-Mitt Romney reportedly has a phone call scheduled Friday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Attacking Obama's record on Israel is a centerpiece of Romney's foreign policy strategy, and Romney has assailed the president for failing to meet with Netanyahu during his current trip to the United States, where he is attending the General Assembly of the United Nations in New York (Obama also has a phone conversation with Netanyahu scheduled). Romney and Netanyahu have known one another for decades, and the Israeli premier reportedly is hoping for a Romney victory in November.

-Romney will also be in Pennsylvania, where he will be speaking at a noon rally in the town of Wayne. The Republican candidate is trailing Obama in the state, although an ongoing legal dispute over Pennsylvania's new voter ID law could help sway the outcome.

-The Romney campaign has released a memo that seems intended to downplay expectations about the upcoming presidential debates, warning that Romney has never engaged in a one-on-one presidential debate and noting that Obama is "widely regarded as one of the most talented political communicators in modern history."

-In Massachusetts, Republican Senate candidate Scott Brown is doubling down on faulting rival Elizabeth Warren for claiming Native American heritage, releasing a new ad entitled "got caught."

-Rep. Todd Akin said Claire McCaskill, the incumbent Missouri senator and Democrat he is trying to unseat, was "more ladylike" back in 2006. After his "legitimate rape" remarks invited scrutiny of his stance on women's issues, perhaps not the best choice of words.

Israel