Good morning! And a happy 71st birthday to Catherine Deneuve. Here are some of the stories we’re reading this a.m.
Kobani –> While US military officials were publicly downplaying the strategic importance of the besieged town on the Syrian-Turkish border, behind the scenes they were scrambling to help Kurdish fighters fighting the Islamic State, according to WSJ’s Adam Entous, Joe Parkinson and Julian Barnes. BUT: It looks like some of that help — an airlift of weapons — may have fallen into IS’s hands. The group later used social media to thank America for the “gifts.” Via VOA.
Right meets left –> The Koch Brothers are funding multiple projects designed to help poor people accused of crimes get a robust defense. They’re addressing an issue that liberal judicial reformers have long highlighted. Carl Hulse reports for the NYT.
“Surprisingly weak” –> Princeton numbers-cruncher Sam Wang reports for TNR that, “with less than two weeks to go until the election, the overall picture of 36 gubernatorial races is not breaking in the Republicans’ direction.”
Medical miracle –> Ben Quinn reports for The Guardian that “a man who was completely paralysed from the waist down can walk again after a British-funded surgical breakthrough which offers hope to millions of people who are disabled by spinal cord injuries.”
Ghost company –> Opaque campaign front groups are nothing new these days, but Jonathan Martin reports for the NYT that the Senate campaign of Arkansas GOP Rep. Tom Cotton paid $323,000 “to a group that may not exist.”
R.I.P. –> Ben Bradlee, the legendary and charismatic former Washington Post editor who guided the paper through the Watergate and Pentagon Papers era, has died at age 93. The NYT’s David Carr looks at the impact he had on modern journalism.
Tragic –> Jason McGahan at The Daily Beast offers an amazing story of one doctor in a Mexican border town who dared to stand up to the cartels, and ultimately paid for it with her life.
Terror –> A “radicalized” Canadian Muslim whom authorities had prevented from traveling to Turkey — a potential entrypoint into Syria — ran over two soldiers in Quebec on Monday, killing one, before being shot and killed by police. The Globe and Mail reports that the incident highlights the challenges of dealing with homegrown extremists.
“Obama is a Republican” –> So argues former Reagan advisor Bruce Bartlett in The American Conservative.
Record poppy cultivation in Afghanistan last year –> Ryan Devereaux reports for The Intercept that “the war on drugs in Afghanistan remains colossally expensive, largely ineffective and likely to get worse.”
Twitter v. secrecy –> At TruthDig, Thor Benson explains why Twitter’s lawsuit charging that government gag orders violate its constitutional rights is so significant.
Obama votes –> And keeps cool when a young man tells him to stay away from his girlfriend. Viral video courtesy of CNN…
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