--- title: Morning Must Reads: July 18 description: In the News: Blame game continues on MH17; Israel launches ground invasion in Gaza; McCain tells GOP pass immigration reform; Is Chris Christie conservative enough for Iowa? canonical: https://time.com/3004625/morning-must-reads-july-18/ author: Maya Rhodan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-07-18T11:57:55.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-21T09:13:24.197Z article:section: Politics og:title: Morning Must Reads: July 18 og:description: In the News: Blame game continues on MH17; Israel launches ground invasion in Gaza; McCain tells GOP pass immigration reform; Is Chris Christie conservative enough for Iowa? og:url: https://time.com/3004625/morning-must-reads-july-18/ 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 18 twitter:description: In the News: Blame game continues on MH17; Israel launches ground invasion in Gaza; McCain tells GOP pass immigration reform; Is Chris Christie conservative enough for Iowa? 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 18 > 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 [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Jul 18, 2014 11:57 AM 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 [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Jul 18, 2014 11:57 AM UTC * Israel launches a ground invasion of Gaza. No one knows how it will end. \[[TIME](http://time.com/3002986/israel-launches-a-ground-invasion-of-gaza-and-no-one-knows-how-it-will-end/)\] * * 1 Israeli, 20 Palestinians killed in Gaza ground offensive \[[NYT](http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/19/world/middleeast/israel-gaza.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&version=LedeSum&module=a-lede-package-region®ion=lede-package&WT.nav=lede-package&%5Fr=0)\] * “The United States on Thursday reaffirmed its stance that Israel has a right to defend itself but called on its close ally to restrict itself to a “precise operation” as the Jewish state launched a ground campaign in Gaza.” \[[Reuters](http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/07/18/us-palestinians-israel-usa-idUSKBN0FM2RV20140718)\] * Fallen bodies, jet parts and a child’s book \[[NYT](http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/18/world/europe/malaysia-airlines-plane-leaves-trail-of-debris.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=b-lede-package-region®ion=lede-package&WT.nav=lede-package)\] * * Vladimir Putin: “I would like to note that this tragedy would not have occurred if there were peace in that country, or in any case, if hostilities had not resumed in southeast Ukraine … And certainly, the government over whose territory it occurred is responsible for this terrible tragedy.” \[[TIME](http://time.com/3003520/malaysia-airlines-ukraine-crash-putin/)\] * World leaders demanded an international investigation into the shooting down of a Malaysian airliner with 298 people on board over eastern Ukraine in a tragedy that could mark a pivotal moment in the worst crisis between Russia and the West since the Cold War.” \[[Reuters](http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/07/18/us-ukraine-crisis-airplane-idUSKBN0FM22N20140718http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/07/18/us-ukraine-crisis-airplane-idUSKBN0FM22N20140718)\] * Malaysia Transportation Minister said Thursday flight MH17 did not ignore safety warnings \[[TIME](http://time.com/3004453/malaysia-airlines-ukraine-crash-flight-safety-warnings-mh17/)\] * Dem base: fine with Hillary Clinton, pining for Elizabeth Warren \[[Politico](http://www.politico.com/story/2014/07/dem-base-fine-with-hillary-clinton-pining-for-warren-109081.html?hp=t1%5F3)\] * Is Chris Christie conservative enough for Iowa? He says: Who knows? \[[Des Moines Register](http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/opinion/columnists/kathie-obradovich/2014/07/17/is-chris-christie-conservative-enough-for-iowa/12811121/?from=global&sessionKey=&autologin=)\] * McCain to GOP: If you want to beat Hillary, pass immigration reform \[[TIME](http://time.com/3003338/hillary-clinton-mccain-immigration/)\] * Here are the House’s recommendations for the border crisis \[[National Journal](http://www.nationaljournal.com/congress/here-are-the-house-s-recommendations-for-the-border-crisis-20140717)\] * Health plans must disclose changes to contraceptive coverage \[[WSJ](http://www.nationaljournal.com/congress/here-are-the-house-s-recommendations-for-the-border-crisis-20140717)\] * Meet the people arrested hours before D.C.’s marijuana decriminalization law took hold \[[Washington Post](http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/crime/marijuana-arrests-before-new-dc-law-appear-to-hold-up-even-with-changes/2014/07/17/5ba9e422-0dd8-11e4-8341-b8072b1e7348%5Fstory.html?hpid=z4)\] * “Senate Democratic leaders plan to do an end run around Senate Finance Chairman Ron Wyden and combine House-passed legislation extending a moratorium on taxing Internet access with a Senate-passed proposal to require online retailers to collect sales tax.” \[[Roll Call](http://blogs.rollcall.com/wgdb/senate-to-package-internet-taxation-measures-into-one-bill/?dcz=)\] * World marks Nelson Mandela day \[[USA Today](http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2014/07/18/nelson-mandela-day/12780115/)\] * Super typhoon Rammasun bears down on Southern China \[[CNN](http://www.cnn.com/2014/07/17/world/asia/typhoon-rammasun-china-landfall/)\] * 1 Israeli, 20 Palestinians killed in Gaza ground offensive \[[NYT](http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/19/world/middleeast/israel-gaza.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&version=LedeSum&module=a-lede-package-region®ion=lede-package&WT.nav=lede-package&%5Fr=0)\] * “The United States on Thursday reaffirmed its stance that Israel has a right to defend itself but called on its close ally to restrict itself to a “precise operation” as the Jewish state launched a ground campaign in Gaza.” \[[Reuters](http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/07/18/us-palestinians-israel-usa-idUSKBN0FM2RV20140718)\] * Vladimir Putin: “I would like to note that this tragedy would not have occurred if there were peace in that country, or in any case, if hostilities had not resumed in southeast Ukraine … And certainly, the government over whose territory it occurred is responsible for this terrible tragedy.” \[[TIME](http://time.com/3003520/malaysia-airlines-ukraine-crash-putin/)\] * World leaders demanded an international investigation into the shooting down of a Malaysian airliner with 298 people on board over eastern Ukraine in a tragedy that could mark a pivotal moment in the worst crisis between Russia and the West since the Cold War.” \[[Reuters](http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/07/18/us-ukraine-crisis-airplane-idUSKBN0FM22N20140718http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/07/18/us-ukraine-crisis-airplane-idUSKBN0FM22N20140718)\] * Malaysia Transportation Minister said Thursday flight MH17 did not ignore safety warnings \[[TIME](http://time.com/3004453/malaysia-airlines-ukraine-crash-flight-safety-warnings-mh17/)\] Morning must readers, don’t forget to join TIME’s first #AskTIME subscriber Q&A today, July 18, at 1 p.m. ET, with political correspondent Jay Newton-Small and DC Bureau Chief Michael Scherer answering your questions. You can submit your questions three ways: On [Twitter](https://twitter.com/time) using the #AskTIME hashtag, on TIME’s Facebook page [here](https://www.facebook.com/time/posts/10152182406266491) or in the comments of this post. We will keep taking questions during the exchange and see how long we can keep going. You will need to be a TIME subscriber to read the Q&A. ([$30 a year or 8 cents a day](http://time.com/2981366/morning-must-reads-july-14/) for the magazine and all digital content.) Once you’re signed up, you can log in to the site with the username and password you are given when you subscribe. 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