--- description: In the news: Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel received 'assurance' that Russia won't invade Ukraine; Secretary of State John Kerry backtracks on Israel 'apartheid' comment; WH addresses sexual assault on college campuses; Obama’s approval rating fell to lowest of his presidency in new poll title: Morning Must Reads: April 29 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: April 29 by [Alex Rogers](/author/alex-rogers/) ## Alex Rogers Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 29, 2014 12:20 PM 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 [Alex Rogers](/author/alex-rogers/) ## Alex Rogers Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 29, 2014 12:20 PM CUT * “On a day in which he announced new sanctions against Russia for its continued threats to Ukraine, Mr. Obama said his foreign policy was based on a workmanlike tending to American priorities that might lack the high drama of a wartime presidency but also avoided ruinous mistakes.” \[[NYT](http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/29/world/obama-defends-foreign-policy-against-critics.html?hp "undefined")\] * Obama Reassures Allies, But Doubts Over ‘Pivot’ to Asia Persist \[[Reuters](http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/04/29/us-obama-asia-idUSBREA3S03920140429 "undefined")\] * “Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel received ‘assurance’ from his Russian counterpart, Sergei Shoygu, on Monday that the Kremlin would not send troops amassed on its western border with Ukraine, where separatist forces have called for Moscow’s assistance.” \[[TIME](http://time.com/80559/russia-assures-hagel/ "undefined")\] * “The European Union on Tuesday released the names of 15 new targets of sanctions because of their roles in the Ukraine crisis…” \[[AP](http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/04/29/eu-levies-sanctions-against-15-over-ukraine/ "undefined")\] * “You almost feel that he’s creating his own reality, and his own sort of world, divorced from a lot of what’s real on the ground for all those people, including people in his own country,” Secretary of State John Kerry said about Russian President Vladimir Putin in a [_Wall Street Journal_](http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304163604579530141321140198?mg=reno64-wsj&url=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Farticle%2FSB10001424052702304163604579530141321140198.html "undefined") interview late Monday. * Kerry backtracks on Israel ‘apartheid’ comment. \[[TIME](http://time.com/80429/john-kerry-israel-apartheid/ "undefined")\] * * Sen. Ted Cruz demands Kerry’s resignation over remarks. \[[Breitbart](http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2014/04/28/Cruz-Demands-Kerrys-Resignation "undefined")\] * * A New (and Plausible) Plan for Peace \[[New Republic](http://www.newrepublic.com/article/117503/new-plan-middle-east-peace "undefined")\] * “The White House plans to pressure the nation’s colleges and universities on Tuesday to improve their handling of campus sexual assaults, with new federal education efforts for students and administrators, new national guidelines of best practices for handling claims and a call for voluntary campus surveys to better understand the scope of the problem.” \[[TIME](http://time.com/80297/white-house-releasing-plan-to-reduce-campus-sexual-assault/ "undefined")\] * The Republican replacement for Obamacare is “Fauxbamacare,” according to Ezra Klein. \[[Vox](http://www.vox.com/2014/4/29/5663554/fauxbamacare-obamacare-replacement "undefined")\] * “Rep. Michael Grimm (R-N.Y.) was indicted Monday on 20 federal criminal counts, including mail fraud, perjury, and employing illegal immigrants at a Manhattan restaurant he once owned.” \[[Hill](http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/204625-gops-rep-grimm-indicted "undefined")\] * Check out this new wish list for U.S. Special Ops. \[[TIME](http://time.com/79982/us-military-special-operations-wish-list/ "undefined")\] * “Obama’s approval rating fell to 41 percent, down from 46 percent through the first three months of the year and the lowest of his presidency in [Post-ABC News](http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/post-abc-news-poll-shows-democrats-at-risk-in-november-as-obamas-approval-rating-falls/2014/04/28/2a448b04-cf07-11e3-b812-0c92213941f4%5Fstory.html?hpid=z1 "undefined") polls.” * Why Democrats Should Avoid the “R” Word \[[National Journal](http://www.nationaljournal.com/off-to-the-races/why-democrats-should-avoid-the-r-word-20140428 "undefined")\] * Obama Reassures Allies, But Doubts Over ‘Pivot’ to Asia Persist \[[Reuters](http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/04/29/us-obama-asia-idUSBREA3S03920140429 "undefined")\] * “The European Union on Tuesday released the names of 15 new targets of sanctions because of their roles in the Ukraine crisis…” \[[AP](http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/04/29/eu-levies-sanctions-against-15-over-ukraine/ "undefined")\] * “You almost feel that he’s creating his own reality, and his own sort of world, divorced from a lot of what’s real on the ground for all those people, including people in his own country,” Secretary of State John Kerry said about Russian President Vladimir Putin in a [_Wall Street Journal_](http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304163604579530141321140198?mg=reno64-wsj&url=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Farticle%2FSB10001424052702304163604579530141321140198.html "undefined") interview late Monday. * Sen. Ted Cruz demands Kerry’s resignation over remarks. \[[Breitbart](http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2014/04/28/Cruz-Demands-Kerrys-Resignation "undefined")\] * A New (and Plausible) Plan for Peace \[[New Republic](http://www.newrepublic.com/article/117503/new-plan-middle-east-peace "undefined")\] * Why Democrats Should Avoid the “R” Word \[[National Journal](http://www.nationaljournal.com/off-to-the-races/why-democrats-should-avoid-the-r-word-20140428 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/80731/morning-must-reads-april-29/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/80731/morning-must-reads-april-29/"},"headline":"Morning Must Reads: April 29","datePublished":"2014-04-29T12:20:15.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T07:33:03.474Z","description":"In the news: Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel received 'assurance' that Russia won't invade Ukraine; Secretary of State John Kerry backtracks on Israel 'apartheid' comment; WH addresses sexual assault on college campuses; Obama’s approval rating fell to lowest of his presidency in new poll","url":"https://time.com/80731/morning-must-reads-april-29/","keywords":[],"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":"Alex Rogers","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/alex-rogers/"}],"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/80731/morning-must-reads-april-29/","name":"Morning Must Reads: April 29"}}]}] ```