TOP STORIES
SENATE RACES DOWN TO THE WIRE HuffPost Pollster is showing a tight race for control. Harry Reid is rallying the troops around a warning of a “constitutional crisis” if Democrats don’t take back the Senate. On the fundraising side, Donald Trump has raised less than half of what Mitt Romney did for the RNC at this point in 2012. All the while, Hillary Clinton leads in every poll in a batch released this week. [Janie Valencia, HuffPost]
LATEST WIKILEAKS DUMP SHOWS CLINTON FOUNDATION ‘INTERSECTION OF CHARITY AND PERSONAL INCOME’ “The memo, made public Wednesday by the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks, lays out the aggressive strategy behind lining up the consulting contracts and paid speaking engagements for Bill Clinton that added tens of millions of dollars to the family’s fortune, including during the years that Hillary Clinton led the State Department. It describes how [Doug] Band helped run what he called ‘Bill Clinton Inc.,’ obtaining ‘in-kind services for the President and his family ― for personal travel, hospitality, vacation and the like.’” [WaPo]
DEFENSE SECRETARY ASH CARTER: RAQQA IS NEXT Carter said the fight for ISIS’s Syrian capital could begin within weeks. [CNN]
COULD LONDON SUPPORT AN NFL TEAM? All three NFL games have sold out there this season. As former St. Louis Rams fans, we’d argue the team should be shipped back to the gateway to the West, but alas. [WaPo]
COMING TO A TV SCREEN NEAR YOU Individualized targeted ads. [NYT]
‘PATIENT ZERO’ NOT TO BLAME FOR U.S. HIV OUTBREAK “Genes taken from archived blood samples show the U.S. AIDS epidemic started in New York in the early 1970s, definitively debunking the long-held belief that the virus was spread in the early 1980s by a flight attendant who became vilified as ‘Patient Zero’ for seeding the U.S. outbreak.” [Reuters]
WE WILL HAVE KILLED OFF TWO-THIRDS OF WILDLIFE IN 50 YEARS According to the latest World Wildlife Fund report, humans are the worst. [Nick Visser, HuffPost]
WHAT’S BREWING
PATTON OSWALT: ‘I’LL NEVER BE 100 PERCENT AGAIN’ “But that won’t stop me from living this.” [HuffPost]
WE NEVER SAW THE SHINY LEGS IN THIS ‘THE DRESS’-ESQUE VIRAL PHOTO It’s paint, people, it’s paint. [HuffPost]
IT’S NOT JUST YOU Incidents on planes are rising globally, as we all grow more irritated with cramped space ― giving us the opportunity to remind you all of the excellent Dave Barry column that we may or may not have received a gold ribbon in for speech team in 7th grade. [WSJ | Paywall]
WE DEFINITELY TEARED UP ABOUT THE COURAGE THIS SECRET SERVICE DOG SHOWED Thanks, Hurricane, for your service. [Men’s Journal]
COCA-COLA AND THE ORIGIN OF THE PRODUCT PLACEMENT WARS How products became plot points. [Vulture]
IF YOU’D LIKE TO ZONE OUT Check out these robots making tiny springs, it’s strangely transfixing. [Kottke]
BEFORE YOU GO
~ Turns out being a bridesmaid in China can actually kill you.
~ We now know Martha Stewart has sexted, thanks to “Ellen.”
~ Justin Timberlake gets real over that voting photo kerfuffle.
~ This Colorado state park debuted an all-terrain wheelchair so people of all abilities can explore the park.
~ Yes, we’ll eat Anthony Bourdain’s hangover cure.
~ Mad Men’s Matthew Weiner is returning to TV ― on Amazon that is.
~ All the drama behind the scenes of “Deadpool 2.”
~ The bad news just got worse for Brad Pitt ― the child abuse investigation has been expanded.
~ Congrats to Michael Phelps and Nicole Johnson, who have beensecretly married for months.
~ How to avoid those pesky toasted bread crumbs from your favorite lunch sandwich.
~ More of Richard Sherman dressed as Harry Potter, please.
~ We’ll admit to being jealous of the fabulous trappings of the D.C. “Seats of Power” photos in this New York Times feature ― turns out being a big shot in the capital can get you some killer real estate.
Send tips/quips/quotes/stories/photos/events/scoops to Lauren Weber lauren.weber@huffingtonpost.com.
Follow us on Twitter @LaurenWeberHP. Does somebody keep forwarding you this newsletter?
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