Obama: U.S. can't afford to extend tax cuts for rich (Reuters)

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.

Obama tells Ohio audience of own family struggles (AP)

AP - President Barack Obama is getting a little personal about the sluggish economy, telling a Cleveland audience about his own family's struggles and hardships.

European pressure mounts on Iran over stoning case (AP)

AP - European Union nations and the continent's biggest human rights organization slammed Iran on Wednesday for its plans to stone a woman convicted of adultery, increasing the global pressure on Tehran over a case it has tried to frame as a criminal matter and not one of human rights.

Summary Box: Portugal bond sale reflects debt fear (AP)

AP - HIGH COSTS: Portugal raised $1.3 billion in a debt auction Wednesday, but at sharply higher borrowing costs compared with recent auctions.

Consumers cut back on credit card use once again (AP)

AP - Consumer borrowing fell again in July as households cut back on their credit card use for a 23rd consecutive month, adding more drag on an economy struggling to mount a sustained rebound.

Australia, N.Zealand top charity index; US 5th (AP)

AP - Australia and New Zealand shared first place, and the United States tied for fifth, in a first-of-its kind survey ranking 153 nations on the willingness of their citizens to donate time and money to charity.

City Still Looking At Recycling Improvements

The City of Winnipeg is in the midst of a study to improve its recycling program. Darryl Drohomerski is the City's Solid Waste Manager. He tells CJOB, the study will help determine where recycling methods should go from here.

(AP)

AP - Consumer borrowing falls again in July as credit card use falls for 23rd straight month.

Koran Burning: Cues from Osama bin Laden Media Strategy? (Time.com)

Time.com - While he's planning violence against books, not people, the would-be Koran-burning Florida preacher Terry Jones is following a self-promotion strategy similar to that of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden

Obama firm: Don't extend tax breaks for wealthiest (AP)

AP - President Barack Obama strongly defended his opposition to extending Bush-era tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans on Wednesday and delivered a searing attack on Republicans and their House leader for advocating "the same philosophy that led to this mess in the first place."

US welcomes South Korean sanctions against Iran (AFP)

AFP - The United States on Wednesday hailed new sanctions imposed by South Korea against Iran as increasing pressure on Tehran to return to the negotiating table to address concerns about its nuclear aims.

Fed survey sees slower growth in East and Midwest (AP)

AP - The economy lost strength in late summer as factory production weakened in areas of the East Coast and Midwest.

Chicago mayor says he won't recommend a successor (AP)

AP - Chicago Mayor Richard Daley says he isn't going to recommend a candidate to succeed him and that it's up to voters to decide who they want to lead them.

Fed report shows widespread signs growth easing (Reuters)

Reuters - The economy has shown "widespread signs" of slowing over recent weeks, the Federal Reserve said on Wednesday in a report suggesting the recovery was faltering along the East Coast and in the Midwest.

Hack attack hits home for AP writer (AP)

AP - The Twitterverse is full of far more mysterious forces than indecipherable trending topics and Lady Gaga.

Detroit mayor calls fires 'natural disaster' (AP)

AP - Detroit Mayor Dave Bing has praised the fire department for responding to what he termed "a natural disaster" after wind-whipped flames destroyed dozens of homes across the city.

City Defends Itself Against Discrimination Charges

The City of Fresno is defending itself against allegations of discrimination in the Fresno Police Department. Captain Al Maroney has filed a series of complaints with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission -- alleging he was discriminated against because he is African American. The EEOC has recommended sensitivity training for everyone from the police chief down to all the sergeants at the ...

Fidel Castro says Cuban model no longer works (Reuters)

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.

Summary Box: Canada ups key interest rate to 1 pct (AP)

AP - BANK OF CANADA UPS KEY RATE: Canada's central bank raised its benchmark interest rate by a quarter point to 1 percent, after similar moves in June and July.

Muslims see Quran burning as threat to God's word (AP)

AP - The Quran is the most sacred object in the daily lives of Muslims and burning it would be considered an offense against God.

Australian government prepared to adjust mining tax (Reuters)

Reuters - Australia's fragile Labor government suggested on Wednesday it could adjust a planned profits-based tax on mining companies to bend to demands of the independent MPs giving it a slender grip on power.

Appeals court dismisses Boeing-CIA lawsuit (AP)

AP - A sharply divided federal appeals court has dismissed a lawsuit against Boeing Co. that claimed the company flew terrorism suspects to secret prisons around the world to be tortured as part of the CIA's "extraordinary rendition" program.

City gears up for 2011 budget

City officials face some very tough choices in the coming weeks as they grapple with a significantly larger proposed budget for 2011.

LA police quell 2nd protest over fatal shooting (AP)

AP - Demonstrators pelted police for a second night in a poor immigrant neighborhood following the fatal shooting of a Guatemalan day laborer who allegedly threatened people with a knife and then turned the weapon on a responding officer.

Fla. minister determined to hold 9/11 Quran burn (AP)

AP - The leader of a small Florida church that espouses anti-Islam philosophy said Wednesday he was determined to burn copies of the Quran on Sept. 11, despite pressure from the White House, religious leaders and others to call it off.

Fed sees 'widespread' signs US economy is slowing (AFP)

AFP - The US economy is showing "widespread" signs of deceleration, the US Federal Reserve warned in its latest Beige Book report published Wednesday.

Tropical Storm Igor forms in the Atlantic (AP)

AP - Tropical Storm Igor has formed in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa near the Cape Verde Islands and has top sustained winds of near 40 mph (65 kph).

