1. SALES OF OLDER IPHONES, IPADS BANNED OVER SAMSUNG PATENT DISPUTE
A U.S. trade agency has banned the sale of some old iPhone and iPad models, including the iPhone 4, saying they infringed on a patent held by Samsung. If upheld, the ruling would mark an embarrassing high-profile defeat for Apple at the hands of its main rival. Apple won a $1 billion verdict (later reduced to $600 million) in California last year, after a jury found Samsung was the one that had copied Apple's design. [Washington Post]
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2. OBAMA PICKS SUSAN RICE AS HIS NEW NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER
President Obama is naming U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice to replace his top national security adviser, Tom Donilon, who is resigning. The appointment, expected to be announced Wednesday, marks a significant shake-up of Obama's foreign policy team, which Donilon has helped lead since Obama took office. Rice, a longtime Obama confidante, was once in line to replace Hillary Clinton as secretary of state, but withdrew under harsh GOP criticism over her statements on the Benghazi attack. [Associated Press]
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3. CHRISTIE SETS ELECTION TO FILL THE LATE LAUTENBERG'S SENATE SEAT
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) on Tuesday called an Oct. 16 special election to fill the seat of Democratic Sen. Frank Lautenberg, who died Monday. The decision angered Democrats and Republicans alike. Democrats accused Christie of playing politics by keeping the seat off the ballot in November to dampen Democratic turnout when he faces re-election. Republicans wanted Christie to appoint someone to serve until 2014, so they would have another vote in the Senate for a year. [Politico]
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4. SYRIAN FORCES RETAKE A KEY CITY FROM REBELS
Syrian forces, aided by fighters from the Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah, took back the town of Qusair, dealing a potentially devastating strategic blow to rebels fighting to overthrow Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Syrian rebels had been fighting to hold onto the town, on Syria's Lebanese border, for weeks, fearing that a government takeover would bring reprisals that would escalate sectarian warfare across Syria. [CNN]
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5. OBAMA SETS UP A BATTLE WITH THE GOP OVER JUDICIAL NOMINEES
President Obama on Tuesday nominated three judges to a key federal appeals court, setting up a potentially critical confirmation showdown with Senate Republicans. Obama said there was no reason "aside from politics" for the GOP to block his nominees with a filibuster. Republicans accused Obama of trying to intimidate them by taking the unusual step of trying to fill all three vacancies on the powerful Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit at once. [New York Times]
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6. EVIDENCE MOUNTS INDICATING SYRIA HAS USED CHEMICAL WEAPONS
Britain said Wednesday that an analysis of samples brought out of Syria indicated that potentially deadly sarin gas had been used there. A day earlier, France announced that lab tests had confirmed that victims had been exposed to the banned chemical weapon in several attacks in the war-torn country. In at least one case, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said, "there is no doubt it was the regime and its accomplices" that had used sarin. [New York Times]
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7. SHARIF IS OFFICIALLY NAMED AS PAKISTAN'S NEW PRIME MINISTER
Pakistan's parliament officially picked Nawaz Sharif as prime minister on Wednesday, returning him to the job for an unprecedented third time. The vote capped a historic peaceful transfer of power for a country that has been plagued by military coups. Sharif, who was deposed in one of those coups in 1999, said his top priority was fixing Pakistan's economy, but also said he would end U.S. drone strikes against Islamist militants in Pakistan's tribal areas. [Associated Press]
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8. AMERICAN TOURIST GANG-RAPED IN INDIA
Indian police blocked roads in the resort town of Manali on Tuesday as they hunted for three men who allegedly gang-raped a 31-year-old American tourist. Police said the men offered the woman a ride in their truck, but, instead of taking her to her hotel, drove her to a remote area and attacked her. No information has been released on the victim's condition. Indian authorities are under pressure to crack down on sex offenders after a series of horrific attacks. [New York Daily News, CNN]
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9. TURKEY ACCUSES 25 PEOPLE OF STIRRING UP PROTESTS VIA SOCIAL MEDIA
Turkish police have detained 25 people for provoking protests by "spreading untrue information" on social media, Turkey's state-run news agency reported Wednesday. In the last week, tens of thousands of people have joined demonstrations against what they say are the increasingly authoritarian and Islamist policies of Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, who has called social media "the worst menace to society." [Associated Press]
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10. MIAMI CLINIC FOUNDER AGREES TO TESTIFY ABOUT DRUGS IN BASEBALL
Anthony Bosch, the founder of a now-shuttered Miami anti-aging clinic, has agreed to talk to investigators in what could be a major break in Major League Baseball's efforts to identify — and possibly suspend — dozens of players who have used performance-enhancing drugs. Several stars, including Alex Rodriguez, Ryan Braun, Nelson Cruz, and Melky Cabrera, have been tied to Bosch's Biogenesis of America clinic. ESPN says the league might suspend 20 players within weeks. [CBS Sports, ESPN]
