By MICHAEL FALCONE ( @michaelpfalcone )

NOTABLES

• THE LATEST FROM NEW YORK: A New York doctor who recently returned from West Africa has tested positive for Ebola and is being isolated at a Manhattan hospital, city and state officials said last night. ABC News report that the doctor, who has been identified as Dr. Craig Allen Spencer by New York government sources, was placed in an isolation unit today at Bellevue Hospital after reporting Ebola-like symptoms. He had a fever and gastrointestinal symptoms when he was transferred to Bellevue, said NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Commissioner Dr. Mary Bassett. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will confirm the preliminary positive test. CDC test results are expected by the end of the day. "We've been preparing for just this circumstance. We were hoping that didn't happen but we were also realistic," Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a press conference. http://abcn.ws/1thcdkM

• GRILL ON THE HILL: The House Oversight and government reform committee holds a hearing on Ebola with Nicole Lurie, M.D. assistant secretary of HHS, Michael Lumpkin, assistant secretary of defense, John Roth, DHS I.G., Deborah Burger, RN, Co-president of National Nurses United and others.

• MEANWHILE: Sir Elton John graces the State Department today, meeting with Secretary Kerry to talk about PEPFAR, the United States' AIDS initiative, ABC's ALI WEINBERG notes. Leonardo DiCaprio and Ben Affleck have also been recent visitors, where they talked about climate change and the Congo, respectively.

THE ROUNDTABLE

ABC's RICK KLEIN: Sad news out of Boston: Former Mayor Tom Menino is stopping his cancer treatments, with hospice care looming next. And underrated pol from an obscure outpost of his home city, Menino led one of the nation's most politically engaged - and historically divided - cities for an amazing 20-plus years, even though he was surely among the worst public speakers ever to hold elected office. ("Mumbles" was clear enough in a conversation with a young Boston Globe reporter who was sure he'd nailed a story about low-level city corruption to make obvious he didn't care what I wrote, "so long as you don't say I don't clear the snow in time.") He was an old-school political poker player in an era of chess, a controlling and obsessive manager who remembered slights and just plain loved his city. Menino, 71, is being denied the chance to enjoy a well-earned retirement that could have been used sharing lessons out of the tradition of urban ethnic politics - including his insistence on attending every ribbon-cutting and Bar Mitzvah and Irish wake he could wrangle his way into. His successor, Mayor Marty Walsh, told The Boston Globe he spoke with Menino Thursday night: "He was worried about how bad was the flooding and if we were able to clear the trees." http://bit.ly/10qSbrT

WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

THE 'SOUL' OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT: HOW JAMES BROWN BROUGHT THE POWER OF MUSIC TO POLITICS. Music legend James Brown is remembered in history as the "Godfather of Soul" for his many contributions to music during his six-decades-long career. But the musician's influence didn't end there. It extended to civil rights and black empowerment. "Mr. Dynamite: The Rise of James Brown" is a new HBO documentary premiering Oct. 27th by Academy Award-winning director Alex Gibney - and producer Mick Jagger - that is dedicated to telling the lesser-known aspects of the music legend's life story, from his rise to fame from poverty to his role in the Civil Rights Movement. "He helped to change the culture," Gibney told "The Fine Print's" JEFF ZELENY in an interview at Poste Moderne Brasserie in Washington, D.C. "Both in terms of civil rights but also in terms of music - everything we now know about funk and hip-hop, it really comes from this dynamic character, James Brown." http://yhoo.it/1wvUUfA

THE MIDTERM MINUTE

-NEW HAMPSHIRE. FIGHT NIGHT. New Hampshire Senate candidates Jeanne Shaheen and Scott Brown faced off again last night in their second live televised debate. The match up, sponsored by CNN and NH1, was dominated by questions on Ebola and Shaheen accused Brown of "fear mongering" on the issue, as she did on the dangers of ISIS. He tried to wiggle out of earlier comments he made that the country would not be worrying about Ebola if Mitt Romney was president, but moderator Wolf Blitzer read the entire quote pressing him. Later in the debate the issue of the president's campaign schedule came up when Shaheen was asked why she doesn't want the president to stump with her in the Granite State. She answered she never said she doesn't want the president to campaign with her, but "the fact is he's busy." When asked directly if she does want Obama to campaign with her she said no: "We have a lot going on, I don't think it makes sense for the president to come to New Hampshire right now."- Shushannah Walshe

-COLORADO. GARDNER STILL LEADS. A new Quinnipiac University poll out this morning shows Rep. Cory Gardner leading Democratic incumbent Sen. Mark Udall 46 to 41 percent among likely voters, with six percent for independent candidate Steve Shogan and another 6 percent are undecided. It's similar to the five point lead Gardner had in their poll last week. There is also a gender gap in this race with women backing Udall 45 to 41 percent and men backing Gardner 51 to 38 percent. Gardner is leading with independent voters getting 41 percent to Udall's 40 percent. And with just 11 days to go much of Colorado's likely voters have made up their mind with 92 percent decided and 8 percent could still change their mind. - Shushannah Walshe http://bit.ly/1tQFtje

