OBAMA AGENDA: The Iran talks “can go either way”
Secretary of State John Kerry says the Iran talks "can go either way." More: “’I want to be absolutely clear,’ Kerry told reporters after exiting a session with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, his third of the day. ‘We are not yet where we need to be on several of the most difficult issues.’”
From the Wall Street Journal: "Greece’s confrontational finance minister resigned on Monday after the country voted to reject creditors’ bailout terms, keeping up his defiant stance even as he acknowledged he was stepping aside to smooth negotiations."
Bloomberg, on what happens next: "Emergency negotiations start again this week. Euro-area leaders are set to meet Tuesday evening in Brussels, and things will get started Monday beginning with conference calls among the European players.
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker was set to hold a conference call Monday morning with European Central Bank head Mario Draghi and Jeroen Dijsselbloem, who heads the Eurogroup of euro-area finance chiefs."
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Eric Holder said the Justice Department may have to sue localities to enforce the gay marriage ruling.
From the AP: "While it appears there is broad support in the South Carolina Legislature to bring down the Confederate flag, the depth of that support will get its first test this week as lawmakers return to Columbia to come up with a specific plan. The General Assembly returns Monday to discuss Gov. Nikki Haley's budget vetoes and what to do with the rebel flag that has flown over some part of the Statehouse for more than 50 years."
OFF TO THE RACES: Granite State of Mind
The Washington Post's Dan Balz, from New Hampshire: "What isn’t surprising is that this first-in-the-nation presidential primary state is living up to its reputation for keeping front-runners on edge. The heavily favored Democratic candidate, Hillary Rodham Clinton, finds herself having to grind it out here to fend off the insurgent liberal candidacy of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). But if what is happening in the Democratic race is familiar, the contours of the Republican race are unprecedented, with New Hampshire playing host to the most wide-open and least stratified GOP primary in the modern era."
From the New York Times: "As presidential candidates find new ways to exploit secret donations from tax-exempt groups, hobbled regulators at the Internal Revenue Service appear certain to delay trying to curb widespread abuses at nonprofits until after the 2016 election."
The Des Moines Register is launching a caucus engagement initiative called "Give a Damn, Des Moines."
BUSH: He said he "absolutely" takes Trump's comments on immigration personally.
He told NH1.com that he wanted "to learn from" Mitt Romney in a meeting this week.
He's arguing that Obama's policies have left the nation with "a zombie economy."
CHRISTIE: He said again on FOX News Sunday that the media should apologize for Bridgegate scandal.
More on his first campaign swing: "From opposing exceptions for clerks unwilling to perform same-sex marriages to refusing to apologize for embracing President Obama after Hurricane Sandy devastated the state days before the last presidential election, Christie signaled in his latest trip to the early-voting state that he's not given up on running for president as a Republican who wants to appeal to moderate and Independent voters."
CLINTON: She'll start doing national television interviews in the next week, writes Howie Kurtz.
The Union Leader gives high play to the controversy over the Clinton campaign's use of a rope to corral press.
CRUZ: On Meet the Press, he said: "I salute Donald Trump for focusing on the need to address illegal immigration."
He also said the Supreme Court justices who voted in the majority on the Obamacare and same sex marriage "put on an Obama jersey."
He said he's raised $14.2 million since announcing his presidential bid. Combined with his super PACs, his supporters have now given more than $51 million.
O'MALLEY: From the Wall Street Journal: "At one time, the former Maryland governor seemed the most viable alternative to Hillary Clinton that the Democratic Party would produce for the 2016 race. Yet he is struggling to get a toehold while the attention and donations from the party’s liberal wing go to an older, rumpled rival: Bernie Sanders, the 73-year-old senator from Vermont."
WALKER: The Journal-Sentinel talked to Walker pollster Ed Goeas about how Walker’s victory in the recall election is a central narrative for the GOP candidate. "One of the unique things we’ve seen, I think, in the numbers up to this point is that he hasn’t been a flavor of the week," he said.
The Washington Post does an in-depth profile of Tonette Walker, including a look at how the issue of same sex marriage has divided the family.
And around the country...
OHIO: Rob Portman has $10 million in the bank for his re-election bid, writes The Columbus Dispatch.
PROGRAMMING NOTES.
*** Monday’s “News Nation with Tamron Hall” line-up: Tamron Hall speaks with Former US women’s soccer World Cup champion Brandi Chastain discusses the US Women’s team defeating Japan to win the World Cup, USA Today’s Alan Gomez discusses Donald Trump’s comments linking a tragic murder in San Francisco to the need for Immigration reform, NBC’s Keir Simmons discusses the latest on the financial situations in Greece, and CEO and Founder Tonnie Rozier discusses his company Tonnie’s Mini’s as part of our ongoing series: “Born in the USA”.
*** Monday’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports” line-up: NBC’s Andrea Mitchell reports on Iran nuclear negotiations from Vienna, Austria. She’ll interview the New York Times’ Michael Gordon and the Financial Times’ Gillian Tett. NBC’s Peter Alexander will interview Fmr. Team USA Soccer Champ Tiffeny Milbrett, USA Today’s Susan Page, the Huffington Post’s Sam Stein, msnbc’s Joy Reid and NBC’s Natalie Morales, Anne Thompson and Jacob Rascon.