SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:55 P.M. ET:

ABSOLUTELY INSPIRING – FROM DAILYWIRE:  Football players from two opposing college teams led the stadium in singing the national anthem on Saturday when the stadium's public address reportedly failed, which led to an announcement that the anthem would not be played.  The two schools, Trinity College and Hamilton College, are part of the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) and were getting ready for kickoff when they learned about the problem with the stadium's PA system...Trinity coach Jeff Devanney said the announcement did not sit well with his players.  "A couple of guys on our team were like 'No man, you gotta play the song,'" Devanney said. "And then a couple guys just started singing."  Within a matter of moments, both teams were singing the anthem.  Watch it here.

A WARNING FROM UP NORTH – FROM THE TORONTO STAR:  Once a titan of Canadian retail, Sears Canada announced Tuesday that it is going out of business, putting 12,000 people out of work and shuttering all operations nationwide.  Among the first to lose their jobs will be most of the 800 people at head office near Dundas Square, who will be let go next week. Liquidation sales at stores are scheduled to begin Oct. 19 and to take 10 to 14 weeks.  The chain was forced into closure after a bid by executive chairman Brandon Stranzl to save the company was unsuccessful.  “Following exhaustive efforts, no viable transaction for the company to continue as a going concern was received,” according to a press release from the company issued Tuesday. “The Company deeply regrets this pending outcome and the resulting loss of jobs and store closures.”  Sears is a shadow of what it once was, but its Craftsman tools are still solid.

MOSCOW BLASTS WASHINGTON – FROM REUTERS:   MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia accused the United States on Tuesday of pretending to fight Islamic State and of deliberately reducing its air strikes in Iraq to allow the group’s militants to stream into Syria to slow the Russian-backed advance of the Syrian army.  The Pentagon strongly denied the accusations, saying that the U.S.-led coalition fighting Islamic State posts data every day on the number and result of strikes for the public to see.  In the latest sign of rising tensions between Moscow and Washington, the Russian Defence Ministry said in a statement that the U.S.-led coalition had sharply reduced its air strikes in Iraq in September when Syrian forces, backed by Russian air power, had started to retake Deir al-Zor Province.  Wait, wait.  I'm confused.  Wasn't President Trump supposed to be a puppet of Vladimir Putin?  Didn't he "collude" with the Russians?  All I've heard since the inauguration are Russian denunciations of the United States and the Trump administration.  Where's the supposed romance?

October 10,  2017