'Start Here': New midterm polling, war of words over missing Saudi journalist, touring a migrant detention facility. What you need to know to start your day.

A new ABC News/Washington Post poll highlights voter turnout expectations.

October 15, 2018, 6:32 AM

It's Monday, Oct. 15, 2018. Here's what you need to start your day:

1. Turnout numbers key in ABC News/Washington Post poll

We'll be exactly three weeks out from the midterm elections on Tuesday.

ABC News and the Washington Post recently conducted a poll which found that turnout could be absolutely historic, which could be a problem for Republicans.

ABC News Political Director Rick Klein tells us more about the findings, while ABC News’ Meghan Keneally gives us an update on the Arizona Senate race between Martha McSally and Kyrsten Sinema.

2. Tension rising between US and Saudi Arabia over missing journalist

A week ago, this was an ominous, bizarre story of a disappeared Saudi columnist. Now, it's a full-fledged diplomatic standoff.

ABC News Senior Foreign Correspondent Ian Pannell in Istanbul tells us that Saudi Arabia had harsh words for the Trump administration over the weekend.

PHOTO: In this Dec. 15, 2014 file photo, Jamal Khashoggi, then general manager of a new Arabic news channel speaks during a press conference, in Manama, Bahrain.
In this Dec. 15, 2014 file photo, Jamal Khashoggi, then general manager of a new Arabic news channel speaks during a press conference, in Manama, Bahrain.
Hasan Jamali/AP, FILE

3. Report: Trump considering new child separation policy

This summer, President Trump made an about face, signing an executive order to halt the separation of children from their parents at the border.

Now, according to the Washington Post, he's considering a new policy. One that would give parents who cross the border illegally two choices: stay in detention with their children, for months or even years, as they wait to be processed or allow kids to wait in government facilities until some relatives are located to take them.

And while all this has been playing out, the number of children in detention just continues to shoot up.

ABC News Senior National correspondent Matt Gutman took a tour of one such detention center in San Antonio, Texas and tells us what he saw.

PHOTO: Children and workers are seen at a tent encampment recently built near the Tornillo Port of Entry on June 19, 2018 in Tornillo, Texas.
Children and workers are seen at a tent encampment recently built near the Tornillo Port of Entry on June 19, 2018 in Tornillo, Texas.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

In other news:

Royal baby: Meghan Markle, Prince Harry announce pregnancy: Duchess Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are expecting their first child. Kensington Palace announced the news on Twitter early Monday. Markle is about 12 weeks pregnant, according to the palace, and is due in the spring.

Disturbing video: Surveillance video shows teacher, nurse dragging boy with autism: A Kentucky mom is expressing outrage after viewing surveillance video of a teacher dragging her son through the hallway at school, an incident she says left him bruised and traumatized. Jo Grayson found it hard to contain her anger in an interview on Sunday after the Fayette County Public Schools released footage showing a teacher and a nurse dragging her 11-year-old son, Thatcher, through the hallways of one of its schools.

Media grab: Senator rips phone out of student's hand as he's asking question: Georgia Sen. David Perdue has stirred up a host of new questions after he appeared to dodge a college student's inquiry by ripping the student's cellphone out of his hand in the midst of a video recording. The GOP senator was at Georgia Tech on Saturday to campaign for Georgia gubernatorial candidate Brian Kemp when he was approached by a member of the school's Young Democratic Socialists of America chapter and asked about tens of thousands of voter registrations that Kemp, as the current secretary of state, is refusing to process.

Buying in: Group led by Steve Bannon spending $3 million on digital ads ahead of midterms: Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon's political arm is spending $3 million on digital ads targeted at getting out the vote ahead of the midterms, according to Bannon. The new push, just three weeks before the midterms, is funded by Bannon's new outside political group, a 501(c) 4, called "Citizens of the American Republic" that he formed in August.

Message of need: Hurricane Michael evacuee spots trapped uncle's H-E-L-P message on NOAA satellite map: As hundreds of rescuers combed the Florida Panhandle for missing people in the aftermath of Hurricane Michael, Amber Gee found her uncle and aunt when she used a government interactive satellite map and spotted their H-E-L-P message on the family's front lawn.

From our partners at FiveThirtyEight:

Why The House And Senate Are Moving In Opposite Directions

'Nightline' Rewind: Here's what you missed Friday night:

First lady Melania Trump on immigration, family separation and 'the jacket': Part 1: The first lady told ABC News' Tom Llamas that she disagreed with the policy of separating families and told her husband. "I said to him that I feel that's unacceptable. And he felt the same."

The first lady told ABC News' Tom Llamas that she disagreed with the policy of separating families and told her husband. "I said to him that I feel that's unacceptable. And he felt the same."
The first lady told ABC News' Tom Llamas that she disagreed with the policy of separating families and told her husband. "I said to him that I feel that's unacceptable. And he felt the same."

First lady Melania Trump on the state of her marriage to President Trump: Part 2: Melania Trump told ABC News' Tom Llamas that she never spoke to Rudy Giuliani before he expressed her thoughts on Stormy Daniels' claims.

Melania Trump told ABC News' Tom Llamas that she never spoke to Rudy Giuliani before he expressed her thoughts on Stormy Daniels' claims.
Melania Trump told ABC News' Tom Llamas that she never spoke to Rudy Giuliani before he expressed her thoughts on Stormy Daniels' claims.

On this day in history:

Oct. 15, 1991 -- Clarence Thomas is confirmed as Supreme Court justice.

Clarence Thomas is confirmed as Supreme Court justice.
Clarence Thomas is confirmed as Supreme Court justice.

Today's must-see photo:

Holocaust survivor Tova Ringer, 93, reacts after winning the annual Holocaust Survivor Beauty Pageant, Oct. 14, 2018, in Haifa, Israel. The pageant was started in 2012 for women who survived the Holocaust. (Photo credit: ABIR SULTAN/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

PHOTO: Holocaust survivor Tova Ringer, 93, reacts after winning the annual Holocaust Survivor Beauty Pageant, Oct. 14, 2018, in Haifa, Israel. The pageant was started in 2012 for women who survived the Holocaust.
Holocaust survivor Tova Ringer, 93, reacts after winning the annual Holocaust Survivor Beauty Pageant, Oct. 14, 2018, in Haifa, Israel. The pageant was started in 2012 for women who survived the Holocaust.
ABIR SULTAN/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

For more great photos from around the world click HERE.

What's hot on social:

The search and rescue mission continues as Florida residents return home to look through the wreckage in wake of Hurricane Michael.

The search and rescue continues as Florida residents return home to look through the wreckage.
The search and rescue continues as Florida residents return home to look through the wreckage.

All right, you're off and running. You can always get the latest news on ABCNews.com and on the ABC News app. Details on how to subscribe to the "Start Here" podcast are below. See you tomorrow!

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