(Want to get this briefing by email? Here’s the sign-up.)

Good evening. Here’s the latest.

1. The authorities in southern Utah confirmed that at least two women and seven children had died and four people were still missing after flash floods swept their cars away. The victims were members of a polygamist sect that split off from the Mormon Church under the leadership of Warren Jeffs, who is now serving a life sentence for child sexual assault.

2. Ben Carson pulled alongside Donald Trump in a Times/CBS poll, one day ahead of the Republican presidential candidates’ second major debate. Support for Jeb Bush and Scott Walker fell sharply.

3. Republican candidates were preparing for that second debate, which CNN intends to be a feisty one. “If someone says something that cries out for an obvious follow-up with someone who clearly disagrees or someone who is dying to get in, let it happen,” said one moderator. “Let the debate be a debate.”

4. California fire officials struggled to divide personnel and equipment among three major fires, just two of which threaten more than 15,000 homes. The Obama administration added another $250 million to firefighting funds and called on Congress to “begin treating catastrophic wildfire as the natural disaster that it is” — meaning: Exempt such aid from spending limits.

5. President Obama’s top climate change negotiator and his Chinese counterpart met in Los Angeles. They announced joint actions by cities, states and provinces in both countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

6. If it wasn’t Vladimir Putin on the phone with Elton John, who was it? The Kremlin denied that the Russian leader had called the singer to discuss gay rights, despite Sir Elton’s Instagram post thanking Mr. Putin for chatting and looking “forward to meeting with you face-to-face to discuss LGBT equality in Russia.”

7. Hungary beefed up its military presence along the Serbian border and began arresting migrants who tried to slip through a razor-wire fence, saying illegal crossings had grown to “industrial scale.” The moves could rechannel the westward flood of migrants through Croatia and Slovenia.

8. The Syrian conflict, one of the drivers of Europe’s migration crisis, is grinding on, well into its fifth year. Attacks by ISIS often make headlines, but experts say the government’s bombing of rebel-held areas takes a far greater toll on civilians.

9. North Korea boasted that its nuclear arsenal had been improved in “quality and quantity.” Analysts speculated that the leader, Kim Jong-un, would showcase military advances as part of Oct. 10 celebrations marking the 70th anniversary of the founding of the ruling Workers’ Party.

10. Pennsylvania prosecutors explained why they were only now bringing murder charges against five New York fraternity brothers after a 2013 hazing death at the rented Poconos home above. An assistant district attorney said witnesses “lied to the police, they hid and tried to hide evidence, and a lot of that was based on trying to cover up and hide the fraternity’s involvement in the case.”

11. We’ll just letMark Zuckerberg tell you what Facebook has coming. “People have asked about the ‘dislike’ button for many years, and probably hundreds of people have asked about this, and today is a special day because today is the day that I actually get to say we are working on it, and are very close to shipping a test of it.”

Extreme Downhill Biking

12. Watch: The Internet has a voracious appetite for daredevilry, for which GoPro, the wearable camera maker, serves up an endless tasting menu. Its latest contest, co-sponsored by the Pinkbike cycle company, prompted this Slovenian man to ride down a dam’s 200-foot spillway.

Video produced by Quyn Do.

Your Evening Briefing is posted at 6 p.m. Eastern.

And don’t miss Your Morning Briefing, posted weekdays at 6 a.m. Eastern, and Your Weekend Briefing, posted at 6 a.m. Sundays.

Want to look back? Here’s Monday’s Evening Briefing.

What did you like? What do you want to see here? Let us know at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..