Reuters - President George W. Bush on Wednesday dropped a threat to veto a housing rescue bill, clearing the way for measures meant to shore up the worst U.S. home market since the Great Depression.

AP - NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is monitoring the ongoing rift between the Green Bay Packers and Brett Favre.

AP - Madame Tussauds unveiled a waxwork of Amy Winehouse on Wednesday complete with her signature beehive, black eyeliner and a bright yellow minidress.

AP - The country slogged through slower economic growth and rising prices during the summer, packing a double whammy to people and businesses alike.

AP - Radovan Karadzic's secret life included a mistress, a bogus family he claimed he left behind in the U.S., and frequent visits to a Belgrade pub called "The Madhouse," acquaintances said Wednesday.

AP - Republican John McCain on Wednesday credited the recent $10-a-barrel drop in the price of oil to President Bush's lifting of a presidential ban on offshore drilling, an action he has been advocating in his presidential campaign.

AP - It will be left to the next administration to decide on any sizable troop increase for Afghanistan, the Pentagon spokesman said Wednesday.

AP - Congress is moving quickly to pass a housing package that aims to help 400,000 strapped homeowners avoid foreclosures and prevent Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from collapsing.

AP - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama defended his proposal to negotiate with Iran Wednesday and said he would use "big sticks and big carrots" to persuade the country's leaders not to develop nuclear weapons.

AP - Hurricane Dolly gathered strength and slammed into the South Texas coast Wednesday with punishing rain and winds of 100 mph, blowing down signs, damaging an apartment complex and knocking out power to thousands.

AFP - India's government Wednesday celebrated a victory it said would help bring millions out of poverty, after winning a vote that clears the way for a controversial nuclear deal with the United States.

AFP - The United States and China sent mixed signals over what they expect from a high-level meeting here Wednesday with North Korea about Pyongyang's efforts to verify its nuclear disarmament.

Reuters - Osama bin Laden's driver knew the target of the fourth hijacked jetliner in the September 11 attacks, a prosecutor said on Tuesday in an attempt to draw a link between Salim Hamdan and the al Qaeda leadership in the first Guantanamo war crimes trial.

Reuters - Iran will not "retreat one iota" over its disputed nuclear program, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Wednesday.