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Anchored by Jake Tapper, The Lead airs at 4 p.m. ET on CNN.
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national lead
Castro: GOP border security demands on immigration bill are 'not realistic'
Immigration reform is contentious.
It has created new friction between the White House and Congress, between the House and Senate, and between Republicans and Democrats.
The bill in the Senate is moving forward slowly with time running short and no outcome in sight. Action in the House is even more uncertain, if that’s possible.
Americans, meanwhile, want tighter borders, according to the latest CNN/ORC poll, which found 62% of those surveyed think border security should be the main focus of immigration reform. Just 36% thought a path to citizenship should be the focus.
FULL POST
national lead
Former FBI official: New theory on Flight TWA 800 is 'a bunch of bull crap'
All 230 people aboard TWA Flight 800 died when the plane exploded over the Atlantic minutes after take-off from New York's John F. Kennedy airport in 1996.
After a four-year investigation, which included scouring the ocean to piece together most of the jumbo jet, the National Transportation Safety Board said the cause was a spark from bad wiring that set off fuel tank vapors.
Almost two decades later, six retired members of that investigative team are changing their story in a new documentary, "TWA Flight 800."
The film claims the fuel tank theory is bogus and that an explosion outside of the plane brought it down.
Former, retired investigators are now suggesting there was a cover-up, and that they were directed to say the crash was an accident.
"I think it's a bunch of bull crap," said former FBI assistant director James Kallstrom, who headed the criminal probe after the crash.
FULL POST
buried lead
Domestic slavery in our nation's capital
Slavery was outlawed in the United States in the 19th century.
However, the State Department says it still exists in what sometimes is called diplomatic slavery.
In 2009, Ambassador Luis CdeBaca was appointed by President Barack Obama to create solutions at the State Department for ending human trafficking and advocate for change.
A State Department report this week on human trafficking shows the problem getting worse overall in a number of countries, including Russia and China.
CdeBaca gave an exclusive interview to CNN’s “The Lead with Jake Tapper” to discuss the issue and touched on the issue of diplomatic slavery.
The State Department would not comment on the number of diplomatic trafficking cases, saying they are still under investigation.
But the Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, looked into the issue in 2008.
It found more than 42 domestic workers alleging they were abused by their foreign diplomat employers since 2000.
The actual numbers of victims are likely higher, the GAO said.
And there are allegations it occurs in the nation’s capital as well.
"It happens just miles from the White House here in Washington D.C.," CdeBaca said.
“I think we like to think that slavery is what happens in the shadows. As a profession, we hear way too many stories around the world of diplomats who think that they have carte blanche to treat their servants badly,” said CdeBaca.
Rosemery Martell said she was a victim of diplomatic slavery.
FULL POST
politics lead
Tea party group on IRS controversy: It's not about White House involvement
Most Americans do not like the Internal Revenue Service, and both Republicans and Democrats agree that conservative organizations were victims when the IRS recently targeted such groups seeking tax exempt status.
Yet even in a rare instance where almost everyone is on the same page, the controversy remains at a standstill.
On May 15th, Attorney General Eric Holder promised a criminal investigation into why these groups were given a harder time in the run-up to the 2012 election. More than a month after that promise, it appears the Justice Department has not contacted a single tea party group about the probe.
A law firm representing 25 tea party groups in a lawsuit tells CNN it has not heard from a single federal agency.
FULL POST
money lead
The meaning of taper, and how it affects your 401k
Hollywood has "it" girls.
Wall Street has "it" words.
"He's got to stop with the bond buying and start to taper," said Keith McCullough, CEO of Hedgeye Risk Management.
Taper is the latest "it" word on Wall Street, and refers to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's toughest job yet: How does he taper down from historic stimulus? It will likely be the final challenge for this chief.
FULL POST
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