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Anchored by Jake Tapper, The Lead airs at 4 p.m. ET on CNN.
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politics lead
Analysis: Is Gov. Paul LePage a political liability for GOP?
In just two short years in office, Maine's Republican governor has managed to compare the IRS to Hitler's murderous gestapo, and told the NAACP to kiss his butt.
Now, Paul LePage is dodging reports that he accused the president of "hating white people." The accusation comes from "The Bangor Daily News," citing two unnamed state lawmakers who were in the room.
LePage denied the story Tuesday, telling reporters, "No, I never said that, and you guys are all about gossip."
"Any effort that Republicans are going to make for outreach are going to have to come not from the top down, but from candidates," said senior writer for The Washington Examiner Philip Klein. "They're going to have to, you know, make their own outreach efforts and try to connect with minorities."
The reason the story has gotten some legs is because it's not the first time LePage has said something fairly crazy.
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pop lead
Elmore Leonard, writer of sharp, colorful crime stories, dead at 87
(CNN) - Elmore Leonard - the award-winning mystery writer whose snappy dialogue, misfit characters and laconic sense of humor produced such popular works as "Get Shorty," "Hombre," "Fifty-Two Pickup" and "Out of Sight" - has died, according to his literary agent, Jeffrey Posternak. He was 87.
The cause of death was not given, but Leonard had suffered a stroke two weeks ago. According to his website, the author died at his home in Bloomfield Village, Michigan.
Leonard's succinct writing style - he favored brief exchanges of dialogue leavened with wit and a keen sense of person and place - made him a favorite of Hollywood, which turned several Leonard novels and stories into films and TV programs. (The newest Leonard adaptation, the film "Life of Crime," based on his novel "The Switch," will premiere at the Toronto Film Festival next month.)
He was also incredibly prolific. At the time of his death, he was at work on his 46th novel.
sports lead
'72 Dolphins finally invited to the White House
On Tuesday, 41 years after they accomplished perfection, the 1972 Miami Dolphins, the only undefeated, Super Bowl-winning team in NFL history, finally had their day at the White House.
"Any reason that we have after some 40, 41 years to get together is always appreciated, the fact that we were called to the White House made it even more special," Pro football Hall of Fame fullback Larry Csonka said in an interview with "The Lead with Jake Tapper."
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money lead
Obama warns economic team of another market crash
President Barack Obama gave an urgent behind-the-scenes warning to his economic team about the need to take action to avoid another economic meltdown.
Another Lehman Brothers-style blow up is probably not on the horizon, said Rana Foroohar, editor with Time magazine.
"However there is arguably a bigger problem, which is sort of this slow burn – that banks are making record profits, they're back on top, but lending still isn't where it should be," said Foroohar.
Banks are recording top profits, said Foroohar, "but it's from trading, it's from the risky maneuvers that we saw pre-2008, not from lending to real businesses."
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world lead
GOP congressman: Why hasn't anyone at State Department been fired for Benghazi?
Shortly after the deadly attack on the U.S. compound in Benghazi, Libya, then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton put four State Department officials on administrative leave. Those four were invited back to work Tuesday, after Secretary of State John Kerry decided that they do not deserve any formal disciplinary action.
"Somebody at the Department of State has to be held accountable," said Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, a member of the House Oversight Committee.
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