The war in Syria must end, Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi said in his debut speech Wednesday at the United Nations. The newly elected president said that fighting in Syria has killed at least 30,000 people, making it the “tragedy of the age.” He also called on the other nations in attendance to join him in his quest to stop the fighting, pledging not to rest until it stops. Morsi also spoke about the controversial anti-Islam video that sparked riots across Muslim countries, condemning the videos as obscenity but also decrying the violence in response to it. Relations between Egypt and the United States are tenuous after the embassy strike, with President Obama recently commenting that he wouldn’t consider Egypt an “ally” or an “enemy.”

Talk about a shift in tone. GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney is dialing back expectations that his tax-cut plan would decrease voters’ bills by a substantial amount. Campaigning in Ohio Wednesday, Romney stressed his desire to cut the deficit, telling voters they shouldn’t “be expecting a huge cut in taxes because I’m also going to lower deductions and exemptions.” The new message may be an attempt to woo independent voters in the state, many of whom are concerned about government debt. Romney’s campaign has argued that by expanding the federal income tax base and cutting deductions for other tax payers, the country can eradicate the deficit and afford tax breaks for higher-earning Americans. Non-partisan budget groups haven’t been able to verify the candidate’s claim because Romney hasn’t identified which loopholes he would close.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is the highest-ranking Obama administration to suggest that Al Qaeda was behind the attack in Libya that killed Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three embassy workers on Sept. 11. “Now with a larger safe haven and increased freedom to maneuver, terrorists are seeking to extend their reach and their networks in multiple directions,” Clinton said at a United Nations meeting on the North African security crisis Wednesday. “And they are working with other violent extremists to undermine the democratic transitions under way in North Africa, as we tragically saw in Benghazi.” Clinton's comments come as sources tell CNN that FBI agents are still investigating the attack in Libya from afar, and have not been granted access to secure the crime scene.

The hackers win again. A group out of the Middle East is showcasing the vulnerability of America’s biggest banks by overloading their systems and leaving many customers unable to log into their accounts. The group—who consider themselves “cyber fighters”—warned the likes of Wells Fargo, Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase of their intentions beforehand, but the banks were still unable to stop the attacks. On Tuesday, the hacking group announced that they will not stop the attacks until the anti-Muslim video that sparked riots earlier this month is removed from American websites. Investigators say the attacks are very large, but unsophisticated, leaving customers’ personal information uncompromised .

As world leaders gathered at the United Nations to speak about ending violence in Syria, opposition forces reported the deadliest day in conflict's history. At least 343 Syrians are reported to have died in fighting accross the country Wednesday. Two explosions went off in Damascus, and gunfire between the rebel fighters and regime forces lasted for over three hours. Rebels in the country detonated two car bombs at President Bashar al-Assad’s army headquarters, killing at least five people, including a reporter for Iranian television."The staggering numbers are horrific but the world also needs to know that there is increasing sexual torture and more children being tortured," a spokeswoman for the Local Coordination Committees of Syria told reporters.

Julian Assange spoke to a panel of delegates at the United Nations General Assembly via video Wednesday, criticizing the United States for involvement in the Arab Spring uprisings, and demanding  an end to WikiLeaks prosecution. “It is time for the U.S. to cease its persecution of WikiLeaks, our people, and our sources,” he said. The WikiLeaks founder remains holed up in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, where he has been granted asylum and fears extradition to Sweden or the United States. The British Foreign Office has vowed to arrest Assange once he leaves embassy grounds. Ecuador’s foreign minister pushed for England to oblige his decision, saying, “Every country must respect the right of the country granting asylum and the person who was granted it.”

It’s not just observers of Yom Kippur who are thinking about fasting this Wednesday. Mitt Romney’s Mormon supporters are hoping that some divine intervention will help the Republican’s struggling candidacy. A new chain email that is not officially endorsed by the church calls for Mormons to fast on Sept. 30 and is circulating among the faithful in Utah, California, Nevada, and Colorado. The author (whose name is redacted) hopes that by forgoing food and water for 24 hours, participants will bring special blessings to the Romney campaign in advance of the debates, which start Oct. 3. “I know that fasting and praying brings about miracles,” the email reads. Just a suggestion: index cards could also be helpful.

