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Anchored by Jake Tapper, The Lead airs at 4 p.m. ET on CNN.
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national lead
Defense Secretary and Vietnam veteran Chuck Hagel reflects on Memorial Day
A veteran of the Vietnam War who earned two purple hearts, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel looks back on the time he served and tells CNN's Jake Tapper who he still thinks about on Memorial Day.
world lead
Mideast leaders to meet Pope at Vatican
(CNN) – Pope Francis' recent three-day trip to the Middle East may have just set the stage for new peace negotiations in the Holy Land.
The Pope invited the presidents of Israel and the Palestinian Authority to visit the Vatican for an interfaith "prayer of peace," and both accepted. CNN’s Jake Tapper and Ivan Watson discuss the significance.
world lead
Is the U.S. weakened after backing off the red line with Syria? Secretary Hagel weighs in
If you ask Chuck Hagel, rumors of America's demise on the world stage are greatly exaggerated.
In a wide-ranging interview with CNN's Jake Tapper, the Defense Secretary staunchly defended President Barack Obama's handling of the Syria crisis and his overall foreign policy goals, lampooning those who claim the United States has "lost an edge" in world affairs since Obama took office.
"I don't think Assad just gave those chemical weapons up because he thought we were weak," Hagel told Tapper. "I think just the opposite."
world lead
Nigeria: "We Know Where The Girls Are"
CNN's Arwa Damon reports on breaking news out of Nigeria – a top military official tells state news he knows the whereabouts of girls kidnapped more than a month ago.
However he says Nigeria's military will not use force to try and rescue them.
world lead
Who needs Edward Snowden? W.H. accidentally reveals name of top Kabul spy
(CNN) – It was supposed to be a trip shrouded in secrecy.
Instead, President Barack Obama's brief and unannounced visit to soldiers in Afghanistan - the commander-in-chief spent a little more than four hours in the country Sunday - was bookended by the White House unwittingly leaking the identity of the CIA's top spy in Kabul.
