1) Arizona voters officially approved Proposition 122. Proposition 122 gives Arizona’s state government free range to deny funding to any federal program that the state government determines to be unconstitutional.
The vote was tight as 51.25 percent of voters approved of the measure, and 48.75 percent voted against the proposition, according to Arizona Public Media.
Supporters have said the measure gives Arizona more control over what goes on within its own borders, while opponents have said Proposition 122 is itself unconstitutional, as state legislatures do not have the power to determine the constitutionality of federal laws.
2) President Barack Obama said in an interview on CBS News’ “Face The Nation” that the decision to send in an additional 1,500 troops to Iraq is not because the current measures are failing.
Rather, Obama said it is because the military measures are entering a “new phase.”
The 1,500 troops are being sent to assist in training Iraqi soldiers so that they may drive back advances by ISIS in Iraq, according to a CNN report.
Obama said there has not been any change in the role of the ground troops in the campaign, and they will not be participating in the fight and will only be there to train the militants.
3) The second congressional district candidate winner remains unclear as ballots remain uncounted. Today, 13,000 election ballots will be counted in Pima County in an attempt to bring clarity to the still undecided race in Arizona’s second congressional district between democratic incumbent Ron Barber and republican challenger Martha McSally.
As of Saturday afternoon, McSally still had a slim lead of about 500 votes.
If the race ends within 200 votes, there will be an automatic recount, dragging out the process even further.
4) A student who reported intoxication and memory loss at a fraternity party at Brown University tested positive for a date-rape drug.
The student was confirmed to have consumed gamma hydroxybutrate, GHB, which is highly sedative.
Another student reported similar symptoms, but the tests on the second student have not yet arrived.
The reports came out after a party on Oct. 17 at Brown University’s chapter of the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity. None of the students in the fraternity have been charged with any crimes, including sexual assault.
5) Diane Douglas, a Republican, will be Arizona’s next superintendent of public instruction after a close race with democrat David Garcia.
Douglas ran solely on the idea of repealing Common Core and attributed that to the fact that she said Arizonans want a voice in how their children are educated.
With the confirmation of Douglas’s win, Republicans won every race for state positions in Arizona in the 2014 election.
6) Two American prisoners of North Korea returned to the United States on Saturday.
They were freed by Kim Jong Un after the U.S. director of national intelligence, James Clapper, visited North Korea with a letter from President Barack Obama directly asking for their release.
Kenneth Bae and Matthew Todd Miller, the prisoners, had been the last American citizens held captive by the North Korean government.
Bae and Miller’s families greeted them as soon as they returned to the United States.
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