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Anchored by Jake Tapper, The Lead airs at 4 p.m. ET on CNN.
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world lead
More than a million Iraqis have fled their homes as ISIS continues armed siege
Baghdad, Iraq (CNN) - More than a million Iraqis have been forced from their homes by conflict this year, the U.N. refugee agency said Friday - a number only likely to rise as Islamist militants and Iraqi Security forces battle for control.
A humanitarian crisis is brewing, as families who've fled fighting with little more than the clothes on their back seek water, food and shelter from the summer heat.
politics lead
IRS blasted over lost hard drive and e-mails, but no apology from agency chief
(CNN) - In a knife fight of a congressional hearing, IRS Commissioner John Koskinen defended his agency, but he sparked an uproar from Republicans by admitting it destroyed a key hard drive wanted in an investigation, and he did not apologize for the data loss.
"I don't think an apology is owed, not a single email has been lost since the start of this investigation," Koskinen told a dais full of skeptical GOP members on Friday.
He argued the IRS has done its best to find the emails that originally went missing in 2011.
politics lead
Rape victim outraged over 1975 case ready to 'stand up' to Hillary Clinton
(CNN) – Before she was a possible presidential candidate, before she was even Hillary Clinton, Hillary Rodham was a 27-year-old trial lawyer in Arkansas with a southern drawl, and big ambitions.
She was asked by a judge to defend a 42-year old man accused of raping a 12-year-old girl.
Clinton was able to plea bargain down the sentence to just one year in prison, which was reduced for time served.
But the victim, who is now 52-years-old, is speaking out to the Daily Beast, and saying that one of the most famous women in the world "put her through hell."
FULL POST
national lead
Immigrant children flooding U.S. border, Texas AG asks for more aid
(CNN) – Vice President Joe Biden is south of the border Friday, talking with leaders of several Central American nations about more than 50,000 children who have crossed illegally into the United States alone, many of them motivated by the false promises of migrant smugglers looking to make a profit off their desperation.
FULL POST
pop lead
'McSteamy' sets sail: Actor Eric Dane headlines new show 'The Last Ship'
(CNN) – Actor Eric Dane is the captain of TNT's new series "The Last Ship."
TNT is owned by Time Warner, the parent company of CNN.
The show's premise is a worldwide pandemic decimating the population. Who better than Dane, a former TV doctor, to helm the planet's last safe haven?
Dane played "Dr. Mark Sloan" on ABC's "Grey's Anatomy," but many fans remember him best as "McSteamy," a moniker the actor says doesn't bother him.
"It got me where I am today," Dane tells CNN.
Now, the 41-year-old actor is moving on to the type of role he says every actor ultimately wants to play: A hero bringing people together in order to save the world.
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