- Obama touts economic record as budget battle looms.
- Politicians of both parties have promised repeatedly to build a better system for financing the American dream of owning a home. There is little sign of progress.
- South Korea has become the biggest foreign investor in real estate world-wide, followed by Canada and Singapore respectively, according to real estate services firm JLL.
- Bin Laden’s successor, Ayman al-Zawahiri, is back in the spotlight for ordering a new round of attacks, possibly including the U.S. embassy in Yemen.
- Authorities in Yemen foiled the Al Qaeda plot to seize an important port using militants in Army uniforms to kidnap and kill foreigners there.
- The crucial intercept that prompted the U.S. government to close embassies in 22 countries was a conference call between al Qaeda’s senior leaders and representatives of several of the group’s affiliates throughout the region.
- The Justice Department filed criminal charges against some suspects in the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi that killed the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three other Americans.
- A new study shows that, contrary to belief, deployment in Afghanistan or Iraq did not increase a service member’s risk of suicide.
- And then there were two: the Detroit mayor race
- John Cassidy’s skeptical view of Bezos and the Washington Post.
- The Hill: 100 people to watch this fall
Morning Must Reads: August 7
In the news: Yemen plot foiled; Obama brags; home ownership troubles; Bezos and the Post; and 100 politicos to watch this fall