-COLORADO: FLOTUS FLUBS AGAIN: First Lady Michelle Obama has been touring the country for Democratic candidates, and making headlines along the way for notable gaffes. Earlier this month in Iowa, she referred to Democratic Senate candidate Bruce Braley as Bruce "Bailey," before correcting herself in a follow-up appearance in Iowa City. In Colorado Thursday, she called Democratic Sen. Mark Udall a "fifth-generation Coloradan," though he was born in Arizona. It's Udall's opponent, Republican Rep. Cory Gardner, who is a fifth-generation Coloradan. -Ben Siegel

GEORGIA. GOOD MORNING FOR DEMOCRATS. Two new polls in Georgia mean good news for Democrats in the state, although both the gubernatorial and senate face offs remain tight in a statistical ties. In the high profile Senate race, a new CNN/ORC poll shows Michelle Nunn with a slight edge to David Perdue leading 47 to 44 percent, still within the poll's margin of error. Libertarian Amanda Swafford has 5 percent in the survey. In the gubernatorial race, Jason Carter is leading incumbent Republican governor Nathan Deal 48 percent to 46 percent, also within the margin of error while libertarian candidate Andrew Hunt gets six percent support. If neither candidate in either race gets to 50 precent of the vote, the race or races will head to a runoff. And that's not until January. http://cnn.it/1sXuFw5 - Shushannah Walshe

ALASKA. PALIN BACKS UNITY TICKET. Sarah Palin backed Alaska's independent gubernatorial candidate Bill Walker over her former Lieutenant Governor and Republican Sean Parnell holding an event at her Wasilla home for Walker and his Democratic running mate. Parnell was not only her number two, but took over when she stepped down in 2009. The two had a high profile disagreement earlier this year taking opposite sides on a referendum over the state's oil and gas taxes, her signature legislation while she was Alaska's governor. According to a release from the Walker campaign, both Walker and his running mate Byron Mallot, along with their families, were in attendance. The campaign says Palin addressed the crowd of about 100 guests saying she is backing the candidates, known as the "unity ticket," because she "trust[s] them to develop our God-given resources responsibly and to the maximum benefit of Alaskans." Sounds like the disagreement led directly to her decision. - Shushannah Walshe

THE BUZZ with ABC's KIRSTEN APPLETON

BRISTOL PALIN EXPLAINS BRAWL, BLAMES MEDIA, ATTACKS BIDENS, CLINTONS (ALL IN ONE NOTE!) Two days after audio from a brawl involving the Palin family was released, Bristol Palin has defended herself and her family in writing, explaining her side of what happened on the evening of Sept. 6. "Instead of listening to all the people who weren't there … let me tell you what actually happened," she writes in a post on Patheos. In her defense, Sarah Palin's eldest daughter blamed a liberal media bias for unfair and incorrect reporting on the incident. SHUSHANNAH WALSHE reports that Palin aimed to the set the record straight while also pointing out embarrassing incidents in other political families such as the Clintons and Bidens. She alleged coverage of those moments was downplayed because they involved Democratic families. Some details of the Palins' run-in already emerged on that audio earlier this week and in other accounts. http://abcn.ws/1sUPOXR

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE CRAZIEST CONGRESSIONAL CAMPAIGN OF THE YEAR. If anyone in Hollywood writes a movie script based on one congressional campaign of the 2014 midterm election season, Tinseltown should look no farther than California's 52nd Congressional District. A film about this political drama, which pits freshman Democratic Rep. Scott Peters against former City Councilman Carl DeMaio, might not garner any Oscar nominations, but it has all the scandalous allegations and sexual intrigue of a silver-screen blockbuster. ABC's JOHN PARKINSON reports that last two weeks of the campaign have been dominated by lewd allegations, some too vulgar to print. But DeMaio, who is seeking to become the first openly-gay Republican candidate to win a seat to Congress, is still locked in a toss-up race against Peters. http://abcn.ws/1uLwQkr

WHO'S TWEETING?

?@amyewalter: The biggest challenge for a GOP controlled Congress isn't w/ Obama, it's with the GOP http://cookpolitical.com/story/7960

@ChadPergram: Issa says doctor returning from West Africa to NYC who contracted #Ebola means there are still problems with protocal.

@politico: Americans are right to expect more when we go to war. - @SenRandPaul lays out foreign policy fundamentals http://politi.co/1uNpixE

@CHueyBurnsRCP: Second Udall campaign ad this week that does not mention abortion/personhood. This one on energy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8BCgJyOxkQ&feature=youtu.be

@TulsiPress: #FollowFriday My good friends and colleagues: @RepBetoORourke @RepSinema @RepJoeKennedy @RepGraceMeng! Thank you for your amazing work! -TG