Morning Must Reads: October 17

Obama Considers Ebola Czar

President Obama said Thursday night he is considering appointing an Ebola czar, quickly adding that the new role would not be because people like CDC chief Tom Frieden “haven’t been doing an outstanding job working hard on this issue”

A Guide to the Ebola Blame Game

The Ebola crisis in Texas has resulted in the death of one patient, the infection of two health care workers and an endless round of finger-pointing

Apple Pay Starts Monday

Apple’s mobile payment platform will start on Monday, allowing customers to make purchases in stores using their iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus

ISIS Retreats From Syrian City

The Syrian city of Kobani, just across the border from Turkey, breathed more easily on Thursday as U.S. coalition air strikes helped dislodge jihadist fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria from several neighborhoods

Giants Beat Cardinals to Face Royals in World Series

Travis Ishikawa hit the first homer to end an NL Championship Series, a three-run drive that gave San Francisco a 6-3 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 5 on Thursday night, sending the Giants to the World Series, where they’ll play the Kansas City Royals

Report: Hunter Biden Leaves Navy After Drug Test

The Vice President’s youngest son was kicked out of the military in February after testing positive for cocaine, two people familiar with the matter told the Associated Press, saying he was discharged barely a year after being made a part-time Navy Reserve public affairs officer

Here’s How to Stop Teens From Drinking Soda

Researchers analyzed 3,000-plus drink purchases by youth ages 7 to 18 in low-income Baltimore neighborhoods and found that sugary drinks accounted for 98%, but that dropped to 89% when researchers put up colorful signs with calorie information

Body Found in Seattle Is Believed to Be Missing Actress

Police said on Thursday night that a body found hours earlier in a wooded area outside Seattle was presumed to be that of Misty Upham, 32, the August: Osage County actress who was reported missing by her father on Oct. 6

FBI Head Implies Action Against Tech Giants’ Encryption

FBI Director James B. Comey has expressed exasperation at the advanced data-encryption technologies that companies like Apple and Google say they will offer their customers, and implied that the government might attempt regulations to ensure a way around them

How the iPad Helped Bring Down the L.A. Schools Chief

Superintendent John Deasy of the Los Angeles Unified School District stepped down on Thursday after abandoning a plan to get iPads in the hands of all 650,000 students in the system. The school board reportedly sent him packing with $60,000 in severance pay

Hong Kong Braces for New Clashes

Pro-democracy demonstrators threatened to build fresh barricades at a protest site cleared by police early Friday morning, local time. The challenge comes two days after clashes in the government and financial district saw 45 arrests and allegations of police brutality

Al Pacino Set for Broadway Return

Al Pacino will return to Broadway next fall in a new bill by playwright David Mamet, who worked with Pacino on four previous projects and said he wrote the latest play called China Doll specifically for the legendary actor

We will hold an #AskTIME subscriber Q&A today, Friday, October 17, at 1 p.m., with TIME Washington bureau chief, Michael Scherer, who wrote this week’s cover story on the most interesting man in politics, Rand Paul. His other stories can be found here.

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