FW: The Hill's E-news: July 6, 2013

	July 6, 2013

The Hill: Robust job growth may spur Fed to quicker withdrawal of stimulus
By Vicki Needham
Analysts expect the central bank will move up its timetable for winding down its $85 billion monthly bond purchases.

The Hill: Defense industry hatches new plot to kill the sequester
By Jeremy Herb
An industry group is pointing to grounded planes, idled ships and layoffs to make the case for stopping the cuts.

The Hill: GOP Rep. Jenkins: Democratic inaction caused student loan interest rate hike
By Daniel Strauss
President Obama should urge Senate Democrats to work with Republicans to fix the rates, the Kansas Republican said.

The Hill: Clashes in Egypt as Morsi backers vow to 'defend him with our lives'
By Jeremy Herb
Authorities say 30 people were killed and more than 1,000 were hurt in clashes between pro-Morsi supporters and troops.

The Hill: State: Kerry 'briefly' on boat amid Egypt turmoil
By Daniel Strauss
The State Department had earlier denied a report that Kerry was aboard his boat as the Egyptian crisis escalated.

The Hill: Venezuela, Nicaragua willing to grant Snowden asylum
By Kyle Balluck
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said he made the offer to protect Snowden from "persecution," according to the official state news agency.

The Hill: WikiLeaks: NSA leaker Snowden applied for asylum in six more countries
By Jeremy Herb
WikiLeaks said it would not name the new countries "due to attempted U.S. interference."

The Hill: North Korea rejects human rights probe backed by Obama
By Julian Pecquet
The country shot down an investigation by the United Nations into its human rights record.

The Hill: Grassley predicts House will produce immigration bill he can vote for
By Daniel Strauss
"I think the House of Representatives is more for border security than the Senate is," the Iowa senator said.

The Hill: House Republican charges Obama's 'war on coal' adds to US unemployment
By Ramsey Cox
Rep. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) said, "the president has decided to turn the lights off in states like West Virginia."

The Hill: Administration to extend minimum wage to home care workers
By Julian Hattem
The rule will be a boon to the estimated 2.5 million workers who help the elderly and people with disabilities.

The Hill: Biden to attend Arizona firefighters memorial
By Daniel Strauss
The blaze killed 19 firefighters Sunday and destroyed 100 houses in central Arizona.

The Hill: Poll: Most don't want their children to choose politics as a career
By Cameron Joseph
Nearly two-thirds of people don't want their kids to grow up to be politicians, according to a new poll.

The New York Times: Shifting stance to back immigration overhaul, Reid reaps benefits
By Carl Hulse
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid embraced the cause of Hispanics to help him win re-election and has shown other Democrats the results of a pro-immigration stance.

Bloomberg: Congress is on pace to do less than record-breaking low
By Megan O'Neil
The current U.S. Congress, facing a backlog of unfinished business and sliding approval ratings, is on pace to clear fewer bills than its predecessor -- which had the least number of measures signed into the law since modern record keeping began in the 1940s.

FDA to expand generic drugs' labeling powers
By Julian Hattem
The Obama administration is planning to give generic drug companies new powers to update their labels without needing to wait for their brand name counterparts.

Israeli ambassador leaving post this fall
By Sheldon Alberts
Israel's ambassador to the United States, Michael Oren, announced Friday he's leaving his diplomatic post this fall.

Veterans' unemployment dips to 6.3 percent
By Jeremy Herb
The unemployment rate for veterans dropped to 6.3 percent in June, according to data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday.

TSA joins Instagram
By Keith Laing
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is posting pictures of confiscated items to Instagram.

House plans hearings on higher education, protection of consumer data
By Ramsey Cox
The House Education and Workforce Committee will kick off next week by holding a hearing on keeping higher education within reach.

FCC: SoftBank's ownership of Sprint likely to boost service, competition
By Brendan Sasso
The Federal Communications Commission released an order on Friday approving SoftBank's purchase of Sprint.

Opinion: Meatless cafeterias save as many lives as smokeless ones
By Neal Barnard, M.D.
Smoking was finally banned in the House cafeteria in 2007, long after medical science proved its unquestionable health dangers.

George W. Bush expected to defend immigration reform during keynote speech
By Daniel Strauss
Former President George W. Bush is expected to argue that immigration reform is a good idea for the country during remarks he is set to deliver on Wednesday.

CNBC anchor slams 'bona fide cult' of 'enviro-socialists'
By Ben Geman
The battle between CNBC anchor Joe Kernen and environmentalists is escalating on Twitter and over the airwaves.

Alexander goes on air after $2M fundraising haul
By Alexandra Jaffe
Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), boosted by a significant second-quarter fundraising sum, is going on air with an ad that features Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) touting his work defending fishing access.

Economy adds 195,000 jobs, unemployment at 7.6 percent in June
By Vicki Needham
The data is better than expected and running ahead of what economists had predicted would be a rough summer.

Study: Privatized Medicaid expansion could improve stability
By Sam Baker
Using the healthcare law's Medicaid expansion to help people buy private insurance plans could help provide stable coverage for families whose income fluctuates, according to a new study.