5 Things to Know This Morning
5 Things to Know This Morning
— -- Your look at the five biggest and most buzz-worthy stories of the morning.
1. Second Health Care Worker in Texas Tests Positive for Ebola, Authorities Say
A second health care worker at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital who provided care for Thomas Eric Duncan has tested positive for Ebola, the Texas Department of State Health Services announced.
The health care worker reported a fever on Tuesday and was isolated at the hospital, authorities said.
The preliminary Ebola test was run late Tuesday at the state public health laboratory in Austin, and results were received at about midnight, authorities said. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has begun confirmation testing.
2. Civil War Officer's Secret, Scandalous Diary Entries Decoded
James M. Malbone's secrets remained hidden for more than 150 years.
The Confederate lieutenant's coded passages – a series of dots and dashes, symbols and punctuation marks – were tucked into the cracked leather-bound diary he carried in 1863, mixed among his war dispatches and musings.
The meaning behind Malbone’s entries remained hidden for a century and a half, until officials with the New York Military Museum – who came into possession of the diary – contacted Kent D. Boklan, a Queens College computer science professor and former National Security Agency cryptographer. Boklan says it took him about a week to decipher the symbols.
3. Inside the Tallest Residential Building in the Western Hemisphere
Bragging rights for the tallest residential building in the Western Hemisphere now belong to a luxury skyscraper in New York City that's even taller than the Empire State Building.
Construction has topped out on the luxury tower at 432 Park Ave. in Midtown Manhattan. The building stands 1,396 feet, making it even taller than 1 World Trade Center without the spire.
The 96-story building will welcome its first residents next year, giving them a breathtaking view stretching from Central Park to the Atlantic Ocean and from Lower Manhattan, where the Freedom Tower is located, to Connecticut.
4. Sightings of Armed Clowns Continue to Spook California Residents
Sightings of scary clowns armed with machetes or baseball bats continue to put California residents on edge, but police said they hope the pranksters, or whoever is behind the scary phenomenon, are ready to retire their spooky costumes.
Bakersville resident Erica Kern told ABC News she drove past a clown in the passenger seat of another car on Monday after seeing reports of the masked jokesters terrorizing residents in her city and nearby Wasco.
"It didn't scare me but it made me do a double take," she said. "I saw a flash of bright red and orange out of the peripheral and saw this frightening clown mask. It didn't scare me but it certainly could send someone to swerve."
5. Zach Galifianakis Reveals Shocking Weight Loss
Zach Galifianakis, is that you?
The "Hangover" star, 45, appeared considerably thinner at an event in New York City on Oct. 11 and joked to E! News that he's "dying." (His new size? A "ladies 50.")
However, his weight loss has been a gradual thing for Galifianakis. Last year, he told Conan O'Brien that after he quit drinking, the pounds began to fall away.
"I was having a lot of vodka with sausage," he told the comedian. "Delicious but bad for you!"
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