Annmarie Fertoli

President Barack Obama delivered remarks before the United Nations General Assembly this week, discussing Middle East peace talks during speech on Wednesday night, and delivering a longer address to the assembly on Thursday morning.

A fast-moving thunderstorm swept across the New York area late this afternoon, pounding the region with heavy rain and gusting winds that caused considerable damage.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and U.S. special envoy George Mitchell are wrapping up a visit to the Middle East for a second round of peace talks this week.

President Barack Obama held a news conference at the White House on Friday, fielding questions from the press on topics ranging from the economy to national security to peace talks in the Middle East.

President Barack Obama reinforced U.S. support for achieving peace in the Middle East, as Israeli and Palestinian leaders met directly at the White House for the first time in nearly two years this week.

The U.S. Coast Guard rescued 13 people following an oil rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico on Thursday morning. The oil platform is about 100 miles off the coast of Louisiana.

With waves six to eight feet high, Retired Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen says efforts are on "weather hold," as crews prepare final operations on the damaged well in the Gulf of Mexico.

President Barack Obama is urging Congress to act on a bill he says will benefit small businesses by creating additional tax cuts and making credit more readily available. That, he said, would make it easier for small businesses to invest, expand, and increase hiring.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke says the nation's economic recovery has come a long way since the 2008 financial collapse. But, speaking in Jackson Hole, Wyo. on Friday, he also acknowledged that there's "still some way to travel."

Renewed flooding swelled the Indus River in Pakistan on Friday, forcing thousands more people from their homes, according to The Associated Press.

Iraqi authorities say at least 54 people have been killed in the country, following a series of attacks this morning. The Associated Press reports that insurgent militants targeted Iraqi security forces throughout the country, launching suicide and car bomb attacks.

Authorities say at least 32 people were killed when militants attacked a hotel in Somalia's capital city of Mogadishu today. Armed gunmen attacked the hotel, and at least one of the militants blew himself up, according to The Associated Press. Authorities believe al-Shabab, a terrorist group linked to al-Qaida, is responsible.

Bad weather continues to hamper relief efforts.

BP is looking toward its final fix to seal the damaged well in the Gulf of Mexico.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates unveiled a series of cost-saving measures meant to trim the Pentagon budget by $100 billion over the next five years.

An appeal of a federal judge's decision to overturn California's same-sex marriage ban was filed on Thursday.

The U.S. Senate has approved a $26 billion jobs bill, clearing the way for a House vote on the measure. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has already said lawmakers will return from their August recess to vote on the measure next week, according to The Associated Press.

BP planned to start pumping cement into its blown-out oil well in the Gulf of Mexico on Thursday.

Mitch Miller, perhaps best known for his 1960's series Sing Along With Mitch, died Saturday at the age of 99.

BP is expected to finally attempt its so-called static kill to permanently seal the well at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico this week.