Briefing

‘This is not class warfare. It’s math.’

1. PRESIDENT OBAMA, announcing a $3 trillion debt-reduction plan that, among other things, includes higher taxes on wealthy Americans

‘There was so much fire, it sounded like static over the top of your head … I was just waiting for one of those rounds to hit me in the face.’

2. DAKOTA MEYER, U.S. Marine sergeant, who was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for charging into an ambush five times in Afghanistan, saving 36 Marines and soldiers

‘I think it was a moral failing.’

3. DOMINIQUE STRAUSS-KAHN, former head of the IMF, in his first public interview since being acquitted of sexually assaulting a hotel maid in New York City; the sexual contact, he claims, was consensual

‘They’re really antiques and shouldn’t be flown near people.’

4. BOB WOGAN, whose wheelchair-bound nephew was killed when a World War II–era P-51 Mustang crashed into the grandstand at the National Championship Air Races in Reno, Nev.

‘I slid into arrogance based upon past success.’

5. REED HASTINGS, CEO of Netflix, in a blog post announcing the company’s split into separate streaming and DVD-delivery services, following a July price hike that left customers angry and stockholders wary

14

Number of teams in the Atlantic Coast Conference, following the announcement that Pittsburgh and Syracuse universities would defect from the Big East

2.25 MILLION

Number of service members who underwent “Don’t ask, don’t tell” repeal training in advance of the policy’s reversal on Sept. 20

16

Number of times Alec Baldwin will have hosted Saturday Night Live after its Sept. 24 season opener, breaking a record he shares with Steve Martin

$2.3 BILLION

Amount lost by UBS, Switzerland’s largest bank, through unauthorized deals by one trader

Sources: White House; 60 Minutes; Guardian; Wall Street Journal; Netflix Blog