Econ 101: Stocks flirted with a record close yesterday after the Federal Reserve announced it will continue to prop up the economy with $85 billion a month in new treasury bonds. Analysts were expecting the beginning of “the taper”, with the Fed cutting back to $75 billion. The Fed said household spending is rising and the housing market is improving, but the economy still needs help. Also yesterday, the Commerce Department announced that housing starts hit a five-year high in August, mostly with single-family homes. Condominium and apartment starts dropped 11.1%.

Shutdown Threatdown: The House plans to vote tomorrow on a temporary spending bill that would strip the budget for President Obama’s healthcare reform. It will be the 42^nd time they try to kill Obamacare. This increases the likelihood of a Congressional stalemate and a government shutdown Oct. 1 over healthcare and raising the debt ceiling. President Obama said to a business group in Washington that raising the debt ceiling is critical to maintaining the “full faith and credit” of the US government. “You have never seen in the history of the United States the debt ceiling or the threat of not raising the debt ceiling being used to extort a President or a governing party,” he said.

Girl Safe: Authorities say the mother of the 14-year-old Georgia girl found safe yesterday after being kidnapped is linked to one of the two suspects. Police say Ayvani Perez is in good health and two men ages 29 and 40 are in custody. Maria Corral, the girl’s mother, was once arrested in a drug raid with one of the suspects.

Gunbeat: In the wake of the Washington Navy Yard shooting, gun rights advocates are arguing for the repeal of regulations that prohibit military personnel from carrying firearms on base, unless they are police or security officers. Judson Phillips of the Tea Party Nation wrote in The Washington Times, “The cold, hard truth is when Americans are armed they can fight back and shootings like Fort Hood and the Navy Yard would not happen.”

World: Syrian President Bashar al-Assad told Fox News that it could take up to a year to destroy his country’s chemical weapons. He continued to deny that his army was responsible for the Aug. 21 chemical attack that killed 1,400 people.

• The French senate has voted to ban child beauty contests because they promote “hyper-sexualization” of children. The bill would still have to pass the National Assembly. The ban was inspired in part by a 2010 feature in Vogue showing young girls in tight dresses, high heels, makeup and jewelry. The bill threatens jail for organizers of pageants for children under age 16.

The Obit Page: Heavyweight boxing champ Ken Norton, who once broke Muhammed Ali’s jaw in a fight, has died at age 70. Norton took up acting after boxing, but never fully recovered from a near-fatal car accident in 1986.

Winning Game: The video game Grand Theft Auto V  hauled in $800 million in worldwide sales on its first day. By comparison the biggest worldwide weekend opening for a movie was Avatar with $750 million.

Take Me Out: Wrigley Field has benched Old Style as the official beer of the ballpark and signed with Budweiser. Chicago Cubs fans have been drinking Old Style since 1950 and the beer maker has started a campaign appealing to stay with the team. Old Style has been as much a part of Wrigley Field as the Cubs failing to win the World Series.

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