Oops. In a radio interview last week, Republican vice-presidential nominee Paul Ryan claimed his fastest marathon time was under three hours. The running world was skeptical. It turns out that Ryan ran Grandma's Marathon in Duluth, Minn., in 1990, when he was 20 years old. His time? 4:01:25. Making things even more awkward for the Ryan camp is the fact that this is the only marathon he's ever run. By Saturday night, Ryan admitted he misspoke when said he had run a marathon in "two hours and 50-something minutes."

It may not be a hurricane anymore, but Isaac’s wrath is still being felt. More than half of New Orleans is without power on Saturday, while the storm moved north up the Mississippi River and caused at least two tornadoes in northern Illinois. Power company Entergy New Orleans's CEO, Charles Rice, said on Saturday that that he expects 70 percent of customers affected would have power back by Monday and 90 percent would have it restored by Wednesday. Authorities ordered evacuations in a “fairly rural” portion along Louisiana’s Pearl River on Saturday, warning the locks could fail.

But what about Clint Eastwood’s popularity? A Reuters/Ipsos poll on Saturday showed that Mitt Romney’s bounce in the polls during the Republican National Convention has already evaporated. According to the latest installment of the four-day rolling poll, Romney was ahead of President Obama by two points on Thursday, and then by one point on Friday—but by Saturday, Obama led Romney 44 percent to 43 percent. Romney campaigned in Ohio on Saturday on the first day of the college-football season, saying Obama’s record is “zero and 23 million” since there are an estimated 23 million people out of work or under-employed. Meanwhile, Obama blasted the convention while campaigning in Iowa, calling it a “rerun” and something “you might have watched on black-and-white TV.”

Are these his Last Rites? Eighty-five-year-old Italian Cardinal Carlo Martini died on Friday but has slammed the Catholic Church for being “200 years behind” the times in an interview he asked to be published after his death. Corriere della Sera, an Italian newspaper, published the last interview with the archbishop of Milan, which urged the church to change their “tired” ways, which are “200 years behind.” He gave the interview as he knew he was dying, and was unafraid to criticize the church, in living and in death. “Our culture has grown old, our churches are big and empty and the church bureaucracy rises up, our religious rites and the vestments we wear are pompous,” he said. In 2008, Cardinal Martini had come out in support of condoms as a “lesser evil” and had disagreed with prohibitions on birth control.

The German manufacturer of thalidomide, a drug that caused thousands of birth defects in the 1950s and 1960s, apologized for the first time on Friday. Sold over the counter to cure morning sickness, the drug caused many children to be born with shortened arms and legs. Some victims suffered heart problems, poor hearing and eyesight, and even brain damage, before the drug was pulled from shelves in 1961. Survivors, estimated to number between 5,000 and 6,000, now say the apology is too little, too late, suggesting that the firm open up discussions on compensation.

The new envoy from the United Nations to Syria said on Saturday that the need for new leadership in Syria is both “urgent” and “necessary.” It is the first day on the job for Lakhdar Brahimi, who became special envoy to the war-torn country after Kofi Annan resigned last month as his six-point peace plan unraveled. Attempts at a ceasefire and other peacemaking measures have failed in the country, and upwards of 20,000 people are thought to have been killed in the violence so far. The fighting began after the people of Syria mounted protests against President Bashar al-Assad—Brahimi said on Saturday that the people have “legitimate” demands and that the government must face them.

In their first football game since being handed severe sanctions by the NCAA in light of the Jerry Sandusky child-sex scandal, Penn State lost on Saturday to Ohio University. Despite leading by 11 at halftime, the Nittany Lions ended up losing 24-14. Former had coach Joe Paterno’s widow, Sue, and his daughter Mary Kay attended Penn State’s opening football game against Ohio. An Associated Press reporter asked Sue what the game mean to her, she replied that she “just wants us to win.” This was the first game without Paterno on the coaching staff since 1949. Paterno was fired in November amid after allegations that assistant coach Sandusky had sex with minors. Paterno died in January, while Sandusky was convicted in June of 45 counts of sexual abuse, and the school has been fined by the NCAA for allegedly covering up Sandusky’s abuse and banned from bowl games.

