(want to get this briefing by email? here<u+2019>s the sign-up .) good morning. here<u+2019>s what you need to know: <u+2022> on the campaign trail. hillary clinton<u+2019>s team now views the traditionally republican states of georgia and arizona as winnable because of donald j. trump<u+2019>s embattled candidacy. and in a sign that republicans see the presidential race as a lost cause , several senate candidates are preparing ads asking voters to elect them as a check on mrs. clinton in the white house. though recent polls show mrs. clinton<u+2019>s lead expanding, mr. trump<u+2019>s most ardent supporters aren<u+2019>t abandoning him, our reporter suggests after attending a recent rally . mr. trump will be campaigning in florida today, while mrs. clinton is scheduled to make stops in colorado and nevada. <u+2022> new isis threat emerges. islamic state fighters have successfully used a drone with explosives to kill troops on the battlefield in iraq, leading the pentagon to scramble for a strategy to combat the weapons in preparation for a battle to retake the city of mosul from the terrorist group. <u+201c>we should have been ready for this, and we weren<u+2019>t,<u+201d> a weapons expert said. <u+2022> life in a war zone. <u+201c>we sleep afraid, we wake up afraid and leave our homes afraid.<u+201d> those were the haunting words a 15-year-old girl posted on facebook to describe her family<u+2019>s life in yemen, which has been caught in a war between iranian-backed rebels and saudi arabia for more than two years. the girl<u+2019>s father, who works for unicef, wrote a first-person account for the times about the toll the fighting has taken on his family. <u+2022> debating science. the scientist katharine hayhoe has become one of the most effective speakers in the u.s. on the threat of climate change and the need for action. her efforts to build consensus on the issue appear to be working. one reason is her desire to keep discussions with opponents active: <u+201c>if you begin a conversation with, <u+2018>you<u+2019>re an idiot,<u+2019> that<u+2019>s the end of the conversation, too,<u+201d> dr. hayhoe said. this week, president obama reiterated his goal of sending astronauts to mars by the 2030s . we answer some of the most pressing questions surrounding such a mission, including whether it is even possible. (it is.) business <u+2022> how quickly samsung might recover from the fiasco over its fire-prone galaxy note 7 smartphone is unclear, but the company faces an immediate financial blow. we retrace the steps that led the electronics giant to take the rare move of ceasing production of the device . <u+2022> billy bush and nbc are said to be negotiating his departure from the <u+201c>today<u+201d> show . he was suspended for his role in a 2005 recording involving donald j. trump<u+2019>s boasting of sexual assault. <u+2022> a company called geofeedia is marketing a tool that scans social media activity by location to aid law enforcement agencies, civil liberties activists say, adding that the data has been used to monitor protesters. <u+2022> u.s. stocks finished down on tuesday. here<u+2019>s a snapshot of global markets . noteworthy <u+2022> he sang 246 songs in 24 hours. the <u+201c>24-decade<u+201d> project by the artist taylor mac explores the racism, chauvinism, homophobia, misogyny and white supremacy prevalent in the history of american music. the times<u+2019>s culture critic wesley morris attended the marathon event, calling it <u+201c> one of the great experiences of my life .<u+201d> <u+2022> interpreting genius. a new study looks at the role gender plays in how we celebrate inventors. <u+201c>it benefits a man to downplay how much work went into his ideas. and it benefits a woman to prove how much work went into hers,<u+201d> our writer observed. <u+2022> staying alive . the los angeles dodgers tied their series with the washington nationals, forcing a decisive game 5 on thursday. the chicago cubs beat the san francisco giants to advance to the national league championship series. <u+2022> recipe of the day. our steak mock frites is a nice balance of easy and delicious for a midweek dinner. pair it with savory saut<u+00e9>ed kale . back story in october 1915, as world war i raged across europe, london received reports of scores of people having been executed in german-occupied belgium, and of hundreds being arrested. some of the civilians who were killed had sheltered wounded british and french soldiers, and had smuggled them to safety. edith cavell, a british nurse, assisted dozens of escapes and was killed by the german army for treason on this day 101 years ago. she was viewed as a hero and a symbol of britain<u+2019>s war effort, and the news media called her <u+201c> our joan of arc .<u+201d> <u+201c>what poor psychologists the german officials are!<u+201d> one dutch newspaper wrote about her killing. allied forces put out recruitment posters calling for volunteers to <u+201c>avenge<u+201d> her death. a statue of ms. cavell stands near trafalgar square in london with an inscription that begins, <u+201c> patriotism is not enough .<u+201d> her dog, jack, was embalm ed and is on display at the imperial war museum in the british capital. stella rimington, a former director general of the british intelligence service mi5, said in a bbc report that she narrated last year that there was new evidence ms. cavell had spied for britain. secret messages were concealed in the clothes of soldiers the nurse helped return to britain, ms. rimington said, adding, <u+201c>espionage was still in its infancy.<u+201d> patrick boehler contributed reporting. your morning briefing is published weekdays at 6 a.m. eastern and updated on the web all morning . what would you like to see here? contact us at briefing@nytimes.com . you can sign up here to get the briefing delivered to your inbox.
hillary clinton, donald trump, chicago cubs: your wednesday briefing
sean alfano