Ebola nurse Kaci Hickox prepares for showdown with Maine officials over quarantine

With state troopers monitoring her home, a nurse in the eye of a growing storm over state-ordered quarantines for health workers who have treated Ebola patients met the media late Wednesday after vowing that she would leave her home if Maine officials did not lift their restrictions on her by the following day. 
State officials are seeking a court order to detain Kaci Hickox for the remainder of the 21-day incubation period for Ebola that ends on Nov. 10. While the request is pending, state police say they plan to monitor Hickox's movements and interactions, but cannot take her into custody without a judge's permission. 
Hickox, accompanied by her boyfriend, Ted Wilbur, met with the media in the driveway of her home in Fort Kent Wednesday night. The nurse, who returned from Sierra Leone last week after working with Doctors Without Borders, said that she had made no progress in her attempts to negotiate an end to her quarantine with state officials.
If a judge grants the state request, then Hickox will appeal the decision on constitutional grounds, necessitating a hearing, Hickox attorney Norman Siegel said.
"I'm not willing to stand here and let my civil rights be violated when it's not science-based," Hickox said. She contends there's no need for her to be quarantined because she's showing no symptoms of Ebola.
The Portland Press Herald reported that Hickox appeared healthy and spoke calmly. At one point, she shook the hand of a British reporter who offered to do so after she stated that she did not have the virus and denied being contagious.
"You could hug me. You could shake my hand. I would not give you Ebola," Hickox told the man.
The Press Herald reported that Wilbur had checked with state police before Hickox emerged from the house to ensure that she would not be arrested before she spoke.
Maine Gov. Paul LePage, who instituted the 21-day quarantine order Monday, has canceled campaign events to keep tabs on the situation. He maintains that the state must be "vigilant" to protect others.
Maine law allows a judge to grant temporary custody of someone if health officials demonstrate "a clear and immediate public health threat." Generally, states have broad authority when it comes to such matters. But Maine health officials could have a tough time convincing a judge that Hickox poses a threat.
"If somebody isn't showing signs of the infection, then it's kind of hard to say someone should be under mandatory quarantine," attorney Jackie L. Caynon III, who specializes in health law in Worcester, Massachusetts, told the Associated Press. 
Earlier Wednesday, Hickox told NBC's "Today" that she doesn't "plan on sticking to the guidelines" and is "appalled" by the home quarantine policies "forced" on her.
Ebola, which is spread through direct contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person, has killed thousands of people in Africa, but only four people have been diagnosed with it in the United States. People can't be infected just by being near someone who's sick, and people aren't contagious unless they're sick, health officials say.
Guidelines from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend daily monitoring for health care workers like Hickox who have come into contact with Ebola patients. But some states like Maine are going above and beyond those guidelines.
The defense department is going even further. On Wednesday, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel ordered military men and women helping fight Ebola to undergo 21-day quarantines that start upon their return — instead of their last exposure to an Ebola patient.
President Barack Obama warned that overly restrictive measures imposed upon returning health care workers could discourage them from volunteering in Africa.

Economy remains key for candidates, voters despite foreign crises

WASHINGTON –  On any given Election Day for the past two decades, the old Bill Clinton campaign mantra of, "It's the economy, stupid," would have held up as THE defining issue. Jobs, housing, taxes -- pick one, all or more, and it was sure to hit home with voters.
But with Ebola, terror threats and scandals dominating the news -- and Wall Street continuing its record climb -- it might be somewhat surprising that as House, Senate and gubernatorial candidates head into the final weekend of campaigning before next Tuesday's elections, pocketbook issues still resonate most with voters.
The latest Fox News poll shows 43 percent of voters believing the economy is the most important issue facing the country, far outpacing health care and foreign policy. And while Americans view the economy more positively than they used to, just one-in-five would give it good marks.
"The economy is important and it's always a main driver," Lara Brown, associate professor at the Graduate School of Political management at George Washington University, said. And despite upticks in financial data, "Americans just don't feel like the economy is getting better and until there are many evidences of it in their own lives, they don't see it," she said.
Elizabeth Sanders, election expert and government professor at Cornell University, said Democrats have suffered as President Obama has turned his attention away from the economy and toward other pressing issues.
"A president, I think, simply can't manage multiple wars and pay attention to the economy and the complex domestic institutions he's responsible for," she said in a recent Cornell paper. "So it's no wonder that in year six, all the chickens have come home to roost and the president's party seems doomed to pay the price of the endless, costly, cycle of wars that demand precious attention stolen from domestic policy implementation."
The economy is a tricky topic for both parties. While Democrats can point to a steady drop in the unemployment rate -- the percentage of Americans reported to be out of work -- Republicans point to the number of Americans who have stopped looking for work or are under-employed, and other less-rosy news, like modest economic growth.
So while the economy remains top-of-mind for many voters, a crisp economic message in the muddy recovery is difficult to craft.
And without a clear message, Democrats in particular face a hard sell convincing voters that better times are here. For instance, despite a surge of new data showing the U.S. economy has moved to solid ground following years of uncertainty, "seven in 10 Americans rate the nation's economy negatively and just 28 percent say it's getting better," according to a new ABC News/Washington Post poll.
But data shows the "fundamentals of the economy are stronger now," Gus Faucher, a senior economist at PNC Financial Services, told MarketWatch. "We don't have the same drag from government-spending cuts. Corporate balance sheets are pretty good. Households have less debt. The economy is adding 200,000 jobs a month."
With Obama's job approval and discontent with Congress hitting new lows -- and Democratic candidates shunning the president during their campaigns -- convincing voters that the economic tide has turned seems a near impossible task.
Still, Obama persists, telling a recent crowd at an event at Northwestern University that the midterms should be a referendum on "two starkly different visions" for the economy, arguing that it's "stronger today than it was when I took office," and that progress "has been hard, but it has been steady and it is real."
Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., told the New York Times that "whether it's addressing his constituency on things they most care about or whether it's helping us in the midterm elections, the economy is the right thing to talk about," adding: "I know the president has had a lot of other things on his plate, but to keep the economy front and center is where America is at."
In fact, the roadmap to long-term economic health still needs a lot of work.
For example, even though the country's unemployment rate is down -- 5.9 percent in September, down from 7.2 percent a year earlier -- the figure fails to tell the whole story. The number does not reveal how many Americans have stopped looking for work or address people who are working but earning less.
Here's one window into a less-active job market: The labor participation rate, which measures the percentage of adults who are employed or actively looking for work, is 62.7 percent -- the lowest it's been in 36 years.
The Federal Reserve, meanwhile, has kept interest rates near zero, signaling inflation may be too low and worker wages too stagnant.
Retail sales ahead of the holiday season also are showing signs of stress. Wal-Mart Stores Inc., recently cut its annual sales forecast and predicted slower profit growth over the next three years.
Some polling shows voters generally trust Republicans more to execute a full economic recovery. 
In a recent George Washington University Battleground Poll, voters by 49-42 percent said Republicans likely would do a better job addressing economic concerns over their Democratic counterparts.
Democrats still are hoping to get voters to give them some credit for the economic bright spots. It remains a key issue in next Tuesday's midterms, where 36 out of 50 state governors and more than one-third of the Senate as well as all 435 seats in the House of Representatives are up for grabs.
In Virginia, Democratic Sen. Mark Warner spent much of his second debate with GOP challenger Ed Gillespie promoting his economic policies.
"Everything in my career has been about creating jobs," Warner said, adding that, if elected, he would promote economic development and job growth in the state. 
Gillespie wasn't buying it.
"Sen. Warner voted for the failed stimulus: $1 trillion, wasted money. He voted for the excessive regulations in the Dodd-Frank bill that are making it hard for small businesses to get capital and get loans," he argued.
In Georgia's tight Senate race, GOP candidate David Perdue told Fox News that the "number one thing that we need to be talking about is who's going to go to the Senate and add value to the debate of how to get the economy going to get people back to work again right here in Georgia."
Perdue's general message has been echoed nationally by Republicans looking to unseat Democrats. 
In New Mexico, new polls show that GOP challenger Allen Weh has narrowed a double-digit gap against Democratic incumbent Sen. Tom Udall. A Vox Populi poll, which puts Udall up only 4 points over Weh, also shows voters in the state are motivated by the economy and jobs.
Public-sector economic forecasters, including the Congressional Budget Office and the Federal Reserve, meanwhile, have revised down their projections for U.S. economic growth. In June, the Fed amended its projection for annual GDP growth to 2.3 percent, down from 3 percent, after disappointing first-quarter growth, lending concern to why the U.S. economy still hasn't made up lost economic ground from the recent recession.
Brown said that if Ebola and ISIS fears hadn't flared, candidates would be focusing on these economic issues more.
"Americans want to feel safe about asking for a raise and not fearing they'll be fired," Brown said. "They want their neighbors to have jobs, they want to feel safe about buying a house, not losing equity, not losing their job."

