Time.com - Nine weeks before the midterm elections, Barack Obama finds himself on the wrong side of the polls. Where did all that adoration go -- and is a Republican sweep next?

AP - What now for the Gulf? News of another oil rig fire in the Gulf of Mexico, so soon after the BP oil spill, has set off a wave of anxiety along the Gulf Coast and prompted calls for the government to extend its six-month ban on deepwater drilling.

AP - Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton sought to inject urgency into Israeli-Palestinian peace talks Friday, warning the negotiations may be "the last chance for a very long time" to reach an agreement.

AP - The Obama administration is withholding $26 million in aid to Mexico, recommending that the government give more power to its human rights commission and crack down on abusive soldiers.

AP - Gov. Jan Brewer rose to national fame defending the state's immigration law and warning of rising violence along the U.S.-Mexico border, including a claim that headless bodies were turning up in the Arizona desert.

Reuters - President Barack Obama said on Friday he would outline new measures next week to boost the U.S. economy, but analysts were skeptical he would be able to deliver a big enough package to lift growth significantly.

Politico - Democrats desperate for quick policy action to boost the economy face an excruciating dilemma.

The Upshot - Finally, there's one thing Democrats and Republicans can agree on in this highly polarized, hotly contested election year: John Boehner is simply way too tan. In a survey that threatens to send a chill down Florida Gov. Charlie Crist's own perpetually tan spine, Public Policy Polling finds that a majority of voters in Boehner's home [...]

McClatchy Newspapers - KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — As the last of the 30,000 additional troops that President Barack Obama dispatched to Afghanistan arrived, top American military leaders here conceded Friday that the country's pervasive corruption threatens to undermine the effort to clear communities of insurgents and hand them over to governments that Afghans consider legitimate.

AFP - US President Barack Obama will meet Southeast Asian leaders on September 24 in New York and seek broader cooperation on issues including regional security, the White House said Friday.