Obama wins
Barbara Mikulski is the 34th vote in the Senate, assuring that an Obama veto on the Iran nuclear deal would be upheld. But Obama’s win was a coordinated effort, starting with a meeting between undecided Democrats and diplomats from Britain, China, Germany, France and Russia, who said this was the best deal they could get. Via The New York Times.
Three points
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar writes an essay in The Washington Post about the difference between Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders, starting with the fact that Trump is a bully. And then there was the Donald’s response.
Taking the Fifth
A staffer who worked on Hillary Clinton’s email server says he will take the Fifth Amendment if he is required to testify before Congress. Via The Washington Post.
Bad deals
The National Journal takes a look at years of Donald Trump’s name-in-neon wheeling and dealing and determines that Trump would be much richer today if he had made no deals at all.
Mission accomplished
Is Obama’s Alaska trip his “mission accomplished” moment? Can he sell climate change and oil leases in the Arctic at the same time? Via The New Republic.
Forecast bleak
Liberals had some very big wins in the Supreme Court this year. But Jeffrey Toobin writes in The New Yorker that the winning streak is about to end. Gordon Epps writes in The Atlantic that the streak won’t end, however, with the case of same-sex marriage and the Kentucky county clerk.
Sliding down
SAT scores are the lowest they’ve been in 10 years. What does that mean for the school-reform movement? Via The Washington Post.
Preventative measures
Does contraception really reduce the likelihood of abortion? The evidence is surprisingly ambiguous — until you look at the best evidence. Via William Saletan at Slate.
Saying goodbye
Sonia Manzano won the hearts of millions playing Maria on Sesame Street for 44 years. Now, upon her retirement, The New York Times tells the story of her childhood and how she became Maria.
Photo credit: U.S. Army RDECOM, Creative Commons, Flickr.