Hillary Cartoon

Fox News Poll: Race for Congress tightens, confidence in Obama low

Enthusiasm in the midterm elections remains in the Republicans’ favor -- but the spread has significantly narrowed, according to a new Fox News national poll. 
Among likely voters, 45 percent of Republicans are “extremely” interested compared to 41 percent of Democrats. Two weeks ago, the GOP was up 15 points on that question.
Party loyalty is slightly in the Democrats’ favor, as more Democrats (89 percent) than Republicans (87 percent) plan to vote for their party’s candidate.  This makes more of a difference than one might expect, because more voters identify as Democrat than Republican. 
Click here for the poll results.
What’s the net result? For one thing, a further tightening of the generic congressional ballot that was already within the margin of error: 45 percent of likely voters favor the Democratic candidate in their House district and 44 percent back the Republican. This represents a four-point shift from two weeks ago, when the Republican candidate was up by three among likely voters (45-42 percent). 
It’s difficult to make a direct connection between generic vote results and individual races. 
There was a smaller shift on which party voters prefer control the U.S. Senate: likely voters want Republicans to win control by 47-45 percent. Two weeks ago it was 47-43 percent. 
Meanwhile, 62 percent of American voters lack confidence in President Obama’s leadership.  That includes 28 percent who say they are losing confidence, and 34 percent who never had confidence. 
The new Fox News national poll released Tuesday also finds that one week before Election Day, voters:
- Would vote against the president’s policies if they were on the ballot.
- Think it would be good if every member of Congress got the boot.
- Feel the economy is still in bad shape, but not quite as bad as before the 2010 midterm.
- Think Republican control of the U.S. Senate would be a net positive.
Thirty percent of Democrats don’t have confidence in their president:  six percent never had confidence, while another one in four -- 24 percent -- are losing confidence.
Among independents, 19 percent have confidence in Obama, while 75 percent either never had (34 percent) or are losing confidence (41 percent). 
Overall, 36 percent are confident in Obama’s leadership.
In addition, the president’s job rating has been in negative territory for 18 months straight -- and remains there today:  41 percent of voters approve, while 54 percent disapprove. 
A 59-percent majority says the Obama administration has not been “competent and effective” in managing the government (39 percent say it has).
And by a 58-36 percent margin, a majority would vote against Obama and his policies if they were on the ballot this year.  That includes 21 percent of Democrats and 74 percent of independents.
Frustration with the federal government remains high.  Just three percent of voters feel enthusiastic about the way the government is working.  Nearly eight times that many -- 23 percent -- are angry.  Twenty-five percent were angry before the 2010 midterms. 
Another 25 percent feel satisfied with how the government is working, up from 22 percent in 2010.  Forty-six percent are dissatisfied, down from a 51-percent majority four years ago. 
Congressional Voting
Drilling deeper into the congressional election numbers, women are more likely to back the Democratic candidate in their district by an 11 percentage-point margin, while men are more likely to back the Republican by 10 points. 
Among likely voters, independents back the Republican on the ballot question by a 40-25 percent margin.
Seventy-seven percent of likely voters who support the Tea Party movement are backing the Republican candidate.  That’s down from 91 percent in the final Fox News poll before the 2010 midterm election. 
While it’s tough to make a direct connection between the generic vote results and individual congressional races, such a small advantage by one party or the other means little change should be expected to the makeup of Congress. 
For comparison, in the final Fox News poll before the 2010 midterm -- when the GOP gained 63 seats and the majority in the U.S. House -- Republicans were up by 50-37 percent on the generic ballot among likely voters. 
Of course, being in the majority can have its drawbacks when voters are in a mood for change.  Overall, 59 percent say it would be “good for the country” if all the current members of Congress were ousted (including their own House member) and all new people were elected.  That’s up from 47 percent who liked the idea of a fresh start in 2010. 
That 12-point jump is driven by more Democrats (+16 points) and independents (+22 points) now saying all congressional lawmakers should be sent packing than said so in 2010.  Among Republicans, views held mostly steady at about six in 10. 
Despite a majority saying it would be good if all current members were removed from office, nearly half of voters -- 46 percent -- approve of the job their representative is doing.  That’s more than three times as many as the 13 percent that approve of Congress overall.
A bit of a bright spot for incumbents this year is that fewer people are concerned about the future of the country. In 2010, 91 percent were “extremely” (43 percent) or “very” (48 percent) concerned.  Today, 83 percent are concerned (42 percent “extremely” and 41 percent “very”).
If Republicans win control of the U.S. Senate, how would that change things?  Thirty-seven percent of voters think it would be a change for the better, while 28 percent say things would change for the worse.  Another 32 percent don’t expect things to change if the GOP takes the senate, including 23 percent of Republicans. 
In 2010, 37 percent said Republicans winning control of Congress would lead to change for the better, 21 percent said for the worse and 38 percent didn’t expect any real change. 
On the Issues
Views on the economy are ugly, but have improved since 2010. Only 18 percent of voters rate economic conditions positively (1 percent “excellent and 17 percent “good”). However, the number saying the economy is in “poor” condition now stands at just 33 percent. That’s down from 55 percent who felt that way before the 2010 midterm election, and is at its lowest point since October 2007.
Still, voters say the economy is the most important issue facing the country (43 percent).  Less than one in five say the top issue is illegal immigration (17 percent), health care (16 percent) or foreign policy (15 percent). 
And majorities disapprove of Obama’s performance on each of these issues:  56 percent disapprove on the economy, 60 percent on immigration, 57 percent on health care and 57 percent disapprove of how he’s handling foreign policy. 
When asked which party would do a better job handling top issues, the poll finds Democrats have an advantage on “who has your back” (+10 points) and health care (+1 points).  Republicans come out on top on terrorism (+21 points), taxes (+12 percent), foreign policy (+9 points), the economy (+5 points) and illegal immigration (+3 points).
Independents give the edge to Republicans over Democrats on all of the issues tested.
The GOP is seen as better at protecting the country from terrorism by a 52-31 percent margin.  That’s important this election season as three-quarters of voters think ISIS will try to launch an attack on U.S. soil soon (75 percent), and nearly half of voters -- 45 percent -- don’t think the federal government is doing everything it can to prevent it. 
Furthermore, 56 percent disapprove of Obama’s handling of ISIS, and 71 percent say he hasn’t been tough enough on radical Muslim extremists.
Pollpourri
By a 46-26 percent margin, more voters think Obamacare “went too far” than “didn’t go far enough.”  For another 23 percent it’s Goldilocks (“about right”).
Why are unemployment numbers down?  Over half -- 53 percent -- say it’s because people have stopped looking for a job.  Nearly four in 10 believe it’s because the economy is creating new jobs and more jobs are available these days (37 percent).
Most Democrats think the economy is creating new jobs (57 percent), while most Republicans (69 percent) and independents (65 percent) say people have given up. 
The Fox News poll is based on landline and cell phone interviews with 1,005 randomly chosen registered voters nationwide and was conducted under the joint direction of Anderson Robbins Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R) from October 25-27, 2014. The full poll has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus three percentage points. For the subgroup of 734 likely voters, the margin of sampling error is also plus or minus 3.5 points.

