TODAY'S TALKING POINTS 10-08-15

TODAY'S TALKING POINTS

Russia says it destroyed 11 Islamic State group targets Wednesday. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Russia has hit 112 Islamic State targets in total since the end of September, but the U.S. is still pretty certain that the nation is just bolstering Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

An Associated Press investigation revealed that Eastern European gangstried to sell radioactive material to the Islamic State group before they were thwarted by the FBI. The Syrian conflict is now murkier than ever. Here’s a guide to the friends, frenemies and foes involved.

California took a huge step to close the gender wage gap. Women in the Golden State make, on average, 84 cents to every man’s dollar. The gap is slightly smaller than the national average, but California is closing it for good with what advocates are calling the “strongest equal-pay protection in the nation.” Starting in the new year, all genders will be paid the same amount for “substantially similar work, even if their titles are different” — eliminating a serious loophole.

The first private moon launch is scheduled for 2017. Cue the starting gun for the independent space race; Israeli nonprofit SpaceIL was just awarded a private contract to send a space rover to the moon.

NASA is teaming up with the European Space Agency to prevent armageddon by practicing crashing a spacecraft into an asteroid. The mission, scheduled for 2020, will help scientists figure out if they can knock an asteroid off track that's hurtling toward Earth.

Amazon is trying to be the new Etsy. The prime online shopping spot launched Handmade at Amazon, which offers hand-crafted products from more than 60 countries around the world. So the next time you want a reclaimed bicycle that has an herb garden and a craft beer holder, you have options.