--- title: Morning Must Reads: June 24 description: President Obama is revising the U.S. policy toward family members whose loved ones are being held hostage by terrorist groups, dropping the long-standing threats of... canonical: https://time.com/3933550/morning-must-reads-june-24-2/ author: Zeke Miller article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-06-24T11:35:43.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-26T19:55:35.960Z article:section: Politics og:title: Morning Must Reads: June 24 og:description: President Obama is revising the U.S. policy toward family members whose loved ones are being held hostage by terrorist groups, dropping the long-standing threats of... og:url: https://time.com/3933550/morning-must-reads-june-24-2/ 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: June 24 twitter:description: President Obama is revising the U.S. policy toward family members whose loved ones are being held hostage by terrorist groups, dropping the long-standing threats of... 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: June 24 (24 Jun 2015) > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### 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. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=f6823f12-6d9b-49d2-88cc-df7d70c0cea5&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller Jun 24, 2015 11:35 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 [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller Jun 24, 2015 11:35 AM UTC President Obama is revising the U.S. policy toward family members whose loved ones are being held hostage by terrorist groups, dropping the long-standing threats of prosecution for those paying ransom. The change follows the beheadings and failed rescue attempts of a number of hostages held by ISIS and other extremist groups in recent years. A government auditor found massive security gaps at the Office of Personnel Management, the beleaguered agency at the center of a massive hack of government employee data, allegedly carried out by China. Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal will become the latest GOP contender to enter the president race, but he faces a steep climb to the nomination as one of the least-known candidates in an already packed field. After years of being a litmus test for candidates in the South, the politics around the Confederate flag have dramatically shifted since last week’s Charleston shooting, but a host of U.S. remembrances to those supporting the rebel cause remain. Here are your must-reads: **Must Reads** [Bobby Jindal’s Uphill Battle](http://time.com/3933048/bobby-jindal-campaign-launch/) The Louisiana governor is launching his presidential bid from the back of the pack \[TIME\] [Bipartisan Push for Criminal Justice Reform Sets Its Agenda](http://time.com/3931188/criminal-justice-reform-agenda/) Momentum builds behind effort to reform sentencing laws, TIME’s Alex Altman reports [Democrats Borrow From the Republican Playbook](http://time.com/3932216/congress-democrats-hostages/) TIME’s Jay Newton-Small on the rise of Democratic hostage-taking in Congress [Obama Ordering Changes in U.S. Hostage Policies](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/24/world/obama-ordering-changes-in-us-hostage-policies.html?%5Fr=0) Families of hostages won’t be threatened with criminal prosecution for paying ransoms under proposed change \[New York Times\] [New report blasts personnel office cyber security management](http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/federal-eye/wp/2015/06/23/new-report-blasts-personnel-office-cyber-security-management/) High risk failures at agency at center of massive hack \[Washington Post\] [Calls to Drop Confederate Emblems Spread Nationwide](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/24/us/south-carolina-nikki-haley-confederate-flag.html?ref=politics) A once-moribund effort to scale back the flag’s use picks up steam \[New York Times\] **Sound Off** “\[Wisconsin Gov. Scott\] Walker weighed in and said the 20-week abortion ban is something he would like to see hit his desk … It sent a message to us.” — Wisconsin Senate Majority Leader [Scott Fitzgerald](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/24/us/politics/scott-walker-promising-bold-leadership-faces-gop-discord-in-wisconsin.html?ref=politics) to the New York _Times_. Walker had refused to take a position on the issue during his 2014 re-elect. “One of my dorm mates in tenth grade is running for president also, Jeb Bush. We had some spirited games of ping-pong and our paths have not crossed much since high school but I think we still consider each other friends.” — Former Rhode Island Gov. [Lincoln Chafee](http://www.theskimm.com/skimm-your-candidate/lincoln-chafee), a longshot Democratic presidential candidate, on his high school classmate. **Bits and Bites** [Senate Clears Trade Bill’s Way to Passage](http://www.wsj.com/articles/senate-clears-trade-bills-way-to-passage-1435101401) \[Wall Street Journal\] [U.S. Flag Waves Over 10 Army Bases Proudly Named for Confederate Officers](http://time.com/3932914/army-bases-confederate/) \[TIME\] [A field guide to the racists commemorated inside the U.S. Capitol](http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2015/06/23/a-field-guide-to-the-racists-commemorated-inside-the-u-s-capitol/) \[Washington Post\] [Six plans to fix Obamacare should the Supreme Court eliminate federal subsidies](http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2015/06/23/your-pocket-guide-to-obamacare-replacement-plans/) \[Washington Post\] [Kasich: ‘I’m coming to Iowa … to show respect’](http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/elections/presidential/caucus/2015/06/23/john-kasich-coming-iowa-want-show-respect/29191257/) \[Des Moines Register\] [Pawn Stars host cuts video for Rubio ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txUo5wFveas&feature=em-uploademail) [Families whose children were held captive in Syria felt that U.S. officials had abandoned them. So they secretly joined forces.](http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/07/06/five-hostages) \[New Yorker\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3933550/morning-must-reads-june-24-2/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3933550/morning-must-reads-june-24-2/"},"headline":"Morning Must Reads: June 24 (24 Jun 2015)","datePublished":"2015-06-24T11:35:43.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-26T19:55:35.960Z","description":"President Obama is revising the U.S. policy toward family members whose loved ones are being held hostage by terrorist groups, dropping the long-standing threats of...","url":"https://time.com/3933550/morning-must-reads-june-24-2/","keywords":["Morning Must Reads"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb24c27fcf0ec0da8/6986837dcd6848a30809364f/morning-must-reads1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Zeke Miller","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb24c27fcf0ec0da8/6986837dcd6848a30809364f/morning-must-reads1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Morning Must Reads","caption":"Capitol","creditText":"Mark Wilson—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3933550/morning-must-reads-june-24-2/","name":"Morning Must Reads: June 24 (24 Jun 2015)"}}]}] ```