--- description: In the news: Iraq's election; Mideast peace process; New poll shows 47% of Americans want the U.S. to reduce its role in world affairs; China's economy could overtake U.S. this year; Oklahoma temporarily halts executions; Los Angeles Clippers owner banned for life from NBA title: Morning Must Reads: April 30 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 30 by [Alex Rogers](/author/alex-rogers/) ## Alex Rogers Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 30, 2014 1:05 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 30, 2014 1:05 PM CUT * “Unshaken by the latest surge in violence, Iraqis braved the threat of bombs and attacks to vote Wednesday in key elections for a new parliament amid a massive security operation as the country slides deeper into sectarian strife.” \[[CBS](http://www.cbsnews.com/news/iraq-elections-kick-off-amid-threat-of-bomb-attacks-huge-security/ "undefined")\] * “Ukraine’s acting President Olexander Turchynov has admitted his forces are ‘helpless’ to quell unrest driven by pro-Russian activists in the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.” \[[BBC](http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-27222023 "undefined")\] * “The deadline for peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians expired without a deal on Tuesday, with the two sides blaming each other for the lack of a breakthrough in the negotiations brokered by the U.S.” \[[TIME](http://time.com/80984/israelis-and-palestinians-play-blame-game-as-deadline-for-peace-deal-expires/ "undefined")\] * * How Secretary Kerry’s “apartheid” warning set back the cause of peace. \[[Politico](http://www.politico.com/story/2014/04/harry-reid-debating-keystone-vote-106161.html "undefined")\] * China Could Overtake the U.S. as the World’s No. 1 Economy This Year \[[TIME](http://time.com/82225/china-world-biggest-economy/ "undefined")\] * “The nation’s gross domestic product in the first three months of 2014 increased at just a 0.1% annual pace, down from 2.6% in the fourth quarter, the \[U.S.\] government said Wednesday. That’s the weakest pace since late 2012.” \[[USA Today](http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2014/04/30/first-quarter-growth/8484255/ "undefined")\] * “Americans in large numbers want the U.S. to reduce its role in world affairs even as a showdown with Russia over Ukraine preoccupies Washington, a [Wall Street Journal/NBC News](http://graphics.wsj.com/wsjnbcpoll/ "undefined") poll finds.” * Nurturing Egyptian Democracy with Helicopter Gunships \[[TIME](http://time.com/81814/nurturing-egyptian-democracy-with-helicopter-gunships/ "undefined")\] * “The Supreme Court heard oral arguments Tuesday in two cases tackling the same difficult question: If you get arrested, should the police be allowed to search your cellphone without a warrant?” \[[TIME](http://time.com/81706/supreme-court-warrant-cellphone-searches/ "undefined")\] * “With pressure mounting to avert a transportation funding crisis this summer, the Obama administration Tuesday opened the door for states to collect tolls on interstate highways to raise revenue for roadway repairs.” \[[WashPost](http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/white-house-opens-door-to-tolls-on-interstate-highways-removing-long-standing-prohibition/2014/04/29/5d2b9f30-cfac-11e3-b812-0c92213941f4%5Fstory.html?tid=pm%5Fpop "undefined")\] * “General Electric and Alstom, the struggling French conglomerate at the center of a politically charged takeover battle, finally said publicly on Wednesday what the business world has known for a week: G.E. is ready to acquire Alstom’s energy business in a $13.5 billion deal.” \[[NYT](http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2014/04/30/alstom-to-review-13-5-billion-offer-from-general-electric/ "undefined")\] * Oklahoma Halts Executions After Botched Lethal Injection \[[TIME](http://time.com/82114/oklahoma-halts-executions-after-botched-lethal-injection/ "undefined")\] * “Democratic attacks on the Koch brothers for secretive campaign spending have become a virtual plank in the party’s platform, but it turns out big-money liberals can be just as defensive when their own closed-door activities are put in the spotlight.” \[[Politico](http://www.politico.com/story/2014/04/big-donor-secrecy-campaigns-fundraising-democrats-106186.html?hp=t1 "undefined")\] * Senate Democrats Weigh Vote Backing Keystone XL \[[Bloomberg](http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-04-29/senate-democrats-said-to-weigh-vote-backing-keystone-xl.html "undefined")\] * “Donald Sterling, the Los Angeles Clippers owner who has been at the center of a national firestorm since a recording emerged last week depicting him making racist comments, was punished Tuesday with a lifetime ban from the NBA and a $2.5 million fine.” \[[TIME](http://time.com/81170/donald-sterling-los-angeles-clippers-nba-adam-silver/ "undefined")\] * Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: Welcome to the Finger-Wagging Olympics \[[TIME](http://time.com/79590/donald-sterling-kareem-abdul-jabbar-racism/ "undefined")\] * How Secretary Kerry’s “apartheid” warning set back the cause of peace. \[[Politico](http://www.politico.com/story/2014/04/harry-reid-debating-keystone-vote-106161.html "undefined")\] * “The nation’s gross domestic product in the first three months of 2014 increased at just a 0.1% annual pace, down from 2.6% in the fourth quarter, the \[U.S.\] government said Wednesday. That’s the weakest pace since late 2012.” \[[USA Today](http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2014/04/30/first-quarter-growth/8484255/ "undefined")\] * Nurturing Egyptian Democracy with Helicopter Gunships \[[TIME](http://time.com/81814/nurturing-egyptian-democracy-with-helicopter-gunships/ "undefined")\] * Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: Welcome to the Finger-Wagging Olympics \[[TIME](http://time.com/79590/donald-sterling-kareem-abdul-jabbar-racism/ "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/82431/morning-must-reads-april-30/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/82431/morning-must-reads-april-30/"},"headline":"Morning Must Reads: April 30","datePublished":"2014-04-30T13:05:30.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T07:34:40.429Z","description":"In the news: Iraq's election; Mideast peace process; New poll shows 47% of Americans want the U.S. to reduce its role in world affairs; China's economy could overtake U.S. this year; Oklahoma temporarily halts executions; Los Angeles Clippers owner banned for life from NBA","url":"https://time.com/82431/morning-must-reads-april-30/","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/82431/morning-must-reads-april-30/","name":"Morning Must Reads: April 30"}}]}] ```