| By Derek Caney (@stax920)
Military options are back on the table for the United States in Syria, White House officials said in the wake of a devastating week-long assault on the rebel-held city of Aleppo. The Russia-backed Syrian government has attacked hospitals, bread lines and aid convoys. The options stop short of a large scale commitment of U.S. troops. Secretary of State John Kerry threatened to cut off diplomatic talks with Russia and Syria, the stiffest U.S. warning to the Russians since the collapse of the latest truce they jointly brokered. Russia said Kerry's threat was tantamount to support of terrorism.
Congress overwhelmingly rejected President Barack Obama's veto of legislation allowing relatives of the victims of the Sept. 11 attacks to sue Saudi Arabia, the first veto override of his presidency, just four months before it ends. Quote of the day: "If you're perceived as voting against 9/11 families right before an election, not surprisingly, that's a hard vote for people to take. But it would have been the right thing to do." – President Obama
Digits of the day: 700,000 OPEC agreed to modest oil output cuts for the first time since 2008, with the group's leader, Saudi Arabia, softening its stance on archrival Iran amid tumbling oil prices. Iran has been trying to regain market share since sanctions were lifted following a deal with West on its nuclear program. The country agreed to cut its production by 700,000 barrels a day. Oil prices rallied as much as 6 percent on the news yesterday. U.S. shale producers aren't complaining. The agreement effectively establishes a floor on prices near $50 a barrel - around where many U.S. shale oil companies can make money and drill new wells. The floor is twice as high as where oil languished in the depths of the downturn.
Am I overdressed? 
Dancers attend a photo call for the new "THE ONE Grand Show" at Friedrichstadt-Palast in Berlin, Sept. 28, 2016. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke
Around the world - India attacked militants in Pakistan near the disputed territory of Kashmir, India's first direct military response since militants attacked an Indian army base near the border on Sept. 18th, killing eighteen Indian soldiers. The strikes also raised the possibility of a military escalation between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan that would wreck a 2003 Kashmir ceasefire.
- The United States will send around 600 new troops to Iraq to assist local forces in the battle to retake Mosul from Islamic State that is expected later this year. It's the third such boost in U.S. troop levels in Iraq since April, underscoring the difficulties President Obama has had in extracting the U.S. military from the country.
- Japan is "playing with fire" with plans to step up activity in the contested South China Sea through joint training patrols with the United States, China's Defense Ministry said. Japan is strengthening its ties in the region, in particular with the Philippines and Vietnam, which contest China's claims to parts of the sea.
Around the country - Congress approved a stop-gap funding bill that averts a looming federal government shutdown and provides urgently needed money to help battle an outbreak of the Zika virus. Passage of the bipartisan legislation came shortly after Republicans and Democrats ended a months-long fight over whether Washington should provide aid to the city of Flint, Michigan, as it struggles with a crisis over contaminated drinking water.
- The fatal shooting by police of a mentally unstable California man and the anguished response of his sister who had called 911 seeking help highlight the risks of a system that often relies on law enforcement to respond to mental health crises. In El Cajon, Calif., Alfred Olango, 38, a Ugandan-born immigrant, was shot by one officer even as another, who had been trained to deal with mentally ill people, attempted to subdue him with a Taser, police said.
- California Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill to end the statute of limitations for rape, a measure inspired by accusations against comedian Bill Cosby, some of which surfaced decades after the alleged crimes occurred. Existing California law generally limits prosecution of a felony sexual offense to 10 years after the offense is committed.
Around Wall Street - It's Round 2 for Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf on Capitol Hill. The bank's move to claw back $41 million in Stumpf's stock awards is unlikely to silence calls for him to resign over revelations Wells Fargo's branch staff opened as many as two million unauthorized credit card and deposit accounts to meet sales quotas.
- Investors may be expecting a U.S. interest rate increase in December, but Federal Reserve policymakers remain divided over whether the economy is mired in a rut, strong enough to withstand an immediate hike or hovering somewhere in between. Ten Fed officials fanned out for appearances this week in a profusion of "Fedspeak" that markets and the public are trying to digest.
- Alarmed by the threat posed by Silicon Valley firms to their businesses in developing self-driving systems carmakers are seeking to fight back by cooperating in areas of technology development where previously they might have tried to compete.
Today's reason to live: Sonny Boy Williamson – Don't Start Me Talkin' |
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