The Russians Are Coming: Russian aircraft have made their first strikes in Syria, attacking rebel forces supported by the United States and further complicating the Middle East’s many-sided conflict. The US is protesting an attack on a CIA-trained rebel group.

The attacks were near the central western Syrian city of Homs. Russia had warned the US of the impending bombing raids only one hour ahead of time and asked American jets to stay clear.

While supporting the regime of Syria’s Bashar al-Assad, Russia has already shown it is not limiting itself to hitting only the Islamic State, which is also being fought by the US and a coalition of other countries. The situation now risks direct confrontation between the US and Russia.

>Afghan forces say they have re-taken the city of Kunduz from the Taliban. City streets are reported to be littered with bodies.

Nation: Congress passed a spending bill yesterday, including funding for Planned Parenthood that will keep the government running through December 11^th. Conservative Republicans pushed through a separate bill to cut off Planned Parenthood, which is sure to be shot down in the Senate. It may be a different ball game after House Speaker John Boehner departs.

>A Tulsa grand jury has indicted the local sheriff who appointed the reserve deputy who shot and killed an unarmed man during an arrest. The grand jury also recommended that Sheriff Stanley Glanz step down and his lawyer said he would after 26 years in office.

Back in April Robert Bates, a 73-year-old reserve deputy who was a friend of Glanz, accidentally shot and killed a 44-year-old suspect.

Turnover: A three-judge panel from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled yesterday that, contrary to a lower court ruling, colleges and universities do not have to compensate athletes beyond their free educations. As football, and to a lesser extent, basketball, have made millions of dollars for universities, some college athletes restricted to “amateur” status, have demanded a piece of the action. Images of some players have even been used in video games with no money going to the athlete. The ruling said that, while the schools are not immune to antitrust laws, compensation through free college is sufficient.

Reprieve: The execution of convicted murderer Richard Glossip, scheduled for last night in Oklahoma, was delayed until November 6^th while state checks whether its lethal injection drugs are in compliance with the law. Glossip was the subject of a Supreme Court case about whether the lethal drugs kill without suffering.

Washington Life: Some Secret Service agents are in trouble for spreading dirt about Congressman Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), whose 2003 application to become an agent was rejected. Agents were angry because Chaffetz was one of the primary critics of the Service’s fence jumping and drunk driving slipups. About 45 agents looked at Chaffetz’s restricted file and an assistant director wrote in an e-mail, “Some information that he might find embarrassing needs to get out.”

The Obit Page: Frankie Ford, the one hit wonder whose song “Sea Cruise” made him a star at 19, has died near New Orleans at age 76. The song sold a million copies and hit number 14 on the Billboard chart. “Be my guest, you got nothin’ to lose/Won’t you let me take you on a sea cruise?”

One Word: A New poll by Suffolk University and USA Today asked respondents to describe Presidential candidate Donald Trump in one word. While some were admiring, most were not. The most common words to describe Trump: idiot, jerk, stupid, dumb, arrogant, crazy, nuts, buffoon, clown, comical, and joke. And oddly enough, some of those are the same words Trump uses to describe his opponents.

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