Morning Must Reads: October 29

Perks and Recreation

Vice President Joe Biden, his family and top Obama Administration officials have been enjoying discounted vacations at a lakeside log cabin in a national park, TIME has learned, leading the Interior Department to launch an investigation into the cabin’s use

Obama: Ebola ‘Will Be Defeated’

President Obama on Tuesday rebuked states imposing strict Ebola quarantines, warning they could undermine efforts to counteract the virus

Royals Rout Giants, Force Game 7

The Kansas City Royals battered the San Francisco Giants 10-0 on Tuesday night to force a winner-takes-all Game 7 in the World Series

Predict Who Will Win the Senate in 2014

Forget Nate Silver: anyone can be a political handicapper. We’ve provided each candidate’s political strength and liabilities, and left out party affiliation to make you think harder about individual candidates. So place your bets on who shall be victorious on Election Day

Cause Sought After Rocket Explodes During Take-Off

The unmanned rocket exploded unexpectedly on Tuesday, seconds after it took off to deliver 5,000 pounds of experiments and equipment for NASA to the International Space Station, in an accident that could draw scrutiny to the agency’s growing reliance on private companies in the post-shuttle era

Facebook Beats Expectations as Twitter Stumbles

The social-media titan reported 1.35 billion monthly active users, $3.2 billion in revenue and more than $800 million in profit in its third quarter. Facebook’s woes trying adapt to mobile now seem like a distant memory, as it now makes up two-thirds of the company’s ad revenue

U.S. Boosts National Security After Ottawa Shooting

The Department of Homeland Security said the presence of the Federal Protective Service, which oversees security for more than 9,500 federal buildings visited daily by some 1.4 million people, will be boosted following last week’s violence in Canada

Google Is Working on a Pill That Can Catch Diseases

The pill would contain tiny magnetic particles that would travel through a patient’s bloodstream and register the presence of chemicals or cells associated with diseases like cancer. The goal is to catch a potential illness before it’s even diagnosable

Jose Canseco Accidentally Shoots His Own Hand

Former baseball star Jose Canseco was reportedly rushed into surgery late on Tuesday after accidentally shooting himself in the finger at his Las Vegas home. The former Oakland Athletics outfielder was cleaning his handgun when it went off

1989 Expected to Hit 1 Million Sales in Debut Week

Taylor Swift’s latest album, released Monday, is on track to hit 1 million in sales during its first week, according to Billboard. That would make the 24-year-old the only singer ever to have three albums achieve the one-million-in-one-week feat

Giant Tortoises Are Back From Near Extinction

The Espanola giant tortoises, a species that is endemic to the Galapagos Islands and can live for over 100 years, had numbered in the thousands but dropped to 15 by 1960 due to human exploitation. More than 1,500 of their offspring have since been released

Phil Collins Brings Alamo Artifact Collection Back to Texas

The singer recently brought his Alamo artifact collection back to its original San Antonio home, a site the 63-year-old has been fascinated by since he was young. “This completes the journey for me,” he said. “These artifacts are coming home”

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