…And the World:

We begin today in Iraq, where US Secertary of State John Kerry is calling for Iraq to unite to defeat ISIS, which has overrun much of the north and west of the country. The New York Times reports that efforts to have the Iraqi army repel the surging forces are unlikely to succeed even as President Obama sends military advisers to train and counsel the army. Kerry also said ISIS’ pace could prompt the US government to act before Baghdad gets its act together. Iran opposes US action, of course.

Elsewhere in the Middle East, the last of Syria’s declared chemical weapons have been removed—asterisk. Egypt jails al-Jazeera journalists despite international outcry. And the Times of Israel wonders if the military operations in response to the kidnapping of  three Israeli teens is hurting the Palestinian Authority more than Hamas, whom Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blames.

Big turnout in Hong Kong election.

The Polish Foreign Minister, Radoslaw Sikorski was caught saying some less than flattering things to say about British Prime Minister David Cameron, namely the Euroskepticism Cameron has been peddling. Sikorski does not have many nice things to say about the US either.

Ceasefire talks are poised begin in Eastern Ukraine, but Russian President Vladimir Putin is sending mixed signals.

 The Feds:

The flood of children trying to cross the border, mistakenly believing they would qualify as DREAMers, has led the administration to send a surge of immigration staff to the border to humanely address the situation. Of course Texas GOP are grandstanding. As always Greg Sargent does a good job highlighting the GOP’s true conundrum.

Tomorrow Mississippi will decide whether to keep longtime Senator Thad Cochran as their Republican nominee or turf him for Chris McDaniel. Oh, and remember how McDaniel supporters were arrested, now we are even with a Cochran staffer now in the slammer.

Former Connecticut Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz almost came out of retirement to run for a Bristol state senate seat. Instead a former Chris Murphy staffer will run for it.

LA Mayor Eric Garcetti reaches into San Francisco for a new transportation czar.

The long-awaited opening of the Washington Metro’s newest line has at long last been scheduled. Visit consumerist paradise Tyson’s Corner on your next trip to DC via Metro starting July 26!

The State of Things:

The Massachusetts legislature is poised to pass a bill that will tighten the disclosure requirements for SuperPACs and other independent spenders during election. It will also double the contribution limit…starting next year.

For those of our readers living under a rock on Friday, Eric Lesser has been cleared by the State Ballot Law Commission to be on the Ballot.

Shira Schoenberg catches up with the gubernatorial also-rans that failed to clear the Democrats Convention in Worcester a week ago Saturday.

David Bernstein warns the underdogs, Bay Staters are not paying attention during the summer so beware.

The Fourth Estatements:

Maureen Turner, the inimitable often political scribe at the Valley Advocate will be leaving the alternative weekly for position as the Communications Coordinatioor at the Yiddish Book Center in Amherst. WMassP&I wishes Maureen the very best and thanks her deeply for her contribution to the Valley’s conversation while at the Advocate. An impressive record of the Pioneer Valley exists because of the great work she has done there.

City Slickers:

Mayor Domenic Sarno renews his call to end refugee placements in Springfield. The Boston Globe smacks Sarno around for his position. Ron Chimelis defends him.

Catch up on the open House races in Springfield this election cycle including the races to fill Cheryl Coakley-Rivera and Sean Curran’s seats

Two more union contracts have been added to the agenda of the Springfield City Council’s hearings meeting tonight. The rest of tonight’s meeting is just permits.

The Springfield Roman Catholic Diocese gets a new bishop.

Twitter Chatter:

There simply was not enough time to do the subject justice, but conveniently, the angst of the primary in Mississippi juxtaposed against the better feelings the GOP has for November was compressed into a tweet. Today we award the tweet prize to Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionnee who aptly captures how this battle for the GOP’s soul in the Magnolia State show its deeper problems.