The Strategy: Coming up on mid-term elections, both parties in Congress may be about to dodge a vote on authorizing military action against the Sunni militants of ISIS who control parts of both Syria and Iraq. It appears Congress might rather leave the president’s authority unchallenged rather than take a vote that might not be popular at home.
  The president bases his authority to attack ISIS on 2001 and 2002 laws authorizing military action in Iraq and Afghanistan. A New York Times editorial says that’s a stretch and that, “The cowardice in Congress, never to be underestimated, is outrageous.”
The Intel: The CIA now says ISIS has triple the number of fighters previously thought, now putting the figure at about 31,000. ISIS controls a lacework of territory in Iraq and a portion of Syria.
Big Data: The federal government threatened Yahoo with a $250,000 a day fine if it did not turn over data about its foreign users, according to documents released by court order. What that reveals is that the NSA could not monitor the Internet companies in real time. Yahoo fought a 2008 warrantless surveillance law saying it was unconstitutional. But they lost and eventually Yahoo and seven other companies had to give the feds the data they demanded.
Nation: Missouri’s Republican legislature has overridden the Democratic governor’s veto and enacted a 72-hour waiting period for women who want an abortion. The law increases the wait time from 24 hours to 72 after a woman first receives counseling. The only clinic offering elective abortions is in St. Louis, forcing many women to travel to get there. Opponents of the law says it put an undue burden on women seeking an abortion.
The Obit Page: Marvin Barnes, a basketball player with legendary promise out of Providence College whose career and life dissolved in drug abuse, has died at age 62. In 1973, Barnes was the first player to score 10 times on 10 field goal attempts in the NCAA playoffs. In a four-year NBA career he played just 38 games for the Boston Celtics, but people who saw him play still remember. He was a player who made things look easy, but his life was not. He was nicknamed “Bad News” for his off-court troubles. Barnes went to prison at least four times and drug rehab 19. He was known as a lovable guy who squandered talent other players only hope to have.
SNL: Cecily Strong has been moved off the anchor desk at Saturday Night Live’s “Weekend Update,” to be replaced by Michael Che, who has played a reporter on “The Daily Show.” Che, 31, will partner at the anchor desk with Colin Jost in one of the premiere spots in comedy.
Tebowing: Former NFL quarterback Tim Tebow is joining the cast of ABC’s “Good Morning America.” The deeply religious Tebow, known for praying on the football field, will appear with the show’s new “Motivate Me Monday” series of inspirational stories.  What’s on CBS?
Bones: The remains of a dinosaur unearthed in the Sahara Desert is believed to be evidence of the first-known dinosaur with the ability to swim. The carnivore called Spinosaurus had paddle feet, a long tail, a spiny sail on its back and a snout like a crocodile. And just think. It was around only 6,000 years ago when men lived to be 800 years old.