Midday Roundup: Presidential candidates woo values voters

On message. The annual Values Voter Summit opens today in Washington with potential Republican presidential candidates attempting to woo evangelical conservatives. This year’s summit, hosted by the Family Research Council, will feature speeches from Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal. “We need a president who will speak out for prisoners of faith,” Cruz declared Friday, citing Christians around the world facing persecution. Cruz later chastised those in the GOP calling for Republican candidates to downplay social issues ahead of the November elections. “How do we win? We defend the values that are American values. … We stand for life. We stand for marriage. We stand for Israel.”

Hard time. A Montana teacher who pleaded guilty to raping a 14-year-old student will be resentenced today after the original judge in the case was censured for remarks that blamed the victim. Judge G. Todd Baugh last year gave Stacey Dean Rambold, a former teacher at Billings Senior High School, a 15-year sentence for the rape but suspended all but one month of jail time. During the sentencing, the judge suggested the victim had as much control over her rape as the defendant and said she “appeared older than her chronological age.” The victim, who would be in her 20s now, killed herself in 2010 while the case was still pending—before the judge made his controversial remarks. The Montana Supreme Court declared the judge’s first sentence illegal and called for a different judge to resentence the defendant.

In the fight. The FBI has identified the masked man who appeared in ISIS videos showing the beheadings of two Americans and one Briton. FBI director James Comey confirmed on Thursday the identification of the man called “Jihadi John” but would not give his name. Comey also did not say whether he believes the man carried out the beheadings, which are not shown in their entirety on film. The fighter speaks English with a British accent on the video. The FBI also said Thursday that it believes only 12 Americans are fighting for extremist groups in Syria, a much smaller number than what has circulated in the media.

Yankee classic. Slugger Derek Jeter ended his final home game at Yankee Stadium with a game-winning, walk-off run Thursday night. Jeter is retiring after a 20-year career that included five World Series championships and 14 All-Star Game appearances. The Yankees will finish their season with a series in Boston against the Red Sox, but Jeter will serve as the designated hitter over his usual role at shortstop. “I want to take something special from Yankee Stadium and the view from shortstop here tonight is what I want to take home,” Jeter said. “I’ve only played shortstop throughout my entire career and the last time I want to play was tonight.”

Unintended consequences. A man who jokingly tried to crowdfund potato salad ingredients and ended up raising $55,000 is throwing a huge charity bash. Zack Brown is planning PotatoStock 2014, an all-ages party Saturday in downtown Columbus, Ohio, featuring bands, food trucks, beer vendors, potato-sack races, and definitely potato salad. His Kickstarter page, posted in early July, took on a life of its own and attracted worldwide attention as the amount grew. The 31-year-old eventually raised $55,492. The Columbus Dispatch reports Brown partnered with the Columbus Foundation to start an endowment that will aid area charities that fight hunger and homelessness. The account, started with $20,000 in post-campaign corporate donations, will grow after proceeds from Saturday’s event are added.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.