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 - A top general, the secretary of state, the White House and political and religious leaders from around the world have decried a plan by the leader of a small Florida church to burn copies of Islam's holiest text to mark the 9/11 attacks. The Rev. Terry Jones is not backing down.

AP - BP took some of the blame for the Gulf oil disaster in an internal report issued Wednesday, acknowledging among other things that it misinterpreted a key pressure test of the well. But in a possible preview of its legal strategy, it also pointed the finger at its partners on the doomed rig.

AP - A wildfire burning in the canyons and steep mountainsides near Boulder became one of the most destructive blazes in Colorado history Wednesday as authorities determined it had destroyed nearly 150 homes in just three days.

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.

AP - Google Inc. stepped on its Internet search accelerator Wednesday by adding a feature that displays results as soon as people begin typing their requests.

AP - A former bodyguard sued Britney Spears on Wednesday, claiming the singer repeatedly subjected him to "repeated unwanted sexual advances" and harassment.

AP - Maybe Novak Djokovic is growing up.

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.

Reuters - An obscure U.S. Christian pastor whose plan to burn copies of the Koran on September 11 has sparked an international outcry said on Wednesday he would go ahead with the event despite warnings it would endanger American troops in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Reuters - Mexican authorities arrested seven suspected drug cartel members believed to have killed 72 migrants heading to the United States, in what is said to be the worst massacre in the country's escalating drug war, the government said on Wednesday.

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.

Reuters - Fidel Castro said Cuba's economic model no longer works, a U.S.-based journalist reported on Wednesday following interviews with the former president last week.

Reuters - Pakistan will soon charge three men with terrorism in connection with the failed attempt to bomb New York's Times Square, a police official said on Wednesday.

AFP - A small Florida church Wednesday shrugged off a wave of global outrage and vowed to go ahead with a Koran burning ceremony, as local officials drew up plans to tamp down the protest.

AFP - BP sought to spread the blame for the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster Wednesday, setting off a battle of oil industry giants with tens of billions of dollars in potential fines and legal liabilities at stake.