Grassley seeks answers to USDA's role at egg farms (AP)

AP - Sen. Charles Grassley has asked Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to address accusations that federal workers ignored complaints about conditions at an Iowa farm involved in a recall of salmonella-tainted eggs.

BP report blames itself, others for oil spill (AP)

AP - In an internal report released Wednesday, BP blames itself, other companies' workers and a complex series of failures for the massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill and the drilling rig explosion that preceded it.

North Korea Succession: Reports of Power-Handover Talks (Time.com)

Time.com - In North Korea, the first congress in 30 years of the Workers' Party of Korea may be imminent, suggesting that a succession is being prepared to hand power from Kim Jong Il to his son Kim Jong Un

Xbox blocks W.Va. gamer over town's name: Fort Gay (AP)

AP - Microsoft Corp. and the chief rules enforcer for Xbox Live are apologizing to a small West Virginia town and a 26-year-old gamer accused of violating the online gaming service's code of conduct by publicly declaring he's from Fort Gay — a name the company considered offensive.

Peru president: New Yorker Berenson not a threat (AP)

AP - President Alan Garcia says he doesn't consider Lori Berenson a threat to Peru, suggesting he may be inclined to commute the New Yorker's accomplice-to-terrorism sentence so she can go home.

Panel examining recession's causes meets in Vegas (AP)

AP - Nevada had unrealistic growth expectations before the nation's financial meltdown battered the state's tourism industry and erased billions of dollars in real estate equity, an economist told a federal commission examining the causes of the Great Recession.

Accused Somali pirate pleads guilty in DC (AP)

AP - An accused Somali pirate has pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy from a November 2008 attack in the Gulf of Aden on a Danish ship carrying cargo from a U.S. company.

Obama to challenge Republican foes on economy (AFP)

AFP - US President Barack Obama Wednesday sought to box in his Republican foes on the economy, as the lagging recovery and crippling unemployment threaten Democrats with a mid-term election meltdown.

Nigeria leader replaces military, security heads: presidency (AFP)

AFP - Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has appointed new military, intelligence and police chiefs, his office said on Wednesday, ahead of January elections in the oil-rich country.

Hungary won't seek to renew IMF, EU loans (AP)

AP - Hungary will not seek any more loans from the International Monetary Fund or the European Union and will be able to meet its financing needs by selling bonds to international and domestic investors, Economics Minister Gyorgy Matolcsy said Wednesday.

Turtle egg rescue at space center billed success (AP)

AP - The turtle rescue effort at NASA's Kennedy Space Center is winding down.

Romanian Gypsy leader compares Sarkozy to Nazis (AP)

AP - A Romanian Gypsy leader on Wednesday compared French President Nicolas Sarkozy to Romania's pro-Nazi wartime leader, following the expulsion of hundreds of Gypsies from France.

8 people missing in Colo. wildfire (AP)

AP - Authorities are searching for eight people who have not been accounted for as a wildfire tore through their neighborhoods this week.

Old Farmer's Almanac: Global cooling to continue (AP)

AP - Most of the country will see a colder-than-usual winter while summer and spring will be relatively cool and dry, according to the time-honored, complex calculations of the "Old Farmer's Almanac."

City survey aims to help downtown

BORDENTOWN CITY — The Bordentown City Economic Development Commission (EDC) is looking critically at the city’s businesses and analyzing data in the hopes that it will improve business activity going into the fall.

US sex offenders see sanctuary in Caribbean sun (AP)

AP - Jeffrey Allen Weathers moved from Alaska to an oceanfront apartment in the Caribbean, but his new neighbors soon suspected the heavyset American hadn't come for the sun. The FBI now says they were right.

FBI investigating bomb hoax on LA-bound plane (AP)

AP - The FBI on Wednesday was trying to determine whether a passenger staged a bomb hoax that prompted a search of a Thai Airways jetliner at Los Angeles International Airport.

Debit rules bigger risk for Visa than MasterCard (AP)

AP - Payment processors Visa Inc. and MasterCard Inc. face uncertainty as the Federal Reserve begins crafting the new rules for debit card fees called for in the financial reform legislation. But Visa has more debit risk than MasterCard because it dominates the U.S. market, a Citi analyst said Wednesday.

Pakistan to charge 3 over failed Times Square bomb (AP)

AP - Pakistan will soon bring terrorism charges against three men alleged to have helped the failed Times Square bomber meet up with militant leaders close to the Afghan border and sent him money to carry out the attack, a senior police officer said Wednesday.

Hillary Clinton on America's future: US retains role as world leader (The Christian Science Monitor)

The Christian Science Monitor - Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton sought Wednesday to paint a picture of a 21st-century world where the United States remains the preeminent leader â though less as a result of unrivaled economic and military might than through new and reinvigorated partnerships.

Tories see poll lead evaporate (Reuters)

Reuters - The Conservative government has seen its lead over the Liberals evaporate following recent controversies and the two parties are now statistically deadlocked, according to a public opinion poll released on Wednesday.

Hermine swamps Texas, prompts search for victims (AP)

AP - Its power spent, what was left of Tropical Storm Hermine made its way north Wednesday, drenching a large swath of Texas and prompting a search for possible flood victims near Austin.

Tea party members back dismissed president (AP)

AP - Several members of a Montana tea party group have resigned after the association's president was dismissed over an exchange on Facebook that appeared to condone violence against gays.