The Washington Post
RUBIO-INNERCIRCLE — Who's in Marco Rubio's inner circle? The Florida senator has a big, close family and a tight-knit group of advisers, many of whom have long ties to South Carolina. 1,550 words, by Ed O'Keefe (Post).
CLINTON — DES MOINES, Iowa — Behind the scenes, the vast political network Hillary and Bill Clinton have cultivated over four decades in politics is whirring back to life to build a battleship that is prepared for combat across the country and far beyond the Democratic primaries. 1,300 words, by Philip Rucker and Matea Gold (Post).
GAYRIGHTS — WASHINGTON — Fresh battles over gay rights erupt in states as Supreme Court hearing nears; opponents of same-sex marriage, anticipating a loss at the high court, press to secure religious-liberty laws. 1,120 words, by Sandhya Somashekhar (Post).'
OBAMA-IRAN — WASHINGTON — President Obama's goal to make a deal with Iran gets a new test in Congress; for the president, even a successful agreement with Tehran is likely to get ugly on Capitol Hill. 1,300 words, by Steven Mufson and Greg Jaffe (Post).
CONGRESS — WASHINGTON — A proposed Iran nuclear deal, a stalled attorney general confirmation vote and a Medicare fix are the highest-profile items on the congressional agenda this week as the political sphere continues to focus its attention on the 2016 race for the presidency. 800 words, by Mike DeBonis and Paul Kane (Post).
VA-HOSPITAL — AURORA, Colo. — Not even completed yet, the $1.7 billion VA hospital outside Denver is already among the most expensive hospitals in the world, and it's just one of several VA hospital projects that are greatly over budget and behind schedule. 1,740 words, by Emily Wax-Thibodeaux (Post).
BRAZIL-MINE — SERRA SUL, Carajas, Brazil — Environmentalists argue that the construction of a huge iron ore mine will destroy ecosystems in parts of Brazil's Amazon rain forest, but Vale, the state-controlled mining company , says it will have minimal impact. 1,430 words, by Dom Phillips (Post). Three photos, one graphic and embed code for one video.
DRILLING — WASHINGTON — Five years after the BP petroleum spill, the Obama administration takes steps to tighten regulations for offshore oil rigs, saying the new measures would help prevent oil-well blowouts and minimize environmental damage. 440 words, by Joby Warrick (Post).
COLLEGE-TUITION — Public colleges and universities used to depend mostly on state funding to keep their doors open, but they are increasingly relying on money from families paying ever-rising tuition. 570 words, by Danielle Douglas-Gabriel (Post).
MARS — Mars might have liquid water, according to new findings. Salts on the surface of Mars might turn morning frost into briny liquid water. 500 words, by Rachel Feltman (Post).
SPACE-HIBERNATE — Hibernation for humans may not be a pipe dream forever; scientists see risks but also benefits for space travel and medical treatment. 1,250 words, by Eric Niiler (Post special). One illustration.
RUBLE-ANALYSIS — Russia's shocking rebound: The ruble climbs 34 percent in just two months. 800 words, by Matt O'Brien (Post).
MORTGAGE — For first-time or credit-challenged homebuyers, loan help is available. 1,580 words, by Michelle Lerner (Post special). With MORTGAGE-LOANS and MORTGAGE-CREDIT.
KIDS-ALONE — WASHINGTON — "Free-range" family again in spotlight after police pick up and detain for hours two kids, age 6 and 10, walking alone two blocks away from home. 1,330 words, by Donna St. George and Brigid Schulte (Post).
GALEANO-OBIT — Eduardo Galeano, an anti-capitalist Uruguayan author and powerful voice for the left, dies at age 74. 1,410 words, by Adam Bernstein (Post).
GRASS-OBIT — Günter Grass, 87; Nobel Prize-winning author and Germany's moral conscience, a reputation that faltered when he revealed serving in Hitler's SS. 1800 words, by John Otis (Post special).
IRAN-COMMENT — Reading between the lines in the Iran nuclear agreement: there seems to be a disagreement between supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Hassan Rouhani on sanctions demands. 920 words, by Walter Pincus (Post).
KIDS-ALONE-COMMENT — "Free-range" kids and our parenting police state; for the second time, two children wind up in a police car for playing alone two blocks from their home. 935 words, by Petula Dvorak (Post).
Bloomberg
RUBIO-PROFILE — Just 15 years from his first elected political job fixing potholes and paying for police officers, Marco Rubio makes official his bid to become the first Cuban-American to be elected president of the United States. 1,575 words, by Michael Bender (Bloomberg). One photo.
