World Leaders to focus on refugee crisis and Syria at UN

World leaders meeting at the United Nations starting Monday will be trying to make progress on two intractable problems at the top of the global agenda — the biggest refugee crisis since World War II and the Syrian conflict now in its sixth year which has claimed over 300,000 lives.
Against a backdrop of rising ethnic and religious tension, fighting elsewhere in the Mideast and Africa, extremist attacks across the world and a warming planet, there are plenty of other issues for the 135 heads of state and government and more than 50 ministers expected to attend to try to tackle.
"It's no secret there's a lot of fear out there," U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power told reporters Thursday, citing the uncertainties sparked by Britain's vote to leave the European Union, the threat posed by the Islamic State extremist group, and attacks in many parts of the world by IS and other terrorist groups.

Russia votes in parliamentary election with firm Putin grip - BBC News

Voting is taking place across Russia, in parliamentary elections dominated by President Vladimir Putin's supporters.

The last poll in 2011 was followed by mass protests as evidence of fraud emerged. This time serious violations were reported in one Siberian region.
For the first time, people are voting in Crimea, annexed from Ukraine in 2014 in a move condemned internationally.
There were reports of scuffles with Ukrainian nationalists as people voted at the Russian embassy in Kiev.
Voters will choose 450 MPs in the State Duma (lower house), for the next five years. The outgoing Duma had just a handful of MPs opposed to Mr Putin.

Viper vs. Viper! Never-Before-Seen Combat Recorded

Copperheads and cottonmouths — both vipers — don't usually battle each other. Or do they?
Credit: Dennis W Donohue/Kristian Bell/Shutterstock.com
Male snakes in the viper family — a venomous group of snakes that have hinged fangs — are known for engaging in fierce wrestling matches when they compete for females. But combat between two different viper species has never been observed — until now.
On Sept. 6, Dawn Kelly was astounded to come across an unexpected and intense battle between a cottonmouth and a copperhead near her cabin in Snowball, Arkansas, close to the Buffalo National River Park in the northern part of the state.
Kelly captured video footage of the unusual encounter on her smartphone, and shared it with biologist David Steen, an assistant research professor at Auburn University Museum of Natural History in Alabama. Steen is an active science communicator on Twitter (@AlongsideWild) and on his blog, Living Alongside Wildlife. He is particularly well-known for answering questions from the public about snakes. [101 Animal Photographs You'll Go Wild Over]

Samsung Unloads Shares in Tech Firms as Galaxy Note 7 Recall Starts to Burn - WSJ

  Following a co-worker's plight, his Samsung Galaxy Note 7 caught on fire at work.  Scrolling through the News, I find Samsung is recalling (no pun intended) 2.5 million phones, and they are strongly suggested to not be used on flights by the F.A.A.

Tom Brady, Michael Strahan produce 'Religion of Sports' show

 The Associated Press caught up with Brady, Strahan and Gotham Chopra — the creator, director and voice — of the series that airs beginning Nov. 15 on the Audience Network on DirecTV and AT&T U-verse.

Brady is a quarterback for the New England Patriots. Strahan is a retired New York Giants defensive end, who is joining ABC's "Good Morning America" this fall. Chopra is the son of spiritual guru Deepak Chopra. . . .
AP: Where did the idea of this show come from?
Chopra: Figuratively I feel like I've been working on this my whole life. Obviously growing up with my father, I was around that world of spirituality and religion. But I also grew up in Boston. I bled green as a Celtics fan in the '80s. I loved sports. About five years ago, I had a conversation with my father, who never really understood that devotion to sports. And I remember saying to him that all of those things you speak in the spiritual tradition also exist in sports.