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Anchored by Jake Tapper, The Lead airs at 4 p.m. ET on CNN.
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world lead
White House official: U.S. made direct threats to Ukraine officials, oligarchs
(CNN) – Ukrainian leaders, opposition figures, European Union representatives hashed out an agreement Friday to hopefully end the bloodshed in Ukraine.
But where was the U.S. and Russia?
The deal was the topic of discussion when President Barack Obama called his counterpart, Russian President Vladimir Putin Friday. The U.S. did denounce the violence, and Russia's influence is deeply woven into the conflict in Ukraine, but neither country played a public role in sealing this peace agreement.
But the White House was closely involved, according to deputy national security adviser Tony Blinken.
FULL POST
sports lead
Brian Boitano: Yuna Kim needed more to win
(CNN) - In the final chapter of her storied Olympic figure skating career, South Korea's Yuna Kim won silver - not able to defend her shot at gold against a Russian teenager who seemingly came out of nowhere to get the top prize.
Instantly, there was controversy.
Russia's Adelina Sotnikova finished with a total score of 224.59, beating Kim's score of 219.11 by 5.48 points after the free skate program. Sotnikova, 17, became the first female Russian skater to win in the category. Italy's Carolina Kostner took the bronze.
"It's such a mathematical equation that it comes down to component scores – which are the skating skills and the choreography – versus the technical skills," Olympic gold medalist Brian Boitano told CNN's "The Lead with Jake Tapper.
FULL POST
politics lead
Roundtable: Obama budget a play to rally the base
(CNN) – President Barack Obama's budget for next year will now push for a large expansion in spending on education and job training, and will not slow the growth of social security accounting for inflation, something he promised the GOP just last year.
Speaker John Boehner's office says: "The President has no interest in doing anything, even modest, to address our looming debt crisis. ... With three years left in office, it seems the President is already throwing in the towel."
On the other side, Boehner put the breaks on immigration reform.
Is Obama's budget a move to rally the base? The Wall Street Journal's Carol Lee and Time's Michael Crowley discuss.
national lead
The government in your newsroom
(CNN) – A proposed study written for the Federal Communications Commission is drawing criticism, with news organizations accusing the FCC of infringing on the rights of the freedom of the press.
A pilot program that was supposed to go to news organizations in a South Carolina city to find out what barriers exist for the population on "critical information needs" included questions like: "What is the news philosophy of the station?" "Who decides which stories are covered?" "Have you ever suggested coverage that was rejected by management?"
FULL POST
national lead
Arizona law: Religious freedom, or license to discriminate?
(CNN) – A hypothetical: Let's say a gay couple walks into a business, and the owner refuses to serve them. The couple sues and the owner loses, despite his claims that serving a gay couple in his establishment violates his religious beliefs.
Which party was actually discriminated against?
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