Medicare agency is focus of insider trading investigations

Employees of the federal agency that oversees Medicare and the federal health exchange website are the focus of three Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) investigations to determine whether they leaked news about pending health policy decisions that would up in the hands of Wall Street traders.
According to The Wall Street Journal, nearly a dozen officials at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have spoken to investigators, with some receiving immunity in exchange for their information. 
The Jounal reported that one of the probes is centered on a CMS decision in June 2010 to set coverage limits on a prostate cancer drug made by Dendreon Corp. Official documents and people close to the investigation say that the official in charge of making the decision emailed three colleagues telling them to keep the news secret until a formal announcement could be made. However, investigators say Dendreon shares had dropped 10 percent by the end of the day when the decision was made. By the end of that June, Dendreon's stock price had dropped 26 percent from the start of the month. 
The investigation is also focusing on at least three policy and research firms that may have acted as middlemen for the inside information. The Journal reports that a second investigation, which involves the FBI in addition to the SEC, is focused on whether a firm called Height Securities LLC was informed ahead of schedule about a pending increase in funding for health insurance firms in April 2013. 
One of the firms in question, and the focus of the third investigation, is run by a former CMS employee, David Blaszczak, who has denied using any inside information in preparing reports about what medical products will be paid for under Medicare. 
Late Tuesday, CMS released a statement saying, "[E]mployees undergo regular training on how to appropriately handle this type of sensitive information. We have and will continue to cooperate fully with law enforcement."
The Journal reports that to prove insider trading, prosecutors will have to show that CMS officials relayed non-public, market-moving information to a Wall Street representative in violation of a duty to confidentiality. 
CMS officials have gone on the record to defend the importance of keeping the public informed about medical decisions, which may make it difficult to pursue a federal case. The Journal cites a letter written by current CMS administrator Marilyn Tavenner to Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, defending a meeting between agency officials and Wall Street-based clients to discuss reimbursement for a company that makes medical devices.
"We believe that CMS has an obligation to provide information to the public about the programs that the agency administers and to answer questions about our policies and the impact of our policies on beneficiaries, providers and stakeholders," Tavenner wrote, according to the Journal.

Internal memo pushes bringing non-citizens to US for Ebola treatment; State denies plan

A memo obtained by Fox News indicates the Obama administration has been considering allowing non-American Ebola patients into the U.S. for treatment – though a State Department official on Tuesday denied any such plans.
The document was obtained by Fox News from a Capitol Hill source, who said it is a memo prepared by the State Department. The top of the document is marked “sensitive but unclassified – predesicional (sic).”
CLICK TO READ THE MEMO
The “purpose” of the memo states: “Come to an agreed State Department position on the extent to which non-U.S. citizens will be admitted to the United States for treatment of Ebola Virus Disease.”
The document goes on to discuss – and advocate for -- devising such a plan. The memo recommends that “State and DHS devise a system for expeditious parole of Ebola-infected non-citizens into the United States as long as they are otherwise eligible for medical evacuation from the Ebola affected countries and for entry into the United States.”
Explaining that recommendation, the memo says the U.S., for instance, has an “obligation” to help non-citizen employees of U.S. agencies and U.S.-based private firms. It says the U.S. “needs to show leadership and act as we are asking others to act by admitting certain non-citizens into the country for medical treatment for Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) during the Ebola crisis.”
The memo was obtained after House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., wrote to Secretary of State John Kerry and Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson a week ago asking if either department was formulating a plan to allow non-U.S. citizens with Ebola to come to the U.S. for medical treatment.
Goodlatte also told Fox News Monday night that his office had received "information from within the administration" that such plans were being developed. So far, only American Ebola patients have been brought back to the U.S. for treatment from the disease epicenter in West Africa. 
Goodlatte warned that expanding that policy could put the country at more risk. 
"Members of the media, my office have received confidential communications saying that those plans are being developed," Goodlatte said Monday night. "This is simply a matter of common sense that if you are concerned about this problem spreading … we certainly shouldn't be bringing in the patients." 
The administration, though, has denied planning to do so.
A State Department official said Tuesday that they're only talking about letting other countries use U.S. planes to transport Ebola patients to their own home countries. 
"There are absolutely no plans to MEDEVAC non-Americans who become ill from West Africa to the United States," the official told FoxNews.com. "We have discussed allowing other countries to use our MEDEVAC capabilities to evacuate their own citizens to their home countries or third-countries, subject to reimbursement and availability. But we are not contemplating bringing them back to the U.S. for treatment. 
"Allegations to the contrary are completely false." 
And on Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest was asked about the matter and said “that certainly hasn't happened so far -- I don't know of any plans to do that.”
A Goodlatte aide told FoxNews.com that "someone in one of the agencies" initially contacted their office with the tip. 
In his letter last week, Goodlatte asked whether the administration is crafting such a plan, seeking details and communications among their employees. 
The conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch also reported, shortly before Goodlatte sent the letter, that the administration was "actively formulating" plans to bring Ebola patients into the U.S., with the specific goal of treating them "within the first days of diagnosis."

Hope and Change Cartoon

School's Nation of Islam handout paints Founding Fathers as racists

The mother of an eight-year-old wants to know why a Tennessee school teacher gave her child a handout from the Nation of Islam that portrayed the presidents on Mount Rushmore as being racists.
Sommer Bauer tells me her son was given The Nation of Islam handout at Harold McCormick Elementary School in Elizabethton. The handout asked “What does it take to be on Mount Rushmore?"
The handout then explains that George Washington hailed from Virginia, a “prime breeder of black people.” Of Theodore Roosevelt, it was alleged he called Africans “ape-like.” There were also disparaging remarks made of Thomas Jefferson (he enslaved 200 Africans) and Abraham Lincoln.