RUBIO-SCOUTING — Marco Rubio's strengths and weaknesses. 545 words, by Mark Halperin and John Heilemann (Bloomberg).
CLINTON-SCOUTING — Assessing Hillary Clinton's strengths and weaknesses. 700 words, by Mark Halperin and John Heilemann (Bloomberg).
CALIF-POT — SAN FRANCISCO — A fight next year over whether to allow recreational marijuana use in California may serve as a tipping point as legalization proponents press their campaign in other states. 1,000 words, by Alison Vekshin (Bloomberg). Two photos.
SPAIN — MADRID — Senior officials of Spain's anti-austerity Podemos party are embroiled in allegations regarding their ties to the former Venezuelan government of Hugo Chavez. 870 words, by Estaban Duarte and Maria Tadeo (Bloomberg). One photo.
LOWFLATION — The Era of Dangerous Lowflation, and the stagnant-wages storyline that's gone with it, finally may be coming to an end. 875 words, by Michelle Jamrisko (Bloomberg).
DRONES-ISRAEL — NEW YORK — U.S. military spending may be flat, but that's not proving to be much of a problem for Israeli defense company Elbit Systems. 740 words, by Gabrielle Coppola (Bloomberg). One photo.
EUROPE-ENERGY — Germany proves that a life lived on less fossil fuel is easier than previously thought. 1150 words, by Stefan Nicola and Reed Landberg (Bloomberg).
ROCKETEERS — CHICAGO — As Elon Musk dreams of missions to Mars, fellow billionaires Paul Allen and Richard Branson focus on breakthrough spaceflight closer to home: cheap cargo trips to Earth orbit. 1015 words, by Julie Johnsson (Bloomberg).
HARVARD — BOSTON — Student calls for divestment of their schools' holdings of energy stocks get two very different receptions at Harvard and MIT. 800 words, by Michael McDonald (Bloomberg).
CARLSON — Can Clinton really change her ways? 1200 words, by Margaret Carlson (Bloomberg).
CLINTON-RUSSIA-COMMENT — In Russia, Clinton would already have lost. 820 words, by Leonid Bershidsky (Bloomberg).
HUNT — What we know about Clinton's platform. 700 words, by Albert R. Hunt (Bloomberg).
HUNT-RUBIO — Rubio sets his sights on 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. 475 words, by Albert R. Hunt (Bloomberg).
RUBIO-IMMIG-COMMENT — Rubio's views on immigration won't hurt him. 530 words, by Jonathan Bernstein (Bloomberg).
IRAN-COMMENT — U.S.-Iran deal may yield second peace dividend. 850 words, by Barry Ritholtz (Bloomberg).
MARKET-COMMENT — It's time to worry about the booming stock market.680 words, by Mark Gilbert (Bloomberg).
DECLASSIFIED-SAUDIS — Saudis consider local force for Yemen: 1300 words, by Eli Lake and Josh Rogin (Bloomberg).
DECLASSIFIED-IRAN — Obama misreads Iran's supreme leader on nuclear non-deal. 825 words, by Eli Lake (Bloomberg).
PARTISAN-COMMENT — What conservatives care about that liberals don't: words, by Cass Sunstein (Bloomberg).
PIRACY-COMMENT — Will "Game of Thrones" and HBO tolerate piracy? 980 words, by Stephen L. Carter (Bloomberg).
SOCIAL-SECURITY-COMMENT — What Ronald Reagan had to do with Social Security. 1200 words, by Megan McArdle (Bloomberg).
CALIF-DROUGHT-COMMENT — Almonds get blamed for their high water use during a historic drought, but cows use even more. 840 words, by Justin Fox (Bloomberg).
PARENTING-COMMENT — Seven reasons we can't stand free-range parenting. 1700 words, by Megan McArdle (Bloomberg).
The Japan News
JAPAN-SDF — TOKYO — The Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito remain apart during talks on security legislation regarding procedures for dispatch of the Self-Defense Forces overseas. 555 words (Yomiuri Shimbun).
TAIWAN — TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taiwanese authorities unveil a new restriction on the import of Japanese foods. 255 words, by Yuko Mukai (Yomiuri Shimbun).
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Coming up this morning: editorials and commentary from The Post, Bloomberg View and The Japan News.
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Editors: A features budget will move at 12:30 p.m. ET. The daily budget for tomorrow's editions will move at 3 p.m. ET.
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