Good morning — and Happy Boss’s Day! Fun fact: Patricia Bays Haroski was working for her father when she registered the date with the US Chamber of Commerce in 1958.
Boneheaded moves –> The CBS Dallas affiliate reports that the second nurse to have a confirmed case of Ebola was cleared to fly across the country despite having a low fever. AND: Dianna Hunt reports for the Dallas Morning News that health care workers didn’t wear protective suits for two days before the confirmation of Thomas Eric Duncan’s diagnosis. ALSO: A community college in Texas is refusing to admit students from any country where there has been a confirmed case of Ebola, even those that have the disease well under control. Perhaps they haven’t heard that one of those countries is the United States. At The Daily Beast, Abby Haglage calls it a “new low” in “Ebola racism.”
Unconstitutional –> Arkansas’ highest court struck down the state’s voter ID law on Wednesday. According to the AP’s Andrew DeMillo, the ruling was based on language in the state’s constitution. ALSO: Ed Kilgore writes at TPM about how Republicans justify their “voter fraud crusade” despite a mountain of solid evidence that in-person voter fraud is essentially a non-issue.
Beyond the raw numbers –> HuffPo’s Paul Blumenthal says that huge amounts of dark money are flowing into a small handful of pivotal Senate races.
“Fantrum” –> Florida Gov. Rick Scott refused to take the stage for a debate with former Gov. Charlie Crist because he was outraged that Crist had a small fan beneath the podium. After several awkward minutes, Scott relented. Aviva Shen has more at ThinkProgress.
Gloomy –> A new WaPo/ ABC News poll finds a pessimistic electorate, with Democrats getting their lowest favorable marks in 30 years, and Republicans even less popular. But the good news for the GOP is that their base still appears more likely to vote on November 4.
Doing the same thing over and over, and expecting different results –> Mark Mazzetti reports for the NYT that while the CIA “has run guns to insurgencies across the world during its 67-year history — from Angola to Nicaragua to Cuba” — an internal agency study “found that it rarely works.” The study led to the Obama administration’s hesitation to arm Syrian rebels.
“Into the arms of the cartels” –> Kate Kilpatrick reports for AJA that our streamlined deportation policy for undocumented immigrants apprehended near the border “increasingly places desperate and penniless deportees into the hands of ruthless criminal organizations eager to prey on them.”
Game-changer? –> Lockheed Martin revealed the details of the world’s first compact fusion reactor, a potential revolution in energy production. Guy Norris has (lots of) details at Aviation Week.
Droned –> A Yemeni man whose nephew and brother-in-law were killed in a US drone strike is suing the German government for “complicity” by allowing US forces to launch drone strikes from an air base in Germany. Frank Jordans reports for the AP.
Viral –> The entire Internet was amused by a viral video of Michelle Obama rocking out with a turnip. Thankfully, a few weeks ago, the good folks at Vox explained the cultural reference for those not hip to the latest musical trends.
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