I’ve interviewed Sommer at least a half dozen times. Her story has remained consistent. The teacher gave Sommer two explanations for what happened in the classroom. The superintendent gave me a third.

She said her jaw dropped when she followed the link to a website that was listed on the handout. Imagine her surprise when up popped the Nation of Islam home page.
The Nation of Islam believes there is no God but Allah. They also aren’t all that keen on white folks or Jewish folks. 
“It raised a number of red flags,” she said. “They are basically saying our Founding Fathers are racists.”
Sommer told me she reached out to the teacher for an explanation – hoping it was an honest mistake.
“At first, she did not recall which paper it was,” she said. “Later in the day, she found the paper and told me she didn’t like what it said – and said she must have printed it by mistake.”
The teacher also told Sommer that her son was not supposed to take the Nation of Islam handout home. It was supposed to stay in the classroom. That bit of news caused her great alarm.
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“I was caught off guard,” she told me. “I reassured my son that he needed to feel safe enough to bring anything that the school gave him home to me. Ultimately, while his teachers do care for him, his mother and his father have his absolute number one best interests at heart.”
He knows he needs to bring everything home to me, she said.
Sommer then reached out to the principal to find out how Nation of Islam material ended up in her son’s third grade classroom. She said the principal was cordial – and promised to investigate. She’s still waiting for answers.
Superintendent EC Alexander sounded genuinely horrified when I read him the contents of the handout.
“My goodness, that we would promote bigoted or racist points of view – merciful heavens,” he said. “I can assure you that is not the case.”
The school’s version of events is somewhat different.
Alexander told me the handout was never meant for public distribution. He said the child took the handout from the teacher’s work station without her permission. He said the teacher had been preparing for a presentation on Mount Rushmore and had discarded the controversial handout.
“It was not an authorized handout,” Alexander said.
Julie West is the president of Parents For Truth in Education, a Tennessee-based group that is opposed to Common Core.
At this point there is no indication the Nation of Islam assignment was connected to Common Core. However, West said she is alarmed by whatever happened at Harold McCormick Elementary School.
“The fact that students were cautioned against allowing their parents to see anything is deeply troubling,” West told me. “The only reasonable explanation is they don’t want parents to know what it is their children are learning.”
I certainly don’t mean to be an apologist for the school – but what if it was just an honest-to-goodness mistake?
“Whatever the reason it came into the classroom, it’s not okay,” she said. “These are not advanced high school students. This is third grade. They should be learning the basics of our country.”
So what’s the bottom line?
“We had a teacher who apparently never looked at something, never read something, before it was distributed to a class of third graders,” West said. “In addition, she warned the students not to take it home.”
That does seem a bit odd.
I’ve interviewed Sommer at least a half dozen times. Her story has remained consistent. The teacher gave Sommer two explanations for what happened in the classroom. The superintendent gave me a third.
I find it hard to believe an 8-year-old boy would steal a handout from a teacher’s desk, bring it home and then concoct an elaborate tale to cover up the crime.
But let’s suspend reality for just a moment and say the little boy did take that handout. Regardless, there’s no disputing the fact that it was on the teacher’s desk.
And I do believe the good people of Elizabethton deserve to know how and why a handout from the Nation of Islam ended up on school property.

‘Calibration issue’ pops up on Maryland voting machines

Voting machines that switch Republican votes to Democrats are being reported in Maryland.
“When I first selected my candidate on the electronic machine, it would not put the ‘x’ on the candidate I chose — a Republican — but it would put the ‘x’ on the Democrat candidate above it,” Donna Hamilton said.
“This happened multiple times with multiple selections. Every time my choice flipped from Republican to Democrat. Sometimes it required four or five tries to get the ‘x’ to stay on my real selection,” the Frederick, Md., resident said last week.
Queen Anne County Sheriff Gary Hofmann said he encountered the problem, too, personally.
“This is happening here as well. It occurred on two candidates on my machine. I am glad I checked. Many voters have reported this here as well,” Hofmann, a Republican, wrote in an email Sunday evening.
Two other Maryland voters reported the same in Anne Arundel County on Friday.
Click for more from Watchdog.org

Immigration officer's union sounds alarm over White House order for millions of blank work permits, green cards

A union that represents thousands of federal immigration officers is raising an alarm after the U.S. government ordered supplies to create millions of blank work permits and green cards, touching off speculation that the Obama administration may be preparing executive action on immigration.
The Associated Press reported last week that the new federal contract proposal from the Homeland Security Department would allow the government to buy enough supplies to make as many as 34 million immigrant work permits and residency cards over the next five years. The move appeared to suggest that the administration is preparing for a surge of work permit applications from illegal immigrants.
Kenneth Palinkas, the president of the National Citizenship and Immigration Services Council, said in a press release Monday that he believes the move indicates the administration is planning to enact “massive unilateral amnesty” after the midterm elections.
“…If you care about your immigration security and your neighborhood security, you must act now to ensure that Congress stops this unilateral amnesty,” he said. “Let your voice be heard and spread the word to your neighbors. We who serve in our nation’s immigration agencies are pleading for your help – don’t let this happen. Express your concern to your Senators and Congressmen before it is too late.”
The union represents 12,000 officers of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the agency responsible for processing visas and other immigration papers. Palinkas said federal immigration officers are already struggling to complete their mission, and the new contract indicates things could get worse.
“Whether it’s the failure to uphold the public charge laws, the abuse of our asylum procedures, the admission of Islamist radicals, or visas for health risks, the taxpayers are being fleeced and public safety is being endangered on a daily basis,” he said.
When asked about the contract last week, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said it was being blown out of proportion.
"I think those who are trying to read into those specific orders about what the president may decide are a little too cleverly trying to divine what the president's ultimate conclusion might be," Earnest said. "What I would caution you against is making assumptions about what will be in those announcements based on the procurement practices of the Department of Homeland Security."
The U.S. government produces about 3 million work permits and residency identification, known as green cards, annually. The new contract for at least 5 million cards a year would provide the administration with the flexibility to issue far more work permits or green cards even if it chose not to exercise that option.
Obama announced earlier this year that if Congress didn't pass immigration legislation, he would act on his own. After twice postponing a final decision, he said as recently as last month that he would hold off on executive actions until after November's midterm elections.

