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Which Underreported Story Should We Cover Next?

Thanks for all of your #RFDUnder submissions. Fill out this poll & we'll cover your top choice!
Ronan Farrow on set, Feb. 27, 2014.
Ronan Farrow on set, Feb. 27, 2014.

In the last few weeks, we’ve been asking you to weigh in with the stories you feel are flying under the radar using #RFDUnder. We followed through on our promise to cover your top pick last week, the unemployment benefit extension.

We’ve compiled a list of the stories you nominated this week. Team RFDaily wants to hear from you!  Vote in our brand new poll below -- and we’ll cover your top choice!

Which of these stories do you want to learn more about?

  1. The Democrats push back against the Koch brothers
  2. The Texas Oil spill & other dirty crimes
  3. The Ebola outbreak in West Africa

In order to help you make a choice, here’s a brief intro on each topic:

1.   The Koch Brothers

Everyone knows the Koch Brothers as the behemoth financial base of the right wing, but they’ve been quietly making news recently with the rather ridiculous projects they fund. Last week, for instance, the Tennessee Senate passed a bill that, if approved, would ban mass transit projects in the region; Koch funding through Americans for Prosperity was indirectly responsible for overturning one such project. Democrats have had enough and various groups are beginning to launch offensives that hope to counter Koch influence both on the Hill and off. They’re adopting more traditional tactics, with advertising and funding of Senate races, but are looking for non-financial ways to turn the tide on the Obamacare debate & focus on the law’s success through earned media & grassroots organizing. Will Democrats manage to wield influence even if their financial contributions will never match up?

2.   Oil Spills & Dirty Crimes

Last week, two vessels collided in the Houston Ship Channel causing an oil spill that dumped 168,000 gallons of oil into the water. Dirty details have emerged since then, including a US Coast Guard recording which reveals that the captains of the two ships were aware of how close they were to one another, yet they failed to avert the catastrophe. As a result, the nation’s busiest seaport shut down for several days, 100 vessels were stranded, and many animals have died. Hundreds, possibly thousands, of gallons of oil also spilled into Lake Michigan last week near a BP refinery. What’s the deal with oil spills? Has no one learned from the mistakes of the BP oil spill in 2010? We want to investigate these & other dirty crimes taking place across the country at a time when the desire to gain energy independence has become ever more prominent.

3.    Ebola Returns

You may feel like everyone in your office is sick right now, but Ebola is not your common cold. It’s a deadly virus that has killed hundreds in rural Central Africa over the past four decades and risks making a major comeback. The virus is contracted after consuming bush meat and some of the symptoms, which 90% of the time lead to death, include fever, headache, and profuse bleeding. Health workers are often the first to die and must dress in head-to-toe hazmat suits in order to treat patients, but they can only keep the on for 15 minutes at a time otherwise they’ll overheat. Ebola is back in the news now because a deadly outbreak has just hit the West African nation of Guinea, and in an unprecedented twist has even reached the country’s capital. According to Doctors Without Borders, the outbreak features the most aggressive and deadly strain of the virus that has possibly already spread to Sierra Leone & Liberia.

Vote for your pick now: