First on CNN: Romney memo seeks to lower debate expectations  —  Washington (CNN) - If it wasn't already clear that Mitt Romney and his allies are trying to lower expectations heading into next Wednesday's debate against President Obama in Denver, the campaign is now making it official.

Shock Photos of Netanyahu at U.N. from AP, Reuters  —  Two shocking photos coming off the wire of Benjamin Netanyahu addressing the United Nations moments ago.  —  The first is from the Associated Press:  —  Associated PressAssociated Press  —  The second is from Reuters:  —  ReutersReuters

The Truth About The Obama Phone  —  On Thursday, the Drudge Report splashed a video of an undentified woman who claims to have recieved a free “Obama Phone.”  —  The video has captured the attention of the right online, who see it as proof that Obama supporters are dependent on government.

Producer of inflammatory anti-Islam film arrested, ordered held without bail  —  Los Angeles (CNN) — Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, the man allegedly behind the inflammatory film “Innocence of Muslims,” was ordered held without bail Thursday after being arrested in California and accused of violating his probation.

In the end, it's Mitt  —  It isn't the chair or the ho-hum convention.  Or the leaked video.  Or Stuart Stevens.  Or the improving economy.  Or media bias.  Or distorted polls.  Or the message.  Or Mormonism.  —  It's Mitt.  —  With Republicans everywhere wondering what has happened …

New Justice Department Documents Show Huge Increase in Warrantless Electronic Surveillance  —  Justice Department documents released today by the ACLU reveal that federal law enforcement agencies are increasingly monitoring Americans' electronic communications, and doing so without warrants …

RNC cuts ties with firm over voter registration allegations  —  The Republican National Committee has fired a controversial consulting firm it was paying millions of dollars to conduct voter registration in five battleground states, NBC News has learned.  —  The move came after the Palm Beach County …

France taxes rich and business to slash deficit  —  (Reuters) - President Francois Hollande's Socialist government unveiled sharp tax hikes on business and the rich on Friday in a 2013 budget aimed at showing France has the fiscal rigor to remain at the core of the euro zone.

Democrats to join call for more information on Libya terrorist attack  —  Senate Democrats on Thursday will join their Republican colleagues in pressing the administration for more information about the deadly attack that killed Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans in Benghazi.

Ann Coulter Causes Mass Hysteria on ‘The View,’ Whoopi Bleeped...  “The View” co-hosts get into heated discussion with Coulter, the author of “Mugged.”  —  Unfortunately your browser does not support IFrames.  —  The conservative commentator makes the case in her new book, “Mugged” …

Not The Election They Were Expecting  —  A brief, mostly subjective note: This really isn't looking like the election anyone expected.  Obviously it's not the election Romney and the Republicans expected and wanted; but it's also looking very different from what Democrats expected.

Obama Takes Advantage of Romney's Lack of Details  —  The Obama campaign has run advertisements charging that Mitt Romney's Medicare plan “could raise seniors' costs up to $6,400 a year” and that his tax proposal “would give millionaires another tax break and raises taxes on middle-class families by up to $2,000 a year.”

Dems Darken Image of Black Republican House Candidate  —  A printed mailer sent out by the Utah Democratic party features what appears to be a darkened photo of Republican House candidate Mia Love.  Below is the image of the mailer:  —  Here's the original photograph, in color:

Todd Akin says Claire McCaskill is not as ‘ladylike’ as 2006  —  JEFFERSON CITY - More than a month after his comments about “legitimate rape” nearly derailed his campaign for U.S. Senate, Republican Todd Akin said Thursday that it has become clear to him that he will triumph over Democratic incumbent Sen. Claire McCaskill this fall.

Sept. 26: Could 2012 Be Like 2008?  —  There's no point in putting it gently: Mitt Romney had one of his worst polling days of the year on Wednesday.  —  It began with a series of polls from The New York Times, CBS News and Quinnipiac University, released early Wednesday morning …

Webb drops the hammer on Romney  —  Jim Webb's departures from party orthodoxy are frequent.  As recently as last November, the retiring Virginia Democratic senator was reluctant to commit to campaigning for President Barack Obama.  —  So Webb's bladework today on Mitt Romney was as unexpected as it was memorable.

Hong Kong billionaire's daughter Gigi Chao bombarded with marriage offers and nude photos  —  Gigi Chao, the daughter of a Hong Kong billionaire says she had been bombarded with marriage proposals - and even nude photographs - from as far as Nigeria after her father offered £40 million to the man who could woo her.

Security Fears Hobble Inquiry of Libya Attack  —  BENGHAZI, Libya — Sixteen days after the death of four Americans in an attack on a United States diplomatic mission here, fears about the near-total lack of security have kept F.B.I. agents from visiting the scene of the killings and forced …