The Syria Mosaic: Russia and the Unites States reached an agreement to suppress the fighting in Syria that could lead to Russian and American forces jointly targeting Islamic State fighters.

The plan appears to have a lot of contingent “ifs.” It is supposed to start with a general ceasefire and opening embattled areas, like the city of Aleppo, to humanitarian aid.

If that works, the US and Russia might begin joint actions against Islamic State and Nusra front fighters.  The US would have to convince rebel groups it supports to separate from the Nusra fighters so they don’t get bombed together, which Russia has been doing. There’s another “if.”

Secy. of State John Kerry was tentative in his optimism for success. “No one is basing this on trust. We are basing it on oversight and compliance,” he said.

Hermit Kingdom: Experts believe that North Korea will have an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead by 2020, The NY Times reports. They could hit the West Coast.

What to do about it is a tough question, sanctions and efforts to negotiate with North Korea haven’t worked. A naval blockade, or direct military action, would be an act of war risking wider war in Asia.

It’s Political: Republican vice presidential candidate Mike Pence released the last 10 years of his tax returns, but those aren’t the tax returns everyone wants to see. Donald Trump is standing by his refusal to release his taxes until a federal audit is done. The 2015 gross income for Pence and his wife was about $122,000.

Terror: A report on the San Bernardino terrorist massacre reveals chilling details of what police officers faced that day. One officer described entering the room where the shooting had taken place, looking to see whether the shooters were still there. “It was the worst thing imaginable — some people were quiet, hiding, others were screaming or dying, grabbing at your legs because they wanted us to get them out, but our job at the moment was to keep going,” he said. “That was the hardest part, stepping over them.”

The report says, “When the teams came to the last two rooms in the building, they expected to find the shooters inside. ‘This is where, I don’t want to say I made peace, but I was ready to go,’ said an … officer. ‘We got into one room, and it was empty. We had a quick breath, and in we went to the last room. I was never so excited to not see anybody.’

Nation: A New Jersey appeals court has thrown out the criminal conviction of a former Rutgers University student who had been accused of embarrassing his gay roommate into committing suicide back in 2010.

The case brought national attention to gay harassment.

Dharun Ravi had set up a webcam and streamed the picture online while his roommate, Tyler Clementi, had sex with another man. Clementi later jumped to his death from the George Washington Bridge. Part of Ravi’s conviction was based on a criminal bias law that has been ruled unconstitutional. The court ordered Ravi to be re-tried on 10 other charges.

On the Job: Prosecutors are bringing criminal charges against seven current and former law enforcement officers connected to a sex scandal that began with the Oakland Police Department.

The mess began when an officer named Brendan O’Brien got into an affair with an underage prostitute rather than taking her to social services. He then turned her over to service other cops. O’Brien committed suicide, but not before the scandal touched several Bay Area police agencies.

The Rhetoric Rheport: To quote the candidates: “To just be grossly generalistic, you can put half of Trump supporters into what I call the basket of deplorables,” Hillary Clinton said. “Right? Racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamaphobic, you name it.”

Donald Trump said, “”She’s being so protected. She could walk into this arena right now and shoot somebody with 20,000 people watching,” using his hand to mimic a gun, “right smack in the middle of the heart and she wouldn’t be prosecuted, OK?”

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