Apple Factory Brawl – (via The Atlantic Wire) "A Foxconn plant that creates parts for Apple's new iPhone had to be shut down today after a huge dormitory brawl escalated into a riot involving as many as 2,000 workers. The fight began late on Sunday night as a personal dispute between several workers, but quickly escalated into a full-blown skirmish, with employees battling security guards and setting fires to some of the buildings. Chinese state media claimed that more than 5,000 police officers were sent to plant, which is located in the city of Taiyuan, in north central China, near Beijing. Around 40 people were hurt in the late-night melee, though there are no reports of life-threatening injuries. While the fight may have began as a simple dispute it's a sign of larger unrest at the company, which has faced heavy pressure recently to improve pay and working conditions."

iPhone 5 Sales Disappoint on Opening Weekend – (via Mashable) "Apple’s stock opened at $686.91 on Monday, down nearly 2% from the previous close of $700.09, despite the seemingly awe-inspiring first weekend sales figures reported by the company this morning for the new iPhone. So what happened? In the days leading up to the launch, several analysts predicted that Apple would sell roughly twice as many iPhone 5s in the opening weekend as it did with the iPhone 4S last year. Jeffries analyst Peter Misek predicted 8 million iPhone 5s would be sold, while top Apple analyst Gene Munster put the number between 6-10 million. ... As it turned out, Apple still ended up having a record-setting launch, but opening weekend sales of the iPhone 5 were only about one million units higher than the opening weekend sales for the iPhone 4S last year. What’s more, as Asymco analyst Horace Dediu points out, the iPhone 5 sold at roughly the same rate as the iPhone 4s when you normalize for the number of countries in which the phones were available over opening weekend. The reason for the lower-than-expected sales figures, according to Apple, appears to be limited supply. The company’s CEO Tim Cook said Apple sold out of its initial inventory, though it continues to ship iPhone 5s to stores and take orders online."

Romney vs. Obama – According to a new Politico-George Washington University poll, Romney is winning the battle for middle-class families, which makes up 54 percent of the electorate. Romney holds a 14-point advantage (55 percent to 41 percent). Middle-class families are more inclined to believe the country is on the wrong track (34 percent right direction, 62 percent wrong track), are more likely to hold an unfavorable view of Obama (48 percent favorable, 51 percent unfavorable), and hold a more favorable view of Romney (51 percent favorable, 44 percent unfavorable) and Paul Ryan (46 percent favorable, 35 percent unfavorable) than the overall electorate. These middle-class families also hold a majority disapproval rating on the job Obama is doing as president (45 percent approve, 54 percent disapprove). 

Plan B Comes to NYC – New York City’s Department of Education is launching a pilot program making the morning after pill available to high school aged girls. The CATCH (Connecting Adolescents To Comprehensive Health) program will make emergency accessible for girls as young as 14 without parental consent. New York City’s public schools may be be the first in the nation to introduce such a program.

Looking Ahead This Week – More than 120 presidents, prime ministers, and monarchs will meet in New York City this week at the U.N. General Assembly, and Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon predicts that the ministerial session, which starts Tuesday, will be among the busiest ever, reflecting "the tumultuous time in which we live – a time of turmoil and transition." It is also taking place "against a backdrop of widespread violence linked to intolerance." President Obama will address the opening session, and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is also scheduled to speak. Diplomats aren't expecting any breakthroughs on the deadlock over Syria, which Ban said "will be foremost in our minds."

Top PolicyMic Stories – Romney is in Dire Straits, But Here are 6 Things He Can Do to Turn Around the Ship (Sal Bommarito) – The situation is serious for Romney. Still, he has a chance ... if he follows these steps.

Barack and Michelle Obama Interview on "The View" Seeks to Solidify Female Voters' Support (Jillian McLaughlin) – The political views of the women on "The View" reveal why Obama is winning among female voters.

Is it Time to Eliminate the Electoral College? (Rebekah Sherman Brown) – If you live in Ohio, Virginia, or one of 7 other “swing-states,” you’re probably getting sick of campaign ads right about now.

What We’re Reading – What happens to stolen bikes? (Priceonomics); Why do Americans believe in Muslim rage? (The New Yorker); On being the first lady to moderate a presidential debate (The Atlantic); U.S. distrust in media his all-time high (Gallup); The optimal diet (NY Times); What business is Wall Street in? (Mark Cuban).