AP - A jury of six military officers at Guantanamo Bay reached a split verdict Wednesday in the war crimes trial of a former driver for Osama bin Laden, clearing him of some charges but convicting him of others that could send him to prison for life.

AFP - US President George W. Bush chided China and North Korea Wednesday on their human rights records but defended his decision to attend this week's Beijing Olympics opening ceremony.

AFP - The Olympic flame was cheered through Beijing by flag-waving crowds Wednesday as excitement built two days before the Games, but a dramatic Tibet protest and pollution worries clouded the final run-up.

Reuters - A senior Afghan intelligence official has accused a number of parliamentarians of supporting Taliban insurgents, Afghan newspapers said on Wednesday.

Reuters - The Pentagon, which closed its Talon intelligence database nearly a year ago amid concerns about domestic spying, will soon begin testing an unclassified alternative for tracking possible threats to U.S. military bases, officials said on Tuesday.

Reuters - Tropical Storm Edouard plowed into a wildlife refuge on the upper Texas coast early on Tuesday, bringing driving rains and peak winds near 65 mph (100 kph) but leaving key energy installations mostly unscathed.

Reuters - The Federal Reserve held U.S. interest rates steady on Tuesday, expressing concerns about both economic growth and inflation and indicating it is in no rush to push borrowing costs higher.

Reuters - A potential mistrial was avoided in the first Guantanamo trial on Tuesday when the U.S. military judge ruled it was too late to challenge his war crimes instructions to the jury deliberating the case of Osama bin Laden's driver.

Reuters - U.S. President George W. Bush and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak pressed North Korea on Wednesday to agree on a verification plan for its nuclear weapons program or continue to face international isolation.

Reuters - Euphoric crowds chanting "Go Olympics, Go Beijing" cheered the Olympic flame through Tiananmen Square on Wednesday at the end of its troubled global relay.

AP - Fans chanting "Bring Back Brett!" distracted them during practice on Tuesday. Well before that, the constant media questions were wearing thin on them.

AP - For a second straight meeting, the Federal Reserve has decided to remain on the sidelines and leave interest rates alone. In the opinion of many economists, that stance may prevail not only for the rest of this year but well into 2009.

AP - Attention, America: Paris has spoken. Paris Hilton, the blonde, doe-eyed celebrity thrust into the presidential campaign in an ad by Republican candidate John McCain, issued a tart rebuttal Tuesday, albeit in a scantily clad, tongue-in-cheek kind of way.

AP - Republican presidential candidate John McCain opposes the $300 billion farm bill and subsidies for ethanol, positions that both supporters and opponents say might cost him votes he needs in the upper Midwest this November.