Reuters - President Barack Obama said on Wednesday that Democrats risked punishment in November's congressional elections if they allow the vote to be just about the U.S. economy, rather than the two parties' policies.

AP - The top two national security advisers in President Barack Obama's Cabinet on Wednesday denounced plans by a small church in Florida to burn the Muslim holy book to commemorate the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, saying it would inflame tensions and put Americans abroad at risk.

AP - Massive flooding that has submerged vast swaths of Pakistan has stretched thin the Pakistani military and will hamper its fight against terrorists, the country's ambassador to the U.S. said Wednesday.

AP - Massive flooding that has submerged vast swaths of Pakistan has stretched thin the Pakistani military and will hamper its fight against terrorists, the country's ambassador to the U.S. said Wednesday.

AP - The massacre of 18 people in a shoe factory in northern Honduras was likely an attempt by the assailants to eliminate sympathizers of a rival gang even though none of the victims had criminal records, authorities said Wednesday.

AP - Politically weakened but refusing to bend, President Barack Obama insisted Wednesday that Bush-era tax cuts be cut off for the wealthiest Americans, joining battle with Republicans — and some fellow Democrats — just two months before bruising midterm elections.

AP - Politically weakened but refusing to bend, President Barack Obama insisted Wednesday that Bush-era tax cuts be cut off for the wealthiest Americans, joining battle with Republicans — and some fellow Democrats — just two months before bruising midterm elections.

AFP - US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday called Sudanese leaders in a bid to defuse what she called the "ticking time bomb" of an inevitable secession of the country?s restive and oil-rich south.

AP - Firefighters encountered a tangle of rattlesnakes, downed power lines and combustible propane tanks Wednesday as authorities looked for eight people missing in a wildfire that has destroyed dozens of homes.

AP - For a city already struggling with high unemployment, widespread foreclosures and deep budget cuts, here was another crisis: Wind-whipped fires tearing through row after row of homes, some of them abandoned.

Time.com - In North Korea, the first congress in 30 years of the Workers' Party of Korea may be imminent, suggesting that a succession is being prepared to hand power from Kim Jong Il to his son Kim Jong Un

AP - Police mobilized Wednesday to avoid more mayhem on the streets after being taken by surprise at consecutive nights of violent protests sparked by the fatal shooting of a knife-wielding man.

AP - The group of Muslims planning to build a 13-story Islamic center and mosque near ground zero appears plagued by divisions that raise questions about the future of the project, with one major investor saying he is prepared to sell some or all of the site if the price is right.

Reuters - Stocks rose on Wednesday as investors latched onto positive news out of Europe in the latest in a string of low-volume sessions suggesting little confidence in market direction.

AP - The remnants of Tropical Storm Hermine caused widespread flooding in northern Texas and began buffeting southern Oklahoma on Wednesday, killing at least two people and submerging low-lying pockets of Arlington under several feet of water.

Reuters - President Barack Obama, fighting to keep Democrats in charge of Congress, said on Wednesday the United States could not afford to extend Bush-era tax cuts for the rich and accused Republicans of being fiscally irresponsible.

AP - General Motors' new CEO told employees that the automaker needs to make cars and trucks that are better than those of competitors such as BMW.

AP - Months of political jockeying began in earnest Wednesday as speculation grew about who would try to succeed Mayor Richard M. Daley as leader of the nation's third-largest city, including one-time aide and current White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel.

AP - Months of political jockeying began in earnest Wednesday as speculation grew about who would try to succeed Mayor Richard M. Daley as leader of the nation's third-largest city, including one-time aide and current White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel.

AP - The Florida pastor who plans to burn the Quran on the anniversary of 9/11 is rooted in Pentecostal tradition that believes Christians are engaged in a modern-day spiritual battle with evil.

AP - European Union nations and the continent's biggest human rights organization slammed Iran on Wednesday for its plan to stone a woman convicted of adultery, while Iran's ambassador to the Vatican said there is "hope" the punishment could be eased upon review by Iranian authorities.

AP - The Twitterverse is full of far more mysterious forces than indecipherable trending topics and Lady Gaga.

AP - The leader of a small Florida church that espouses anti-Islam philosophy said Wednesday he was determined to burn copies of the Quran on Sept. 11, despite pressure from the White House, religious leaders and others to call it off.