Top Headlines

Pressure rises on pastor who wants to burn Quran (AP)

AP - The government turned up the pressure Tuesday on the head of a small Florida church who plans to burn copies of the Quran on Sept. 11, warning him that doing so could endanger U.S. troops and Americans everywhere.

Grim outlook for Democrats puts House up for grabs (AP)

AP - Their control of the House in peril, Democrats are scratching to survive in races all across the country. Disgruntled voters, a sluggish economy and vanishing enthusiasm for President Barack Obama have put 75 seats or more — the vast majority held by Democrats — at risk of changing hands.

Authorities: 92 structures destroyed in Colo. fire (AP)

AP - David Myers knew it was time to leave when he looked out into the forest and spotted bright red flames towering skyward. Then came a blinding cloud of smoke and a deafening roar as the fire ripped through the wilderness.

FBI: Flight lands in Los Angeles after bomb threat (AP)
AP - FBI officials say a Thai Airways flight from Bangkok has landed safely at Los Angeles International Airport after a written bomb threat was found in a bathroom on the plane.

UN reports over 500 rapes in eastern Congo (AP)

AP - The United Nations reported Tuesday that more than 500 systematic rapes were committed by armed combatants in eastern Congo since late July — more than double the number previously reported — and accepted partial responsibility for not protecting citizens.

Floods leave tens of thousands homeless in Mexico (AP)

AP - Weeks of torrential rains have unleashed flooding in huge swaths of southern Mexico, forcing tens of thousands of people from their homes.

WTC steel column installed at ground zero (AP)

AP - Officials hoisted a 70-foot piece of World Trade Center steel at ground zero Tuesday and vowed to open the Sept. 11 memorial by next year, although they acknowledged that the ongoing construction at the site would limit where and how the public could visit.

Car booster seats make gains in insurance testing (AP)
AP - Car booster seats have made strides in ensuring a proper fit for children in the back seat, according to a review by the insurance industry.

Report: Castro blasts Ahmadinejad as anti-Semitic (AP)

AP - Fidel Castro criticized Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for what he called his anti-Semitic attitudes and questioned his own actions during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 during interviews with an American journalist he summoned to Havana to discuss fears of global nuclear war.

Orioles deny CC Sabathia his 20th victory (AP)

AP - Jake Arrieta pitched efficiently into the seventh inning, Adam Jones had a two-run single in a three-run first and the Baltimore Orioles denied their nemesis, CC Sabathia, his 20th victory with a 6-2 win Tuesday night over the New York Yankees.

Obama pitches spending and tax incentives in Ohio (Reuters)

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.

U.S. says not considering NATO Afghan troop request (Reuters)

Reuters - The United States does not plan to contribute to a NATO request for 2,000 troops for the Afghan war, the Pentagon said on Tuesday, even as the head of the alliance held out the possibility of U.S. participation.

U.S. religious leaders condemn "anti-Muslim" frenzy (Reuters)

Reuters - U.S. religious leaders on Tuesday condemned an "anti-Muslim frenzy" in the United States, including plans by a Florida church to burn a Koran on September 11, an act a top general said could endanger American troops abroad.

BP probe to spread blame for spill: report (Reuters)

Reuters - BP Plc's internal probe of the deadly April 20 blowout that unleashed the massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill will assign blame to BP as well as other companies involved in the well's operations, The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.

China-U.S. ties improving, Hu tells White House team (Reuters)

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.

U.S. judge refuses to lift ban on government stem cell funds (Reuters)
Reuters - A U.S. judge refused on Tuesday to lift a ban on federal funding of human embryonic stem cell research despite Obama administration warnings it would set back key research and cost more than a thousand jobs.

U.S. team to discuss North Korea in Seoul, Tokyo, Beijing (Reuters)

Reuters - A U.S. government team will travel to Seoul, Tokyo and Beijing next week to discuss North Korea but has no plans to visit the poor, isolated state or meet its officials, the State Department said Tuesday.

Pressure mounts in U.S. against Koran-burning plan (Reuters)
Reuters - Civil and military leaders stepped up calls on Tuesday for an obscure U.S. pastor to drop his plans to burn copies of the Koran on the anniversary of the September 11 attacks, as fears grew it would fan religious hatred.

US appears powerless to stop Koran-burning ceremony (AFP)

AFP - The United States appeared powerless to stop a Florida church from burning hundreds of Korans on the anniversary of 9/11 despite fears of global repercussions.

Toll from Guatemala, Mexico landslides rises above 50 (AFP)

AFP - The toll from the heaviest rains in living memory in Guatemala and Mexico rose above 50, as Guatemalan officials called off the search for 15 more corpses over safety fears.