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Anchored by Jake Tapper, The Lead airs at 4 p.m. ET on CNN.
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politics lead
Who is Ben Carson?
Washington (CNN) - It was 1965 and Ben Carson, an eighth-grade black student in Detroit, was stunned.
Unable to control her anger, his teacher lashed out at white students for failing to outperform Carson, who had just been awarded the class's highest academic achievement. In an interview last week, Carson described the teacher as being from a time when some people thought "how can a black person ever intellectually do better than a white person?"
"To her, it was the most abnormal thing that ever happened in the history of the world," Carson said. "To me, I was determined I would show her."
politics lead
CNN poll: Voters are angry
Washington (CNN) - Nearly 7 in 10 Americans are angry at the direction the country is headed and 53% of Americans disapprove of President Barack Obama's job performance, two troubling signs for Democrats one week before the midterm elections, a new CNN/ORC International Poll shows.
Democrats are battling to try and save the Senate majority, while hoping to prevent more losses in the House, which the GOP controls by a 234 to 201 margin.
In the Senate, Republicans need a net gain of six seats, and several state polls in the past month of contested races show that Democrats are in danger of losing control of the majority, and thus Congress. Currently, Democrats control the Senate by a 55-45 margin with two of those seats held by independents that align themselves politically with Democrats.
politics lead
CNN/ORC poll: Most think Congress is worst in their lifetime
Washington (CNN) - Eight weeks before the midterm elections, a new CNN/ORC International poll shows that voters in key geographic regions favor Republican candidates heading into November, highlighting significant challenges for Democrats trying to protect half a dozen vulnerable Senate seats and ultimately control of the chamber.
Equally concerning for Democrats is that the GOP has a 15-point advantage with independent voters on the generic ballot, and Republicans have an edge at this point in supporter enthusiasm.
While Republicans are all but assured of maintaining a healthy majority in the House, the GOP needs a net gain of six seats to control the Senate and its committees that oversee the Obama administration. Should the GOP control Capitol Hill next year, it would be positioned to direct the legislative agenda and influence President Barack Obama's final two years in office.
world lead
CNN poll: Americans as alarmed by ISIS now, as by al Qaeda post 9/11
Washington (CNN) - Americans are increasingly concerned that ISIS represents a direct terror threat, fearful that ISIS agents are living in the United States, according to a new CNN/ORC International poll. Most now support military action against the terrorist group.
Seven in 10 Americans believe ISIS has the resources to launch an attack against the United States, just days before President Barack Obama plans to address the nation on the subject.
The poll released Monday shows that Americans favor:
- Additional airstrikes against ISIS (76% favor, 23% oppose)
- Military aid to forces fighting ISIS (62% favor, 37% oppose)
- Providing humanitarian aid to people fleeing ISIS (83% favor, 16% oppose)
politics lead
CNN Poll: Key Arkansas Senate race a dead heat
Washington (CNN) - Rep. Tom Cotton has a 2-point advantage over Democratic Sen. Mark Pryor in a new CNN/ORC International poll of the political knife fight for the U.S. Senate seat in Arkansas.
Cotton's 49%-47% edge over the incumbent falls well within the survey's 4.5% margin of error, essentially making this race, which will help determine who controls the Senate, a dead heat two months before Election Day.
There is no sugarcoating the bitterness between the two candidates in this high-profile contest. Pryor's campaign released an ad accusing the Republican Cotton of voting against legislation that would help prepare the U.S. for a pandemic situation such as the Ebola virus, while Cotton has charged that Pryor is soft on illegal immigration.
