MEETING OF MINDS: North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un arrived in Russia today aboard a slow moving armored train. On the agenda is artillery shells for Russia’s depleted war stocks in possible exchange for food, oil, hard currency, or even more sophisticated weapons technology for North Korea.

  The two will have “intensive exchange of opinions on the situation in the region,” according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov. What that means is that Russia’s war on Ukraine might usher in a new era of cooperation between the two countries.

  US State Department spokesman Matt Miller said that if North Korea arms Russia, more sanctions could follow.The US has “aggressively enforced our sanctions against entities that fund Russia’s war effort,” Miller told reporters. 

MAGNITUDE: The death toll has already risen to 2,800 as rescuers are just beginning to reach the more remote and difficult to reach areas of Morocco affected by last Friday’s earthquake. 

  The 72-hour period in which people are most likely to be found alive beneath rubble has already passed. Rescuers are finding mostly just bodies.

  Aerial video shows how many of the masonry buildings in mountainside villages have collapsed. Some roads remain blocked.

  Morocco has been slow and selective about accepting help, to the bafflement of countries offering it. The Moroccan Interior Ministry said in a statement that it would initially accept search-and-rescue teams only from Britain, Qatar, Spain and the United Arab Emirates, which it called “friendly countries,” and only after taking into account the “needs of the field.”

THE WAR ROOM: Ukraine’s military says its forces recaptured a strategic group of oil and gas drilling platforms off the coast of the Crimean Peninsula, which were taken by Russia in 2015 and used by the military. A video posted to Telegram showed Ukrainian soldiers climbing onto a drilling platform and removing a radar system.

  Russia’s Vladmir Putin claims that the Western delivery of F-16 fighter jets will only prolong the war with no influence on its outcome.

CALL MOM: Apple Computer today reveals the 17th version of its ubiquitous iPhone while the company continues to establish hegemony over the cellphone market. Some research says that 90 percent of American teenagers own an iPhone.

  Apple cranks out about 200 million phones a year, each made with precision. Counterpoint Research says that the iPhone accounts for more than 50 percent of smartphones sold in the US, up from 41 percent in 2018. Apple has about 20 percent of worldwide cellphone sales.  In China, it’s become the must-have phone.

  The iPhone 15 is expected to sell for about $900. The 15 Plus with a 6.7-inch screen could start at $999. The iPhone 15 is expected to have a faster processing chip, enhanced camera technology, better battery life, and the new type-C charging port, which means none of those old Apple wires in the drawer will fit the new iPhone.

CHANNEL CHANGE: This coming Sunday NBC’s Kristen Welker is set to become the 13th moderator of “Meet the Press,” the longest-running show on American television. When she takes the seat, for the first time, every Sunday public affairs program will be moderated or co-moderated by a woman. She joins Dana Bash, Shannon Bream, Margaret Brennan, Jen Psaki, and Martha Raddatz at the other networks.

THE SPIN RACK: With a late summer surge in Covid cases, the FDA has approved a reformulated vaccine in a bid to provide increased protection heading into cooler weather. — As many as 2,000 people might be dead and 10,000 missing in severe flooding in Libya. Officials in one city described the situation as “catastrophic.” — Police in Pennsylvania said that Danelo Cavalcante, the convicted murderer who escaped from prison more than 12 days ago, was spotted again last night and now appears to be armed. — The Biden administration is reaching a deal to unfreeze $6 billion in Iranian assets in exchange for five imprisoned Americans. — Former Green Bay Quarterback Aaron Rodgers took only four snaps last night in his first game with the New York Jets before he went down with a serious looking ankle injury. The 40-year-old QB may have damaged his Achilles tendon, which would be a season-ender. 

BELOW THE FOLD: An American researcher who fell ill 3,000 feet deep in a Turkish cave has been rescued. While on an expedition to map the cave, Mark Dickey, 40, developed stomach bleeding back on September 2^nd. 

  The rescue team involved 200 people, including doctors who went down there to treat and tend to him as he was hauled out on a stretcher. Rescuers had to navigate through mud and water while dealing with vertical sections of the cave.

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