memeorandum: The Absolute Weirdest Thing Ever To Happen At A Political Debate (Aviva Shen/ThinkProgress)

9:45 AM ET, October 16, 2014

Top Items:

Justin Sink / The Hill:

President Obama's Ebola problem — The Ebola crisis in the United States has become an anchor threatening to sink the Obama presidency. — Already under fire from critics who saw the federal response to the outbreak as disorganized and timid, things went from bad to worse on Wednesday …

Nancy Dillon / NY Daily News:

Second Ebola nurse was given green light to fly back to Dallas by CDC — On the same day President Obama vowed an aggressive response to Ebola, it was revealed feverish nurse Amber Vinson was told by the CDC she could fly back to Dallas because her 99.5 temperature was not at threshold and there were no symptoms.

Discussion: New York Magazine, Truth Revolt and CNN

Ascrouch / CBS Dallas:

CDC: Ebola Patient Traveled By Air With “Low-Grade” Fever — DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - The CDC has announced that the second healthcare worker diagnosed with Ebola — now identified as Amber Joy Vinson of Dallas — traveled by air Oct. 13, with a low-grade fever, a day before she showed up at the hospital reporting symptoms.

Discussion: TheDenverChannel.com, Scared Monkeys, Real Clear Politics, The Daily Caller, Hinterland Gazette, Balloon Juice, Mashable, Little Green Footballs, John Hawkins' Right Wing News, The Gateway Pundit, National Review and Taylor Marsh

NY Daily News:

Paging Dr. Obama — The American health-care system's failure to prepare for Ebola became even more terrifyingly evident with the revelation that a Dallas nurse traveled by air after treating a patient who ultimately died from the virus. — Amber Joy Vinson began running a fever the day after her flight …

Discussion: Hot Air

Dianna Hunt / Dallas Morning News:
Presbyterian workers wore no hazmat suits for two days while treating Ebola patient

Discussion: The Scoop Blog, Washington Post, Talking Points Memo, Associated Press, The Verge, PJ Media, his vorpal sword, FOX News Radio, Mediaite, The Hill, The Daily Caller, Gawker, Deadspin and ThinkProgress

Jonathan LaPook / CBS News:
Infected Ebola healthcare worker flew on commercial flight

Discussion: Betsy's Page, Gawker and USA Today

Edward-Isaac Dovere / Politico:
Obama, Ebola and optics

Discussion: Washington Post, Hot Air, The Gateway Pundit and ABC News

Mike Lillis / The Hill:
Democrats push back on travel ban

Discussion: CNSNews, YouGov US Opinion Center News, Hot Air and National Review

Miami Herald & MiamiHerald.com:

‘Fan’ dispute overshadows sharp debate between Charlie Crist and Gov. Rick Scott — › — ‹ — In the weirdest start of a gubernatorial debate, Florida Gov. Rick Scott initially refused to take the stage Wednesday night because Democrat Charlie Crist insisted on a fan to keep him cool.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Talking Points Memo, The Daily Beast, Washington Post, New York Magazine, Politico, Outside the Beltway and Mediaite

Aviva Shen / ThinkProgress:

The Absolute Weirdest Thing Ever To Happen At A Political Debate — The Florida gubernatorial debate got off to a rocky start Wednesday night when Gov. Rick Scott (R-FL) refused to come out because his Democratic opponent, former Gov. Charlie Crist, asked for and received a fan under his podium.

Discussion: Balloon Juice and FOX News Radio

Adam C. Smith / Tampa Bay Times:
Times poll: All tied up in Florida governor's race between Rick Scott, Charlie Crist

Discussion: The Daily Banter and National Review

Guy Norris / Aviation Week:

Skunk Works Reveals Compact Fusion Reactor Details — Lockheed Martin aims to develop compact reactor prototype in five years, production unit in 10 — Hidden away in the secret depths of the Skunk Works, a Lockheed Martin research team has been working quietly on a nuclear energy concept …

Discussion: The Reality-Based Community, ThinkProgress, Business Insider, The Verge, Marginal REVOLUTION and Unqualified Offerings

