By MICHAEL FALCONE ( @michaelpfalcone )

NOTABLES

• 7 TAKEAWAYS FROM PRESIDENT OBAMA'S UN ADDRESS: President Obama delivered a sweeping 40-minute address to the U.N. General Assembly yesterday noteworthy for its vigorous defense of U.S. leadership in the world at a time of "pervasive unease" while acknowledging recent failures of the American government to live up to its ideals. Obama touched on all the major crises of the day: Shaming Russia for its aggression in Ukraine; sounding a call to action on Ebola; nudging Iran to seize the opportunity for a nuclear deal; and condemning the "cancer of violence extremism" including ISIS. Here are seven highlights from Obama's address, courtesy of ABC's DEVIN DWYER. http://abcn.ws/1DxInLD

• ON THE AGENDA: President Obama will rally other nations to join a more aggressive response to the Ebola outbreak during a speech at the United Nations this morning. According to ABC's DEVIN DWYER and ALI WEINBERG note that the State Department is also introducing a new position - Ebola Coordinator for the department - who will "lead the State Department's outreach to international partners, including foreign governments, to ensure a speedy and truly global response to this crisis." Nancy Powell, who most recently served as the U.S. ambassador to India, will serve in the role.

• THE 9 BEST PHOTOS FROM THIS YEAR'S CLINTON GLOBAL INITIATIVE: Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton wrapped up the final day of the annual Clinton Global Initiative in New York. In case you missed any of the action, ABC's LIZ KREUTZ takes a look at some of the best moments from the gathering. http://abcn.ws/1DxIVRT

HAPPENING TODAY

-IT'S ELECTION DAY IN IOWA. So is tomorrow - and every day until Nov. 4. As early voting begins across Iowa today, ABC's JEFF ZELENY reports, it's important to remember the mid-term election campaign in many parts of the country starts well before Nov. 4. For millions of Americans, the election is no longer on a fixed date. It's increasingly becoming just another task on the fall checklist, a civic duty steeped in the convenience of everyday life. The U.S. Senate race in Iowa is among the handful that will help determine which party wins control of the Senate. For years, the development has been steadily reshaping campaigns, with Election Day becoming Election Month for as much as 40 percent of the electorate. Democrats have been far better at motivating voters to cast their ballots in advance, but Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus will be in Iowa today to highlight the importance of early voting for the GOP. With each passing week, as more and more ballots are in the bank, fewer things are left to chance for the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November.

-THERE'S AN ODD POLITICAL PAIRING on the campaign trail this morning: Sarah Palin and Sen. Pat Roberts in Kansas. Palin is the latest high profile Republican to swoop into the Kansas Senate race to help Roberts, ABC's ARLETTE SAENZ notes. But this is an odd match-up because Palin tends to support more conservative, Tea Party candidates rather than establishment figures like Roberts. The two will be at a pancake breakfast this morning.

BUZZ

with ABC's KIRSTEN APPLETON

WHY THE STATE DEPARTMENT TWEETED 'PHOTOS' OF DEAD ISIS FIGHTERS. Think Again Turn Away - the U.S. State Department's anti-jihad Twitter messaging arm - tweeted warnings and images Wednesday meant to dissuade anyone from being radicalized and becoming a terrorist. ABC's CHRIS GOOD reports the account, @ThinkAgain_DOS, tweeted photos that appear to show U.S. airstrikes against ISIS in Syria and dead bodies being zipped into body bags, apparently ISIS fighters killed in the bombing campaign. The U.S., along with several Arab nations, began a bombing campaign on Monday to eliminate ISIS targets in Syria. The bombs began falling late at night on Sept. 22, in Eastern time, which would be Sept. 23 in Syria-the date referenced on the photos. The images lack context, so it's not certain that the corpses belong to ISIS fighters, who took the photos, or where they were taken. http://abcn.ws/1yrjNMw

A GIDDY BILL CLINTON TALKS LIVE WITH ASTRONAUTS IN SPACE. It was like Christmas morning for Bill Clinton yesterday at the closing session of his foundation's annual meeting in New York City, where he surprised the audience by video-chatting live with astronauts in space, according to ABC's LIZ KREUTZ. Joined on stage by NASA's Cady Coleman, he video-conferenced with astronaut Reid Wiseman, who is in the International Space Station. At one point during the session at the Clinton Global Initiative, Clinton and Coleman even turned around and snapped a selfie with Wiseman, which they then sent to him in space. Wiseman, in turn, tweeted out the photo. http://abcn.ws/1u02cXP

