AP - Will Esposito describes an otherworldly scene after a wildfire tore through a canyon in the Colorado foothills: Some houses in his neighborhood burning while others stood intact, a propane tank shooting flames into the sky, and an eerie quiet interrupted only by firefighting helicopters and airplanes.

AP - In an internal report released Wednesday, BP blames itself, other companies' workers and a complex series of failures for the massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill and the drilling rig explosion that preceded it.

AP - Most of the country will see a colder-than-usual winter while summer and spring will be relatively cool and dry, according to the time-honored, complex calculations of the "Old Farmer's Almanac."

AP - Authorities are searching for possible victims after two mobile homes and a house in central Texas were swept away by floodwaters dumped by the remnants of Tropical Storm Hermine (hur-MEEN').

AP - Suddenly, the race for Chicago mayor is on. Mayor Richard M. Daley has thrown the competition for the city's top job wide open by announcing he won't run for a seventh term, ending 21 years of token opposition and prompting speculation about who's next in line to lead the nation's third largest city.

AP - Suddenly, the race for Chicago mayor is on. Mayor Richard M. Daley has thrown the competition for the city's top job wide open by announcing he won't run for a seventh term, ending 21 years of token opposition and prompting speculation about who's next in line to lead the nation's third largest city.

AP - President Barack Obama's health care initiative is getting toxic on the campaign trail.

Reuters - Stubbornly high unemployment and signs of persistent weakness in the housing market have prompted economists to further cut their outlook for U.S. growth in the second half of the year, a Reuters poll showed on Wednesday.

AFP - US stocks were slightly up on Wednesday after news of a successful Portuguese debt auction eased the previous day's concerns about the European economy.

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

AP - President Barack Obama is voicing unwavering opposition to extending Bush-era tax breaks for the nation's wealthiest families even for a year or two, drawing a sharp contrast with Republicans eight weeks before the November elections.

AP - President Barack Obama is voicing unwavering opposition to extending Bush-era tax breaks for the nation's wealthiest families even for a year or two, drawing a sharp contrast with Republicans eight weeks before the November elections.

AP - Police Chief Charlie Beck pleaded for calm and vowed his department would conduct an exhaustive investigation into a bicycle officer's fatal shooting of a drunken day laborer with a knife.

AP - The lead BP PLC investigator is saying that eight separate failures had to occur for the company's deepwater well to unleash the largest offshore oil spill in history.

AP - German exports dipped by 1.5 percent in July compared with the previous month but were still up a strong 18.7 percent over the same month last year, official data showed Wednesday.

AFP - US President Barack Obama Wednesday threw down the gauntlet to Republicans on the economy, as the lagging recovery and crippling unemployment threaten Democrats with a mid-term election meltdown.

Reuters - Some Tea Partiers admit mistakes were made. Others are quick to describe the movement's recent efforts in the political arena as not quite ready for prime time.

AP - Shares in BP PLC tracked slightly higher after the release of an internal report on the disastrous oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico that deflects much of the blame onto rig owner Transocean Ltd. and contractor Halliburton Co.

Reuters - President Barack Obama will push billions of dollars in new business tax incentives and spending on big construction projects on Wednesday, as he tries to convince a balky Congress to pass measures intended to spur the economy and create jobs.

Reuters - President Barack Obama will push billions of dollars in new business tax incentives and spending on big construction projects on Wednesday, as he tries to convince a balky Congress to pass measures intended to spur the economy and create jobs.

AP - Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton asserted Wednesday that the Obama administration's approach to foreign policy is beginning to pay important dividends.

Reuters - Stock index futures rose on Wednesday tracking a turnaround in European stocks and ahead of comments from the Federal Reserve on the state of the economy.

AP - House Republican Leader John Boehner onWednesday proposed a two-year freeze on all tax rates and a cut in government spending to the levels of 2008, before a deep recession took hold of the economy.

AP - House Republican Leader John Boehner onWednesday proposed a two-year freeze on all tax rates and a cut in government spending to the levels of 2008, before a deep recession took hold of the economy.

Reuters - China and the United States said on Wednesday that their sometimes rocky relationship is sounder after talks in Beijing, with both putting an optimistic face on ties that have been jolted by economic and security tensions.

Reuters - Americans applied to buy homes at the highest pace last week since May, but more than 8 of every 10 loan requests was for a refinancing, Mortgage Bankers Association data show on Wednesday.

AP - Despite two terms as governor of New Mexico and recent visits to 26 states, most Americans have never heard of Gary Johnson.

Reuters - Japan's finance minister acknowledged currency intervention is an option for the first time since the yen's 14 percent rise since May, and a candidate to become prime minister sanctioned solo intervention as the yen jumped to a 15-year high versus the dollar.

Reuters - Foster's Group Ltd , Australia's largest brewer, rejected a private equity offer worth up to $2.5 billion for its wine business as too cheap, sending its shares up as much as 6 percent on hopes of higher bids.

AP - Investigators found no explosives aboard a Los Angeles-bound Thai Airways flight in which a bomb threat was found scrawled on a bathroom mirror, the FBI said Wednesday.