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Anchored by Jake Tapper, The Lead airs at 4 p.m. ET on CNN.
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politics lead
Redemption for Weiner and Spitzer?
A new poll of New York city voters this week rocked headlines nearly as much as the "tabloid twins" it has leading their respective primary races–former Rep. Anthony Weiner, and former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer.
Spitzer, who resigned after a prostitution scandal in 2008, has a double digit lead in Democratic primary for New York City comptroller barely a week after announcing his candidacy, while Weiner, the failed tweeter, is ahead of the pack in the Democratic mayoral race.
Spitzer leads Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer 48%-33%, while Weiner is ahead of City Council Speaker Christine Quinn in a crowded Democratic race, 25%-22%.
"Whatever one's record may have been before the fall from grace, you need to show that you have changed in some way," said Spitzer on NBC's "The Late Show with Jay Leno" last week.
But is it their own personal growth that Spitzer and Weiner have to thank, or the public's tolerance?
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money lead
Report: Government subsidizing junk food ingredients
A new report suggests the federal government is funding Americans' bulging waistlines, subsidizing many of the ingredients that make junk food so irresistible.
The U.S. Public Interest Research Groups study found that since 1995, more than $19 billion of tax payer money subsidized four common food additives: corn syrup, high-fructose corn syrup, cornstarch, and soy oils. At just over $7 per taxpayer per year, that would buy each taxpayer about 20 Twinkies.
But taxpayers spent just $689 million subsidizing apples, the only fresh fruit that gets significant federal support at a cost of $0.26 per taxpayer per year – that would buy less than half of one Red Delicious apple.
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national lead
Ex-Obama aide: 'Ill-conceived' Rolling Stone cover gives Tsarnaev rock star status
Rock band Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show once belted out the lyrics, "It's the thrill that'll getcha/When you get your picture/On the cover of the Rollin' Stone."
But the moment the magazine's new cover started circulating Tuesday, outrage exploded online.
The latest issue of Rolling Stone is being accused of looking like Tiger Beat for terror suspects, featuring Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the surviving Boston Marathon bombing suspect in a soft-touched glamour shot that's more reminiscent of Jim Morrison than the man accused of the horrific bombing that killed and maimed so many on Boylston Street.
Pharmacy chains CVS and Walgreens, and the New England grocery chain Tedeschi Food Shops are now boycotting the magazine in their stores. The grocer said on Facebook, "music and terror don't mix."
"When you look at the cover, this is a kid who looks like John Lennon without the glasses or Jim Morrison," former National Security spokesman for President Barack Obama Tommy Vietor told CNN. Vietor criticized the cover on Twitter earlier. "He looks cool. This is something you might aspire to."
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pop lead
Political cartooning struggles, but Matt Bors sketches on
Layoffs in the newspaper business have become fairly commonplace, and the newspaper industry slide also means the decline of a once-cherished aspect of print: Political cartoons.
Political cartoonists have been immensely influential over the years. The Washington Post's Herblock made Nixon's enemies list.
But regrettably, the field is fading. Full-time political cartoonist Matt Bors, 29, may be one of the last.
With a ruler, an inkbottle, a coffee-stained sketchbook and a sharp political mind, Bors has mastered a dying craft.
"I seem to be the perennial youngest [political cartoonist] unfortunately," said Bors. "There certainly aren't any jobs at newspapers or really on websites either."
According to the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists, there are fewer than 100 staff cartoonists in America compared with 280 three decades ago.
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world lead
Sen. Graham: Boycotting Olympics, G20 summit would get Putin's attention
Sen. Lindsey Graham is suggesting that the United States boycott the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.
The South Carolina Republican said on Tuesday it could be a consideration if Russian President Vladimir Putin allows admitted U.S. intelligence leaker Edward Snowden to remain in his country and continues supporting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
On Wednesday, Graham told CNN the U.S. should up its game in order to get Russia's attention.
"I don't want to boycott the Olympics. I love the Olympics," Graham said in an interview on CNN's "The Lead with Jake Tapper.”
"But at the end of the day, if talking about sports would focus the nation's attention on Russia, who is up to no good all over the planet, then I welcome this discussion," said Graham.
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