--- description: In the News: Obama to meet with VA Secretary; GOP establishment wins big; Drone memos to be released; Russia makes deal with China on gas; and gay marriage support at a new high title: Morning Must Reads: May 21 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb24c27fcf0ec0da8/6986837dcd6848a30809364f/morning-must-reads1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Morning Must Reads](/tag/morning-must-reads/) ## Morning Must Reads Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Morning Must Reads: May 21 by [Maya Rhodan](/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 21, 2014 11:44 AM CUT  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](/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 21, 2014 11:44 AM CUT * GOP incumbents learn how to win \[[Politico](http://www.politico.com/story/2014/05/2014-primary-election-results-republicans-incumbents-106921.html?hp=t1 "undefined")\] * “On Tuesday, the most consequential day of voting so far this year, Democrats were left disappointed. GOP Senate candidates prone to making controversial statements lost to better-financed, more disciplined rivals with the potential to capi­tal­ize on Obama’s unpopularity and the troubles with his signature health-care law.” \[[Washington Post](http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/republicans-receive-boost-in-senate-primaries/2014/05/20/0f745eb0-e02a-11e3-9743-bb9b59cde7b9%5Fstory.html?hpid=z1 "undefined")\] * “David Perdue will face Rep. Jack Kingston (R., Ga.) in a July runoff election for the Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Saxby Chambliss.” \[[WSJ](http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2014/05/20/david-perdue-jack-kingston-advance-to-georgia-gop-senate-runoff/ "undefined")\] * Mitch McConnell would face biggest challenge yet in Allison Lundergan Grimes \[[CNN](http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/20/politics/kentucky-senate-mcconnell-grimes/ "undefined")\] * “Facing the potential defeat of an appeals court nominee, the Obama administration decided Tuesday to publicly release much of a classified memo written by the nominee that signed off on the targeted killing an American accused of being a terrorist.” \[[NYT](http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/21/us/politics/memo-approving-targeted-killing-of-us-citizen-to-be-released.html?hp&%5Fr=0 "undefined")\] * President Obama and VA Secretary to meet Wednesday morning \[[Politico](http://www.politico.com/story/2014/05/president-obama-eric-shinkseki-veterans-affairs-meeting-106930.html?hp=l4 "undefined")\] * Cold Calculations: How a backlogged VA determines the true cost of war \[[Washington Post\]](http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/national/2014/05/20/after-the-wars-cold-calculations/?hpid=z1 "undefined") * “Almost half of ER doctors say they are seeing more patients since key provisions of the health law took effect Jan. 1, while more than a quarter say their patient volume has remained the same, according to a survey to be released Wednesday by the American College of Emergency Physicians.” \[[WSJ](http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304422704579574390961658638?mg=reno64-wsj&url=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Farticle%2FSB10001424052702304422704579574390961658638.html "undefined")\] * Russia signs deal to supply China with natural gas \[[Bloomberg](http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-05-21/russia-signs-china-gas-deal-after-decade-of-talks.html "undefined")\] * Gallup: gay marriage support hits 55% \[[The Hill](http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/206751-gallup-gay-marriage-support-hits-55-percent "undefined")\] * Pennsylvania. Oregon. Is gay marriage unstoppable? \[[The Daily Beast](http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/05/20/pennsylvania-oregon-is-gay-marriage-unstoppable.html "undefined")\] * U.S. Supreme Court Justice halts execution at the 11th hour \[[CBS News](http://www.cbsnews.com/news/u-s-supreme-court-justice-halts-mo-execution-at-11th-hour/ "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/107243/morning-must-reads-may-21/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/107243/morning-must-reads-may-21/"},"headline":"Morning Must Reads: May 21","datePublished":"2014-05-21T11:44:41.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T07:57:41.692Z","description":"In the News: Obama to meet with VA Secretary; GOP establishment wins big; Drone memos to be released; Russia makes deal with China on gas; and gay marriage support at a new high","url":"https://time.com/107243/morning-must-reads-may-21/","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":"Maya Rhodan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/"}],"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":"/tag/morning-must-reads/","name":"Morning Must Reads"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/107243/morning-must-reads-may-21/","name":"Morning Must Reads: May 21"}}]}] ```