--- title: Morning Must Reads: July 7 description: In the news: Ukraine military's remarkable transformation; NSA targeting; Why we stuck with Iraqi PM Nouri al-Maliki; Obamacare; The Highway Trust Fund; Hillary distances herself from the President; Bloomberg's gun control group canonical: https://time.com/2962323/morning-must-reads-july-7/ author: Alex Rogers article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-07-07T12:40:41.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-21T08:59:45.205Z article:section: Politics og:title: Morning Must Reads: July 7 og:description: In the news: Ukraine military's remarkable transformation; NSA targeting; Why we stuck with Iraqi PM Nouri al-Maliki; Obamacare; The Highway Trust Fund; Hillary distances herself from the President; Bloomberg's gun control group og:url: https://time.com/2962323/morning-must-reads-july-7/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb24c27fcf0ec0da8/6986837dcd6848a30809364f/morning-must-reads1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: Morning Must Reads og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Morning Must Reads: July 7 twitter:description: In the news: Ukraine military's remarkable transformation; NSA targeting; Why we stuck with Iraqi PM Nouri al-Maliki; Obamacare; The Highway Trust Fund; Hillary distances herself from the President; Bloomberg's gun control group twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb24c27fcf0ec0da8/6986837dcd6848a30809364f/morning-must-reads1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Morning Must Reads: July 7 > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Alex Rogers](https://time.com/author/alex-rogers/) ## Alex Rogers Jul 7, 2014 12:40 PM UTC  The early morning sun rises behind the US Capitol Building in Washington, DC. The early morning sun rises behind the US Capitol Building in Washington, DC. Mark Wilson—Getty Images by [Alex Rogers](https://time.com/author/alex-rogers/) ## Alex Rogers Jul 7, 2014 12:40 PM UTC * Ukraine Military Finds Its Footing Against Pro-Russian Rebels \[[NYT](http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/07/world/europe/ukraine-military-finds-its-footing-against-pro-russian-rebels.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&version=LedeSum&module=first-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&%5Fr=0)\] * Why We Stuck With Maliki—and Lost Iraq \[[WashPost](http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/why-we-stuck-with-maliki--and-lost-iraq/2014/07/03/0dd6a8a4-f7ec-11e3-a606-946fd632f9f1%5Fstory.html?tid=pm%5Fopinions%5Fpop)\] * “Tony Blair has demanded a change of government in Iraq unless the Maliki regime abandons sectarianism.” \[[The Telegraph](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iraq/10949891/Tony-Blair-calls-on-Iraqi-PM-Nouri-al-Maliki-to-change-or-quit.html)\] * “Ordinary Internet users, American and non-American alike, far outnumber legally targeted foreigners in the communications intercepted by the National Security Agency from U.S. digital networks…” \[[WashPost](http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/in-nsa-intercepted-data-those-not-targeted-far-outnumber-the-foreigners-who-are/2014/07/05/8139adf8-045a-11e4-8572-4b1b969b6322%5Fstory.html)\] * Obamacare’s Next Threat: A September Surprise \[[Politico](http://www.politico.com/story/2014/07/obamacare-insurance-rates-white-house-108590.html?hp=t1)\] * Forget _Hobby Lobby_—This Case Could Wreck Obamacare \[[National Journal](http://www.nationaljournal.com/health-care/forget-em-hobby-lobby-em-this-case-could-wreck-obamacare-20140707)\] * “Lawmakers are under pressure to refill the Highway Trust Fund when they return to Washington after the Fourth of July weekend or risk losing thousands of construction jobs that could set back recent job growth.” \[[Hill](http://thehill.com/policy/transportation/211336-highway-fund-running-on-fumes)\] * “Hillary Clinton has begun distancing herself from President Barack Obama, suggesting that she would do more to woo Republicans and take a more assertive stance toward global crises, while sounding more downbeat than her former boss about the U.S. economic recovery.” \[[WSJ](http://online.wsj.com/articles/hillary-clinton-begins-to-move-away-from-obama-ahead-of-2016-1404691988)\] * “Bloomberg’s group, Everytown for Gun Safety, is asking all Senate and House incumbents and candidates to complete a 10-part questionnaire stating publicly where they stand on issues such as expanding background checks for gun buyers, limiting the capacity of ammunition magazines and toughening gun-trafficking statutes.” \[[WashPost](http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/bloombergs-gun-group-to-start-2014-midterms-strategy-by-surveying-candidates/2014/07/06/d772a196-02ef-11e4-b8ff-89afd3fad6bd%5Fstory.html?hpid=z1)\] * A ‘Band-Aid’ for 800 Children \[[WashPost](http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/national/2014/07/05/a-band-aid-for-800-children/)\] * “Tony Blair has demanded a change of government in Iraq unless the Maliki regime abandons sectarianism.” \[[The Telegraph](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iraq/10949891/Tony-Blair-calls-on-Iraqi-PM-Nouri-al-Maliki-to-change-or-quit.html)\] * Forget _Hobby Lobby_—This Case Could Wreck Obamacare \[[National Journal](http://www.nationaljournal.com/health-care/forget-em-hobby-lobby-em-this-case-could-wreck-obamacare-20140707)\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/2962323/morning-must-reads-july-7/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/2962323/morning-must-reads-july-7/"},"headline":"Morning Must Reads: July 7","datePublished":"2014-07-07T12:40:41.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T08:59:45.205Z","description":"In the news: Ukraine military's remarkable transformation; 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