Anchored by Jake Tapper, The Lead airs at 4 p.m. ET on CNN.
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Egypt's now former President Mohamed Morsy has been ousted in a military coup. The Egyptian army is not using that word, but Morsy is. On his twitter account Morsy tweeted, "Measures announced by Armed Forces leadership represent a full coup categorically rejected by all the free men of our nation."
This after the military announced Wednesday that Morsy - the president democratically elected a year ago - is out, and the constitution is suspended.
According to the military, Egypt's constitutional court will serve as a temporary presidency until a new constitution can be drawn up, and new elections can be held.
The announcement came after days of massive protests both in support and opposition of Morsy and his party, the Muslim Brotherhood.
On Monday, the military gave Morsy 48 hours to meet with and calm the protesters who oppose him, to come up with a political solution. That deadline came and went Wednesday.
The ouster of Morsy has huge implications for U.S. relations with Egypt, and the Middle East as a whole.
The U.S. gives Egypt $1.5 billion in aid every year - and if U.S. officials decide to label this a coup, that aid could dry up. Egypt is a center of Middle Eastern culture, still drawing millions of tourists every year. Hundreds of Americans work there. And tens of thousands have dual American-Egyptian passports.
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