Now that’s company loyalty. Google executive Fabio Jose Silva Coelho was detained by Brazilian police Wednesday because his employer failed to remove inflammatory YouTube videos that a judge ruled violate the country’s election statutes. Brazil’s strict laws restrict criticism of political candidates, and the government has been cracking down on alleged violations in light of October’s municipal elections. Meanwhile, in a separate case, another Brazilian judge has ordered that Google take down clips of the ‘Innocence of Muslims,’ a provocative film that has caused riots in the Middle East.

Fuhgeddaboudit? Don’t say that to officials who plan to dig for Jimmy Hoffa’s remains this Friday in Roseville, Mich. Ever since the Teamsters boss mysteriously disappeared in 1975, authorities have conducted hundreds of failed searches for his body. But now Roseville Police Chief James Berlin says he’s received “credible” information regarding the whereabouts of Hoffa’s remains. The individual who tipped off the police department said Hoffa may have been buried under a driveway in a residential neighborhood of Roseville. The state’s Department of Environmental Quality has since found “an anomaly” in the driveway, prompting police to make plans to return to the site and take a soil sample. Berlin has said he plans to notify the FBI, which has led the 30-year-old murder investigation.

Maybe we’ll be able to read her smile? Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa may be one of the most recognizable pieces of art in the world, and now, an art foundation that shares the famous painting’s name announced Wednesday it has definitive proof the artist painted a similar portrait 10 years earlier.  Known as the “Isleworth Mona Lisa,” the newly-authenticated painting is also of a woman with a coy smile, but its larger and has a bolder color palate. Experts who have studied the paintings say the woman in the Isleworth version is in her 20s, while the well-known Mona Lisa is in her 30s.

The designer drug known as “bath salts,” or MDPV, has been banned in Canada under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. Canada’s federal government announced Wednesday that the illegalization of MDPV is effective immediately, and that the drug is now classified in the same category as heroin,  methamphetamine, and cocaine. The ban follows police warnings across the country in recent months about the spread of the synthetic drug from the U.S. Earlier this year, President Obama signed a bill banning the possession, production, and sales of more than two dozen hallucinogenic ingredients found in the drug and several U.S. states have banned it outright.

This upcoming Sunday marks the end of the fiscal year and the fourth straight time that the federal deficit has surpassed $1 trillion—posing a problem for President Obama, who campaigned in 2008 on the promise that he’d bring the federal budget deficit down by half by the end of his first term. Obama’s already tackled the coming criticism head-on by explaining that the deep deficit—which he’s quick to remind he inherited—will, in fact, be cut in half, but a year later than planned. Solving the deficit problem is also the one key issue that, according to polls, voters feel Romney can handle better than Obama.

No, they weren’t cheering a baseball team. Several high-ranking staffers for Sen. Scott Brown were caught on video at a rally this week chanting Indian “war whoops” and making “tomahawk chops" in Boston. The staffers caught in the act—including Brown’s deputy chief of staff, constituent service counsel, and state director—were most likely referencing Senator Brown’s Democratic rival Elizabeth Warren, who has been embroiled with questions recently over whether she improperly claimed Indian heritage to secure plum jobs in academia. In response to the video, Brown said he doesn’t condone his staffer’s actions, but thinks “the real offense is that [Warren] said she was white and then checked the box saying she is Native American, and then she changed her profile in the law directory once she made her tenure."

Federal authorities gave Los Angeles a little reminder Tuesday that not everyone is down with legalized marijuana by raiding several cannabis shops and sending warnings to even more. The U.S. Attorney’s office made clear that this was just the beginning of a widespread federal crackdown on marijuana shops across L.A. “We couldn’t do all of L.A. at once,” said a spokesman for the office. “There’s just too many stores.” Federal authorities have been working their way through Southern California since last October, beginning in Orange County and now finally are making it to Los Angeles.

Ohio students and middle-class voters can expect a visit from both presidential candidates this week, as Mitt Romney and Barack Obama are eagerly seeking the support of these crucial voting groups in one of the most vulnerable battleground states. On Wednesday the president will hold rallies at two state universities while Romney’s tour bus heads to three of the state’s major metropolitan areas to appeal to their middle-class citizens. Ohio opens its early-voting polls on Oct. 2, and it’s evident that both Romney and Obama have kicked it into high gear, as the Midwestern state is the setting of more TV campaign ads than even Florida.   

