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First Read's Morning Clips

A roundup of the most important political news stories of the day

OBAMA AGENDA: Deal or no deal between the U.S. and Turkey?

"NATO allies Turkey and the United States differed Monday on where they stand on the use of a key air base, with Turkish officials denying reports from the United States that there was a new agreement on its use for operations against Islamic State militants," writes the AP. "The impasse suggests that major differences remain between the two sides. Turkey has said it won't join the fight against the extremists unless the U.S.-led coalition also goes after the Syrian government of President Bashar Assad, including establishing a no-fly zone and a buffer zone along the Turkish border."

The CDC is questioning U.S. infection control protocols, Reuters notes. "Medical experts need to rethink how highly infectious diseases are handled in the United States, a U.S. health official said on Monday, after a Dallas nurse contracted Ebola despite wearing protective gear while caring for a dying Liberian patient.

The Washington Post: “Islamic State fighters on Monday seized control of an army base in western Iraq, the third to fall in three weeks, as Iraqi forces in the region appeared close to collapse despite U.S.-led airstrikes.”

He's back: "Kim Jong Un, the mysteriously missing leader of North Korea, has suddenly resurfaced, with state media Tuesday showing him walking with a cane as he gave “field guidance” at a new apartment complex. The reports should put an end to rumors that Kim has been overthrown or is under house arrest, but will do little end speculation about this health."

OFF TO THE RACES: Ann Romney shuts the door on Mitt and 2016

More of this: "Romney, the 2012 GOP presidential nominee and now the tacit head of the Republican Party, visited Iowa as part of a feverish nationwide tour designed to help the GOP take control of the Senate,” writes the Washington Post. “He has insisted that he is not interested in running for president a third time. But his friends said a flurry of behind-the-scenes activity is nudging him to more seriously consider it."

But Ann Romney tells the LA Times they're "done" with White House runs: "Done,” she said. “Completely. Not only Mitt and I are done, but the kids are done,” she said, referring to her five sons. “Done. Done. Done.”"

Chris Christie, reportedly, on being a senator: "“It would be over, everybody. You’d watch me just walk out and walk right into the Potomac River and drown."

Writes David Brooks: "I used to think that this was basically a centrist country and that political polarization was an elite phenomenon. But most of the recent evidence suggests that polarization is deeply rooted in the economic conditions and personal values of the country. Washington is not the cause of polarization; America is."

The Wall Street Journal looks at how Native American voters could make a difference in races in Alaska and South Dakota.

The AP: "Three weeks to Nov. 4, the House outlook remains bright for the GOP as national Democrats bail on once-promising opportunities in Virginia and Colorado, canceling television advertising to shift money to efforts to save vulnerable incumbents in Democratic-leaning states such as California and Illinois. Democrats also are transferring some of the cash to races where they stand a better chance."

ALASKA: Gay marriage is becoming an issue in the governor's race, writes the Alaska Dispatch News.

ARKANSAS: "The first Arkansas Senate debate on Monday was in many ways for a warm up for a second, prime-time gathering on Tuesday night — with Democratic Sen. Mark Pryor attacking a disciplined Tom Cotton for being ambitious and entitled," POLITICO writes.

CALIFORNIA: LA Times hed: "Jerry Brown vs. Neel Kashkari: Two rich guys calling each other wealthy"

Speaking of California: Check out this ad from Kashkari, which features him saving a drowning boy.

COLORADO: Hillary Clinton campaigned with Mark Udall Monday and hit up a coffee shop, where Clinton joked that the leaf drawn in Udall's latte foam looked like a marijuana plant.

IOWA: National Journal notes that Joni Ernst is promoting her military background as she starts her "closing argument."

KENTUCKY: NBC's Perry Bacon Jr. reports from Kentucky that Alison Lundergan Grimes STILL won't say who she voted for in the 2012 election, citing "the privacy of the ballot box."

LOUISIANA: John McCain is stumping for Bill Cassidy in Louisiana.

The Times-Picayune profiles potential spoiler candidate Rob Maness.

SOUTH DAKOTA: The New York Times' Jonathan Martin gives the South Dakota Senate race a closeup.

Immigration factored big during last night's Rotary Club forum, writes the Argus Leader.

PROGRAMMING NOTES.

*** Tuesday’s “News Nation with Tamron Hall” line-up: Dr. Daniel Diekema, Director of Division of Infectious Diseases at University of Iowa’s Carver College of Medicine, about ebola in the U.S., Sr. Jeannine Gramick of New Ways Ministry on the Vatican signaling a shift in tone toward gay and lesbian people, and in today’s Born in the U$A: Donovan Smith, the 11 year old creator of Toil and Trouble Bath

*** Tuesday’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports” line-up: NBC’s Andrea Mitchell interviews Texas gubernatorial candidate Wendy Davis, NBC’s Richard Engel in Iraq, Washington Post’s Chris Cillizza and Bloomberg’s Jeanne Cummings, Ambassador Mark Brzezinski and Professor Mike Sfraga on the State Department’s Arctic Fulbright program.