1. GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN
Getting down to business? Five days and counting. That’s all the time lawmakers have to approve some sort of spending plan to keep the federal government rolling along. Democrats and Republicans haven’t found much to agree on lately. The House spending plan strips funding forObamacare. The Senate will most certainly vote to restore the money. GOP Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas spent a good 21 hours kicking it around the room, only to vote with everyone else to open formal debate on the matter. Of course, he can still vote against it in the end. What’s next? Ask again at midnight Monday. That’s when time runs out and it’s when, if history tells us anything, negotiations will start to get serious.
2. U.S.-IRAN RELATIONS
Iran week at the U.N.: Iranian President Hassan Rouhani rides the wave of intrigue surrounding his overtures to the West. He’s already said he wants to strike a deal on his nation’s nuclear program within months. We’ll see how it goes today when U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry huddles with Mohammed Javad Zarif, the Iranian foreign minister. It’s the highest-level meeting between Washington and Tehran since 1979. Showing the delicate balance Rouhani must strike between international and domestic affairs,Iran’s news agency accuses CNN of fabricating his remarks that acknowledged and condemned the Holocaust.
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article courtesy of CNN.com
