Morning Must Reads: September 20

In the news: Iran's nuclear program; the Syrian stalemate; ObamaCare; the budget battle; limiting coal emissions; and the fight for better security after the Navy Yard shootings

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Mark Wilson / Getty Images

The early morning sun rises behind the US Capitol Building in Washington, DC.

  • “The Syrian conflict has reached a stalemate and President Bashar al-Assad‘s government will call for a ceasefire at a long-delayed conference in Geneva on the state’s future, the country’s deputy prime minister has said in an interview with the Guardian.” [Guardian]
    • Diplomacy Imperils Washington’s Allies in Syria [TIME]
  • “Iran’s leaders, seizing on perceived flexibility in a private letter from President Obama, have decided to gamble on forging a swift agreement over their nuclear program with the goal of ending crippling sanctions, a prominent adviser to the Iranian leadership said Thursday.” [NYT]
    • “The newly elected President of Iran Hassan Rouhani has offered to help initiate talks between the embattled government of President Bashar Assad and the opposition in Syria.” [TIME]
    • Rouhani: “Gone is the age of blood feuds. World leaders are expected to lead in turning threats into opportunities.” [WashPost]
  • How to End the ObamaCare debate: Prove the law is working [National Journal]
    • “Less than two weeks before the launch of insurance marketplaces created by the federal health overhaul, the government’s software can’t reliably determine how much people need to pay for coverage, according to insurance executives and people familiar with the program.” [WSJ]
  • The Master Plan: How Hill Tea Partiers See the Budget Fight Unfolding [TIME]
    • “In using the threat of a government shutdown as leverage, House Republicans will vote Friday on legislation they view as their single best opportunity to block the president’s signature legislative accomplishment just as it is about to take hold.” [L.A. Times]
    • “Striking a tone of disgust, House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi ridicules the GOP as obsessed with its loathing of President Obama and hell-bent on hurting him politically, regardless the cost. She assigns little to no blame to the president (even though Democrats privately say that’s laughable) and instead portrays him as saintly, above reproach and the victim of jealousy or something worse.” [Politico]
  • “New rules limiting emissions from U.S. power plants that are expected to be proposed on Friday will ‘provide certainty’ to the coal industry.” [Reuters]
  • After Navy Yard, the Fight for Better Security Begins [TIME]