Here is your Morning Brief for the morning of October 16, 2014.

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Ebola in the News

It was all Ebola news on Wednesday. Seriously, go and look and just about any major news website and the Ebola topic is the number one news story. I'm not saying that it's not an important topic, but I just wonder what is getting swept under the rug while Americans are distracted.

Speaking of Ebola, don't worry America, President Obama is vowing to get more aggressive according to the Dallas Morning News.

President Obama vowed a more “aggressive” federal response to the spread of Ebola in the United States. And he offered assurance tonight that a “serious outbreak” remains extremely unlikely.

“I want people to understand that the dangers of you contracting Ebola, the dangers of a serious outbreak, are extraordinarily low,” he said after meeting with Cabinet members and other top aides. “But we are taking this very seriously at the highest levels of government.”

That assurance that a “serious” outbreak is unlikely is markedly less optimistic than the one Obama offered only a week earlier in a call with governors and mayors across the country, when he said that “the chance of an Ebola outbreak in the United States remains extremely low.”

As for health care workers in Dallas, “we understand that many of them are scared,” the president said tonight.

He called it essential to continue fighting the outbreak where it is worst, in Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea, even as the United States girds for spread of the deadly virus at home.

“I am absolutely confident that we can prevent a serious outbreak of the disease here in the United States,” he said, but “the single most important thing that we can do to prevent a more serious Ebola outbreak in this country is making sure that we get what is a raging epidemic right now in West Africa under control.”

The president didn’t directly address escalating demands for a ban on travelers from the afflicted region. But he reiterated that working to control the oubreak in West Africa is a good investment because otherwise, “it will spread globally in an age of frequent travel and the kind of constant interactions that people have across borders.”

You can read the full story by clicking on the link above.

Ebola Polling Data

According to FOX News, many Americans believe that the government is hiding information about Ebola.

Nearly half of American voters think the federal government is hiding information about the Ebola virus from them, according to the latest Fox News national poll.

The new poll, released Wednesday, also finds that voters:

- Are concerned the Ebola virus will spread throughout the United States

- Support banning flights from countries where the virus has broken out

- Think media coverage on Ebola has been appropriate rather than sensationalized

Here are detailed numbers:

More than two-thirds of voters (68 percent) are concerned about the Ebola virus spreading throughout the country, while just over half (55 percent) think the government is prepared to deal with it. Indeed, more than twice as many voters are “very” concerned (37 percent) than say the government is “very” prepared (16 percent).

Women (71 percent) are more concerned than men (64 percent), and Republicans (74 percent) are more worried than Democrats (63 percent) about Ebola spreading. Voters over age 65 are the most concerned (80 percent), while those under age 30 are the least concerned (55 percent).

Democrats (64 percent) are more likely than Republicans (51 percent) or independents (48 percent) to believe the government is prepared to deal with Ebola.

Overall, by a 60-35 percent margin, voters say the U.S. should ban flights from countries where the virus has broken out. That includes majorities of Republicans (70 percent), Democrats (57 percent) and independents (52 percent).

Views split 46-46 over whether the government is hiding information from the public about the Ebola virus that it should be sharing. Still, people are much more likely to believe Uncle Sam is withholding information about ISIS (60 percent say it is versus the 34 percent who say it isn’t).

Which poses a greater threat to Americans? Fifty percent of voters say ISIS, while 27 percent think it is Ebola. Another 18 percent say it’s the same. Both Democrats (+16 points) and Republicans (+35 points) are more likely to believe ISIS poses a bigger risk.

I fully expect these numbers to get worse if the incompetence continues.

You can read the full story by clicking on the link above.

These and many more topics coming up on today’s edition of The Chad Hasty Show. Tune in mornings 8:30-11am on News/Talk 790 KFYO, streaming online at kfyo.com, and now on your iPhone and Android device with the radioPup App. All guest interviews can be heard online in our podcast section after the show at kfyo.com.

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