Mohamed Morsi, Eygpt’s first democratically elected president, will make his debut at the United Nations General Assembly Wednesday. Egypt’s key Muslim Brotherhood figure is one of two leaders who made their way to power following the Arab Spring and will address the GA’s annual gathering for the first time this week. Morsi is expected to discuss his plans for democratizing Egypt and minimizing poverty. Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, elected in February, will also speak Wednesday.

Anna Gristina—also known as the Hockey Mom Madam—pleaded guilty on Tuesday to promoting prostitution in a Manhattan court—and prosecutors were unable to create a viable public corruption case against her. While her plea deal includes no jail time, Gristina could still be deported to the United Kingdom. Still, she was ecstatic leaving the court room, proclaiming, “I won!” She conceded that the prosecutors “got what they wanted,”—Gristina confessed to sending a pair of hookers to an undercover cop last summer. “But I won, too,” she said since the four months she’s already served plus good behavior will make it unlikely that she’ll have to serve any more jail time.

The battle between China and Japan over a group of East China Sea islands continues as Taiwan enters the mix. Taiwanese fishing boats, backed by eight of the Taiwanese Coast Guard Administration ships, approached the disputed islands Tuesday, only to be greeted by martial fire from Japanese Coast Guard vessels. China’s and Japan’s foreign ministers spent a little time discussing the dispute among themselves while at the U.N. General Assembly Tuesday. Taiwan’s recent attempt to also claim ownership over the islands is considered good news by the Chinese, who think Taiwan will eventually be reunited with the mainland. Earlier this week, Chinese ships entered the disputed water, sparking an official protest from Japan.

Damascus was the site of two bombing attacks Wednesday, as the area near the Syrian Army and Air Force command headquarters went up in black smoke. The rebellion against President Bashar al-Assad continues to intensify, and the rebel Free Syrian Army has already taken ownership of the attack. Yet while the rebel group has claimed multiple deaths, both the opposition group and the government have a tendency to exaggerate successes and losses.

The NFL and the referee’s union have reached an agreement in principle to end the lockout, ESPN reported on Wednesday, and the officials may be on the field this weekend. The report has not yet been confirmed, as the NFL insisted there has been “no compromise” in the negotiations. League sources said it would take a week to get the 121 league referees trained on the new rules implemented last season, but the NFL Referees Association said the refs are trained and ready to pass physicals. A source said both sides are discussing getting them back on field for this week's games. The lockout is being blamed for a bad call that resulted in the Seattle Seahawks victory on Monday night.

Two of Rupert Murdoch’s former senior executives gathered at a central London courthouse Wednesday only to hear from the judge that their trial over phone-hacking charges won’t take place for a whole year. The two onetime execs were joined by five journalists and a private investigator, also accused of involvement with the hacking scandal—all of whom simply confirmed their identities at Wednesday’s hearing and then went on their way. After he left News of the World, Andy Coulson, one of the accused former executives, was hired as Prime Minister David Cameron’s communications director, sparking questions about Cameron’s judgment. 

The U.S. is boycotting Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s speech Wednesday at the United Nations after he made anti-Israel comments earlier in the week. Ahmadinejad’s speech takes place on Yom Kippur, one of the holiest of days of the Jewish calendar, something the U.S. spokesman said is “particularly unfortunate.” A British diplomatic source said they would send only a “low level” presence to the speech and that officials had been instructed to walk out.

Dominique Strauss Kahn’s lawyers have asked an appeals court in France to dismiss charges that their client allegedly helped procure prostitutes for sex parties. A ruling on the matter has been put off until Nov. 28. The former IMF chief does not deny attending the sex parties—he has admitted to attending orgies in France and the U.S. But he denies knowing that the women who participated were paid. The case, which has become known as the Carlton Affair in France, also implicates many other prominent business leaders and police officials who allegedly participated in the parties and prostitution ring.

Apple fans, rejoice! It turns out that Google is indeed developing a maps application for the iPhone and iPad, which they’re planning to roll out by the end of the year. Many iPhone 5 and iOS 6 users have complained that Apple’s new map alternative pales in comparison to Google Maps. But the negative feedback has nothing to do with Google’s latest map developments, according to sources involved with the new effort. Apple’s decision to use its own mapping system was made more than a year before the company’s agreement to use Google Maps expired, leaving Google scrambling to replace its old app with a brand-new one.

