Morning Must Reads: August 21

Ferguson Protests Stay Peaceful

A visit by U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and a spell of bad weather produced a smaller, more subdued crowd on Wednesday, as nighttime protests remained peaceful for the first time in nearly a week

Ebola Patient to be Discharged

Dr. Kent Brantly, one of the two Americans infected with Ebola while in Liberia and sent to an Atlanta hospital, is set to be discharged Thursday

U.S. Attempted Hostage Rescue

The U.S. launched a rescue operation this summer to free hostages held by ISIS, including slain American journalist James Foley, the Pentagon said

Israeli Air Strike Kills 3 Senior Hamas Leaders

An Israeli air strike in Gaza killed three senior leaders of the Hamas military wing on Thursday, the group said. The attack near the town of Rafah was one of 20 the Israeli military said it carried out after midnight on Wednesday

Get Ready, SoundCloud Users: Ads Are Coming

SoundCloud, the popular free music-sharing platform that’s helped artists like Lorde skyrocket to fame, is introducing advertisements. The company said Thursday that select content creators will be able to play ads beside their tracks and collect some of the revenue

Record Fine Expected From Bank of America

Authorities are reportedly about to impose a $16.65 billion fine to settle allegations that the bank knowingly sold toxic mortgages to investors, fueling the financial crisis. Since the crisis’s end, the bank has been instructed to pay more than $60 billion in fines and other claims

Blood Transfusions May Help Kids With Sickle-Cell Anemia

Regular blood transfusions could significantly reduce the risk of strokes in children who have sickle-cell anemia. A study of nearly 200 children with the condition found that monthly transfusions could reduce the chance of strokes by more than half

Instant Ramen Can Hurt Your Heart

A study showed that eating instant noodles at least twice a week was associated with 68% more cardiometabolic syndrome—a collection of risk factors for heart disease, type-2 diabetes and stroke—in women, regardless of what else they ate

Texas Gov. Rick Perry Digs in for a Fight

Perry pleaded not guilty on Wednesday in the abuse-of-power case against him, waiving a formal arraignment that had been scheduled for Friday and again signaling his readiness to fight a prosecution that he has decried as a “farce”

Study: Yoga Makes You a Quicker, Better Thinker

Practice hatha yoga consistently for eight weeks, and you’re likely to think faster and better remember things, whereas just stretching and toning yielded no improvement, according to a new study of more than 100 adults with ages ranging from 55 to 79

Winona Ryder Will Join David Simon’s Show Me a Hero

Winona Ryder will embark on her “largest TV commitment to date,” starring alongside Oscar Issac, Catherine Keener, Alfred Molina and The Walking Dead‘s Jon Bernthal in the new HBO miniseries Show Me a Hero, created by The Wire‘s David Simon

UPS: Customer Data May Have Been Compromised

Malware may have affected customers’ credit- and debit-card information at 51 franchises in 24 states, according to the United Parcel Service. UPS says the threat was eliminated as of Aug. 11 and that customers can shop safely at all locations

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We will hold an #AskTIME subscriber Q&A this Friday, August 22, at 1 p.m., with TIME Washington correspondent Alex Altman, who has been covering events in Ferguson, Mo., this week and who co-wrote this week’s TIME cover, “The Tragedy of Ferguson.” He covers all things politics, and you can read his recent stories here.

You can submit your questions beforehand on Twitter using the #AskTIME hashtag or in the comments of this post. We depend on smart, interesting questions from readers.

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