TOP DIPLOMATS WARN: DON'T FORGET ABOUT ASSAD. ABC's ALI WEINBERG reports the international community might be dropping bombs against ISIS and other extremist groups in Syria, but a slew of top diplomats urged the new anti-extremist coalition not to forget about what they see as a root cause of ISIS' growth there: the continued presence and dominance of the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. The US also believes that Assad's removal from power is the only way to achieve a lasting peace in the region, but has lately put that goal on the back-burner in favor of the destruction of ISIS, which they see as a more immediate threat to security in the Middle East and around the world. French Foreign Minister Fabius, whose country on Wednesday endured the beheading of its own citizen, Herve Gourdel, by extremists, said the coalition must treat the threats of both ISIS and Assad with equal urgency. "The barbarism of Daesh [an Arabic name for ISIS] should not lead us to forget the violence and the barbarism of Bashar al-Assad which in fact preceded that of Daesh," he said. http://abcn.ws/1rkPqRz

OBAMA'S UN RESOLUTION ON FOREIGN FIGHTERS EXPLAINED. President Obama presided over a rare and significant session of the U.N. Security Council Wednesday as leaders of 15 nations voted to unanimously adopt a resolution aimed at stopping the flow of foreign terrorist fighters across the globe. It was only the sixth time in the Security Council's 68-year history that member country heads of state convened for a session, and only the second time a U.S. president held the rotating chairmanship. In 2009, Obama led a meeting on nuclear nonproliferation. The White House says the resolution is a critical cornerstone of the long-term, global effort to destroy Islamic extremist groups, like ISIS and al Qaeda. ABC's DEVYN DWYER explains what the resolution is and what it does. http://abcn.ws/1raSphH

REPUBLICANS TRY TO CASH IN ON OBAMA'S 'LATTE SALUTE.' For many Republicans, President Obama's latte may be the hot issue they have been searching for, ABC's KIRSTEN APPLETON reports. The White House posted a video on Instagram on Tuesday of the president stepping off his helicopter and saluting two marines at the bottom of the stairs while holding a cup of coffee (or some other hot beverage) in hand. The video went viral and critics dubbed it the "latte salute" and ridiculed the president for failing to salute properly. Enter the National Republican Senatorial Committee. The GOP group devoted to getting Republicans elected to the U.S. Senate is now fundraising off Obama's controversial salute." Our Commander-in-Chief should take the time to properly salute our nation's heroes in uniform. They do it for him," reads a fundraising appeal posted on a new NRSC website http://semperlatte.com/. "Unfortunately, his disregard is part of a larger pattern. If you want to send a message to this White House that you've had enough, fill out this form and get your free bumper sticker." The bumper sticker reads "Put that Coffee Down! #semperlatte" http://abcn.ws/1uHvOHg

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

WILL PRESIDENT OBAMA DITCH HIS BLACKBERRY FOR THE IPHONE 6 ? ABC's MARY BRUCE reports the president was spotted on the sidelines of United Nations meetings Tuesday eyeing the ambassador of Bahrain's iPhone. According to news reports, the president asked if it was the new iPhone 6 and the ambassador confirmed that indeed it was. The president famously fought to bring his BlackBerry into the Oval Office when he was first elected. He won the battle and was given an upgraded, secure device to become the nation's first e-mailing president. But now it seems he's hoping to upgrade his smartphone." http://abcn.ws/1vi1hkb

IN THE NOTE'S INBOX

RICK PERRY TALKS ENERGY, CLIMATE ISSUES. Texas GOP Gov. Rick Perry delivers a speech tonight at 8:30 p.m. Eastern at the Texas Public Policy Foundation's "At the Crossroads: Energy & Climate Policy Summit" in Houston. The topic: How America should be an "arsenal of energy" for peaceful nations. Perry is expected to strongly criticize EPA regulations and the Obama administration's "failure to formulate a national energy strategy." LIVE STREAM: http://bit.ly/ZesURb MORE ON THE SUMMIT: http://bit.ly/1DypjNn

WHO'S TWEETING?

@MarquardtA: At least ten booms around Ayn al-Arab/Kobane in last several hours. A few plumes visible. Activists tell us Kurd fighting w/ ISIS. #Syria

@emilyrs: I spent two days with Carly Fiorina in NH last weekend, and she said she's open to a bid for national office. http://goo.gl/YIcjAp

@JillDLawrence: It's getting crowded on the left. Dem nomination race might be fun after all. My latest @nationalmemo @CreatorsNation http://bit.ly/1qxGPqF

@aterkel: Dennis Kucinich blasts Congress for not having a war vote, saying there's a "constitutional crisis" http://huff.to/1sZxp9q

@LizMair: Good column by @mattklewis even though libertarians are clearly right about everything and conservatives are not. http://theweek.com/article/index/268686/why-the-libertarian-boom-is-bad-for-traditional-conservatives …