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Anchored by Jake Tapper, The Lead airs at 4 p.m. ET on CNN.
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national lead
Enforcing existing gun laws is an underfunded, under-resourced battle
The one priority that everyone in the gun debate seems to agree on is that the laws on the books should be enforced to keep guns out of the hands of those whom, society has ruled, should not have them, such as felons, or those with adjudicated emotional and mental problems, or those with domestic violence restraining orders
Simple, right? Wrong.
We recently spent a night with special law enforcement agents from the California Attorney General's office. California requires all handguns to be registered. Agents compare the list of registered gun owners with a separate list of those not allowed to have guns, and they come up with a third list – people referred to as "armed and prohibited." There are nearly 20,000 on that list, and it is growing every year. And to confiscate these guns, California has just 33 agents.
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world lead
The U.S.'s one weakness when it comes to North Korea
By Jake Tapper and Sherisse Pham
North Korea released a statement Wednesday, saying "The moment of explosion is approaching fast. No one will say if a war will break out in Korea or not and whether it will break out today or tomorrow ... We formally inform the White House and Pentagon that the ever-escalating U.S. hostile policy towards the DPRK and its reckless nuclear threat will be smashed by the strong will of all the united service personnel and people and cutting-edge, smaller, lighter and diversified nuclear strike means of the DPRK and that the merciless operation of its revolutionary armed forces in this regard has been finally examined and ratified."
"That's a serious threat," says Gen. James "Spider" Marks, U.S. Army (Retired). Marks was a senior intelligence officer based in Korea. That threat, added Marks with a smile, is "version 943."
But the U.S. has a weakness when it comes to the hermit kingdom.
"We've never penetrated their inner workings of governance," said Marks. "To better understand their intentions, you have to be inside. And we don't have that type of inside look."
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world lead
Man who made first-ever cell phone call: We knew someday everybody would have one
Cell phones are already over the hill. Maybe you've been using one for 15 years, or even 20. But a Motorola engineer named Martin Cooper made the first mobile call 40 years ago.
"We knew even in 1973 that someday everybody would have a cell phone," said Cooper. "We used to tell a joke that someday when you were born you'd be assigned a telephone number, and if you didn't answer the phone, you died."
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politics lead
Mark Sanford: I failed in 2009, but GOP primary win was a referendum
By Jake Tapper and Sherisse Pham
Going from the Appalachian trail to the comeback trail, Mark Sanford is now the Republican nominee for an open congressional seat in South Carolina, the same state he ran as governor, and where he developed a reputation for fiscal conservatism. Sanford finished his second term in 2011 under the cloud of an extra-marital affair, which came to light only after he had vanished for six days. His staff said he was hiking the Appalachian Trail, but Sanford later admitted he was in Argentina with his mistress.
"I think that there are too many people in politics that think they know it all. And they project this image of perfection, the perfect family ... when the truth is, none of us are perfect," Sanford said on "The Lead with Jake Tapper" on Wednesday.
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money lead
What makes a successful e-car?
Zero emissions, and a top speed of 125 miles per hour, all without a drop of gasoline. This is not your father's electric car; this is the "Tesla Model S." And beginning today, you can have one, starting at less than $500 a month, according to Elon Musk, CEO of the Tesla Motors.
Musk is the billionaire personally backing the deal for the "Tesla Model S," which can cost north of $70,000. The company is finally making money with the car, posting its first profit this quarter since going public in 2010.
Meanwhile, electronic car company Fisker is eyeing bankruptcy. What is Tesla doing right, that Fisker is doing wrong?
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