A very brief takedown to make up for not markup.

…And the World:

We begin today in Russia, where the powers that be there fight growing anger of its anti-gay laws, particularly in the context of the Winter Olympics.  Meanwhile, The Guardian has a profile of Alexei Navalny, who has challenged the Russian status quo while the government stirs up more accusations to discredit.

Mali elected a new Prime Minister.

The New York Times takes a look at German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s reelection bid.  Voting begins in a month.

The Feds:

Also in The Guardian, a look at Eric Holder’s decision to order US Attorney to write indictments in such a way so as to avoid mandatory minimum.  Could it be the end of the War on Drugs?  Meanwhile, the Maddow Blog’s Steve Benen notes that we have not seen much outrage over the decision.  If anything?  Approval.

Newark Mayor Cory Booker overwhelmingly won the Democratic primary for the special senate election there.  He now faces Steve Lonegan, who few sane people think he can get elected.

Across the river in New York City, mayoral candidates debated with many candidates training their fire on frontrunner City Council Speaker Christine Quinn.  But is she the frontrunner?  A poll says Public Advocate Bill de Blasio is now leading.

And is Hillary making her move?  Her speech on voting rights seems like it and Anthony Weiner of all people may have indirectly let the cat out of the bag.  And Markos Moulitsas, the Kos of DailyKos says, Hillary Derangement has begun.

The State of Things:

Local elections today too.  Dan Cullinane, a former Beacon Hill and field organizer for now-Senator Linda Dorcena Forry (whose House seat was being filled) won the Democratic primary for the largely Boston-based district.  Dan Donahue narrowly won the fractured Democratic primary for a Worcester House seat, besting Joshua Perro by about 100 votes.  The seat was vacated earlier this year when John Fresolo resigned under pressure.  Down in Fall River, Democrat Carole Fiola got her party’s nomination to fill a seat left open after House Rep. David Sullivan resigned.  None of the races featured contested Republican primaries.

Your Boston mayoral update?  Adrian Walker at The Boston Globe has a nice rundown and says it has finally “become interesting.”  Not to be outdone by David Bernstein’s ambitious City Council candidate chats, Patch in Charlestown seems to be trying to do the same for the mayor’s race.  This week they spoke to Mike Ross, a district City Councilor who also announced a plan go car-free for a week to tout his transportation plan.  Chris Faraone at The Jamaica Plain Gazette says that conservative voters in this sapphire blue city may have a lot of sway in the mayor’s race, perhaps to D.A. Dan Conley’s benefit, who may be using a dog whistle on taxes.

Tolls to return to the western end of the Turnpike.

City Slickers:

A contest has begun to name the cultural district the City Council endorsed a few weeks back.

Mayor Sarno has appointed a new budget director to replace LeeAnn Pasquini, who resigned earlier this year.  He appointed Jennifer Winkler, a city resident, who has held the job on an acting basis since April.

Twitter Chatter:

Sometimes politics and a universally happy moment can come together perfectly.  The Boston Mayoral race with its battalion of candidates has been so mind-boggling that it has been hard to actually see these come through clearly.  Today, one such moment did come through and came through on Twitter.  One of the mayoral frontrunners, at-large Councilor John Connolly, announced the birth of his third child, Mary Kate.  How can we not award this week’s tweet prize to this?

New Undecided Voter! Mary Katherine “MaryKate” Connolly, 8lbs 12oz @ 12:56pm. Mom & MaryKate doing great. #prouddad pic.twitter.com/WBlFAQat70

— John Connolly (@JohnRConnolly) August 13, 2013