memeorandum: ALAN SCHER ZAGIER and JIM SALTER (Associated Press)

12:40 AM ET, October 14, 2014

Top Items:

The Religious Effort in Ferguson — During a weekend of protests two months after Michael Brown's death, clergy members speak out for unity and repentance. — The weekend of demonstrations dubbed “FergusonOctober,” two months after the fatal shooting of teenager Michael Brown …

Associated Press:

ALAN SCHER ZAGIER and JIM SALTER — FERGUSON, Mo. (AP) — Pounding rain and tornado watches didn't deter hundreds of protesters Monday outside Ferguson police headquarters, where they stayed for almost four hours to mark how long 18-year-old Michael Brown's body was left in a street after he was fatally shot by police.

Discussion: Liberaland and FOX News Radio

New York Times:
Ferguson Protests Take New Edge, Months After Killing

Discussion: Washington Post, Associated Press and ThinkProgress

Shane Goldmacher / National Journal:

Mitt Romney Told an Obama Joke in Iowa. Here It Is. — WEST DES MOINES, Iowa - Mitt Romney wanted to tell a joke. “Now when you're running for office people tell you, you shouldn't tell jokes,” he said at a political rally here on Sunday. “But I'm not running for office, so I can tell one.”

Discussion: Washington Examiner, FishbowlDC, U-T San Diego stories, Mediaite, Liberaland, The Daily Banter, Hinterland Gazette and Business Insider

Washington Post:

Can't quit Mitt: Friends say Romney feels nudge to consider a 2016 presidential run — CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Officially, Mitt Romney returned to Iowa, the quadrennial presidential proving ground, to give a boost to Joni Ernst. But at a closed-door breakfast fundraiser here Monday …

Discussion: Hit & Run, FOX News Radio, Outside the Beltway, Real Clear Politics and Washington Free Beacon

Joe Concha / Mediaite:

MSNBC Eyes Canceling Ronan Farrow Show Amidst Schedule Shakeup — A well-placed source tells me MSNBC will be announcing major programming changes sometime in the next month, including the cancellation of Ronan Farrow's afternoon program, Ronan Farrow Daily.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, The Daily Banter, The Daily Caller, Ed Driscoll and American Power

Josh Gerstein / Politico:

Jill Abramson regrets stance on James Risen Iran story — Former New York Times Executive Editor Jill Abramson said in an interview released Sunday that she regrets not pushing the Times to publish a story by national security reporter James Risen about a reportedly flawed CIA effort …

Discussion: Mediaite, Power Line and Balloon Juice

Lesley Stahl / CBS News:
The war on leaks

Discussion: The Intercept, New York Times and Power Line

Jay Root / The Texas Tribune:

Davis Pollster: Controversial Wheelchair Ad Working … *Editor's note: This story has been updated with a comment from the Abbott campaign. — The pollster for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Wendy Davis defended her controversial TV ad Sunday, saying it's working as intended despite …

Discussion: Balloon Juice, LifeNews.com, OnPolitics, ABC News and Washington Post

Kendall Breitman / Politico:
Wendy Davis defends wheelchair ad

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon, Associated Press, The Lonely Conservative and The Gateway Pundit

Tom Kludt / Talking Points Memo:

Bill O'Reilly Thinks It's Time For A Mercy Killing At MSNBC (VIDEO) — Bill O'Reilly dedicated part of his interview Sunday to two of his favorite pastimes: touting his own popularity and ridiculing MSNBC. — The typically brash Fox News pundit, who has a well-known obsession …

Discussion: Mediaite, Taylor Marsh, Power Line, RedState, The Daily Caller and New York Times, more at Mediagazer »

Sam Stein / The Huffington Post:

Ebola Vaccine Would Likely Have Been Found By Now If Not For Budget Cuts: NIH Director — BETHESDA, Md. — As the federal government frantically works to combat the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, and as it responds to a second diagnosis of the disease at home, one of the country's top health officials …

Discussion: Real Clear Politics, Washington Post, Hot Air, Daily Kos, The Daily Caller, PoliticusUSA, Mashable, American Spectator, RT, Wall Street Journal, Raw Story, Mediaite, FOX News Radio, BillMoyers.com and New York Magazine

Sahil Kapur / Talking Points Memo:
Brutal New Ad Blames GOP Spending Cuts For Ebola Deaths (VIDEO)

Discussion: Althouse and Mediaite

Nick Gillespie / Hit & Run:
Can You Blame Ebola Outbreak on “Republican Cuts” to Health Budgets?

