Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was full of defiance and bluster today at the UN General Assembly, even as he grows increasingly isolated on the world stage.

• He spoke to a mostly empty room, after diplomats from Arab and Muslim countries walked out, along with counterparts from several African countries and some European countries.
• But Netanyahu was undeterred, vowing to "finish the job" in Gaza and pulling out a poster that listed all the countries in which Israel has killed its enemies over the past two years.

📱Netanyahu claimed that Israeli intelligence had hacked cellphones all across Gaza and used them to play his speech.

• But there were no reports from Gaza of that actually happening, and an Israeli intelligence official told Axios' Barak Ravid it's unclear whether any such operation occurred.

Flipping houses is getting a lot less profitable, largely because home prices are so high to begin with, AP reports.

• The typical flip now sells for about 25% more than the original purchase price of the home, not accounting for the cost of any renovations. That's the lowest margin since 2008.

Margins are shrinking mainly because there's a housing shortage, pushing up the price of fixer-uppers, analysts told AP.

1. 📺 Nexstar joined Sinclair in bringing "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" back to their local TV stations, ending the boycott. Go deeper.
2. ⚖️ Retired financier Howard Rubin and his assistant were charged with 10 counts of sex trafficking. The pair engaged in "the commercial sexual torture of multiple women," FBI Assistant Director in Charge Christopher Raia said in a statement. More details.
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I called him "Counselor!" He called me: "Mister Allen!"

• Robert B. Barnett — the iconic Williams & Connolly lawyer for 50 years referred to in news stories for decades as "powerhouse attorney" — has died in Washington at 79.
• Friends called him "the doorman to Washington's revolving door," as noted 25 years ago in a New York Times profile headlined, "The Kingpin of Washington Book Deals."

He was "Bob" in conversation, but he always wanted to be "Robert" in our stories. When he was serving up a scoop about one of his famous authors — Bill and Hillary Clinton, George and Laura Bush, Barack and Michelle Obama — he'd always ask gently, but firmly, to be mentioned.

• And by gum, we always mentioned him!

📱 During my lunch at the Bombay Club today, I got lots of texts about Barnett's passing — it will please him that his departure is a big deal. He and his wife, Rita Braver of CBS News, were ubiquitous on the Washington scene.

• Barnett was at it till the end: On Aug. 22, I sent him a fall book preview, and he shot back another list that "may be better" — probably mentioned more of his people. I emailed him a summer's-end tidbit about TV news on Aug. 31, and he wrote back 18 minutes later: "Where are you, Mr. Allen?"
• Noah Bressner, orchestrator of Axios AM, texted me when he saw the news: "I don't think we ever ran a book item where I didn't get an email after with just 'thank you, Noah' in the subject line."

📝 Barnett was close to longtime AP publishing-industry reporter Hillel Italie, who writes in the obit that hit the wire this afternoon:

A stocky, raspy-voiced man with tortoiseshell glasses, antique cuff links and a knack for being both forthright and discreet, Bob Barnett embodied an era when it was possible to work freely with both Democrats and Republicans, when politics could stop at the edge of a good book deal. He was a longtime Democrat, working on Jimmy Carter's 1976 campaign and helping Bill Clinton and other candidates in debate preparation. But he would broker contracts for such a wide range of political figures that he liked to joke that should his clients all gather in one room, the result would be "World War III."

Bill Clinton statement ... Joe Biden statement ... Williams & Connolly statement.