The Note's Must-Reads for Thursday, August 1, 2013

The Note's Must-Reads are a round-up of today's political headlines and stories from ABC News and the top U.S. newspapers. Posted Monday through Friday right here at www.abcnews.com

Compiled by ABC News' Carrie Halperin, Jordan Mazza, Jayce Henderson, Will Cantine, and J.P. Lawrence

STUDENT LOANS

ABC News' Emily Deruy: " Student Loan Deal Headed to Obama for Signature" A long-sought student loan deal is finally headed to President Barack Obama for a signature. The House of Representatives passed a bill with bipartisan support Wednesday evening that will lower interest rates on certain federal student loans while tying rates to the government's cost of borrowing money. LINK

The Los Angeles Times' Marina Villeneuve: " House approves compromise on student loan rates" The House passed a measure Wednesday that resolves a dispute over how to set student loan rates, sending it to President Obama, who has said he would sign the legislation "right away." The compromise proposal, which passed 392 to 31, bases rates on the market and, at least temporarily, will allow some recipients of new federal student loans to pay lower rates than last year. LINK

ECONOMY

The Wall Street Journal's Neil Shah, Ben Casselman and Jon Hilsenrath: " Tepid Growth Restrains Fed" The U.S. economy registered subpar growth and low inflation in the first half of the year, factors that led the Federal Reserve Wednesday to keep its easy-money policies in place.The Commerce Department reported Wednesday that the economy grew at a 1.7% annual rate in the second quarter, enough to ease fears of a full-on summertime economic stall but still a sluggish pace by historic standards. LINK

FEDERAL RESERVE

The Washington Post's Zachary A. Goldfarb and Ylan Q. Mui: " Obama Defends Summers To Congressional Democrats, Says He's Not Close To Fed Chair Decision" Lawrence Summers has shaped economic policy for two Democratic presidents, presiding over an unparalleled run of success during the Clinton administration and helping to pull the economy back from the brink during President Obama's tenure. But as the White House considers nominating him to head the Federal Reserve, Summers is facing the greatest resistance from an unlikely source - his own political party. LINK

AFFORDABLE HEALTH CARE ACT

Bloomberg's Stephanie Armour: "Moms Center of $500 Million Ad Blitz Over Obamacare Fate" Call them Doctor Moms. Women make about 80 percent of the health-care decisions for their families, and also utilize more health care than men. That's why supporters and opponents of the Affordable Care Act have targeted mothers in a surge of advertising and grassroots organizing as a major piece of Obamacare readies to roll out Oct 1. LINK

TRAYVON MARTIN

Politico's James Arkin: " Rick Scott: Jesse Jackson Owes Fla. An Apology" Republican Gov. Rick Scott wants an apology from the Rev. Jesse Jackson for calling Florida "the Apartheid state," and the "Selma of our time," according to reports. Jackson made the comments Tuesday while on a visit to the Florida Capitol with the protest group Dream Defenders, the Miami Herald reported. Jackson called the post-Trayvon Martin environment in the state "toxic," the paper said. LINK

NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY

The Washington Times' Stephen Dinan and Shaun Waterman: " Declassified documents show NSA snooping had 'compliance' problems" Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper Jr. on Wednesday declassified three documents that showed there have been "a number of technical compliance problems" with the government's phone-snooping program, as the Obama administration fights to preserve what it says is a critical tool in the war on terror. The documents lay out the administration's legal backing of the National Security Agency snooping program, and give some broad details of the operation. LINK

FISCAL TENSIONS

The Hill's Russell Berman and Erik Wasson: "Republican fiscal splits erupt; Rogers rips party leadership" Long-running Republican tensions over the Ryan budget's deep spending cuts boiled over Wednesday as the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee accused his party of being unable to support them. In a blistering statement, Chairman Hal Rogers (R-Ky.) said he was "extremely disappointed" with his leadership's decision to pull the Transportation and Housing and Urban Development (THUD) spending bill from the floor. LINK

IRAN

The New York Times' Rick Gladstone: " Sending Message To Iran, House Approves Tougher Sanctions" The House overwhelmingly approved legislation on Wednesday that would impose the toughest sanctions yet on Iran, calling the measure a critical step to cripple the country's disputed nuclear program and brushing aside calls for restraint by critics who said the Iranian president-elect should first be given a chance to negotiate. LINK

AFGHANISTAN

USA Today's Jim Michaels: " Afghanistan, U.S. near agreement on post-2014 force" The United States and Afghanistan have resolved most issues and are nearing completion of an agreement that paves the way for an American military presence after 2014 that will include a limited U.S. counterterrorism force and military advisers. "We're at the point now where we concluded the text," said a senior State Department official familiar with the negotiations. "We're in a period of endgame." The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal is not official. LINK

ABC NEWS VIDEO

" Obama's 'Grand Bargain' Is 'No Bargain' for GOP" LINK

" Weiner: 'Quit Isn't the Way We Roll in New York City'" LINK

BOOKMARKS

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