The Broadsheet: June 9th

Good morning, Broadsheet readers–from Washington, D.C.! I’m Nina Easton, chair of Fortune Most Powerful Women International, subbing for Kristen Bellstrom. Don’t forget to follow us next week: We’ll be in London hosting the Fortune MPW International Summit with world-class leaders ranging from Santander Group’s Ana Botin to former Australia PM Julia Gillard. But today I’m bringing you a heavier-than-usual dose of U.S. politics since I live and breath the air of the nation’s capital. Here’s the top news: Carly Fiorina has a new defender, Hillary & Co. is luring women into a male corner of presidential campaigning, and the husband of Kathleen Matthews (he’s a certain MSNBC host) gets advice on being a political spouse.

EVERYONE'S TALKING

• Feminist stall? Former top State Department official Anne-Marie Slaughter rocked the world of working women with her 2012 Atlantic cover, "Why Women Still Can't Have It All." Three years later, we get to hear from her in a new book, Unfinished Business, in which she accuses the feminist movement of "stalling" and women of accepting "half truths" that hold them back. Random House just announced the pub date, Sept. 29, and I can hardly wait for the new round of debates to follow, no doubt churned on stage when she speaks in October at the Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit. Random House

ALSO IN THE HEADLINES

• Defending Carly. In an interview with CNN's Poppy Harlow, Hewlett-Packard CEO Meg Whitman defends her predecessor Carly Fiorina's decision to lay off 30,000 employees more than a decade ago, citing competitive pressures. The workforce cuts at HP continue to dog Fiorina's presidential bid. CNN Money

• Operation Discreet. My latest installment of the women behind Hillary Clinton's campaign features a rare personal glimpse of Communications Director Jennifer Palmieri and her emotion-packed telling of her last days with the late Elizabeth Edwards. Fortune

• Mill raisers for Hillary. Clinton's presidential bid is producing a whole new class of women fundraisers willing to tap into their personal networks to raise those big bucks. Dubbed "mill raisers," they are muscling into a male-dominated corner of politics. Washington Post

• Abortions decline. Abortions have declined 12% nationwide, and fewer women in almost every state--whether red or blue, whether operating under new restrictions or not--are opting to maintain their pregnancies. An AP report finds that the only exceptions to the decline are Michigan and Louisiana. Politico

• Getting past getting fired. Fox News anchor, Stanford grad/violin prodigy and former Miss America Gretchen Carlson offers advice and solace from the humiliation of getting fired earlier in her career. Fortune

Smart talk. Want to bone up on foreign policy--from Putin's intentions in Russia to Beijing's latest power plays in the South China Sea? Check out my iTunes podcast, Smart Women Smart Power, produced by CSIS. iTunes

MOVERS AND SHAKERS: Google beefs up its mobile-ad efforts by appointing company veteran Sissie Hsiao (ex-Microsoft) as director for all mobile ads, including AdMob.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

• "Never look bored." That's the advice a political spouse offers MSNBC's Chris Matthews as his wife, former Marriott exec and local TV anchor Kathleen Matthews, launches her bid for Congress. Politico

• History on Broadway. Broadway's Fun Home songwriters Jeanine Tesori and Lisa Kron made history by becoming the first female writing team to nab a Tony for best musical score? Yahoo

• The myth of Queen B. “Queen bee syndrome”--the notion that professional women like to keep other females out of the hive--is a myth, according to this study. The Guardian

• About time, Apple! At Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference, VP Jennifer Bailey became the first female tech executive in five years to speak on stage at one of the company's keynote presentations... Really? Bloomberg

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