New fight over Ebola quarantine looms as nurse returns to Maine

A nurse who treated Ebola patients in West Africa before being briefly and controversially quarantined in New Jersey could be the focus of a new battle over state health policy as she returns to her home state of Maine. 
Kaci Hickox left a Newark hospital on Monday and was expected to arrive in the northern Maine town of Fort Kent early Tuesday. Maine health officials have already announced that Hickox is expected to comply with a 21-day voluntary in-home quarantine put in place by the state's governor, Paul LePage. 
However, one of Hickox's lawyers, Steve Hyman, said he expected her to remain in seclusion for only the "next day or so" while he works with Maine health officials. He said he believes the state should follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines that require only monitoring, not quarantine, for health care workers who show no symptoms after treating Ebola patients.
"She's a very good person who did very good work and deserves to be honored, not detained, for it," he said.
LePage defended the quarantine in a news release Monday, saying that state officials must be "vigilant in our duty to protect the health and safety of all Mainers." Adrienne Bennett, a spokeswoman for the governor, told the Portland Press Herald that authorities would take "appropriate action" if Hickox does not comply with the quarantine, though she did not specify what that action might be. 
"Upon the healthcare workers' return home, we will follow the guidelines set by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control for medical workers who have been in contact with Ebola patients," LePage's statement continued. "Additionally, we will work with the healthcare worker to establish an in-home quarantine protocol to ensure there is no direct contact with other Mainers until the period for potential infection has passed."
A spokeswoman for Northern Maine Medical Center in Fort Kent told the Associated Press that the facility is ready to care for an Ebola-infected patient, if necessary. Hickox and her boyfriend, Ted Wilbur, recently moved to Fort Kent, where Wilbur is a nursing student at the University of Maine branch in the town. 
WAGM-TV reported late Monday that school officials had offered Wilbur the option of staying in on-campus student housing for the duration of the quarantine period or suspending his studies so that he could stay with Hickox in his off-campus home during that time. A University of Maine system spokesman told the Associated Press that he couldn't confirm details of discussions with Wilbur.
Hickox, who volunteered in Sierra Leone with Doctors Without Borders, spent the weekend in a quarantine tent in New Jersey despite having no symptoms other than a slightly elevated temperature she blamed on "inhumane" treatment at Newark Liberty International Airport.
Hickox said she never had symptoms and tested negative for Ebola in a preliminary evaluation. She was the first person forced into New Jersey's mandatory quarantine for people arriving at Newark Liberty from Sierra Leone, as well as Guinea and Liberia. 
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo were sharply criticized for ordering mandatory quarantines. But Christie said Monday that his priority is protecting the health of people in his state.
Wilbur's uncle Tom Wilbur told the AP that Hickox should be trusted to make good decisions and that medical decisions should be grounded in science and not "hysteria."
"She's very much a professional," he said. "And she's very bright. And if she were running a fever, she would be the first to take action."

Boss Love Cartoon

Marines, UK combat troops give key command post to Afghan military, as mission draws to close

The last Marines unit in Afghanistan officially concluded its mission on Sunday, handing over to the Afghan military the sprawling U.S. military base known as Camp Leatherneck.
The event included the U.S. flag being lowered and folded and occurred at the same time British combat troops officially closed Camp Bastion, which also is in Afghanistan’s Helmand Province, Fox News confirmed.
The camp has been the center of U.K. operations in Afghanistan since 2006.
The ceremonies marked the end of operations for the Southwest Regional Command -- a U.S. and U.K. coalition operating under NATO's International Security Assistance Force.  
They also end an important chapter in the 13-year Afghan campaign, which started after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
The joint base once had roughly 40,000 people working there. The province was once a stronghold of the terror-related Taliban group.
U.K. Defense Secretary Michael Fallon said Britain has helped give Afghanistan "the best possible chance of a stable future." However, he acknowledged to the BBC that there is "no guarantee that Afghanistan is going to be stable and safe."
Meanwhile, Brigadier Rob Thomson, senior U.K. officer in Helmand, said Afghan National Security Forces are "more than ready" to assume responsibility for the country's security.
Britain plans to withdraw its final combat troops from Afghanistan by the end of the year and is planning to give Afghan forces control of a base in Kandahar, the country's second most populous city.
Military advisers and trainers are expected to stay in Kabul, the capital. 
Some Americans have been critical of the Obama administration’s decision to also remove all combat troops from Afghanistan by the end of the year, amid concerns about whether the Afghan forces are ready, considering the hundred of U.S. lives lost in the war on terror.
Fallon said Britain's commitment to support Afghanistan will continue "through institutional development, the Afghan National Army Officer Academy, and development aid."
Britain suffered 453 fatalities during the campaign. The vast majority of the fatalities happened in Helmand province.

Female victim in Washington state school shooting has died, hospital says

A 14-year-old girl shot by a student gunman at a Washington state high school Friday has died, hospital officials said late Sunday. 
Officials at Providence Regional Medical Center in Everett identified the victim as Gia Soriano, a freshman at Marysville-Pilchuk High School, about 30 miles north of Seattle. Her death brings the total number of victims from Friday's shooting to three, including gunman Jaylen Fryberg. The other victim, also a girl, has not been publicly identified. 
At a news conference, Dr. Joanne Roberts read a statement from Soriano's family.
"We are devastated by this senseless tragedy. Gia is our beautiful daughter, and words cannot express how much we will miss her," the statement said.
Roberts said Soriano's family was donating her organs for transplant.
Three other student victims remained hospitalized Sunday, with two in critical condition and another in serious condition. 
Earlier Sunday, parents and students gathered in a gymnasium at the school for a community meeting, with speakers urging support and prayers and tribal members playing drums and singing songs. Fryberg was from a prominent Tulalip Indian tribes family.
Young people hugged each other and cried and speakers urged people to come together during the gathering Sunday.
"We just have to reach for that human spirit right now," said Deborah Parker, a member of the Tulalip Indian tribes.
"Our legs are still wobbly," said Tony Hatch, a cousin of one of the injured students. "We're really damaged right now."
Of the wounded students, only 14-year-old Nate Hatch showed improvement, though he remained in serious condition in intensive care at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. Fifteen-year-old Andrew Fryberg also remained in critical condition in intensive care. Both are cousins of Jaylen Fryberg.
Meanwhile, 14-year-old Shaylee Chuckulnaskit remained in critical condition in intensive care at Providence Regional Medical Center.
Fryberg died in the attack after a first-year teacher intervened. It's unclear if he intentionally killed himself or if the gun went off in a struggle with a teacher.
The makeshift memorial on a chain link fence by the school, which will be closed this week, kept growing Sunday. Balloons honoring the victims and the shooter adorn the fence along with flowers, stuffed toys and signs.
Meanwhile, the close-knit community on the nearby Tulalip Indian reservation struggled with the news that the shooter was a popular teenager from one of their more well-known families.
A tribal guidance counsellor said no one knows what motivated Fryberg.
"We can't answer that question," said Matt Remle, who has an office at the high school. "But we try to make sense of the senselessness."
In the nearby community of Oso, where a mudslide this spring killed dozens, people planned to gather to write condolence letters and cards.
Remele said he knew Fryberg and the other students well.
"My office has been a comfort space for Native students," he said. "Many will come by and have lunch there, including the kids involved in the shooting."
They all were "really happy, smiling kids," Remle said. "They were a polite group. A lot of the kids from the freshman class were close-knit. Loving.
"These were not kids who were isolated," he said. "They had some amazing families, and have amazing families."
These factors make the shooting that much more difficult to deal with, "Maybe it would be easier if we knew the answer," Remle said. "But we may never know."

