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AP - Hurricane Earl steamed toward the Eastern Seaboard on Wednesday as communities from North Carolina to New England kept a close eye on the forecast, worried that even a slight shift in the storm's predicted offshore track could put millions of people in the most densely populated part of the country in harm's way.

AP - A man who railed against the Discovery Channel's environmental programming for years burst into the company's headquarters with at least one explosive device strapped to his body Wednesday and took three people hostage at gunpoint before police shot him to death, officials said.

AP - Under the shadow of fresh violence, President Barack Obama solemnly convened the first direct Israeli-Palestinian talks in two years Wednesday, challenging Mideast leaders to seize a fleeting opportunity to deliver peace to a region haunted by decades of hostility.

AP - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is set to appear before a panel investigating the financial crisis to give his take on the meltdown and his views on potential systemwide risks posed by large financial institutions.

AP - Andy Roddick found it infuriating that a lineswoman who called him for a foot fault was wrong about which of his shoes touched the line.

Reuters - China is stepping up attempts to hamper BHP Billiton's $39 billion hostile offer for Potash Corp, amid worries about future supplies of fertilizer it needs to rapidly boost food production.

AFP - The United States slapped Pakistani Taliban chief, Hakimullah Mehsud, with terrorism charges for his alleged role in the murder of seven Americans at a CIA base in Afghanistan.

Reuters - Automaker General Motors Co plans to begin courting investors for its initial public offering immediately after the November 2 U.S. midterm congressional elections, two sources familiar with the plans said on Wednesday.

AFP - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to forge a "historic" peace with the Palestinians Wednesday, injecting cautious hope into US President Barack Obama's long-odds Middle East talks.

Reuters - Hurricane Earl strengthened on Wednesday, churning up dangerous swells, forcing evacuations on some of North Carolina's barrier islands and prompting storm alerts along much of the U.S. East Coast.

Reuters - Apple Inc unveiled a smaller, cheaper version of its Web-to-TV device on Wednesday, stepping up a battle with Google Inc and Microsoft Corp for control of the digital living room.

Reuters - Police shot and killed a man who took three people hostage, waving a gun and apparently fitted out with explosives, in the headquarters of the Discovery Channel near Washington Wednesday.

Reuters - A federal judge on Wednesday rejected the U.S. government's request to dismiss an industry lawsuit challenging its deepwater oil and gas drilling moratorium, dealing another blow to the Obama administration.

Reuters - President Barack Obama declared an end to the seven-year U.S. combat mission in Iraq on Tuesday and promised recession-weary Americans "my central responsibility" now is to repair the U.S. economy.

Reuters - President Barack Obama was poised on Wednesday to launch a new U.S. push for Middle East peace even as a flare-up of Hamas violence and a deadlock over Israeli settlements loomed as potential deal-breakers.

AFP - US President Barack Obama formally declared an end to America's seven-year combat mission in Iraq, saying it was time to turn the page on a war which has cost thousands of Iraqi and US lives.

AP - Sen. Lisa Murkowski was booted from office in the Republican primary Tuesday by a little-known conservative lawyer in arguably the biggest political upset of the year.

AP - A powerful Hurricane Earl threatened to sideswipe much of the East Coast just ahead of Labor Day, worrying countless vacationers who planned to spend the traditional last week of summer at the beach.

AP - Claiming no victory, President Barack Obama formally ended the U.S. combat role in Iraq after seven long years of bloodshed, declaring firmly Tuesday night: "It's time to turn the page." Now, he said, the nation's most urgent priority is fixing its own sickly economy.

AFP - The Obama administration geared up for a bold bid to relaunch direct Palestinian-Israeli peace talks and clinch a peace deal within a year as Middle East leaders gathered in Washington.