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Anchored by Jake Tapper, The Lead airs at 4 p.m. ET on CNN.
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national lead
Secret Service director out: What was the last straw?
(CNN) - Julia Pierson, the first female director of the Secret Service, resigned Wednesday in the aftermath of a fence-jumper gaining access to the White House on September 19 and a subsequent congressional inquiry uncovering other security lapses.
Homeland Security Director Jeh Johnson announced the resignation in a statement. He also announced that the Department of Homeland Security would take over an internal inquiry of the Secret Service and that he would appoint of a new panel to review security at the White House.
politics lead
Is D.C. a real-life 'House of Cards'?
Washington (CNN) – Thought bubble: The White House removing chained CPI from their budget arguably shows that Washington is even more cynical than "House of Cards."
The plot lines are similar between today's headlines and the first few episodes of the second season of the Netflix show, in which lawmakers raise the age of retirement to 68. Specifically, Democratic leaders push a Republican proposal to raise to the retirement age through Congress even after Republicans, out of pique, abandon negotiations.
politics lead
Boehner tries, eventually enrolls in Obamacare
After all the problems with the Obamacare website, and people losing insurance, could there be a new unexpected failure for President Barack Obama's signature healthcare law? A failure to fail, as it were, creating, perhaps, embarrassing success for the Republican Speaker of the House, John Boehner.
national lead
Anthony Weiner, Ryan Braun and a summer of lies
Washington (CNN) - Psst! Here's a truth: Politicians lie. They lie about their personal lives like Anthony Weiner did. And Eliot Spitzer. And Mark Sanford. And Bill Clinton. And John Edwards. Shall we go on?
They lie about policy too. America's top spy, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper had to issue a statement explaining why he testified before Congress that the U.S. government is not gathering dossiers on American citizens when it's now clear that the U.S. government is gathering all their Internet and phone data.
They lie to supporters. When some Republicans pledge to repeal Obamacare, it might be what the voters back home want to hear. But the lawmakers know it's not going to happen.
