JUDY WOODRUFF: In the day's other news: U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Syrian
government forces used chlorine as a chemical weapon back in May.
He said the attack happened during a battle with insurgents in Idlib province.
Pompeo spoke to reporters along the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York.
MIKE POMPEO, U.S. Secretary of State: The Assad regime is responsible for innumerable
atrocities, some of which rise to the level of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Today, I am announcing that the United States has concluded that the Assad regime used chlorine
as a chemical weapon on May 19 in an attack at Latakia province, Syria.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Pompeo also said the U.S. will provide $4.5 million in additional aid to
investigate other suspected chemical weapons attacks.
The death toll from a severe lung illness tied to vaping has now risen to 12 people.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also reported the number of confirmed and
probable cases surged to 805.
Now, that is a 52 percent increase over the 530 illnesses reported just last week.
A new Pentagon report has found the suicide rate among members of the military rose significantly
last year.
The suicides increased from 18.5 per 100,000 service members in 2013 to 24.8 in 2018.
Most were enlisted men under the age of 30.
The State Department unveiled a proposal today that would cut the number of refugees admitted
into the U.S. to a record low; 18,000 refugees would be allowed to resettle in the U.S. in
fiscal year 2020.
The current cap is set at 30,000.
President Trump's final decision was still require consultation with Congress.
The Senate today overwhelmingly approved a temporary government funding bill to avoid
a shutdown.
It will fund the federal government through November 21.
That gives lawmakers more time to negotiate money for more controversial items, like President
Trump's border wall.
The bill now heads to the president's desk, where he's expected to sign it into law.
The U.N.'s nuclear watchdog announced today that Iran has committed another breach of
its 2015 nuclear deal commitments.
It reported that Tehran is enriching uranium with advanced centrifuges and plans to install
more of those machines than previously announced.
Iran has maintained that its uranium enrichment is solely for civilian purposes.
At a press conference in New York, President Hassan Rouhani insisted his country has been
transparent.
HASSAN ROUHANI, Iranian President (through translator): The supervision and the inspections
of the International Atomic Energy Agency have not been limited or decreased.
The IAEA in the same fashion since the beginning of the nuclear deal in 2015 was supervising
and inspecting and carrying forward its activities in the same fashion as in Iran today.
JUDY WOODRUFF: Today's revelation comes as Iran is grappling with U.S. sanctions imposed
after President Trump pulled out of the nuclear agreement last year.
The leading challenger in Afghanistan's upcoming presidential election, Abdullah Abdullah,
is accusing the incumbent of election fraud days before voters head to the polls.
He lost to current President Ashraf Ghani five years ago in an election that was largely
dismissed as flawed.
Abdullah told the Associated Press he's worried about Ghani abusing his power.
ABDULLAH ABDULLAH, Afghan Chief Executive (through translator): Massively fraudulent
elections will have an impact, will have serious consequences.
And that is why it might be too idealistic calling on everybody to act responsibly, because
it is not only the number of votes.
It will have an impact on the mentality of the people, on the views of the people of
the democratic process.
JUDY WOODRUFF: There was no immediate response from President Ghani.
Meanwhile, the Taliban renewed its threats today to attack polling stations during Saturday's
election.
Back in this country, the gap between the nation's rich and poor grew last year.
The U.S. Census Bureau reported that income inequality reached its highest level in 50
years.
It attributed the expansion to an increase in median household incomes.
But that income rise wasn't distributed evenly across the country.
Stocks fell on Wall Street today over uncertainty about the impeachment inquiry and new data
showing a slowdown in U.S. economic growth.
The Dow Jones industrial average lost 79 points to close at 26891.
The Nasdaq fell more than 46 points, and the S&P 500 slipped seven.
And a passing to note.
Former French President Jacques Chirac died today in Paris.
He was a fixture in French politics for decades, serving 18 years as the mayor of Paris and
two terms as prime minister.
Chirac became president in 1995, remained in office until 2007.
He was the first French leader to acknowledge his country's role in the Holocaust, and he
vehemently opposed the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
Jacques Chirac was 86 years old.
Still to come on the "NewsHour": China's President Xi Jinping's full-throttle quest to make his
country a superpower; and the South Korean foreign minister on how best to navigate Kim
Jong-un's nuclear threat.