Permawar: Kurdish and Iraqi troops overnight began their assault to re-take the city of Mosul from the Islamic State, which has held the city since 2014. The Iraqis operating with the backing of American troops and aircraft have moved in under cover of tanks and artillery.

An estimated 1.5 million people live in Mosul and the fighting could last for months. Occupied by 4,000 to 8,000 ISIS fighters, Mosul is Iraq’s second largest city. Getting it back would be a huge victory.

E Minus 22: Vice Presidential candidate Mike Pence broke with his running mate yesterday on the subject of “rigged elections.” While Trump has been flogging his complaint that the elections are “rigged,” Pence didn’t back him up on fraud at the polls. Pence said yesterday on NBC, “The American people are tired of the obvious bias in the national media. That’s where the sense of a rigged election goes here.”

Trump and Pence equate bad news with bias.

Trump’s inflammatory claims about the election process have a lot of people worried that he’s going to start a national riot, and former NY Mayor Rudolph Giuliani is fanning the flames.

“I’ve found very few situations where Republicans cheat,” Giuliani told CNN’s Jake Tapper. “They don’t control the inner cities the way Democrats do.” Tapper said, “I think there are a lot of elections experts that would have very, very strong disagreements with you.”

Voter fraud is so rare in the US it’s barely detectable. A report published by The Washington Post found that only 2,068 cases of possible voter fraud had been reported since the year 2000.

Ohio Secy. of State, Jon Husted said it is “irresponsible rhetoric” for any candidate to question the integrity of elections without evidence. The Republican Husted said, “We have made it easy to vote and hard to cheat.”

NOCD: Backing up Donald Trump’s denial that he has groped unwilling women, Giuliani, a former prosecutor, said some stories don’t ring true, for instance, the complaint of a woman who said Trump had his hands all over her in the first class section of an airplane. A frequent first class flier, Giuliani said, “Fifteen minutes of groping in a first-class cabin of an airplane? It doesn’t make sense.” On that point, he’s in agreement with Trump’s accuser.

Beach Brains: Just about every daily newspaper of any size in the country has endorsed Hillary Clinton for president, but one, only one, The Santa Barbara News Press in California has endorsed Donald Trump without explanation.

The once-reputable paper formerly owned by The NY Times is now owned by Wendy McCaw, the ex-wife of cellphone billionaire Craig McCaw.

About 10 years ago, staff members quit and there were protests outside the paper after the Libertarian McCaw injected her personal opinions and preferences into the news pages. She wouldn’t let her own paper cover the story about its troubles. The paper has become a local joke.

Mrs. McCaw’s Wikipedia bio, which appears to be self-curated, says, “McCaw currently resides in Santa Barbara with her fiancé, Arthur von Wiesenberger, their cat and two donkeys.”

Deadwood: A 600-year-old oak tree in a New Jersey churchyard that once shaded George Washington and the Marquis de Lafayette as they ate lunch, died in the August heat, according to arborists. The tree surrounded by gravestones in the Basking Ridge Presbyterian Church cemetery is believed to have been one of the oldest living oaks in the country. The church says the tree will be taken down next year, but they have not decided what to do with the wood.

The Fashion Page: The digital commerce analyst Slice Intelligence reports that for the first time women are buying more leggings than jeans. Online orders for leggings grew 41 percent over the past year. What you do with this information is up to you.

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