The Evening Rush for Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2013

President Barack Obama in the West Wing on Tuesday. | Pablo Martinez/AP

Obama to address nation — but what will he say?

The developments keep coming, and surely President Barack Obama’s speechwriters are in a tizzy. (He’s scheduled to speak at 8 p.m.) Looks like the U.S. might be able to avoid a military strike thanks to a remark by Secretary of State John Kerry that Syrian President Bashar Assad could only avoid said strike by giving up his chemical weapons — a remark that some called off-handed but that nevertheless was seized on by Russia as a potential solution. Syrian officials seem on board with the plan, and the U.S. says it will work with the United Nations to explore the option. Meanwhile, Obama still has to give a speech tonight, so we’ll see how strongly he advocates the deeply unpopular idea of military action now. (Lynn Sweet has a handy chart detailing where the Illinois delegation stands on that.) [New York Times, Sun-Times, Voices]

Wrongfully convicted

State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez, citing “failures of the past,” set aside convictions that had two men serving lengthy sentences, one for an alleged rape and another for an alleged killing. [Sun-Times]

Weather word: scalding

So far, we’ve only tied today’s record high of 95 degrees, but temperatures could reach 98 by afternoon’s end. Guess it’s always sorta neat to break a record, but it’s cold comfort to the CPS students and staff who were stuck in schools without AC today. [Sun-Times, Voices]

New iPhones

Apple announced two new iPhone models Tuesday: the 5S, which includes a fingerprint sensor; and the low-cost, plastic 5C, which comes in five colors. You can’t preorder the 5S before its release date next Friday, ensuring Apple will get some free publicity from us journalists as we document what are sure to be the longest Apple store lines in a while. [AllThingsD]

‘Palace of Versailles’

That’s what Gov. Pat Quinn compared the west wing of the state Capitol to after its lavish renovations, including the now-infamous $670,000 copper-plated doors. [Sun-Times]

Accessible Wally World

The new Walmart in Pullman will have CTA bus service after all. [Sun-Times]

Emanuel on ‘Late Night’

How’re things in Chicago, Letterman asked. “Excellent,” replied Rahm, adding last night on “The Late Show” that he’s definitely running for mayor again in 2015 to keep that excellence coming. [Voices]

Rahm calls truce with Lewis…

A year after the strike, the mayor says he sent a get-well-soon note to Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis when she was ill recently. Aww. [Sun-Times]

…but checkmates CPS chess teams

Ben Joravsky asks: “Why must we pretend we’re a destitute third-world city when it comes to public education, but when it comes to subsidizing an arena for DePaul and some hotels, it’s about letting the good times roll?” [Reader]

The Bright One

Neil Steinberg has a riddle for you: What do syphilis and Divvy bikes have in common? Take a ride with him and find out. [Sun-Times]

Commute

Sudoku; Weather; Traffic; CTA; Metra; Flight delays

Onion deal crashes Groupon India

And you thought your last $20 massage was a good deal. [Al Jazeera America]