Discussion: RedState, Twitchy, The Lonely Conservative and Instapundit

Erick Erickson / RedState:

Fat Lesbians Got All the Ebola Dollars, But Blame the GOP — Democrats have rushed out of the gate with an attack ad against Republicans claiming if only we had spent more money, we would be able to solve the Ebola situation. — It's a defensive ad that reeks of desperation.

Discussion: CNN, Hot Air, Taylor Marsh, New York Times, Gawker, Talking Points Memo, projectreporter.nih.gov and Towleroad News #gay

New York Times:

At the Vatican, a Shift in Tone Toward Gays and Divorce — VATICAN CITY — In a marked shift in tone likely to be discussed in parishes around the world, an assembly of Roman Catholic bishops convened by Pope Francis at the Vatican released a preliminary document on Monday calling for the church …

Discussion: National Review and FOX News Radio

Coral Davenport / New York Times:

Pentagon Signals Security Risks of Climate Change — WASHINGTON — The Pentagon on Monday released a report asserting decisively that climate change poses an immediate threat to national security, with increased risks from terrorism, infectious disease, global poverty and food shortages.

Discussion: The Verge and Pat Dollard

Bill Scher / Politico:

How Republicans Lost the Culture War — Perhaps Republicans were impatient with incremental progress. Perhaps the party lacked a strong leadership figure who could keep fringe players in check. But Republicans made a decision on abortion strategy that they didn't have to make.

Discussion: Liberal Values, The Daily Caller, Washington Monthly and Outside the Beltway

Joe Romm / ThinkProgress:

The Planet Just Had Its Hottest September On Record — Graph of NASA temperature data via @thingsbreak.Click to enlarge. — Last month was the warmest September globally since records began being kept in 1880, NASA reported Sunday. January through September data have 2014 already at the third warmest on record.

Discussion: Little Green Footballs, Daily Kos, Raw Story and Brad DeLong's Grasping Reality

Jonathan Spyer / GLORIA Center:

MERIA Special Report: Did ISIS Use Chemical Weapons Against the Kurds in Kobani? — *** WARNING: This post contains images which some readers may find disturbing. Caution is advised. Please scroll down to view these images. — The fate of Kobani city now hangs in the balance …

Discussion: Pat Dollard, The Gateway Pundit and The Jawa Report

New York Times:

The Big Lie Behind Voter ID Laws — Election Day is three weeks off, and Republican officials and legislators around the country are battling down to the wire to preserve strict and discriminatory new voting laws that could disenfranchise hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of Americans.

Discussion: Washington Post, The Daily Banter and Liberaland

Jeré Longman / New York Times:

Sierra Leone's Soccer Team Struggles With Stigma Over Ebola Outbreak — YAOUNDÉ, Cameroon — Fans taunt them with chants of “Ebola.” Some opponents have hesitated to shake their hands or engage in the traditional swapping of jerseys. Humiliating medical screenings have become routine.

Discussion: FOX News Radio and The Gateway Pundit

Hannah McLendon / High Point University:

HPU Poll: Hagan and Tillis Tied Among NC Likely Voters — HIGH POINT, N.C., Oct. 13, 2014 - The HPU Poll finds that in North Carolina's pivotal senate race, Sen. Kay Hagan and Speaker of the House Thom Tillis are tied at 40 percent each when N.C. likely voters were asked who they would vote for if the election were held today.

Discussion: Hot Air

Michael Walsh / NY Daily News:

Louisiana attorney general tries to block ashes of Dallas Ebola victim from entering state — The incinerated ashes of Thomas Duncan's belongings are slated to be dumped in a hazardous waste landfill in Calcasieu Parish. Louisiana Attorney General Buddy Caldwell says there are too many unknowns …

Discussion: FOX News Radio

John R. Lott Jr / New York Post:

The FBI's bogus report on mass shootings — It's disheartening to see the FBI used to promote a political agenda, but that's what we got with the bureau's release last month of a study claim to show a sharp rise in mass shootings, a la Newtown, Conn. — The FBI counted 160 “mass” or …