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Anchored by Jake Tapper, The Lead airs at 4 p.m. ET on CNN.
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sports lead
Tiger Woods dishes on his desire to win a PGA championship
Tiger Woods is the number one golfer in the world again, and steamrolled through the Bridgestone Invitational last week.
But one thing is still missing – a major. Woods hasn't won a big one since 2008, and came in Friday nine strokes behind the leader at the PGA Championship, his final chance to win a major this season.
The golf legend spoke with CNN's Rachel Nichols.
pop lead
'Breaking Bad' and the era of the TV anti-hero
Chances are this Sunday night, a few million television viewers will be home, cuddled up with loved ones, watching murder, and sex, and crystal meth-making on television.
"Breaking Bad" is back for its final eight episodes, and despite all moral obligations to reject the series, it was just named program of the year by the Television Critics Association.
If a murderous drug dealer isn't to viewers' liking, other villains have lit up the screen in ground-breaking shows. "Mad Men" features adulterous advertising executive Don Draper. And then there's the handsome devil named Dexter, who just happens to wrap people in Saran wrap and kill them.
Unseemly as they are, these three shady fellows attracted nearly 9 million total viewers during their most recent season premiers.
"The relationship is that of rooting for these characters ... who are doing these terrible things, and then asking ourselves, 'Well, why are we rooting for this person?' That is the kind of tension that makes this kind of television so exciting," said Brett Martin, author of "Difficult Men."
FULL POST
buried lead
Why I changed my mind on weed
By Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN Chief Medical Correspondent
Watch Dr. Sanjay Gupta's groundbreaking documentary "WEED" at 8 p.m. ET August 11 on CNN.
(CNN) - Over the last year, I have been working on a new documentary called "Weed." The title "Weed" may sound cavalier, but the content is not.
I traveled around the world to interview medical leaders, experts, growers and patients. I spoke candidly to them, asking tough questions. What I found was stunning.
Long before I began this project, I had steadily reviewed the scientific literature on medical marijuana from the United States and thought it was fairly unimpressive. Reading these papers five years ago, it was hard to make a case for medicinal marijuana. I even wrote about this in a TIME magazine article, back in 2009, titled "Why I would Vote No on Pot."
politics lead
King: Obama is catering to traitor Edward Snowden
President Barack Obama gave an hour-long news conference Friday, discussing the National Security Agency, Edward Snowden, and the cooling relationship with Russia.
"At my direction, the Department of Justice will make public the legal rationale for the government's collection activities under Section 215 of The Patriot Act," said Obama.
"This is a terrible failure of leadership. This is the NSA version of the Obama apology tour," said Congressman Peter King, R-New York. "The NSA program is successful, and yet the president is allowing Edward Snowden the traitor to pull the puppet strings."
FULL POST
world lead
Analysis: What 'candid' and 'blunt' Obama-Putin conversations really mean
President Barack Obama elaborated on his relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin Friday, telling reporters that he does not have a bad personal relationship with the Russian leader.
"When we have conversations, they're candid, they're blunt, often times they're constructive. I know the press likes to focus on body language, and he's got that kind of slouch, looking like the bored kid in the back of the classroom. But the truth is, is that when we're in conversations together, oftentimes it's very productive," said Obama.
"Conversations that are 'candid' and 'blunt' – that's diplomatic speech they use when a conversation doesn't go well," said CNN chief White House correspondent Jessica Yellin.
FULL POST
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