1. UN Security Council reaches Syrian arms resolution
On Thursday, the United Nations Security Council agreed on a resolution that will require Syria to give up its chemical weapons. Compromising to attain the support of Russia, the final version did not include automatic penalties, such as military action or economic sanctions, if Syria fails to comply, nor does it ascribe specific blame for the Aug. 21 attack that asphyxiated hundreds of Syrians near Damascus. Nevertheless, the resolution marks the most important diplomatic initiative to date over the Syrian civil war. In another landmark act of diplomacy at the UN on Thursday, high-level officials from the United States and Iran sat down together to talk for the first time in more than 30 years. [The New York Times]
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2. Climate panel says it's "extremely likely" global warming is manmade
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released the summary of a new report Friday saying with "extreme confidence" that human activity is the dominant cause of the global warming. Calling man-made warming "extremely likely," the report marked the strongest words yet from the U.N.-sponsored panel on the issue. [Politico]
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3. Wendy Davis plans to run for governor of Texas
Wendy Davis, the Texas state senator who catapulted to fame with her more than 11-hour filibuster in June, plans to run for governor of Texas. A formal announcement is planned for Oct. 3 in Texas. Davis has been encouraged by Democrats to launch her gubernatorial bid after her attempt to block an anti-abortion bill from passing in the state legislature in June. Davis would face Attorney General Gregg Abbott in what is likely to be an expensive and potentially bitter race. [ABC News]
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4. Obama to use college speech as Affordable Care Act rallying cry
President Obama will focus attention on the sign-up period for health insurance under Obamacare during remarks at Prince George's Community College in suburban Maryland today. The administration's goal is for the six-month registration period to pull in 7 million uninsured people, including 2.7 million adults aged 18 to 35. The president is also facing a Tuesday deadline for Congress to approve a federal budget and avoid a government shutdown. [Reuters]
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5. Curiosity rover digs up water from Mars' surface
NASA's Curiosity rover found water as well as carbon dioxide, oxygen, and sulfur compounds in its first analysis of martian soil. The elements, which would be important for sustaining life on the red planet, are likely indicative of Mars' overall surface layer. "We now know there should be abundant, easily accessible water on Mars," Laurie Leshin, dean of science at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, said in a press release. Leshin is the lead author of a study explaining Curiosity's findings published Thursday in the journal Science. [CBS News]
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6. Former owners of listeria-linked farm plead not guilty in court
Eric and Ryan Jensen, brothers who owned and operated a cantaloupe farm, pleaded not guilty to criminal charges stemming from a listeria outbreak in 2011 at their farm that killed 33 people and sickened another 147 people. The brothers were arrested Thursday and were released on a $100,000 bond. The Jensens each could face up to six years in prison and up to $1.5 million in fines if they are convicted of all the misdemeanor counts with which they are charged. [USA TODAY]
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7. Remains of missing Costa Concordia victims found
Human remains were found on the wrecked Costa Concordia cruise ship Thursday, and may be the remains of the last two missing people from the cruise liner that struck rocks off of Italy in 2012. The discovery comes a week after engineers righted the ship, which capsized when it hit rocks in the Tyrrhenian Sea in January 2012, killing 32 of the 4,200 people on board. [CNN]
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8. Google announces search engine upgrade
Google unveiled its first major upgrade for search requests, called Hummingbird, on Thursday. The new algorithm has already been in use for about a month, and affects about 90 percent of Google searches. At a presentation on Thursday, Google said the upgrade, called Hummingbird, gives users better results when complex queries are asked and allows them to have more conversational interactions with the search engine. [BBC News]
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9. Barilla pasta chairman defends anti-gay stance
The chairman of Barilla Group, the world's largest pasta company, issued a semi-apology after saying he refuses to feature gay families in advertisements for his products because he prefers a "traditional" family. Guido Barilla sparked a public relations firestorm on Wednesday when he said in an interview on an Italian radio show that he wouldn't consider showing gays in commercials because his brand touts a "perfect family." [Huffington Post]
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10. Rivera bids farewell to Yankee Stadium
New York Yankees pitcher Mariano Rivera pitched in his final regular season home game at Yankee Stadium Thursday night. After Rivera got the Yankees out of a jam in the eighth inning of a game against the Tampa Bay Rays, teammates Andy Pettitte and Derek Jeter pulled the all-time leader in saves in the ninth, to sustained cheers from the crowd. [USA Today]
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