Army Green Berets reportedly criticize performance of Afghan army troops

Elite Army troops have disparaged the fighting capability of Afghan troops to military investigators probing the deaths of five soldiers in a friendly fire incident earlier this year, according to a published report. 
The Washington Times claims that several Green Berets have described how Afghan soldiers have refused to fight and hidden among trees and behind rocks when coming under fire. The criticisms came to light on the same day that the last unit of U.S. Marines in Afghanistan concluded its combat mission, handing the base known as Camp Leatherneck to Afghan troops.
The comments by the Green Berets were made to investigators from U.S. Central Command during discussions of an incident from this past June, when five U.S. soldiers and an Afghan sergeant were killed when a B-1 bomber mistakenly dropped two bombs on their position during a battle against Taliban forces in southern Afghanistan.
Among the other complaints against Afghan soldiers the Times reports as being mentioned in the investigative file are inability to fight at night and inability to take the lead in clearing villages controlled by the Taliban. The paper also reports that the Green Beret team leader, a captain, claimed that the Afghan National Army (ANA) had provided fewer troops than requested for the June mission, adding that this was not the first time that had happened. 
After the deadly bombing, the Times reports, a Green Beret instructed Afghan soldiers to set up a perimeter, only for them to hide behind a rock. 
The reported experiences of the Green Berets stand in stark contrast to claims made by the Pentagon that Afghan forces will be ready to take the lead in the fight against the Taliban after the departure of most U.S. troops by the end of this year. The Defense Department's most recent Afghanistan progress report, released in April of this year, states that the ANA "made impressive progress, and maintained its tactical overmatch over the insurgency."
Gen. John F. Campbell, commander of the International Security Assistance Force told reporters Oct. 2 that the ANA had "taken on the security mission from last June of ‘13. They had it mostly entirely by themselves for the summer of ‘14. I think they've done very well, supporting both the [Afghan presidential election] and through some of the major events."
However, the report also said that Afghan forces had not been able to last more than several days in the field.

New York gov Cuomo loosens Ebola quarantine restrictions after criticism

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced late Sunday that he had loosened some of the restrictions in a mandatory 21-day Ebola quarantine that he had ordered along with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie this past Friday. 
Under the revised guidelines, medical professionals who have had contact with Ebola patients will be quarantined at home and receive twice-daily monitoring if they have no symptoms. Family members will be allowed to stay, and friends may visit with the approval of health officials. The state will also pay for any lost compensation, if they are not paid by a volunteer organization.
The new guidelines come after White House officials and health experts strongly criticized the mandatory quarantine, which was put in place in response to the infection of a New York City doctor, Craig Spencer. Cuomo had originally criticized Dr. Spencer for not obeying a 21-day voluntary quarantine. But on Sunday, he called the health care workers "heroes" and said his administration would encourage more medical workers to volunteer to fight Ebola.
The mandatory quarantine came in for more criticism after a Maine nurse returning from Sierra Leone criticized her treatment as the first person to be quarantined under New Jersey's new policy, saying that she was treated "like a criminal." Kaci Hickox has tested negative for Ebola in a preliminary evaluation. 
Hickox has access to a computer, her cellphone, magazines and newspapers and has been allowed to have takeout food, New Jersey Health Department officials told The Associated Press.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio called Hickox a "returning hero" and charged that she was "treated with disrespect" when she was put into quarantine. He said that she was interrogated repeatedly and things were not explained well to her.
Christie issued a statement Sunday that also stressed that home confinement would be used for New Jersey residents and others when possible.
"The protocol is clear that a New Jersey resident with no symptoms, but who has come into contact with someone with Ebola, such as a health care provider, would be subject to a mandatory quarantine order and quarantined at home. Non-residents would be transported to their homes if feasible and, if not, quarantined in New Jersey," said a statement from Christie spokesman Kevin Roberts.
Earlier Sunday the White House expressed concern about what it called the "unintended consequences" of the mandatory quarantine, telling Fox News that the Obama administration is working on new federal guidelines on returning health-care workers exposed to Ebola, realizing the concern among Americans about a potential outbreak on U.S. soil.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said early Sunday that the 21-day quarantines originally imposed in Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, and New York can have the "unintended consequence" of discouraging health care workers from volunteering, particularly in the West African countries, where an estimated 4,500 people have so far this year died from Ebola.
"We do not want to put them in a position where it makes it very, very uncomfortable for them to even volunteer," he told “Fox News Sunday."
Christie told Fox News that he has “great respect” for Fauci but defended his decision to impose the quarantine, saying he has an obligation to protect residents amid Centers for Disease Control guidelines that remain a “moving target.”
"Imagine that you're the person in charge of public health for people of a large, densely populated state … and these protocols continue to move and change,” Christie said. “It was my conclusion we need to do this to protect the public health of people of New Jersey. (New York) Governor Cuomo agreed. And now, (Chicago) Mayor Emanuel agrees. And I think the CDC eventually will come around to our point of view on this."
Officials at New York City's Bellevue Hospital Center said Sunday that Spencer was in serious but stable condition, was looking better than he did the day before, and tolerated a plasma treatment well.
The World Health Organization said more than 10,000 people have been infected with Ebola in the outbreak that came to light last March, and nearly half of them have died, mostly in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.

Hillary Clinton: Corporations and businesses don’t create jobs

At a Democratic rally in Massachusetts, Hillary Clinton’s attempt to attack “trickle-down economics,” resulted in a spectacularly odd statement.
Clinton defended raising the minimum wage saying “Don’t let anybody tell you that raising the minimum wage will kill jobs, they always say that.”
She went on to state that businesses and corporations are not the job creators of America. “Don’t let anybody tell you that it’s corporations and businesses that create jobs,” the former Secretary of State said.
Clinton’s comment will likely be used frequently to attack her as another big-government Democrat. She is seen by many as already running for president in 2016.

NY governor admits Ebola policy could be unenforceable

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo admitted Saturday that the 21-day Ebola quarantine policy for health care workers returning from West Africa could be unenforceable. 
The New York Daily News reported that the Democrat acknowledged that several contingencies had not yet been worked out by officials, including what would happen if someone refused to be quarantined or even where they would spend their time during the watch period. 
"Could you have a hostile person who doesn’t want to be quarantined?" Cuomo said during a campaign appearance in the New York City borough of Queens Saturday. "I suppose you could. But that hasn’t been the case yet." The governor added that officials had not determined whether those refusing to be quarantined could face arrest or prosecution, saying "It's nothing that we've discussed, no." When asked by the News where the quarantined people would be held, Cuomo even seemed unclear on that point, saying "Some people could be quarantined in a hospital if they wanted to be."
On Friday, Cuomo and his New Jersey counterpart, Chris Christie, imposed a mandatory quarantine of 21 days — the incubation period of the deadly virus — on travelers who have had contact with Ebola patients in the countries ravaged by Ebola — Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone. A similar measure was announced in Illinois, where officials say such travelers could be quarantined at home.
Doctors Without Borders executive director Sophie Delaunay complained Saturday about the "notable lack of clarity" from state officials about the quarantine policies, and an American Civil Liberties Union official in New Jersey said the state must provide more information on how it determined that mandatory quarantines were necessary.
"Coercive measures like mandatory quarantine of people exhibiting no symptoms of Ebola and when not medically necessary raise serious constitutional concerns about the state abusing its powers," said Udi Ofer, executive director of the ACLU of New Jersey.
Health officials in all three states with quarantine policies did not return messages from The Associated Press seeking details about enforcement Saturday. 
Meanwhile, Kaci Hickox, the first traveler quarantined under Ebola watches in New Jersey and New York, wrote the first-person account for the Dallas Morning News, which was posted on the paper's website Saturday. Her preliminary tests for Ebola came back negative.
"This is not a situation I would wish on anyone, and I am scared for those who will follow me," Hickox wrote of her quarantine. "I am scared about how health care workers will be treated at airports when they declare that they have been fighting Ebola in West Africa. I am scared that, like me, they will arrive and see a frenzy of disorganization, fear and, most frightening, quarantine"
"One after another, people asked me questions," Hickox continued. "Some introduced themselves, some didn’t. One man who must have been an immigration officer because he was wearing a weapon belt that I could see protruding from his white coveralls barked questions at me as if I was a criminal ... The U.S. must treat returning health care workers with dignity and humanity."
Doctors Without Borders said Hickox has not been issued an order of quarantine specifying how long she must be isolated and is being kept in an unheated tent. It urged the "fair and reasonable treatment" of health workers fighting the Ebola outbreak.
"We are attempting to clarify the details of the protocols with each state's departments of health to gain a full understanding of their requirements and implications," Delaunay said in a statement.
Christie, campaigning Saturday in Iowa for a fellow Republican, said he sympathizes for Hickox but said he has to do what he can to ensure public health safety.
"My heart goes out to her," the governor said, while also noting that state and local health officials would make sure quarantine rules are enforced. He said the New Jersey State Police won't be involved.
The quarantine measures were announced after a New York physician, Craig Spencer, working for Doctors Without Borders returned from Guinea was admitted to Manhattan's Bellevue Hospital Center earlier this week to be treated for Ebola.
A senior White House official said Saturday that how to treat health care workers returning from the affected West African countries continues to be discussed at meetings on Ebola as the administration continues to take a "careful look" at its policies.

