The Note's Must-Reads for Monday, August 19, 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' Jayce Henderson, Amanda VanAllen, Carrie Halperin and Will Cantine

PRESIDENT OBAMA ABC News' Mary Bruce: " Obama's Vacation By The Numbers" After a week of R&R, President Obama and the first family are on their way back to Washington. So, how did the Leader of the Free World unwind? Here's a look at how the president spent his time in Martha's Vineyard. LINK

The USA Today's David Jackson: " Obama Faces A Challenging Post-Vacation Agenda" President Obama faces a full agenda when he returns from vacation this weekend, one that includes budget battles and health care fights - and that was before Egypt descended into near-chaos this week. Pressuring Egypt's military government into holding new elections is the latest addition to a crowded fall political calendar that could make or break Obama's second term. LINK

IRAN The Washington Times' Rowan Scarborough: " In Classified cyberwar against Iran, trail of Stuxnet leak leads to White House" The Obama administration provided a New York Times reporter exclusive access to a range of high-level national security officials for a book that divulged highly classified information on a U.S. cyberwar on Iran's nuclear program, internal State Department emails show. The information in the 2012 book by chief Washington correspondent David E. Sanger has been the subject of a yearlong Justice Department criminal investigation: The FBI is hunting for those who leaked details to Mr. Sanger about a U.S.-Israeli covert cyberoperation to infect Iran's nuclear facilities with a debilitating computer worm known as Stuxnet. LINK

EGYPT The Wall Street Journal's Matt Bradley and Jay Solomon: " Egypt. U.S. On Collision Course" Egypt's military-led government said it was "reviewing" its strategic relationships with the U.S. and other Western governments critical of its crackdown on Islamists, deepening the divide between the Obama administration and Cairo. Amid expectations of more violence in coming days, the death toll rose on Sunday as dozens of Muslim Brotherhood supporters were killed in Cairo in what the government described as a prison-break attempt. The Islamist movement's leaders called for continued defiance against Egypt's generals, despite signs that their supporters were becoming limited in their ability to take to the streets. LINK

The New York Times' Rod Nordland: " Islamists Killed While in Custody, Egypt Confirms " The Egyptian government acknowledged that its security forces had killed 36 Islamists in its custody on Sunday, as the country's military leaders and Islamists vowed to keep up their fight over Egypt's future. The deaths were the fourth mass killing of civilians since the military took control on July 3, but the first time so many had died while in government custody. LINK

Politico's Jonathan Tropaz: " Graham: Egypt at risk of becoming a 'failed state'" Sen. Lindsey Graham said on Sunday that Egypt might be on its way to becoming a "failed state." Appearing on CBS's "Face the Nation," Graham said the Egyptian military generals were not interested in pursuing democratic reform, but rather were trying to "grab power." LINK

NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY The Hills' Brendan Sasso: " NSA violations up pressure on Obama to accept intel reforms" News that the National Security Agency has overstepped its legal authority thousands of times in recent years is ratcheting up pressure on President Obama to accept reforms to the surveillance programs. Last Friday, Obama tried to quell the growing uproar over NSA spying by laying out a series of steps to increase transparency and toughen privacy protections. LINK STOP AND FRISK The New York Daily News' Erin Durkin and Adam Edelman: " New York City Police Department Commissioner Ray Kelly blasts stop-and-frisk ruling, says violent crime will spike under proposed reforms" New York City top cop Ray Kelly aggressively defended the city's stop-and-frisk practices, claiming there's "no question" violent crime will spike if the controversial policy is abandoned. "Violent crime will go up," Kelly said Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press after host David Gregory asked whether New Yorkers would die if stop-and-frisk was stopped. LINK ABC NEWS VIDEO " Cairo, Egypt, Protests: Christians Under Attack" LINK

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