memeorandum: St. Louis police officer under investigation following call to protester's employer (Lee Enterprises/St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

3:25 PM ET, October 17, 2014

Top Items:

Steve Mason / ABC News:

Hospital Worker Who Handled Ebola Samples Is on Cruise Ship — A Dallas health care worker who handled clinical specimens from an Ebola-infected patient is on a cruise ship in the Caribbean, with the worker self-quarantined and being monitored for signs of infection, the State Department said in a statement.

Discussion: Truth Revolt, 6abc.com, Balloon Juice and CNN

Belizean:

Belize Confirms Patient With Ebola Symptoms On Cruise Ship Off Its Coast — Reports tonight are that two individuals possibly infected with the Ebola virus are in Belizean waters. Local TV station Channel 7 monitored in the capital City Of Belmopan tonight, reported having credible reports …

Discussion: Mediaite and The Gateway Pundit

Washington Post:

Cruise ship carrying quarantined Texas hospital worker denied entry by Mexico — The cruise ship carrying a Texas health-care worker who “may have” handled lab specimens from Dallas Ebola victim Thomas Eric Duncan is headed back to the United States after Mexican authorities refused …

Discussion: New York Times, Gawker and Shakesville

New York Times:
Keeping Ebola at Bay

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Daily Kos, Balloon Juice, Mediaite and Business Insider

Greg Botelho / CNN:
Nurse may have had symptoms of Ebola longer than first thought

Discussion: Jezebel, Outside the Beltway, The Gateway Pundit, Instapundit and TODAY

Gene Sloan / USA Today:
Worker who may have handled Ebola specimen on cruise

Discussion: Hot Air and John Hawkins' Right Wing News

Rachelle Blidner / NY Daily News:
Ebola patient Nina Pham arrives at Maryland hospital after thanking Texas medical staff in emotional video

Discussion: 6abc.com, New York Magazine, FOX News Radio and Gawker

Charles Krauthammer / Washington Post:
Charles Krauthammer: Ebola vs. civil liberties

Discussion: Betsy's Page

Manny Fernandez / New York Times:
Texas Restricts Movements of Hospital Workers Who Treated Ebola Victim

Discussion: Gawker, Business Insider and New York Magazine

John Bacon / USA Today:
Nurse with Ebola: 'I'm doing really well'

Discussion: The Huffington Post and Gawker

Jake Tapper / CNN:

First on CNN: Obama will name Ron Klain as Ebola Czar — Washington (CNN) — President Barack Obama will appoint Ron Klain his “Ebola czar,” knowledgeable sources tell CNN. — The president on Thursday signaled his openness to the idea to have one individual coordinating the entire federal response …

Discussion: Mediaite, Talking Points Memo, American Spectator, Christian Science Monitor, Althouse, Gawker, Business Insider, Daily Kos, Associated Press, Mashable, The Verge, Washington Post, New York Times and FOX News Radio

Ezra Klein / Vox:

Ron Klain is a great choice for Ebola czar — Something I learned during the first two years of the Obama administration, when the staff infighting was at its worst: if you wanted to get somebody to say something nice, ask them about Ron Klain. — Klain entered the administration as Vice President Joe Biden's chief of staff.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Fox News, The Dish and New York Magazine

David McCabe / The Hill:
GOP blasts Obama Ebola czar pick

Discussion: Hot Air and No More Mister Nice Blog

A.B. Stoddard / The Hill:
No one at the helm on Ebola — The spread of Ebola in America …

Discussion: The Federalist, Business Insider and Weekly Standard

New York Times:
Ron Klain, Chief of Staff to 2 Vice Presidents, Is Named Ebola Czar

Discussion: JustOneMinute, Wall Street Journal, Outside the Beltway, The Hugh Hewitt Show, CNN, Mediaite and Fox News

New York Post:

Alarm after vomiting passenger dies on flight from Nigeria to JFK — Demonstrators demand a travel ban outside the White House on Oct. 16 to stop the spread of the Ebola virus. — A plane from Nigeria landed at JFK Airport Thursday with a male passenger aboard who had died during the flight …

