can obama stop putin from pushing his way into the middle east and nudging out u.s. influence? pop culture lead, first night called everything from smooth and solid to crude and clumsy. we will look at trevor noah's debut as host of the daly show and whether america will learn to love him. good afternoon, everybody, welcome to "the lead." aim jake tapper. politics lead, less tan, better at keeping his tear ducts from overflowing but is congressman kevin mccarthy, republican from california, really different enough from suddening retiring speaker john boehner to get dissatisfied conservatives in the house on board? what will make mccarthy any different than his predecessor? 4 will he be able to keep 218 frongs in a wheelbarrow to get something passed. the behind the scenes battle to become the next speaker has the