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Germany's Oktoberfest — that annual celebration of all things lager — kicked off on Sept. 22 in Munich, the festival's birthplace. In honor of the 200-year tradition, NPR Music and opbmusic.org in Portland (America's microbrew capital) team up to present a limited-time music channel devoted entirely to songs about beer.

Football fans are furious. Bettors are out an estimated $150 million. Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin — the Republican who's famous for battling with organized labor — is on the side of the referees union. And the NFL is in something of a "prevent defense," saying that nothing can be done to change the outcome.

Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund Christine Lagarde says recent actions by the European Central Bank mark a positive turning point in Europe's financial crisis. But she warned that uncertainty elsewhere will continue to slow the pace of the global recovery.

Back in July, the IMF was forecasting world growth of just under 4 percent for next year. The group's economists will issue a new forecast in a couple of weeks. Lagarde said the new projection still foresees a gradual recovery, but it will shave a few tenths of a percent off global growth.

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Good morning, I'm Steve Inskeep. A State Department spokesman had an angry email exchange with a reporter, and Philippe Reines wrote: Feel free to use every word. So the reporter did, publishing their whole profane exchange, like this high-toned dialogue:

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I'm misreading you as needlessly antagonistic.

INSKEEP: No, you read my email correctly. I found your statement offensive.

GREENE: Why ask questions you've already decided you know the answers to?

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Well, as if NFL fans weren't ticked off enough about the replacement referees who are officiating this season's games, we bring you last night. The Seattle Seahawk's beat the Green Bay Packers in the final seconds to win 14 to 12, at least that's how the refs on the field saw it. The outcome is prompting new calls for the NFL and its regular officials to settle this labor dispute that prompted the league to lock out their officials in June. Joining me to talk about last night is NPR sports correspondent Tom Goldman.

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It's MORNING EDITION, from NPR News. I'm Steve Inskeep.

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And I'm David Greene. Good morning.

President Obama addresses the United Nations General Assembly today, at a time when U.S. embassies and consulates have been the target of protests across the Muslim world. Mr. Obama's aides say he will use this speech to again condemn the anti-Islam video that offended many Muslims.

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NPR's business news starts with: somebody restock the shelves.

Apple says it sold more than 5 million of its new iPhone 5s over the weekend. The company says it has now run out of its initial stock. On its debut weekend, the iPhone 5 sold better than the last version of the iPhone. But sales were not quite as strong as many analyst expectations, and there are concerns about Apple's ability to keep up with demand.

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And today's last word in business comes from Tony the Tiger.

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TONY THE TIGER: They're greeeaaat.

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INSKEEP: A simple statement. But Tony may have to learn how to say it in Chinese because its parent company Kellogg just inked a deal with a firm in Singapore.

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It's not so much what Mitt Romney said about whether the government should guarantee people health care in his interview on CBS's 60 Minutes Sunday that has health care policy types buzzing. It's how that compares to what he has said before.

To back up a bit, Scott Pelley asked the former Massachusetts governor if he thinks "the government has a responsibility to provide health care to the 50 million Americans who don't have it today?"