Statement by the President on the Situation in Ukraine and Gaza  —  THE PRESIDENT: Good morning, everybody.  I want to make a brief statement about the tragedy in Ukraine.  Before I do, though, I want to note that Secretary Kerry has departed for the Middle East.

MSNBC Contributor Slams Network For Pro-Israel Coverage: ‘We Are Ridiculous!’  —  An MSNBC contributor used her appearance on the cable news channel Monday to sharply criticize its coverage of the Israel-Hamas conflict.  —  During an interview on “Ronan Farrow Daily,” Palestinian journalist …

Perry says troops will be “force multiplier” to battle crime; sheriffs say they need deputies, not military  —  Update at 2:45 p.m.: Gov. Rick Perry and several other state leaders have announced the National Guard deployment.  Perry called the troops a “force multiplier” …

Luxury Apartment Building Will Have Separate Door For Poor Residents  —  A luxury condo building on New York City's Upper West Side has gotten clearance from the city to have a separate entrance, or a “poor door,” for low-income tenants, according to the New York Post.

The Biden Agenda  —  Reckoning with Ukraine and Iraq, and keeping an eye on 2016. … “No pressure, but I do have another couple who are very interested.”  —  BUY AS PRINT» … “In closing, I would like to remind the jury that he says he didn't do it.”  —  BUY AS PRINT»

New England Journal Of Medicine: 20 Million Covered Under Obamacare  —  A report published last week in the esteemed New England Journal of Medicine provided an overview of Obamacare's first year, its successes and the challenges ahead.  It also offered a yet another estimate of the number of people covered by the law: 20 million.

Exclusive: US intelligence source claims Hamas has many more tunnels than Israel says  —  American satellites have preliminary findings of around 60 tunnels on the Israel-Gaza border, according to senior official; number could actually be higher.  —  As Israeli security forces thwarted …

New Testimony: IRS May Still Have Missing Lois Lerner E-mails Backed Up  —  Official in charge of document production also raises possibility of new e-mail losses from ‘less than 20’ officials  —  During a transcribed interview with congressional investigators on Thursday, July 17 …

Showdown for GOP nomination in key Senate race  —  (CNN) - This one's ugly, and personal.  —  Voters cast ballots Tuesday in Georgia's Republican Senate primary runoff, after weeks of the two candidates sharpening their attacks.  —  Follow @politicalticker Follow @psteinhausercnn

Lawmakers Face Long to-Do List, Uncertain Success  —  A gridlocked Congress failed to do the big things: overhauling the nation's immigration system, reforming the loophole-cluttered tax code and stiffening background checks on gun buyers.  Now it's time to see whether it can just do the basics.

DSCC going up on Iowa airwaves  —  The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee will launch a half-million-dollar television-ad campaign in Iowa on Tuesday against GOP nominee Joni Ernst, hitting her on entitlements.  —  “She's proposed privatizing Social Security — gambling our savings in the stock market …

It's virtually impossible to be a successful modern president  —  Being president is the most powerful job in the world.  At which you will almost certainly fail.  —  Why?  For lots of reasons up to and including:  —  * The decline of the bully pulpit as a persuasion mechanism