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Anchored by Jake Tapper, The Lead airs at 4 p.m. ET on CNN.
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national lead
Civil rights superhero: Rep. Lewis creates civil rights comic book
Congressman John Lewis, D-Georgia, hopes to inspire a new generation, by sharing his stories through a graphic comic book trilogy called "March."
national lead
Analysis: Race in America in 2013
President Barack Obama's speech to thousands on the National Mall Wednesday – the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington – both paid tribute to those who gathered in front of the Lincoln Memorial in 1963 and cast a hopeful eye towards the future.
"They dared to dream differently, to imagine something better, and I am convinced that same imagination, same hunger of purpose, stirs in this generation," said Obama.
"Change does not come from Washington, but to Washington. The change has always been built on our willingness, we the people to take on the mantle of citizenship. You are marching," said Obama.
Some thought the president would give a more personal speech.
"I don't think it was about him. I don't think the day was about him. I think he had the grace to recognize that," said Michel Martin, host of NPR's "Tell Me More."
"I think that people feel that, perhaps the president was being too cool for school, but I think that he was reflecting his philosophical and firmly-held belief that movements are about the people and not about individuals like him," said Martin.
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national lead
Witness to Fort Hood: Death penalty for Hasan is 'wonderful'
A military jury on Wednesday recommended the death penalty for convicted Fort Hood shooter Maj. Nidal Hasan, for the 2009 massacre that left 13 people dead and 32 others wounded.
Former Army Sgt. Howard Ray was awarded the Army Commendation Medal for his actions at the Fort Hood shooting, where he was credited with saving the lives of six soldiers and three civilians.
"As a survivor of this atrocity, as an individual, I feel absolutely wonderful that justice has indeed been served," Ray said in reaction the verdict.
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world lead
Analysis: How will Syria respond to a U.S. strike?
The U.S. is close to taking military action in Syria.
The LA Times reported Wednesday, "One U.S. official who has been briefed on the options on Syria said he believed the White House would seek a level of intensity 'just muscular enough not to get mocked' but not so devastating that it would prompt a response from Syrian allies Iran and Russia. 'They are looking at what is just enough to mean something, just enough to be more than symbolic,' he said."
"Doing something very small like that is worse than doing nothing at all," said said Christopher Harmer, senior naval analyst at the Institute for the Study of War.
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national lead
Gov. Deval Patrick: We must close the gap between our reality, and our civic ideals
The 50th anniversary of the March on Washington was a stirring day, and also a day to take stock of where race relations are in this country.
Governor Deval Patrick, D-Massachusetts, rang a bell in Boston, in unison with one that rang on the National Mall, and at more than 300 sites across the country. Patrick rang that bell as the only black governor in the United States, the first black governor in Massachusetts.
He was just 7 years old when Dr. Martin Luther King laid out his dream in an historic speech 50 years ago.
Patrick said he did not fully appreciate all the elements of what he saw on his grandparents black and white TV, and certainly the rhetorical essence was lost on the young boy.
But Patrick said he understood "that something important was happening, and that it was about me, and people like me all over the South Side of Chicago, and all over the country."
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