The U.S. seafood catch hit a 17-year high last year, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration or NOAA, which has just come out with its annual report. When we think of foods that are safe to eat, rice is certainly up there. But Consumer Reports has just recommended that we limit our rice consumption. That’s after tests found arsenic in over 60 rice products. And this week, Russian state media announced the existence of a 62-mile-wide diamond deposit in Eastern Siberia. But the big players in the diamond business aren’t all that impressed.

About 350,000 students in Chicago will be back in the classroom this morning. After Chicago public school teachers voted to suspend their seven day strike. The oil and gas company Anschutz is planning to sell its sports and entertainment operation called AEG, which is about the biggest name in Los Angeles sports, with the possible exception of Kobe Bryant. AEG could fetch several billion dollars. And the National Association of Home Builders says builder sentiment is at the highest level in six years — so what if you want to get into the housing market right now?

You’re going to hear a lot today about a videotape that has emerged from a Mitt Romney fundraiser. It features Mitt Romney describing 47 percent  of the country as people who pay no income tax and can’t be convinced not to vote for President Obama. Federal regulators are looking into something strange that happened yesterday in the oil markets. Prices plunged more than $3 a barrel in less than a minute. And the federal farm bill expires at the end of this month. It appears that rather than passing a new one right now, Congress will extend the current law for a few months until after the election. That means lawmakers will put off decisions, like whether to replace direct subsidies for farmers with new forms of support.

One year ago today, a movement began when protestors took over a park right in the heart of New York’s financial district, and demanded that the world pay attention to the 99 percent. But one year later, do Wall Streeters think the Occupy Wall Street movement accomplished anything? Several major Japanese companies are shutting down some operations in China, citing concerns about the safety of their workers. Protests there stem from a fight over the ownership of some uninhabited islands in the East China Sea. And in Washington today, experts from the National Academy of Sciences will be looking for ways to bring down the cost of treating Malaria.

Yesterday Federal Reserve Chief Ben Bernanke laid out the Fed’s new economic stimulus plan. It’s round 3 of so-called quantitative easing, and the Fed will buy $40 billion worth of mortgage-backed securities every month. A year ago Monday, a group of protestors gathered in lower Manhattan, kicking off what would become the global phenomenon of Occupy Wall Street. Occupy raised a surprising pile of money — but how was it spent? And it used to be, if you ordered something off the Internet, you didn’t have to pay state sales tax. But now Amazon is now charging sales tax in a growing number of states; California goes on that list this weekend.  

The Federal Reserve wraps up its two day policy meeting today. It’s expected to announce whether it will pump more stimulus money into the U.S. economy. That would make a third round of so-called “quantitative easing.” Directors at Ford Motor Company are meeting today. There’s word the agenda could include the first step toward a change in management at the company. And in case you missed the big launch, Apple’s iPhone 5 was unveiled last night. Fifty million iPhone 5s could get snapped up by the end of the year. And each one is a potential cash cow for the wireless carrier the iPhone customer chooses.

The House of Representatives could vote as soon as tomorrow on legislation to fund the government for the next six months and avoid a shutdown. That temporary funding would keep the government going. But would mean some uncertainty for federal agencies. In Germany, a top court has rejected calls to block Europe’s new rescue fund, ruling that the fund is legal under German law. And the iPhone 5 is expected to be unveiled at a press conference later today. Today, Apple’s iPhone is a major object of desire — but it wasn’t always that way.

Today in Chicago, day two of the teachers’ strike begins. The city and the teachers union failed to agree on a new contract, and around 30,000 educators are on strike. It’s a rocky second day for another big organization: After a seven-year effort to open a part of the Arctic Ocean to oil drilling, Shell Oil has already hit a snag. And Apple is expected to unveil the new iPhone 5 at a huge press conference tomorrow in San Francisco. Of course, no one pitched a new product like Steve Jobs. He made those launches famous. This time, Apple’s Chief Presenting Officer will be Tim Cook. What does it take to make a great pitch?

Summer is officially over for members of the U.S. Congress who return to session today. But don’t expect a lot to come from Capitol Hill over the next several weeks before election day. Despite looming deadlines around the Farm Bill and the so-called “Fiscal Cliff.” Also on the show, the capital of Vermont is getting into the utility business – piping wood-fired heat from a state building to local businesses. And Marketplace’s David Gura examines news today that the U.S. Treasury Department plans to sell $18 billion shares of AIG stock in a public offering that would reduce its stake by more than half.