left many unprepared.

🖼️ The big picture: A slower ad market and less reliable traffic contributed to a record number of media job cuts this year.

• Reaching voters with trusted information is becoming more difficult as tech platforms lean into viral trends, instead of quality news.

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The Biden administration is scrambling to try to assure U.S. allies that war aid to Ukraine will continue despite the growing number of Republicans in Congress who oppose it, sources tell Axios' Barak Ravid.

• Why it matters: Ukraine's government, U.S. allies in Europe and NATO officials are increasingly worried that if the aid doesn't continue, Ukraine's ability to resist Russian forces could be weakened dramatically.

Biden's outreach is aimed at easing concerns that GOP opposition to the aid could give Vladimir Putin a tailwind in his push to take over Ukraine as winter approaches, U.S. and European officials tell us.

• Biden and Secretary of State Tony Blinken plan to call several of their counterparts in Europe today.
• One European diplomat said Biden's team is telling allies that he's working on an agreement with Congress to allow continued military aid to Ukraine.

On Saturday, Congress voted to keep the government running with a package that omitted aid to Ukraine because of pressure from far-right House Republicans.

• The shutdown votes signaled how Republicans' views have shifted negatively toward Ukraine aid in the past several months, driven partly by former President Trump.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the fact that Congress didn't approve more funding for Ukraine is evidence of U.S. "fatigue" on the issue.

• White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre replied: "We're going to continue help to Ukraine as long as it takes. ... If Putin thinks he can outlast us, he's wrong."

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Future-of-aviation startup Beta Technologies has opened the doors of a net-zero production plant, where it will make vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) electric aircraft, Alex Fitzpatrick reports for Axios What's Next.

• Why it matters: Electric aircraft are hot because the aviation industry is under tremendous pressure to decarbonize by 2050. And innovations like sustainable aviation fuels will only go so far.

The new facility — at Vermont's Burlington International Airport — is designed to eventually churn out 300 of Beta's ALIA aircraft each year.

• The net-zero facility is powered by a combination of geothermal wells and rooftop solar.
• Floor-to-ceiling windows and a skylight bring in natural light — in contrast to the fluorescent overload at the typical modern vehicle manufacturing plant.

State of play: eVTOLs are inching closer to flying paid passengers. But that's still years away from FAA certification.

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Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) was carjacked last night outside an apartment building that houses dozens of fellow House members, his office tells Axios' Andrew Solender.

• Why it matters: The incident puts a spotlight on rising crime that has the District on track for the highest annual homicide count since the crack scourge of the 1990s.

D.C. Metropolitan Police spokesman Hugh Carew confirmed a "report of an armed carjacking" in the Navy Yard neighborhood, near Capitol Hill. Cuellar' chief of staff Jacob Hochberg said his boss was unharmed:

• "As Congressman Cuellar was parking his car this evening, 3 armed assailants approached the Congressman and stole his vehicle."

👂 What we're hearing: A member of Congress who spoke on condition of anonymity said the carjacking was particularly shocking because of how many lawmakers live in the building, and the Capitol Police presence.

🖼️ The big picture: Violent crime in Washington is up 38% compared to the same time last year, Cuneyt Dil reports for Axios D.C.

• D.C.'s crime map (above) is a tale of two cities divided by Rock Creek, with violence increasing most sharply east of the park.

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The police chief who led an August raid on a small weekly newspaper in central Kansas resigned, following the release of bodycam video showing an officer searching the desk of a reporter investigating the chief's past.

• Marion Police Chief Gideon Cody quit after a local prosecutor said there wasn't sufficient evidence to justify the search, AP reports.

Why it matters: The search of the newspaper put Marion — a town of 1,900 residents some 150 miles southwest of Kansas City — at the center of a fierce national debate over press freedoms.

🔮 What's next: Cody faces one federal lawsuit, and others are expected.

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NPR's Steve Inskeep — out today with "Differ We Must: How Lincoln Succeeded in a Divided America" — writes that Abraham Lincoln's human interactions "show a master politician's practical and moral choices":

"In all that he said and did, he considered his audience, making calculations based on a straightforward understanding of human nature. He told his friend and law partner William Herndon that people acted entirely out of self-interest — that even their most loving, patriotic, or altruistic deeds were meant to bring them some benefit or pleasure."

"In letters and speeches," Inskeep writes, "he used the word interest far more often than liberty, freedom, or moral, and referred often to people's motive, by which he meant their self-interest."

• More on the book.

The Postal Service unveiled a Forever stamp commemorating the legacy of the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg — depicted with her favorite white-lace collar — at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery.

• Forever stamps will always be worth the first-class rate (currently 66¢).

Read the announcement.