Walker sidesteps Christie-Paul question
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(CNN) - While other potential 2016 Republican presidential candidates have dived into the feud between New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Sen. Rand Paul, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is treading water.
When asked about his stance on the spat at a governors summit in Milwaukee on Friday, Walker did not take a side.
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Rangel: Republicans better than terrorists at hurting the country
(CNN) - Longtime Democratic Rep. Charlie Rangel of New York compared congressional Republicans to terrorists and likened supporters of the tea party movement to “white crackers” in an interview published Friday.
Rangel said House Republicans are doing more damage to American competitiveness than al Qaeda, according to The Daily Beast. "What is happening is sabotage. Terrorists couldn’t do a better job than the Republicans are doing.”
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Issa, IRS escalate fight over investigation
Washington (CNN) - Washington's war over alleged Internal Revenue Service targeting of conservative groups escalated sharply on Friday as Republican House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa issued a subpoena to Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, and the head of the IRS accused Issa of making a series of "inaccurate and unfair" statements earlier in the week.
At a testy hearing Friday morning - shortly before Congress broke for its summer recess - Issa blasted acting IRS chief Daniel Werfel for "slow-rolling" congressional investigators by refusing to release requested records in a timely manner.
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CNN's GUT CHECK for August 2, 2013
CNN's GUT CHECK | for August 2, 2013 | 5 p.m.
– n. a pause to assess the state, progress or condition of the political news cycle
ON ALERT: A State Department travel alert Friday said al Qaeda may launch attacks in the Middle East, North Africa and beyond, as the United States is closing 21 embassies and consulates Sunday as a precaution. – Chris Lawrence. Barbara Starr and Tom Cohen
KENTUCKY SENATE MOVES TO A TOSS UP:
Cook Political Report moves Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s race to a toss up. “#KYSEN GIVEN THAT TWO POLLS SHOW THE RACE WITHIN THE MOE AND WITH GRIMES AHEAD OF MCCONNELL IN BOTH, IT MOVES TO THE TOSS UP COLUMN,” Jennifer Duffy said Friday on Twitter.
MARKET WATCH: Dow and S&P end the week at record closing highs despite disappointing jobs report.
Sen. Leahy's flight diverted; forced to land in Philadelphia
Washington (CNN) - A plane carrying Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy from Washington home to Vermont at the start of Congress's five-week summer break diverted to Philadelphia evidently after experiencing a hydraulic problem.
The FAA said the plane, a regional jet flown by Republic Airlines, landed safely at 11:27 a.m. ET. The FAA is investigating the cause of the diversion.
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Kerry: Same-sex spouses' visas will get equal treatment
(CNN) - Legally married same-sex spouses seeking U.S. visas will now be treated the same as opposite-sex spouses, Secretary of State John Kerry announced Friday.
Kerry told a meeting with consular staff in London that the change means that his department was "tearing down an unjust and an unfair barrier that for too long stood in the way of same-sex families being able to travel as a family to the United States."
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First on CNN: Jindal raising money for 2016 powerbroker in New Orleans
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(CNN) - Bobby Jindal is courting one of South Carolina's most popular Republican politicians this weekend in New Orleans, the latest sign of the Louisiana governor's interest in a 2016 presidential bid.
Jindal is hosting a fundraiser for South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott on Friday afternoon at a steak house in New Orleans, where Scott spent the morning speaking to a conservative conference.
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After fortieth vote to gut Obamacare, lawmakers head home
(CNN) – As their final act before leaving for their August break, lawmakers in the House of Representatives voted Friday to disallow the Internal Revenue Service from implementing the Affordable Care Act – their fortieth attempt to repeal or gut the law known as Obamacare.
The measure sponsored by Rep. Tom Price of Georgia passed 232-185, though like all other attempts by the GOP-led House to end the health care law, it's expected to go nowhere in the Democrat-controlled Senate.
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Immigration activists aren't taking a recess
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Washington (CNN) – From staging rallies to mounting a caravan through California to setting up phone banks to more private lobbying activists on all sides of the immigration issue are vowing a month of activities to try to push members of Congress and the public over immigration reform during the coming congressional recess.
A coalition called the Alliance for Citizenship, comprised of groups ranging from the AFL-CIO to the Service Employees International Union to La Raza and other Hispanic groups, will stage about 300 events across the country during August to push the House to also pass comprehensive immigration reform. It is calling its effort "Immigration Reform Summer."
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Weiner in video to supporters: I'm ready for tough questions
(CNN) – It may be the first fundraising pitch in political history to include the words, "I did lie to my wife."
But Anthony Weiner's latest bid to rally support for his New York City mayoral campaign makes the case the candidate is ready to take tough questions head on – a quality he argues is necessary to helm the nation's largest metropolis.
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