AP - Forecasters say Hurricane Dolly has made landfall near South Padre Island in Texas. Dolly is a Category 2 storm with top sustained winds near 100 mph.

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 - 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 - It will be left to the next administration to decide on any sizable troop increase for Afghanistan, the Pentagon spokesman 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 - 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 - The country slogged through slower economic growth and rising prices during the summer, packing a double whammy to people and businesses alike.