Hostage Diplomacy: In a deal that removes a thorn from relations between the US and China, the  Justice Department agreed to release the detained Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer for Huawei Technologies, and allow her to return to China in exchange for admitting to bank and wire fraud. 

  Huawei designs, develops, and sells telecommunications equipment and consumer electronics. 

  Ms. Meng has been detained in Canada since 2018, but the release agreement was entered in federal court in Brooklyn on Friday. She had been arrested by Canada at the request of the US.

  The Justice Department indicted Meng and Huawei in January 2019, accusing them of stealing trade secrets, obstructing a criminal investigation, and evading economic sanctions on Iran.

  China, in turn, detained a former Canadian diplomat and a businessman in what has been described as “hostage diplomacy.” They were released as a result of the  Meng deal. 

So Long, Angela: German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has seemed like a permanent face in world leadership, is stepping down after nearly 16 years in office. She was elected when George W. Bush was the US President and she spanned the presidencies of both Barack Obama and Donald Trump into the first year of Joe Biden.

  The politically conservative Merkel steered Germany through the financial crash in 2008, the euro debt crisis that followed, the migration crisis of 2015, and the coronavirus pandemic. The election to replace her is tomorrow. 

Rising Tide: With global warming and an increased threat of coastal storms and flooding, the federal government is about to deduct the subsidy from flood insurance, forcing waterfront homeowners, particularly in Florida, to pay something closer to the true cost of insuring their homes against flooding.

  The cost of flood insurance could increase by a factor of 10, The NY Times reports, reducing the desirability and value of coastal homes. 

  Members of Congress from both parties in popular coastal states are lining up to oppose the increase.

Free Britney: The NY Times reports that singer Britney Spears’s father and the security firm he hired to protect her ran an intense surveillance operation on her that monitored her telecommunications and even recorded interactions and conversations in her bedroom, including with her boyfriend and children. 

  Alex Vlasov, a former security employee, showed the Times emails, text messages, and audio recordings he collected in nine years working as a manager with Black Box, the security firm. He came forward for a new documentary by the Times, “Controlling Britney Spears,”  released yesterday.

  The surveillance may have been illegal. 

  The Times reports that “Mr. Vlasov said the relentless surveillance operation had helped several people linked to the conservatorship — primarily her father, James P. Spears — control nearly every aspect of her life.”

The Obit Page: Michael K. Williams, the scar-faced actor who broke out playing a gay stickup man in the HBO series, “The Wire,” died September 5^th of an accidental overdose of fentanyl, p-fluorofentanyl, heroin, and cocaine,” according to the New York Medical Examiner. He was 54. Williams had been open in interviews about his struggles with drugs.

The Spin Rack: With conservative states led by Texas attempting to eradicate abortion, the House passed legislation to create a national legal right for health-care professionals to provide abortions. It would have to pass the Senate. — All of the Haitian migrants who collected under the Del Rio International Bridge in Texas, have been moved, says Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. The number grew to 15,000 at one point. About 2,000 were flown to Haiti and 8,000 returned voluntarily to Mexico. — Two of four hosts of ABC’s daytime talk show The View  tested positive for the coronavirus moments before Vice President Harris was set to be interviewed. Hosts Sunny Hostin and Ana Navarro, both of whom are vaccinated against COVID-19, were ordered off the set. 

Spell Check: Colorado’s gun totin’ conservative Rep. Lauren Boebert, who is neck and neck in the race to be declared the dumbest member of the House, issued a statement calling for the impeachment of President Joe Biden with a red, white, and blue graphic that says, “Imeach Biden.” 

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