10 things you need to know today: October 28, 2014

1. Quarantined Ebola nurse allowed to leave New Jersey

New Jersey officials on Monday discharged a nurse, Kaci Hickox, who had been forcibly quarantined when she arrived at the Newark airport after treating Ebola patients in West Africa. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R), who had faced intense pressure to let Hickox, 33, leave the hospital, announced the news via Twitter. Hickox, who called the state's quarantine policy "inhumane," tested negative for Ebola. She returned home to Maine on Tuesday, and will be temporarily isolated at home under the state's Ebola protocols.

USA Today The Associated Press

2. Slow-flowing molten lava threatens Hawaiian village

Lava slowly flowing from the Kilauea volcano on Hawaii's Big Island has crept to within 70 yards of the nearest home in the village of Pahoa, and could destroy it on Tuesday. The lava was moving at 20 yards per hour, and had already covered graves in a Buddhist cemetery. Residents in the village, where 50 or 60 homes and businesses are threatened, have been told to be ready to evacuate. The Red Cross has opened a shelter to accommodate evacuees.

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The Washington Post

3. U.S. Army quarantines soldiers after Ebola response mission

The U.S. military has started isolating Army soldiers returning from Ebola aid work in West Africa. The Centers for Disease Control on Monday said that health workers who have treated Ebola patients should be monitored, but should not be quarantined unless they show symptoms. The leader of the U.S. response said doctors and nurses should not be turned into "pariahs." Australia on Monday became the first Western nation to impose a visa ban on the countries affected by the outbreak.

Reuters

4. Investigators say school shooter lured victims with text

The Washington state school shooter texted his five victims to invite them to lunch before shooting them in the cafeteria, Snohomish County Sheriff Ty Trenary said Monday. Gia Soriano, 14, died Sunday from a gunshot to the head, and Zoe Galasso, also 14, died on Friday, the day of the shooting. The gunman -- identified as 15-year-old football player Jaylen Fryberg, shot himself in the head and died. The three other shooting victims are still hospitalized. Asked about a motive, Trenary said, "I don't know the 'why.'"

Los Angeles Times

5. Report found no legal grounds for GOP to sue Obama

A nonpartisan Congressional Research Service report concluded last month that Republicans have no legal grounds for filing a lawsuit against President Obama for allegedly breaking laws with his policies. House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and other Republicans have accused Obama of violating the Constitution by making changes to ObamaCare after it was passed, among other alleged offenses. Boehner aides say he has not decided on the timing for filing the suit.

Washington Monthly Politico

6. ISIS posts a new video showing hostage John Cantlie

The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria released a new propaganda video on Monday in which a British hostage, photojournalist John Cantlie, gives a tour of the besieged Syrian town of Kobani on the Turkish border. In the clip, Cantlie criticizes the Western media's reporting on ISIS' battle for the mostly Kurdish city, saying that areas reported to be under Kurdish control were really in the hands of ISIS. Cantlie said foreign journalists were getting the story wrong because they were getting their news from "Kurdish commanders and White House press secretaries."

The Washington Post

7. Church court clears pastor temporarily defrocked over gay marriage

The United Methodist Church's highest court ruled Monday that the Rev. Frank Schaefer, a pastor temporarily defrocked last year for performing his gay son's wedding, will be allowed to continue his ministry. The ruling was made on technical grounds, and did not signal an official acceptance of same-sex marriage by the nation's second largest Protestant denomination. Still, Schaefer said, "This is definitely a step further down the road."

Los Angeles Times

8. Prosecutors appeal Pistorius verdict and sentence

South African prosecutors plan to appeal double-amputee track star Oscar Pistorius' five-year sentence for shooting and killing his girlfriend, model Reeva Steenkamp, last year. Pistorius said he shot Steenkamp by mistake, thinking she was an intruder. Prosecutors said the judge misinterpreted the country's legal definition of intent when she found Pistorius guilty of manslaughter instead of murder. Legal experts said there was no chance the appeal would result in Pistorius' acquittal.

CNN

9. Researchers say BP oil spill left a "bathtub ring" in the Gulf of Mexico

The 2010 BP oil spill left a Rhode-Island-sized "bathtub ring" on the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico, according to new research. The study was conducted by UC Santa Barbara expert David Valentine, who was the chief scientist on the federal damage assessment research ships. It concludes that about 10 million gallons of oil coagulated on the sea floor around the damaged Deepwater Horizons oil rig, which spilled an estimated 172 million gallons of oil. BP disputed the findings, saying the researchers "failed to identify the source of the oil."

NBC News

10. Businessman John Tory elected to replace Rob Ford as Toronto mayor

Toronto voters on Monday elected lawyer, businessman, and civic booster John Tory to replace scandal-plagued Rob Ford as mayor of Canada's largest city. Tory, 60, defeated Ford's brother, Doug Ford, 40 percent to 34 percent. Doug Ford threw the race into turmoil when he replaced his brother on the ballot just before the Sept. 12 deadline. Rob Ford instead ran for city councillor in his old Ward 2 seat... and won.

The Star