Olympic gold-medal winner Andy Murray eked out a victory Saturday against Spain’s Feliciano López, advancing to the next round. In a match that lasted nearly four hours, Murray won the first two sets but slipped in the third before eventually capturing the fourth. “I was struggling a bit physically, and that made it challenging,” Murray admitted after the match. Meanwhile, No. 1 seed Roger Federer cruised to victory against Spain’s Fernando Verdasco in three sets. And on the women’s side, Serena Williams won two straight sets against Russian Ekaterina Makarova, who bested Williams in the Australian Open in January.

Seventeen of 22 short-finned pilot whales died after being beached at Avalon State Park in Florida on Saturday. SeaWorld Orlando rescuers worked to help the surviving baby whales, two males and three females. They transported them to Fort Pierce, where they will undergo testing, stabilization, and treatment and will be released into the wild after they become healthy enough. Hundreds of residents came to the beach and helped the animals get upright to assist in their breathing.

Legendary songwriter Hal David died Saturday from complications from a stroke. He was 91. Half of popular songwriting team Bacharach and David, David “always had a song in his head,” his widow, Eunice, said. Bacharach and David were one of the top teams in history, penning songs for everyone from Dionne Warwick to the Beatles. Bacharach and David received an Oscar for “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head,” and Grammys and Tonys for the musical Promises, Promises. Last May, David and Bacharach received the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song at a White House tribute concert, where President Obama praised them for having “captured the emotions of our daily lives.”

It's what art critics have been caterwauling for: the first annual Internet Cat-Video Film Festival, hosted by the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, was inaugurated on Thursday with an outdoor showing of videos. 10,000 patrons—and their cats—packed the museum's lawn to see Maru jump into boxes and kittens ride a Roomba. Keyboard Cat predictably won a lifetime achievement award, while Henri, an existentialist cat took home the Golden Kitty.

Amazing what a little talking can do! Federal Reserve chaiman Ben Bernanke addressed a conference on monetary policy on Friday in Jackson Hole, Wyo., saying that the central bank would act as necessary to strengthen America’s economic recovery, leaving the door open for future monetary easing. Soon after, both European stocks and the euro began rising as signs emerged of a deal to manage the euro-zone crisis. On the American side, the dollar dropped to an eight-week low after Bernanke characterized high unemployment as a "grave concern," reinforcing expectations of more growth-encouraging stimulus.

Eduardo Arellano-Félix, one of several brothers who headed what was once Mexico's largest drug-trafficking organization, was flown to San Diego on Friday after exhausting all his appeals in Mexico. The extradition ends a 20-year effort to get all the siblings in federal court. Félix, a former medical student nicknamed "El Doctor," allegedly advised the group, which murdered hundreds and brought tons of drugs into the U.S. from Baja California in the 1980s and 1990s. Félix was named in a 2003 racketeering indictment and arrested after a Tijuana shootout in 2008.

In a quick change of scenery, Mitt Romney spent the day after his acceptance of  the GOP’s nomination touring Louisiana to view Hurricane Isaac’s damage. Romney met with local residents who have been affected, along with Gov. Bobby Jindal. The visit drew some ire from Democrats, who say VP pick Paul Ryan blocked disaster-relief funds just last fall. “It is the height of hypocrisy for Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan to make a pretense of showing sympathy for the victims of Hurricane Isaac when their policies would leave those affected by this disaster stranded and on their own,’’ said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in a statement. President Obama has canceled one appearance on his reelection campaign tour in order to visit the damaged region Monday.

Overnight guests who stayed in Yosemite’s insulated “Signature” cabins anytime between June and August could have been exposed to a deadly mouse-borne virus that has killed two and sickened four. Park officials have sent letters and email warnings to about 3,000 people who reserved the cabins, but since they fit four, up to 7,000 more people may have been exposed to the deadly virus. Rangers say that panicked campers have been flooding them with more than 1,000 calls a day since the warning. Called hantavirus, the illness begins with flu-like symptoms before degenerating into respiratory and organ failure—36 percent of those who contract the virus die.

The tech world just got even more complicated. A Tokyo court found on Friday that Samsung's phones and tablet don't infringe on Apple's patents. Court battles between the South Korean and American companies have spread over four continents, resulting in a wide array of rulings, bans, and payments. Every possibility seems to have been covered: though this latest ruling directly contradicts a U.S. ruling last week that awarded Apple $1.05 billion in damages, both rulings are more decisive than one in South Korea last week, which stated that both companies had infringed on each other's patents.

