Good morning. It’s National Hot Air Balloon Day. Congress will rise to the occasion.

Charges –> Two US Senate candidates in Iowa, Republican Annette Bosworth and independent Clayton Walker, were charged with a slew of felonies on Wednesday. Bosworth had come in fourth in Tuesday’s GOP primary. David Montgomery and John Hult report for the Argus Leader.

“We need to act like Americans” –> Officials in Hailey, Idaho – Bowe Bergdahl’s hometown — say the town is stunned by the “hate calls” they’re getting from around the country for supporting Bergdahl. Hasani Gittens and Diane Duthweiler report for NBC News. AND: Katy Moeller and Zach Kyle report for the Idaho Statesman that the town has cancelled a planned “Bowe is Back” celebration out of fear that it would be overrun by furious protesters.

Dissent –> Thomas Edsall writes in the NYT about a growing number of conservative apostates defying the movement’s tax-cutting, anti-governmental economic orthodoxy.

Behind the raise –> At Vice, Arun Gupta offers a look at the hard organizing that led up to the passage of Seattle’s highest-in-the-nation minimum wage bill earlier this week.

Moms versus bosses –> “Wal-Mart moms” are striking over low pay and poor working conditions in 20 US cities just as a new report was released showing that top Wal-Mart officials grab millions in taxpayer subsidies. Karen McVeigh and Dominic Rushe report for The Guardian. BUT: Elizabeth Harris reports for the NYT that some of those senior officials are quietly leaving the company after it was rocked by a series of overseas bribery scandals. AND: HuffPo’s Eleanor Goldberg reports that the Wal-Mart heirs, who own more wealth than 42 percent of the population combined, have given almost nothing to their own charity. Instead, they’ve used the organization to dodge $3 billion in taxes, according to a new report.

Christian left –> At HuffPo, Paul Brandeis Raushenbush writes that there has been a “stunning” resurgence in progressive Christianity over the past few years.

TNC fires back –> At The Atlantic, Ta-Nehisi Coates responds to David Frum’s argument that reparations would be impossible, saying the idea has a “radical practicality.”

Crime-fighting 101 –> Robert Reich: “The Way to Stop Corporate Lawbreaking is to Prosecute the People Who Break the Law”

Related stories –>  Tara Culp-Ressler at ThinkProgress: “Ohio May Take Away Low-Income Women’s Access To The Most Effective Form Of Birth Control.” Kristen Mitchell, writing for the Columbus Dispatch: “Ohio Bill Would Restrict Abortion Coverage.”

No comment –> The Supreme Court denied the National Organization for Marriage’s attempt to block same sex marriages in Oregon without comment on Wednesday.

K Street vultures –> Two non-human vultures have made their home on the corner of K Street and 11th in Washington, DC, leading to unknown numbers of annoyingly obvious jokes. Theresa Vargas has the story at WaPo.

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