Morning Must Reads: February 12

In the news: the end of debt-limit brinkmanship; election mode hits Capitol Hill; Wendy Davis; the first known instance of a foreign national exploiting Citizens United; mammography screenings; the words you can't say on the House floor

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Mark Wilson / Getty Images

The early morning sun rises behind the US Capitol Building in Washington, DC.

  • Can Wendy Davis have it all? [NYT]
  • “The Federal Reserve will keep winding down one of its highest-profile easy-money programs unless the economy takes a serious turn for the worse, Janet Yellen said in her inaugural public appearance since becoming the central bank’s first chairwoman.” [WSJ]
  • “The House voted 221-201 to pass a clean debt ceiling hike for more than a year—and there are a few interesting trends hidden in the breakdown…” [Roll Call]
    • How John Boehner decided to give up on the debt limit fight [WashPost]
    • Debt-Limit Brinkmanship Is Dead [Slate]
  • Election modes hits Capitol [Hill]
    • “House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi is trying to make the midterm elections all about women.” [Politico]
  • “President Barack Obama will sign an executive order on Wednesday to raise the minimum wage for federal contract workers to $10.10 an hour starting next year…” [Reuters]
  • Obama’s arbitrary health care flexibility [National Journal]
  • “In a first of its kind case, federal prosecutors say a Mexican businessman funneled more than $500,000 into U.S. political races through Super PACs and various shell companies. The alleged financial scheme is the first known instance of a foreign national exploiting the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision in order to influence U.S. elections.” [Foreign Policy]
  • “Yearly mammography screenings for women ages 40 to 59 do not reduce breast cancer deaths, even though they make a diagnosis of illness more likely, according to a long-term study of nearly 90,000 Canadian women.” [L.A. Times]
  • Are there words you can’t say on the House floor? [National Journal]