By MICHAEL FALCONE ( @michaelpfalcone )

NOTABLES

• SAYING GOODBYE: Attorney General Eric Holder, the first African-American to serve as the nation's top cop, announced yesterday that he is resigning, ABC's PIERRE THOMAS, MIKE LEVINE, JACK DATE and JACK CLOHERTY report. President Obama made the official announcement at the White House alongside Holder. "Through it all he's shown a deep and abiding fidelity to one of our cherished ideals as a people and that is equal justice under the law," Obama said. Speaking in the East Room of the White House, the president praised Holder for doing a "superb job," ticking off his impressive work to root out corruption and fight violent crime, lower the incarceration rate and protect civil rights. "It's a pretty good track record," Obama said. The announcement comes after his nearly six years at the helm of the department that were marked by both highs and lows for a man who came in to revamp what many considered a demoralized and scandal-plagued institution. http://abcn.ws/YfhHie

• FLASHBACK: WHAT ERIC HOLDER SAID ABOUT THE PRESSURE OF BEING A.G.: Holder talked about the sacrifices he and his family have made during his tenure as attorney general in a recent interview with ABC's PIERRE THOMAS in London. WATCH: http://abcn.ws/1rgLYde

• 4 PEOPLE WHO COULD BE THE NEXT ATTORNEY GENERAL: Since Attorney General Eric Holder announced his resignation, speculation now turns to who could replace him to lead the Justice Department. Holder has said he will continue as attorney general until his successor is confirmed. ABC's ARLETTE SAENZ takes a look at four people President Obama could select as the next attorney general. http://abcn.ws/1vjQNS1

THIS WEEK ON 'THIS WEEK': On Sunday, "This Week" reports the latest on air strikes against ISIS targets in Syria and Iraq. Plus, we go one-on-one with House Speaker John Boehner, only on This Week." And the powerhouse roundtable debates all the week's politics, with Yahoo News national political columnist Matt Bai, ABC News political analyst Matthew Dowd, Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minnesota and ABC News contributor and syndicated radio host Laura Ingraham. Be sure to use #ThisWeek when you tweet about the program. Tune in Sunday: http://abcnews.go.com/thisweek

THE SPEAKER SPEAKS: Speaking with ABC's GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS for "This Week," House Speaker John Boehner reacted to Holder's departure: "Well, good luck to him. I hope the next attorney general will respect the law and bring the Justice Department to a position of dignity that it should have in our system. The politicization that has gone on at the Justice Department over the last four or five years is reprehensible." See more of George's exclusive interview with Speaker Boehner, Sunday on "This Week."

THE ROUNDTABLE

ABC's RICK KLEIN: We'll learn something important about the second half of President Obama's second term before it even begins. Attorney General Eric Holder's announcement that he intends to step down pending the confirmation of a successor raises intriguing questions about the timeline for that successor getting confirmed. There's enough time between now and the election to vet potential candidates, and for the president to make up his mind. The question then becomes: Does he push for confirmation in the current Senate, with its 55 Democratic votes? Or does he wait for January, when that number could well dip below 50? The decision matters on substance, since the president would clearly get more latitude with a preferred selection in a post-nuclear, Democratic-controlled Senate. It may matter more, though, on style: If Republicans do win the Senate in November, does the president want his first major move that impacts that body to be a provocative one?

ABC's JEFF ZELENY: The White House is inclined to move quickly to nominate a new attorney general, leaving open the possibility of Senate confirmation during the lame-duck session after the election. The timing is far from decided - a thorough vetting process is more important than a rush job - but one top administration official points out the search for a replacement did not begin yesterday with Eric Holder's announcement. It's already well underway in the West Wing. If Republicans win control of the Senate, they will push for the hearings and vote to be delayed until early next year. But the attorney general needs only 51 votes to be confirmed, thanks to Harry Reid's nuclear rule changes earlier this year, so Senate Democrats could try and muscle a confirmation through before the end of the year. If Democrats narrowly hold the Senate, which isn't out of the question, the timing is a moot point. No matter how the midterm elections turn out, the president is still more likely to try and find a consensus pick who can win the support of at least some Republicans, which would start the new attorney general on far stronger footing.