YouTube, Beware: Election-spending regulator sets sights on political Internet videos

Politically themed YouTube videos could be the next target of federal regulators.
The top Democrat on the Federal Election Commission strongly suggested Friday that regulators look at extending their authority to election-themed Internet videos – an area that for years has been largely hands-off for the government.
The statement from Vice Chairwoman Ann Ravel, who is in line to take over the commission next year, prompted Republicans to warn that such a move could threaten the growth and freedom of the Internet itself.
“I have been warning that my Democratic colleagues were moving to regulate media generally and the Internet specifically for almost a year now,” Chairman Lee Goodman told FoxNews.com. “And today’s statement from Vice Chair Ravel confirms my warnings.”
At issue was a case considered by the FEC – the chief campaign-finance regulator – in September involving a group that ran pro-coal videos critical of Democrats in 2012. The group initially was accused of failing to report the cost of the videos and of failing to include the routine “disclaimers.”
But the group maintained that since they were only run on YouTube, they were exempt.
The case ended in a split, 3-3 decision at the FEC and was dismissed. But the vote itself aired a striking divide: despite a decision clearing the organization by the general counsel, Democrats voted to pursue an investigation anyway while Republicans voted to drop it.
Ravel was blunt in her written statement Friday explaining her side’s vote. She scolded Republicans for arguing rules that would apply to TV ads should not apply to web videos.
“As a matter of policy, this simply does not make sense,” she said.
She said, rather, a “re-examination” of the FEC approach to the Internet is “long overdue” and complained the commission has “turned a blind eye” to the Internet’s influence in politics.
“Since its inception, this effort to protect individual bloggers and online commentators has been stretched to cover slickly-produced ads aired solely on the Internet but paid for by the same organizations and the same large contributors as the actual ads aired on TV,” she said. Ravel vowed to “bring together” people from “across the spectrum” next year to look at the issue.
This set off alarm bells.
GOP members of the commission cite an “Internet exemption” dating back to 2006 that spares free web videos from FEC regulations. In other words, anyone who posts a politically themed video for free only to YouTube can – for now -- do so without including a disclaimer or reporting the costs.
“The FEC’s approach to free speech on the Internet should be hands-off,” Goodman said, urging the public to go to the FEC website to comment on the issue.
A statement from Goodman and his GOP colleagues on the commission likewise warned about the implications of the 3-3 decision, and a “desire to retreat” from “important protections for online political speech.”
This, they wrote, would be a “shift in course that could threaten the continued development of the Internet’s virtual free marketplace of political ideas and democratic debate.”
This is hardly the first warning from Goodman and his colleagues about the direction of the current FEC. He previously has warned that officials at the agency want to start regulating the media, and might even try to regulate book publishers. Democrats on the commission have called those allegations “overheated” and overblown.

As Virginia Senate race tightens, GOP’s Gillespie confident about upsetting Warner

Republican Ed Gillespie is making a tight race out of his ambitious plan to defeat Virginia Democratic Sen. Mark Warner, slicing deep into the incumbent’s lead in the final days to re-emerge as a player in the GOP set piece to take the Senate.
By some accounts, Gillespie, a former Bush White House staffer and Republican National Committee chairman, has already done his job by forcing Democrats and their supporters to keep spending money on an expected victory, instead of on the handful of other Senate races that they desperately need to retain control of the upper chamber.
But with 10 days to go before Election Day, Gillespie, who according to a recent poll has cut the lead to single digits, feels confident about winning and is in no mood to declare a moral victory for what Washington war room strategists refer to as “expanding the playing field.”
“I’ve always said this is a winnable,” Gillespie told FoxNews.com on Thursday, as he campaigned through the state’s voter-rich Virginia Beach-Hampton Roads region. “I knew it wouldn’t be easy, but I also knew it was possible. We have incredible energy right now… We’re going to win.”
Gillespie -- a first-time candidate and high-powered lobbyist before the campaign -- entered the race trailing by at least 20 percentage points and with considerably less money, one lead he couldn’t close despite his Washington establishment connections.
Warner, a former Virginia governor and wealthy telecommunication entrepreneur before joining Congress, has consistently out-fundraised Gillespie and now has roughly $8 million in available cash, compared to roughly $2 million for Gillespie.
That disparity became apparent last week when the Gillespie campaign temporarily cancelled and reduced the amount of money it had planned to spend on TV ads.
The super PAC of former Virginia GOP Gov. Jim Gilmore jumped in with $86,000 for TV and radio ads in support of Gillespie.
But the Warner campaign meanwhile continued to bombard the airwaves with ads about Gillespie previously lobbying for Enron -- the energy conglomerate forced into bankruptcy in 2001 by an accounting scheme that also resulted to 21 people either pleading guilty or being found guilty of related crimes.
Lauren Bell, a dean and political science professor at Virginia’s Randolph-Macon College, thinks Gillespie entered the race believing he could knock off an incumbent and still does.
“I cannot image somebody of Ed Gillespie’s stature, with his credentials, would just take one for the team,” she said.
Warner has spent $4.4 million on ads, and the liberal Virginia Progress PAC has spent another $2 million.
Gillespie has spent $3.5 million on ads with a mere $260,000 more coming from outside groups, according to the nonpartisan Center for Public Integrity.
Gillespie has also done most of the heavy lifting with so little outside money, which likely hurt his race but allowed Washington Republicans and pro-GOP political action committees to spend on the tight races in Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana and North Carolina.
The Warner campaign could not be reached Saturday for comment. 
Republicans need to win a net total of six seats to take control of the Senate and appear headed to at least win Democratic-held seats in South Dakota and West Virginia.
Bell thinks Gillespie has a shot at winning, pointing to Dave Brat's stunning Virginia GOP primary win this summer over House Minority Leader Eric Canton despite having a huge fundraising disadvantage.
“It seems unlikely that Gillespie will be able to come back,” Bell said. “But I don’t think it’s impossible… Before the Brat primary I would have said no way.”
She also argues that Gillespie could win in similar fashion to Brat, a fellow Randolph Macon professor, by entering the race with lower polls numbers but benefiting from low voter turnout, a major concern for Democrats in November.
Gillespie, like other Republican challengers this election cycle, appears to have found success in trying to tie Warner, known as a centrist, to President Obama’s agenda.
However, the race could now be even tighter, following revelations in mid-October about Warner allegedly discussing a federal judgeship for a supporter in an effort to keep her father from quitting the state Senate and giving Republicans the majority.
Bell said the allegation, largely overlooked by the national media, is a big deal among Virginia voters, though no public polls have been released since it surfaced.
“It’s a big issue,” Gillespie said. “It’s deeply troubling that Mark Warner would play politics with an appointment to a federal bench. Something happened to Mark Warner on his way to Capitol Hill.”

