UNITED NATIONS SUMMIT

UNITED NATIONS — Vladimir Putin played it cool, Barack Obama was earnest but firm and Iran's president walked in smiling. World leaders glided through the opening day of a U.N. gathering that aims to wrestle with the globe's biggest crises — a historic flood of refugees, the rise of threats like the Islamic State group and the conflict in Syria.

UNITED STATES-RUSSIA

UNITED NATIONS — U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin sharply disagree over the chaos in Syria, with Obama urging a political transition to replace the Syrian president but Putin warning it would be a mistake to abandon the current government. After dueling speeches at the United Nations General Assembly, Obama and Putin also met privately for 90 minutes — their first face-to-face encounter in nearly a year. 

UNITED STATES-SYRIA

WASHINGTON — A Syrian rebel commander handed over to an al-Qaida affiliate trucks and ammunition provided by the U.S.-led coalition, in exchange for safe passage to a Syrian town, according to details released by the U.S. military. 

SYRIA INTELLIGENCE TARGETING

WASHINGTON — A dedicated manhunt by the CIA, the National Security Agency and the military's Joint Special Operations Command has been methodically finding and killing senior militants in Syria and Iraq, in one of the few clear success stories of the U.S. military campaign in those countries. 

XI'S DIPLOMACY-ANALYSIS

UNITED NATIONS — Call it checkbook diplomacy, Chinese style. On visits to Washington and the United Nations, President Xi Jinping has pledged billions of dollars for peacekeeping, economic development and climate change, winning audience applause and plaudits from the world body. 

MARS-WATER

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida— Mars appears to have flowing rivulets of water, at least in the summer, scientists reported Monday in a finding that boosts the odds of life on the red planet. 

CONGRESS-REPUBLICANS

WASHINGTON — A chaotic scramble is on to fill the top Republican jobs in the U.S. House of Representatives after John Boehner's surprise resignation as its leader or speaker. Now the same conservatives who pushed him out are maneuvering to yank the next leadership team to the right. B

CONGRESS_BUDGET

WASHINGTON — The Senate is set to pass a spending bill to prevent the government from shutting down this week over the opposition of the most conservative Republicans in the chamber. 

PRESIDENTIAL RACE-BILL CLINTON

NEW YORK — After largely staying in the background as Hillary Rodham Clinton kicked off her second campaign for president, former President Bill Clinton is ready to take on a more public role in his wife's second bid for the White House.