This story is timed perfectly to capitalize on the news vacuum created by the Pope's departure and to capture the momentum of the Super Blood Moon story. If nothing else, we've certainly learned that Mars has excellent publicists. And apparently, it also has the water to sustain life. According to NASA, "liquid water runs down canyons and crater walls over the summer months on Mars." This increases the odds of life on Mars, now and in the future. (If I want to live on a far out planet surrounded by stars that has trace amounts of water, I don't need Mars. I've got California.)

+ Here are some views of last night's supermoon from around the world. (Our family's experience was tarnished because we happened to be standing next to a group of supermoon deniers.)

"It's a high performing energy-efficient complex whose 57 apartments stay cool on the hottest days and can be comfortably heated with a hand-held hair dryer on the coldest." Yes, it looks like we'll be transferring to Mars soon enough. But in the meantime, the race to prolong life on earth continues. Politico's Sara Solovitch gives you a tour of the ultra-efficient houses that will redefine how we fight climate change -- and how we live.

"We cannot stand by when the sovereignty and territorial integrity of a nation is flagrantly violated." During his speech to the UN, President Obama took some shots at recent moves by Vladamir Putin, while acknowledging that the U.S. is willing to work with Russia to solve the Syria crisis.

+ NYT: "Russia moved to expand its political and military influence in the Syria conflict and left the United States scrambling, this time by reaching an understanding, announced on Sunday, with Iraq, Syria and Iran to share intelligence about the Islamic StateRussia surprises U.S. with accord on battling ISIS."

It's hard to feel sorry for those big news organizations that have utterly failed to pay enough attention to the top story of a generation. It's one thing to bury the lede. It's another to allow it to bury your industry. But we can't treat the news like just any other business. It's too important. Here my take on why news is different.

+ For more evidence of why news matters, load up your reading queue courtesy of these links to the winning stories recognized by the 2015 Online Journalism Awards.

Ladies and gentlemen, Francis has left the building after what appeared to be a very well-received visit. On the way back to Rome, Francis chimed in on the Kim Davis situation with a position that might have been the most controversial of the trip: "Conscientious objection must enter into every juridical structure because it is a right."

+ The Pope is clearly a religious rock star. So it shouldn't come as much of a surprise that his debut album drops in November.

"Studies of conversation both in the laboratory and in natural settings show that when two people are talking, the mere presence of a phone on a table between them or in the periphery of their vision changes both what they talk about and the degree of connection they feel ... Even a silent phone disconnects us." In the NYT, Sherry Turkle provides the backup data to confirm what you already know about the digital age: Stop Googling. Let's Talk.

"Ten thousand people have shown up tonight, many claiming their tickets with an Adidas app and the rest waiting untold hours in temperatures that barely top 15 degrees, the cold compounded by gut-punches of snowy wind barreling off the East River. 'We ain't even gonna mention that other company no more, right?' Kanye asks the crowd. 'We ain't wearing that other company no more, right?" GQ's Matthew Shaer reports on the heated battle between Adidas and Nike from the front lines of the sneaker wars.

"And, even more crucial for life in 2015, being a good sport coder is a surefire way for an 18-year-old to get noticed by the thousands of companies looking to rain money down on talented software developers." Ashlee Vance introduces you to the competitive and increasingly important world of sport coding. (It can't be long before there's a fantasy league.)

"I don't collect records: I amass records. I don't even know what we're getting today. I'm sure I already have 20 copies of what she's got, but it's an addiction." NPR on the popularity and lifestyle of one of the last jukebox salesmen.

+ And a cool story about some found records and cassettes that belonged to one of top music producers: The Lost Scrolls of J Dilla.

"Maya Donnelly awoke to what sounded like thunder in the early morning hours, but dismissed it as a typical monsoon storm and went back to sleep." But it turned out that it was a giant bundle of marijuana that fell from the sky and through the doghouse roof. (Looks like season two of Narcos just pretty much wrote itself.)

+ Another iPhone. Another record setting opening weekend.

+ CityLab on where and when it's OK to hookup in public. Here's my rule of thumb: If both participants are attractive, it's always OK.