The early morning sun rises behind the US Capitol Building in Washington, DC.
- Federal prosecutors will no longer seek long, “mandatory minimum” sentences for many low-level, nonviolent drug offenders, Attorney Gen. Eric Holder planned to announce Monday. There are almost 219,000 in federal prison, nearly half of which are serving time for drug crimes.
- Senior House GOP lawmakers on Sunday criticized Obama’s plan to provide a new advocate for privacy concerns before a secret court that oversees the NSA’s sweeping data collection, warning that it could slow antiterrorism efforts when time is of the essence.
- Enthusiasm for Israel-Palestine negotiations remains dim despite Israel releasing the names of 26 Palestinian prisoners to be released.
- With Anthony Weiner reeling, council speaker Christine Quinn is again the vulnerable front-runner for New York mayor.
- Stephen Moore: The “biggest underreported story out of Washington this year is that the federal budget is shrinking and much more than anyone in either party expected.”
- Ben White and MJ Lee: “there is a real chance that the fall of 2013 will be like the summer of 2011, when a near-miss on the debt ceiling led to a ratings agency downgrade, a huge sell-off in the stock market and yet another hit to an economy that might otherwise be heating up nicely.”
- The youth unemployment rate of Italy, Portugal, Greece, Cyprus, Slovakia and Spain is at least 35 percent.
- 5 Obamacare vows met and unmet
- Sen. Marco Rubio would shut down the government over Obamacare
- Why the World Bank is taking on climate change
- Wired looks at the genetics of IQ.