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.

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 …

Mitt Romney: King of comedy  —  It is time to cut Mitt Romney some slack.  It is wrong to criticize him until you've walked a mile in his living room.  —  That last line was a joke that someone posted on Twitter.  Jokes have power.  When a politician makes a joke, he can make a point …

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.

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.

Go large, Mitt  —  In mid-September 2008, Lehman Brothers collapsed and the bottom fell out of the financial system.  Barack Obama handled it coolly.  John McCain did not.  Obama won the presidency.  (Given the country's condition, he would have won anyway.  But this sealed it.)

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

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:

Pictured: The ‘beautiful’ family slain hours after church by ‘mentally ill father tormented by the prospect of Obama winning the election’  — Albert, Kathleen, Mathew and Christopher Peterson were found dead Tuesday in their Herndon, Virginia home  — A friend of the family …

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.

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.

N.J. High School Students Planning Cafeteria Boycott To Protest Obama Guidelines  —  PARSIPPANY, N.J. (CBSNewYork) — Students at Parsippany Hills High School held a strategy session on Thursday to discuss a potential lunch strike, on Friday, over what they have called inadequately sized meals.

NYC PROHIBITS CONTROVERSIAL SUBWAY ADS IN WAKE OF ISLAMIST'S VANDALISM  —  Just one day after an Islamic activist attempted to cover over private property in spray paint (and a woman who got in her way), the Metropolitan Transit Authority in New York has announced they will amend their rules …

Polls: Obama leads in N.H., tighter in Nev., N.C.  —  President Barack Obama leads Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney in New Hampshire, and the two are locked in tight contests in Nevada and North Carolina, according to a new series of NBC News/Wall Street Journal/Marist polls released Thursday.

Allen West Attacks Dem Opponent For 2003 Bar-Fight, ‘Verbal Assault’ Of Policeman  —  Rep. Allen West (R-FL) launched a new television attack ad Friday against his Democratic opponent Patrick Murphy — going after a bar-fight in which Murphy was involved in 2003.

The Voters Are Voting (The Note)  —  By MICHAEL FALCONE (@michaelpfalcone) and AMY WALTER (@amyewalter)  —  NOTABLES:  — DEBATE EXPECTATIONS — FRIDAY MORNING EDITION: The campaigns are continuing to lower expectations before next week's first presidential debate, as ABC's David Muir reported on …

RNC cuts ties to firm after voter fraud allegations  —  Voters mark their ballots in Hialeah, Fla, during primary elections.  (Alan Diaz / Associated Press)  —  WASHINGTON - The Republican National Committee has abruptly cut ties to a consulting firm hired for get-out-the-vote efforts …

Romney muddies his tax message  —  Mitt Romney has muddied his message on the GOP's signature issue of taxes at a time of growing frustration in the party about the direction of his campaign.  —  Now struggling in the polls, the Republican nominee said this week that President Obama …