Iran hangs woman for killing alleged rapist

TEHRAN, Iran –  Iran has hanged a woman convicted of murdering a man she said was trying to rape her.
The official IRNA news agency says Reyhaneh Jabbari was hanged at dawn Saturday for premeditated murder. It quoted the court ruling as rejecting the claim of attempted rape and saying all evidence proved that Jabbari had plotted to kill Morteza Abdolali Sarbandi, a former intelligence agent.
The court ruling says Jabbari, 27, stabbed Sarbandi in the back in 2007 after purchasing a knife two days earlier.
The execution was carried out after Sarbandi's family refused to pardon Jabbari or accept blood money.
Amnesty International and other human rights groups had called on Iran's judiciary to halt the execution.

Anti-Israel restaurant receives funding from John Kerry’s wife’s foundation

A food cart that hands out anti-Israel propaganda with each of its sandwiches has received funding from a foundation run by Secretary of State John Kerry’s wife.
Conflict Kitchen, a pop-up restaurant located at the intersection of Carnegie Mellon University and Pittsburgh University, seeks to use food to educate locals and college students about countries that are allegedly in conflict with the United States.
It recently began serving Palestinian food wrapped in leaflets that include quotes from Palestinians defending terrorism and opposing the existence of Israel.
“How can you compare Israeli F-16s, which are some of the best military planes in the world, to a few hundred homemade rockets?” states one quote on the wrapper, a reference to Hamas rocket attacks against Israelis. “You’re pushing them to the absolute extreme. So what do you expect?”
“Palestinians are not going to just let [Israel] in and drop their arms,” it adds. “No, they’re going to kill and they are going to die.”
The statements on the wrappers were taken from interviews with Palestinians. They are published without quotation marks and do not appear to be edited for accuracy.

As Dems avoid Obama on campaign trail, Romney is in GOP demand

MESA, Ariz. –  Flashing the easy smile of someone whose name isn't on the Election Day ballot, Mitt Romney has never been so politically popular. He’s traveled the country – 23 states by his count – in recent months to lend support to fellow Republicans in advance of November’s midterm election.
“A lot of people who helped me – I owe big time,” the two-time presidential candidate cheerfully explained when asked about his campaign stops.
It’d be understandable if Romney’s enthusiasm for rallies, banquet halls, fundraisers and the seemingly never-ending line of outstretched hands had waned since his 2012 loss. But two years later, Romney is busy stumping for candidates in tight races nationwide including this two-day stretch in Arizona.
“It’s a real thrill to go across the country and I see a lot of the people who helped me during my campaign,” Romney told Fox News on Thursday night in Mesa. “Not just volunteers but a lot of dear, dear friends that I hadn’t seen in many, many years. So it’s fun to get back on the trail and make a difference.”
The irony of Romney’s high-profile appearances – about 1,500 people showed up to see him with Arizona’s statewide Republican candidates – is that President Obama has been nearly invisible in public support of Democrats this cycle. That’s not lost on Doug Ducey, Arizona’s Republican candidate for governor, one of the candidates getting a boost from Romney.
“People talk about contrasts in this campaign and I can’t think of any bigger contrast than for me to say how proud I am to be campaigning with our Republican nominee for president Mitt Romney,” Ducey enthusiastically told supporters after Romney introduced him on stage. The audience then roared in laughter at Ducey’s observation that Obama hasn’t been seen in Arizona supporting Democratic nominee Fred DuVal.  
Romney readily says he wishes he could be in the White House today leading the country but “that’s not going to happen.” He says he wants the president to succeed at home and internationally but is convinced that’s not likely to happen either.  
His sharpest criticism of the president came in response to questions about the administration’s handling of the Ebola crisis, which Romney calls a massive threat to America.
“Frankly, the president has once again been spectator-in-chief,” Romney said, then questioned why the president didn’t take a stronger line with the CDC in making sure the health agency was on top of the situation.
Romney expanded his critique to other controversies that have stricken the Obama administration, singling out the IRS scandal, Secret Service foul-ups and the roll out of ObamaCare.
“This is your administration. You appointed those people to lead those organizations. They report to you,” he said. “You should have been meeting with them, dealing with these issues before they broke and embarrassed our nation.”
Romney’s prominent role on the campaign trail along with polls showing a measure of buyer’s remorse from some 2012 Obama voters has prompted speculation that a third run for the presidency is possible. Romney repeated his oft-stated line that “I’m not running. I’m not planning on running.”  
He offered strong compliments about others who are considered likely candidates for the 2016 presidential nomination. “We’ve got some good people who are looking at the race. I think the first debate may have 10 or more people on the stage. Time will tell. We’ve got very credible people who are giving it a careful look.”
Friday morning outside Tucson, Republicans showed up at a community center to hear from Romney and a pair of GOP congressional candidates. Twice during the short event, rally-goers chanted “run Mitt run” with seemingly little effect on their target. Romney’s smile never left his face.

New York, New Jersey order Ebola quarantines

Both New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Friday they are ordering a mandatory, 21-day quarantine for all doctors and travelers who have had contact with Ebola victims in the ravaged countries of West Africa.
The move comes a day after a Doctors Without Borders volunteer was diagnosed with the disease after returning to the U.S. a week after treating Ebola victims in Guinea.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the case forced them to conclude that the two states need guidelines more rigorous than those of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which recommends voluntary quarantines.
"It's too serious a situation to leave it to the honor system of compliance," Cuomo said.
A woman who arrived at Newark Liberty International Airport from West Africa developed a fever and was the first traveler to be quarantined under an Ebola watch Friday.
She had no symptoms upon arrival, authorities said.
Dr. Craig Spencer was traveling in New York City prior to his diagnosis Thursday. Health officials said he followed U.S. and international protocols in checking his temperature every day and watching for symptoms, and put no one at risk. But others said he should have been quarantined — that is, kept away from others, either voluntarily or by the government — during Ebola's 21-day incubation period.
An automatic three-week quarantine makes sense for anyone "with a clear exposure" to Ebola, said Dr. Richard Wenzel, a Virginia Commonwealth University scientist who formerly led the International Society for Infectious Diseases.
Doctors Without Borders said in a statement that a quarantine of that nature would be going to far and that people who contract Ebola are not contagious until symptoms begin.
"As long as a returned staff member does not experience any symptoms, normal life can proceed," the organization said in a statement.