Morning Must Reads: November 13

In the news: the proxy battle Syria; Obama Admin. pleads for more time for Iran deal; White House struggles to fix online health insurance marketplace; the American Airlines-US Airways merger; the most expensive work of art ever sold at auction

  • Share
  • Read Later
Mark Wilson / Getty Images

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

  • “Outside support for the warring parties in Syria has helped sustain the conflict and transformed it into a proxy battle by regional powers, with Russia, Iran and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah helping the government and with Saudi Arabia and Qatar providing the main support for the rebels. But the flow of private funds to rebel groups has added a wild-card factor to the war, analysts say, exacerbating divisions in the opposition and bolstering its most extreme elements…” [NYT]
  • “The Obama administration is pleading with Congress to allow more time for diplomacy with Iran, but faces sharp resistance from Republican and Democratic lawmakers determined to further squeeze the Iranian economy and wary of yielding any ground in nuclear negotiations.” [AP]
  • “Software problems with the federal online health insurance marketplace, especially in handling high volumes, are proving so stubborn that the system is unlikely to work fully by the end of the month as the White House has promised…” [WashPost]
  • John Boehner’s Big Choice [National Journal]
    • How Immigration Reform Died, Part II: Speaker Boehner Bails on Bipartisan Legislation [Hill]
  • Partisan Conflict Shadows Budget Conference [National Journal]
  • “AMR Corp. and US Airways Group Inc. reached an antitrust settlement with the U.S. government to allow their $17 billion merger to proceed with only limited concessions, paving the way for a new global airline colossus.” [WSJ]
  • “It took seven superrich bidders to propel a 1969 Francis Bacon triptych to $142.4 million at Christie’s on Tuesday night, making it the most expensive work of art ever sold at auction.” [NYT]