Nothing to worry about here. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke on Friday at the annual Pacific Islands Forum in the Cook Islands, which represents 16 island nations from Australia and New Zeland to tiny Tuvalu and Nauru. Clinton stated that the U.S. plans to strengthen security partnerships throughout the region, which is increasingly falling under China's influence. Addressing perceptions of a rivalry between the two world powers, Clinton said that "the Pacific is big enough for all of us," and that U.S. activity in the region should not be perceived as "a hedge against particular countries."

Officials in Phoenix closed an investigation on Friday of Sheriff Joe Arpaio along with some of his former and current employees and the former Maricopa County attorney, concluding that none had done anything wrong. The parties being investigated were accused of abusing their power by using county credit cards and federal money to pay for salaries, meals, and trips, among other things—allegations that investigators say did not rise to the level of crime. Investigators found "insufficient evidence of criminal intent" and "no evidence of false statements" by the sheriff and his deputy.

It’s enough to make anyone crimson. Harvard students suspected in a cheating scandal involving up to half the undergraduates in a 279-person class say the accusations are uninformed and that, though consulting with fellow students on the class’s four take-home tests may not have been encouraged, it was tolerated and even expected in years past. Graduate students who gave students the answers to questions have also been implicated. If found guilty, the students could face a one-year suspension or the revocation of their diplomas—although if that happens, some have threatened to sue.

After all the finger-pointing about Clint Eastwood's strange scolding of an empty chair at the Republican National Convention on Thursday night, it seems there are finally some answers. After the actor endorsed Romney at a campaign event this summer, the presidential nominee invited him to speak on a bigger stage, leading to the strangest 12 minutes of the GOP’s week in Tampa. Although aides cleared the surprise appearance, no one vetted the speech, and attempts to cut the actor off before his impromptu berating of a piece of furniture were ignored. As for the chair, a senior aide could only say, "The prop person probably thought he was going to sit in it."

A double suicide-bomb attack on Saturday killed eight civilians and four police in addition to wounding at least 50 more individuals at a NATO base in eastern Afghanistan. A security spokesman for the international organization said that no one from the alliance was killed in the attack. The Taliban has taken responsibility for the two bombers, one of whom was on foot and the other in a truck filled with explosives.

It’s a meeting of the minds of the worst kind: Iran and North Korea signed an agreement on Saturday that states the two countries will cooperate in matters of science, including research, the sharing of labs, and student exchanges. Iran’s supreme leader cited “common enemies” as the reason for the agreement. The joint venture encompasses the fields of technology (including biotech and food technology), engineering, renewable energy, the environment, and sustainable agriculture. Iran’s vice president has also expressed interest in closer economic ties with North Korea.

President Obama visited Fort Bliss, Texas, on Friday, where he spoke with families and troops and congratulated veterans on “a job well done.” He also addressed a new executive order, signed Friday, instructing the Veterans Administration to hire 1,600 new mental-health professionals and increase the agency’s crisis-line capacity to allow those in need of professional assistance to meet with a counselor within 24 hours. He also urged those who think they might be suffereing from mental-health issues not to be afraid to seek help. Obama’s last visit to Fort Bliss was two years ago, when he announced an end to combat in Iraq.

A federal judge in the swing state of Ohio ordered on Friday that polling places be open three days before the Nov. 6 election. The ruling, the sixth of its kind this year, acted against new voting rules imposed by a Republican-dominated state legislature and revived early voting on the weekend and Monday before Election Day. During that time in 2008, 93,000 Ohio voters cast their ballots.

Terence Tyler, who allegedly shot and killed two co-workers and himself in the New Jersey supermarket where he worked on Friday, published a tweet three years ago that read, "is it normal to want to kill ALL of ur coworkers?" Tyler, who left the Marines in California soon after, began working at the supermarket recently. The 23-year-old, who was wearing desert camouflage gear when he allegedly opened fire on the Pathmark store in Old Bridge Township, was discharged from the armed forces when he showed signs of depression. Family members say he never got over his mother's death five years ago.

The lawyer for the former Navy SEAL who wrote a book about the killing of Osama Bin Laden fired back at the Department of Defense on Saturday. In response to the federal agency's allegations that the SEAL, who goes by the pseudonym Mark Owen, violated two nondisclosure agreements in penning his book No Easy Day, lawyer Robert Luskin released a statement saying that the book "did not disclose any material that would breach his agreements or put his former comrades at risk ... but he has earned the right to tell his story."