Andrea Shalal / Scientific American Content:
Lockheed Claims Breakthrough on Fusion Energy

Discussion: JustOneMinute

Andrea Shalal / Reuters:
Lockheed says makes breakthrough on fusion energy project

Discussion: Lockheed Martin, Business Insider, Outside the Beltway and RT

Andrew Johnson / National Review:

Michelle Nunn Won't Say If She Voted for Obama — Another Democratic Senate candidate has refused to say whether she voted for President Obama: This time it was Michelle Nunn in Georgia. — The same question has tripped up other red-state Democrats on the campaign trail.

Discussion: The Other McCain, Power Line and FOX News Radio

Daniel Halper / Weekly Standard:
Another Dem Senate Candidate Won't Say If She Voted for Obama

Discussion: Hot Air

Josh Kraushaar / National Journal:

The Democrats' Most Effective Midterm Message: Outsourcing — Taking a page from Obama's 2012 playbook, Democrats have found a winning message in a dismal political environment. — CHICAGO—Of all the negative campaign messages that Democrats have used this midterm election …

Discussion: Booman Tribune, Democratic Strategist and New York Times

Mars Hill Church:

Pastor Mark Driscoll's Resignation — On Tuesday, October 14, Pastor Mark Driscoll submitted his resignation as an elder and lead pastor of Mars Hill Church. The Board of Overseers has accepted that resignation and is moving forward with planning for pastoral transition …

Discussion: Religion News Service, Guardian, New York Times, KOMO News and CNN

Sarah Pulliam Bailey / Religion News Service:
Exclusive: Mark Driscoll's resignation letter to Mars Hill Church

Discussion: Raw Story and Friendly Atheist

Dave McKenna / Deadspin:

Is A Colorado Senate Candidate Lying About His Football Career? — UPDATE: Gardner campaign spokesman Alex Siciliano sent the following, presented in its entirety, via email: “Cory Gardner played football from Junior High through Sophomore year in high school.”

Discussion: Mediaite, RedState, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Talking Points Memo, FOX31 Denver, The Daily Caller, The Week, Yahoo! News and The Spot

Eleanor Clift / The Daily Beast:

How Presidents Handle Pandemics — Obama's response to the Ebola outbreak will affect his legacy. But he's far from the first president to deal with such a crisis. — The government's response to Ebola's arrival in America has been rocky at best, with each new case raising legitimate questions …

Ruth Padawer / New York Times:

When Women Become Men at Wellesley — Hundreds of young women streamed into Wellesley College on the last Monday of August, many of them trailed by parents lugging suitcases and bins filled with folded towels, decorative pillows and Costco-size jugs of laundry detergent.

Discussion: National Review

Veronique de Rugy / The Daily Beast:

The Best Regulator? That's Easy. It's the Market. — As the Goldman Sachs tapes show, regulators almost always fail. In other cases, they cheat consumers out of choices. Leave it to the market. — Many people simply take it for granted that government regulation achieves its intended ends.

Lee Enterprises / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

Witness adds new perspective to Ferguson shooting — • By Christine Byers cbyers@post-dispatch.com > 314-340-8087 — CLAYTON • A stream of eyewitnesses has been testifying in secret before a grand jury considering whether to indict police officer Darren Wilson in the fatal shooting …

Discussion: The Daily Caller and The Gateway Pundit

Charles Schmitz / Politico:

Who Lost Yemen? — Obama calls it a “model” for fighting terror. So why didn't anyone notice last month's coup? — Nobody saw it coming. On Sept. 20, Yemen's Huthi movement executed a political coup so stealthy that the world hardly noticed, and so momentous that local commentators …

Phyllis Schlafly / Townhall.com:

Stop Disease at the Border — SHARES — Americans against amnesty are not only worried about unemployed Mexicans crossing our southern border illegally to take U.S. jobs. More than ever, we need the fence that Congress voted for and President George W. Bush made a television photo event when he signed it into law.

Discussion: Hullabaloo