BUZZ

with ABC's KIRSTEN APPLETON

THE 5 BIGGEST CONTROVERSIES OF ERIC HOLDER'S TERM AS ATTORNEY GENERAL. Almost as soon as he was confirmed, it was clear that Attorney General Eric Holder's tenure would be beset by controversy. In February 2009, his provocative statement - "in things racial we have always been and I believe continue to be, in too many ways, essentially a nation of cowards" - roiled many. As one of President Obama's longest-serving and most-trusted advisers, Holder, who announced Thursday he would step down from the post he has held for five-and-a-half years, has long been a favorite punching bag for the right. ABC's ERIN DOOLEY, NOAH WEILAND, VERONICA STRACQUALURSI and KIRSTEN APPLETON take a look at the five biggest controversies during his time at the Justice Department. http://abcn.ws/Zfavnp

NOTED: GOP LAWMAKERS MARK ERIC HOLDER ON HIS WAY OUT. It's fair to say the GOP hasn't always seen eye to eye with Eric Holder. After the announcement Thursday that Holder will resign from his position, some Republican lawmakers took to Twitter to offer their "heartfelt" farewells, ABC's ALEX MALLIN reports. http://abcn.ws/YdPOXD

HAPPENING TODAY: Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey will hold a news conference this afternoon. It will be their first public comments together since the airstrike campaign began in Syria.

OBAMA: EBOLA RESPONSE MUST BE 'MARATHON RUN LIKE A SPRINT.' ABC's DEVIN DWYER reports one week after ramping up the American effort to help combat the Ebola outbreak, President Obama went to the United Nations to warn that other nations are lagging behind. "Right now everybody has the best intentions, but people are not putting in the resources that are necessary," Obama said. "It's a marathon, but you have to run it like a sprint." "Do not stand by thinking somehow because of what we've done it's taken care of. It's not," he said. Obama gave an update on the U.S. response he unveiled last week at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, announcing that the new military commander center in Liberia is "up and running." The CDC estimates that the number of Ebola cases in West Africa could balloon to more than 550,000 unless a more robust response is mounted. However, the agency reported last week that if 70 percent of patients get treated soon to curb transmission, the outbreak could end by late January. http://abcn.ws/1v5ARUq

APOLOGY BY FERGUSON POLICE CHIEF NOT HEARD BY MICHAEL BROWN'S PARENTS. ABC's CHRIS GOOD reports family of Michael Brown has not seen the videotaped apology by Police Chief Thomas Jackson of Ferguson, Missouri, their attorney said Thursday. "We haven't heard about it at all, and we'll address that when we find out, get something official from them. We don't have anything official," attorney Benjamin Crump told reporters at the National Press Club. Brown's parents appeared at the National Press Club yesterday with civil rights leaders and the mother of Eric Garner, who was killed by New York City police in a chokehold this summer. Michael Brown was unarmed when he was shot six times and killed by a Ferguson police officer this summer. The teenager's body was left uncovered in the street for almost five hours after the shooting as police awaited the coroner and conducted an investigation. The shooting prompted outraged in the St. Louis suburb and days of protests along with some incidents of looting. "I want to say this to the Brown family: No one who has not experienced the loss of a child can understand what you're feeling. I'm truly sorry for the loss of your son. I'm also sorry that it took so long to remove Michael from the street," Jackson said in a video message posted online Thursday. http://abcn.ws/1pfbYzK

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

WATCH A GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE TAKE A HIT OF POT. One gubernatorial candidate is blazing the campaign trail, quite literally, according to ABC' KIRSTEN APPLETON. Anne Armstrong is a medical cannabis caregiver and patient running as a write-in candidate for Rhode Island governor. "Yes, I do smoke cannabis, and yes, I do inhale," she says in a campaign video on her YouTube page. And just in case there was any doubt, she proves it. http://abcn.ws/1u2zi9F

WHO'S TWEETING?

@SenRubioPress: ICYMI: @MarcoRubio Marks #ContractWithAmerica Anniv., Outlines Agenda To Restore #AmericanDream via @Newsmax_Media: http://nws.mx/1wMYAIg

@mattklewis: Can Rand Paul be the bridge between social conservatives & libertarians? He's gonna try. http://dailycaller.com/2014/09/26/rand-paul-to-stress-fusionism-at-values-voters/ …

@ColleenMNelson: India's prime minister will have dinner with Obama, but he won't eat. Modi will be in the midst of a nine-day fast http://on.wsj.com/1rn1m59

@kakukowski: Dems whine 'poor little me,' but they're outspending GOP on negative ads http://washingtonexaminer.com/dems-whine-poor-little-me-but-theyre-outspending-gop-on-negative-ads/article/2553969 …

@matthewjdowd: Fantastic Friday to you! Surrender is often a word viewed negatively, but within our own selfs surrendering may be only way to positive life