What we’re watching Thursday

Good morning! Stay with us throughout the day as we update these stories and more on the Rundown and the PBS NewsHour broadcast.

• The government shutdown is now in its third day. Last night, Speaker Boehner and House Minority Leader Pelosi both revealed that a meeting between congressional leaders and President Obama at the White House yielded no progress.

• At least 94 African migrants were killed off the coast of Italy after a ship carrying them capsized off the Italian island of Lampedusa. Over 150 people have been rescued but 200 still remain unaccounted for.

  – Secretary of State John Kerry said it would be “diplomatic malpractice” if the U.S. didn’t test Iran’s willingness to comply with international demands over its nuclear program. However, Kerry also pressed that they would not be played for “suckers” with a charm offensive.

• In Syria, six rebel groups have called on al-Qaida and the Free Syrian army to end the infighting in the northern part of the country. International weapons inspectors who are overseeing the destruction of the Syrian government’s chemical weapons are in their second day of work in the country.

• In Japan, Japanese and U.S. foreign and defense representatives — including Secretary of State John Kerry, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, Japan’s Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida and Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera — gathered Thursday to renew a security alliance as Japan looks to push back against regional threats, including China and North Korea. It is the first review of the alliance in 16 years.

JS