Discussion: John Hawkins' Right Wing News, The Daily Caller, The Gateway Pundit, Washington Times, Vox Popoli and Weekly Standard

Jonathan V. Last / Weekly Standard:
Six Reasons to Panic

Discussion: American Prospect

Politico:
Why a travel ban wouldn't work

Discussion: Liberal Values, Allen B. West, The Federalist and Mediaite

The Hill:
List: Lawmakers backing travel ban

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, Mashable, Daily Kos, Fox News and Guardian

Jim Rutenberg / New York Times:

How Billionaire Oligarchs Are Becoming Their Own Political Parties — In August, Tom Steyer and seven campaign advisers sat in a small conference room in Coral Gables, Fla., trying to figure out how to save the world. Steyer, who is 57, has a fortune of roughly $1.5 billion …

Discussion: Arkansas Blog, Arkansas Times and Hullabaloo

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:

Republican Joni Ernst Admits Why Republicans Really Hate Obamacare — Another secret recording. — Shares — Conservatives have made a series of specific predictions about the effects of Obamacare — overall costs would rise, insurers would flee the exchanges, premiums would go up, the ranks of the uninsured would not even fall.

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Washington Monthly, Brad DeLong's Grasping Reality, Raw Story, Washington Center …, Washington Post, msnbc.com and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Irin Carmon / msnbc.com:

This conservative cause is the GOP's worst nightmare — DENVER - There is one word that has defined the Colorado Senate race and it's a word that Republican Rep. Cory Gardner and other GOP candidates across the country are tired of hearing. The word is Personhood.

Discussion: Washington Monthly and National Review

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System:

Perspectives on Inequality and Opportunity from the Survey of Consumer Finances — The distribution of income and wealth in the United States has been widening more or less steadily for several decades, to a greater extent than in most advanced countries.1 This trend paused during …

Discussion: Business Insider, New York Times, Guardian, New York Magazine and Washington Center …

Wall Street Journal:

Biden's Son Hunter Discharged From Navy Reserve After Failing Cocaine Test — Lawyer Pursued Military Service Relatively Late as a Public-Affairs Officer — WASHINGTON—Vice President Joe Biden 's son Hunter was discharged from the Navy Reserve this year after testing positive for cocaine …

Nate Cohn / New York Times:

Not Following the Midterms? You're Missing All the Fun — I have a confession: I think this is a great election. It's way better than 2012. All around, it might be the best general election in a decade. — There are a dozen competitive and close Senate contests and, for good measure …

Steven Beutler / The New Republic:

An infectious-disease specialist says the time for half-measures is over — Over the last several months, scientists at the Food and Drug Administration and World Health Organization have done an excellent job of educating the public about Ebola. They have provided a great deal …

Discussion: The Dish

Sylvia Westall / Reuters:

Islamic State training pilots to fly in three jets: Syria monitor — (Reuters) - Iraqi pilots who have joined Islamic State in Syria are training members of the group to fly in three captured fighter jets, a group monitoring the war said on Friday, saying it was the first time that the militant group had taken to the air.

Discussion: Lawfare, Washington Post, Defense One, Outside the Beltway, New York Magazine, Guardian and The PJ Tatler

Andrew Kaczynski / BuzzFeed:

GOP Congressman: Hamas Could Infect Themselves With Ebola And Come To America — “Okay, well, part of their creed would be to bring persons who have Ebola into our country.” — View Video › — A Republican congressman says terrorists from Hamas could purposely infect themselves …

Discussion: Taegan Goddard's …

Chris Geidner / BuzzFeed:

Arizona Same-Sex Marriage Ban Is Unconstitutional, Marriages To Begin “Immediately” — Judge also refuses to put his ruling on hold during any possible appeal. [Update: Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne will not appeal, says clerks “can issue licenses for same sex marriages immediately.” ]

Discussion: Joe. My. God.