J.K. Rowling may be on the verge of publishing her first novel for adults, but that does not mean she won’t consider returning to the Harry Potter universe at some point in the future. Rowling recently told the BBC, “Where Harry’s story is concerned, I’m done.” But she added, “Now, if I had a fabulous idea that came out of that world, because I loved writing it, I would do it.” And Rowling is also considering revising two unnamed Harry Potter books because she was not entirely satisfied with them. “I had to write them on the run,” she said. “And there were times when it was really tough. And I read them, and I think, ‘Oh God, maybe I’ll go back and do a director’s cut,’ I don’t know.”

This is quite the start to the General Assembly. Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called out “uncivilized Zionists” as a “continued threat” to Iran. President Ahmadinejad insisted a “new world order” is needed and cited the world’s economic problems, insisting that “capitalism” had used up the earth’s “resources” and caused climate change. The U.S. boycotted the speech since it falls on Yom Kippur, one of the holiest days of the Jewish calendar.

A deep-walleted Hong Kong property mogul said he’ll sign a check for $65 million to anyone—scratch that, any man—who will woo his lesbian daughter away from her girlfriend and marry her. “Gigi is a very good woman with both talents and looks,” said Cecil Chao Sze-tsung of his daughter. “She is devoted to her parents, is generous, and does volunteer work.” And while daddy hopes his 33-year-old daughter’s impressive resume—she’s a graduate of the University of Manchester—may entice a male, Chao said he’s less picky about the guy his money may attract. “I don’t mind whether he is rich or poor,” Chao said of any suitors. “The important thing is that he is generous and kindhearted.” Also, that he’s a dude.

Madonna isn’t stupid. That’s what she’s saying after provocative comments she made at a concert Monday night in Washington, D.C., led some to wonder whether the pop supernova thought the president was Muslim. “Y’all better vote for [expletive] Obama, OK?” she shouted at fans in the audience. “For better or worse, all right, we have a black Muslim in the White House, OK?” In a statement Wednesday, Madge clarified that she “was being ironic on stage”: “Yes, I know Obama is not a Muslim—though I know that plenty of people in this country think he is.”

President Obama isn’t the only one outraged over a officiating call that gave the Seattle Seahawks a win over the Green Bay Packers during Monday night’s NFL game. Vegas casino owner Derek Stevens, of The D Las Vegas, decided to give angry gamblers who lost money on the game their cash back, saying he was “disgusted” with the ruling and sympathized with the losers. “I know exactly how it would feel if I was laying the number and I saw what happened,” he said. The move may seem magnanimous but just remember: the house always wins.

Protests broke out and led to clashes with police in Athens and Madrid on Wednesday. 70,000 people marched on Parliament in Athens and the demonstration deteriorated when anarchists began throwing gasoline bombs and pieces of concrete at riot police. Police in turn fired tear gas at demonstrators. Protesters have been demonstrating against planned spending cuts of $15 billion, which are required if Greece is to receive its next round of bailout funds, without which the country could go bankrupt in weeks. Riots also broke out in Madrid on Wednesday, where Spain's prime minister Mariano Rajoy is considering requesting a European bailout and has already proposed harshed budgetary measures for 2013.

“Moon River” singer Andy Williams died Tuesday at the age of 84. The cause was bladder cancer. Williams was one of the most popular singers of the 1960s after recording “Moon River” in 1961, written by Johnny Mercer and Henry Mancini. In the 1970s and ’80s, he sang on Christmas specials and hosted the Grammys, the Golden Globes, and the People’s Choice Awards. In the late 1970s he made headlines when he stood by his ex-wife, French-born singer and dancer Claudine Longet, who was charged with fatally shooting her boyfriend in Aspen, Colo.

The worst West Nile virus outbreak in years has claimed another 13 lives. In the past week, more than 400 new cases were identified, and the death toll rose from 134 to 147 people, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Federal health officials say there have been 3,545 cases reported so far in 2012, but that the rate of infection appears to be slowing. Roughly 38 percent of the cases were reported in Texas. Mississippi, Michigan, South Dakota, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and California have also seen a large number of patients with the virus.

High-school chemistry students, beware. Japanese scientists say they have created one of the elements still missing from the periodic table. The elusive element 113—an atom with 113 protons—has to be manmade because it doesn't occur naturally on Earth. On Wednesday, researchers at the RIKEN Nishina Center for Accelerator-Based Science announced the successful creation of the element for the first time. If the atom withstands scrutiny, it will be the first element discovered by an Asian country, giving Japan naming rights. So far, only American, Russian, and German scientists have had the honor. There are about 20 synthetic elements, the first of which was created in 1940.