Today’s edition of quick hits:
* A stunning video from Spring Valley High School in Columbia, South Carolina: "The FBI has been asked to investigate an incident at a South Carolina high school Monday in which a police officer appeared to body slam a female student and drag her across a classroom."
* Middle East: "Iran has been invited to participate for the first time in international talks over Syria's future, U.S. officials said Tuesday, a shift in strategy for the United States and its allies as they seek to halt the four-year civil war and eventually ease President Bashar Assad out of power. Iran has yet to reply, the officials said."
* This, notably, was not part of the budget deal: "The House on Tuesday approved a measure to extend federal transportation funding for three weeks in an effort to prevent a highway funding stoppage. The bill, H.R. 3819, would extend federal transportation spending, currently set to expire Oct. 29, until Nov. 20. It was approved by voice vote after a brief debate."
* ISIS: "Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said Tuesday that the U.S. will begin 'direct action on the ground' against ISIS forces in Iraq and Syria, aiming to intensify pressure on the militants as progress against them remains elusive."
* Related news: "Turkey has confirmed that it struck positions in Syria held by Kurdish militias that over the last year have become the most important allies within Syria of the American-led coalition fighting the Islamic State."
* Usually, when House Republicans rebel, it's right-wing members. Not on the Export-Import Bank, however: "A small but powerful band of House Republicans rebelled against party leadership Monday night, a near-constant theme of Speaker John A. Boehner’s tenure the past five years."
* Oklahoma: "An abortion law that was set to go into effect Sunday was put on hold Monday by the Oklahoma Supreme Court. The law, Senate Bill 642 by Sen. Greg Treat, R-Oklahoma City, would require abortion providers to take a sample of the fetal tissue when the abortion patient is younger than 14 and send it to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation."
* Imagine that: "Police chiefs from across the United States called on Monday for universal background checks for firearms purchases, saying opinion polls consistently show that most Americans support such restrictions."
Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.